The Foundation's Program in the Arts

Catherine Wichterman and Harriet Zuckerman

This past year has been one of reassessment and transition in the Foundation's program in the arts, as William G. Bowen has already indicated. The Trustees' review of the field, Catherine Wichterman's appointment as Program Officer for the performing arts, and her immediate plans for the program are each turning points in the Foundation's activities. These developments are the main focus of this part of the annual report. (Note 1)

The Trustees' Report

The Trustees' decision to conduct a full-scale review of grantmaking in the arts was occasioned in part by the Foundation's custom of reviewing all programs periodically (especially when there is an impending change in staffing) and in part by unsettling changes occurring in public and private support for artistic activities. A special committee composed of four Trustees, Frank H.T. Rhodes, Hanna H. Gray, Anne M. Tatlock, and Charles A. Ryskamp, was named in September 1995, met through the winter, and produced a report which was adopted unanimously by the full Board in March 1996. One important conclusion the committee reached was that museums and the performing arts were each fields receiving major resources from the Foundation and so distinct as to require separate oversight. It was this decision coupled with the fact that the responsible Program Officer, Rachel Newton Bellow, had decided to leave the Foundation (to establish a new nonprofit entity, Project 180 Inc.), that led to the search for a new Program Officer for the performing arts and, as William Bowen has reported, to Catherine Wichterman's selection in the fall of 1996 to fill this post.

The committee's charge was wide-ranging: it was asked to review and assess the Foundation's current and past work in the arts, including the allocation of funds between museums and the performing arts, the kinds of activities being supported in each field, the sorts of institutions receiving assistance, and the ways in which the Foundation's grantmaking could be made more effective. These were-and are-important and timely questions in view of the changing circumstances in which arts organizations and museums now operate and the considerable uncertainty in their prospects for future funding.

The committee's conclusions can be quickly summarized. First, grants for the arts should continue to be significant in amount. Second, the Foundation's grantmaking should continue to emphasize the long term, rather than concentrating on short-term results. Third, the practice of widespread consultation should be maintained, not only within the fields which receive grants from the Foundation but also with independent, outside experts and advisors. Fourth, supporting the "core activities" of institutions and ensuring the quality of their programs must remain central objectives in selecting grant recipients. (Indeed, assisting museums and performing arts organizations in their "core activities" should take precedence over other worthy, but less central concerns.) Finally, no major changes should be made in the scope of fields and institutions eligible for support-that is, museums, dance, music, opera, and theater should continue to constitute the Foundation's "clientele" in the arts.

The Importance of the Arts in the Foundation's Grantmaking

The committee reaffirmed the Foundation's significant and longstanding commitment to the arts, a commitment which has been clearly signaled by its allocating a major share of Foundation expenditures to these activities. Excluding appropriations to the National Gallery of Art, an institution with a long and close relationship to the Foundation, an average of 14 percent has gone to the arts, a share second in magnitude only to grants in support of higher education and scholarship. In the future, the committee recommended, support for the arts should continue at an amount not less than the current annual level, an amount to be regarded as a minimum rather than a maximum, and further, that provision should also be made for developing new strategic initiatives that respond to particular needs in fields when resources are available.

Careful review of available evidence convinced the Trustees that significant changes have occurred in Americans' willingness to support the arts, changes signaled in part by recent large reductions in government funding for these fields. The evidence also shows that philanthropic support for the arts is more restrictive than it was a decade ago. It is now less likely to go to core or central activities: in museums, for example, to the training of curators and to the support of their scholarly work; and in the performing arts, to the creation and performance of artistic work and the training of artists. Such changes have had the predictable result that arts organizations are increasingly pressed to find additional support for their central tasks. While the Trustees believe that the current circumstances arts organizations confront cannot be understood without recognizing that such changes have occurred, they have concluded that it would be impossible for the Foundation to compensate for them and irresponsible to try. Rather, the committee recommended that the Foundation continue to support the essential work of arts organizations, with the objectives of enhancing the quality of that work and the capacity of organizations to present it to the public in such a way that both the art form and the institutions are sustained. The Foundation's programmatic support will therefore continue to reflect the broad needs of the constituent fields while giving significant discretion to institutional leaders to identify those needs and to implement programs.

Objectives of the Foundation's Support

Within the museum field, the Foundation aims to strengthen leading institutions, support creative leadership, encourage effective partnerships, and contribute to such core activities as professional training of curators (for example, by establishing curatorial fellowships), conservation training at various levels, and scholarly research and publication. Such support will sometimes be in the form of direct grants tied to specific needs and sometimes in the form of endowment for curatorial and other positions. The Foundation will place less importance on support for exhibitions, buildings, facilities, and information technology, except where such activities may be part of a program developed in support of these core activities.

In the performing arts, primary attention will also be given to strengthening leading institutions, encouraging effective partnerships, providing superior professional training, enhancing the quality of performances, and encouraging the development of new works while preserving older ones of artistic merit by whatever means seem appropriate. The Foundation's emphasis on supporting "core activities" reflects its view that the creation, performance, and presentation of artistic work are the central imperatives of performing arts organizations and, by extension, that other activities such as sound financial planning are necessary to bring artistic work to fruition. The Foundation therefore resists thematic approaches to its programs and expects that objectives such as audience development, education, and "outreach" will be natural outcomes of the work of effective arts organizations. It also recognizes that the need for endowment may sometimes be less significant than the need for operating funds.

Because research will continue to be a priority of the Foundation, from time to time grants may be made to examine the circumstances and dynamics of museums and the performing arts, including their economics, the character and size of audiences, their financial prospects and performance, leadership and management, and training. In addition, as opportunities present themselves, the Foundation will support efforts which link the performing arts with its longstanding interests higher education, libraries, and scholarly communication.

Distinctive Characteristics of the Foundation's Support

The Foundation's support for the arts has been national in scope, significant in total amount, and has concentrated on achieving long-term results. It has also been distinctive in emphasizing overall institutional development, such as increasing earned and contributed income and artists' compensation, supporting core activities, and in making grants of such magnitude as to have material effect on the institutions chosen for support. The Foundation also has been concerned with identifying major structural problems in museums-for example, the reduction of municipal or state support of these institutions and in the performing arts, the escalating costs of touring and the difficulty of keeping talented actors and directors in the theater. It is understood that worthwhile philanthropy sometimes involves accepting some measure of risk and that not all efforts will succeed. Though the Foundation has not generally promised grant renewal, it has often been clear that additional support over a longer period could be considered in a case of outstanding accomplishments and sustained promise.

The Foundation's style and process of working with grant recipients is collaborative; application is usually by invitation. Further, the practice has been to work closely with grant recipients on developing individual approaches to solving problems, strengthening leadership, or otherwise building the institution.

Fields of Interest, Eligibility, and Criteria for Grantmaking

As noted, the Trustees recommended that the Foundation continue to focus its efforts on museums (public, private, and collegiate), art conservation, and the performing arts (dance, music, opera, and theater). Art forms falling outside the Foundation's primary areas of support include film and television. As important as these art forms are in their own right, the Trustees concluded that direct support of performing arts organizations should take precedence. The Foundation will, however, remain alert to the possibility that new technologies may be central to the creation of works of art by individuals and companies and that technology may be used effectively by arts organizations to expand audiences, reduce costs, or preserve their work, as, for example, computerized dance notation has done in the preservation of the dance. Finally, the Foundation has no plans for new programs in support of individual authors, groups, or literary presses.

The overriding criteria for Foundation support are the quality and timeliness of proposals. Although the Foundation does not confine its support only to large organizations with national visibility, it does seek to support leading institutions, those which contribute to the preservation and development of their art form, provide creative leadership in solving problems or addressing issues unique to the field, and which represent the highest level of institutional performance. Organizations chosen for support will have strong leadership, clearly articulated statements of mission, and financial plans that assure the preservation of both the institution and the programs for which it seeks assistance.

While the primary areas of Foundation focus are well defined, flexibility and discretion have always been central to the Foundation's grantmaking. Because the Foundation has been willing and able to provide long-term support resulting in substantial impact, the Foundation's Trustees and staff will continue to respond appropriately to varying opportunities and needs, taking the long term into account while also acting strategically when conditions in a particular field offer the chance to provide sound and timely assistance.

The Foundation does not provide direct support to individual artists or projects, commission new works, assist in the construction of new facilities, mount productions, sponsor concerts, or underwrite other events.

Program Administration

Perhaps the most significant change the committee recommended is administrative rather than substantive. As we noted, museums and the performing arts, which previously had been the responsibility of a single Program Officer, will now be individually managed. Angelica Z. Rudenstine will continue to oversee the museums program, and Catherine Wichterman, the program in the performing arts. The administrative uncoupling of the two programs is the outcome of the Trustees' concluding that Foundation expenditures in each field are considerable and that museums and the performing arts are organized according to different principles, have different kinds of assets, relate to their audiences and constituents on different terms, and generally operate within separate, though equally complex, environments. Moreover, effective management of museums and the performing arts each demands a singular expertise and steady involvement with the field. The committee believes that the new arrangement will benefit potential grant recipients and help the Foundation staff do its work more effectively.

Ms. Wichterman's Appointment

After the committee completed its work, a search was launched for the new Program Officer for the performing arts. In addition to seeking an individual with a daunting array of virtues (deep knowledge of one or more of the fields, excellent artistic judgment, disciplined imagination, the ability to deal with competing claims, and a penchant for discretion), we also wanted someone who had managed or directed an arts organization. It seemed to us that the experience of coping, day-to-day, with artistic and financial exigencies, the fostering of artistic talent, the demands of boards of directors and the need to raise funds was apt preparation for the Foundation's work. Not least, we also sought someone with a real interest in the other principal activities of the Foundation who might find ways of reinforcing their connections with the performing arts.

The search produced a superbly qualified candidate with all these qualities in abundance. Before joining the Foundation, Catherine Wichterman served in succession and with great distinction as executive director of three symphony orchestras; first the Springfield Symphony which has since become the Illinois Symphony, then the Long Island Philharmonic, and last, the Richmond Symphony. In each of these posts, Ms. Wichterman managed to keep artistic objectives in the forefront while dealing effectively with the financial imperatives orchestra management inevitably presents. In Springfield, she not only oversaw the formation of the Illinois Chamber Orchestra and the Springfield Symphony Chorus but also the quadrupling of the budget. In Long Island, her prime task was to organize fund-raising, while in Richmond, she pressed for ambitious artistic programming (which resulted in national recognition for artistic excellence and three ASCAP awards), forged links with the local opera, vastly increased the donor base, and wiped out large inherited deficits. After five years in Richmond, she left the Symphony to assume the presidency of Meet the Composer, the leading national organization serving contemporary music. There she worked to extend and raise funds for Meet the Composer's array of programs, including those which provide residencies for composers with orchestras, chamber music groups, and other ensembles; those which support the commissioning of new works; and those which encourage the presentation of works of living composers. That Ms. Wichterman also studied for the PhD in English, has a special interest in dramatic literature, and knows first-hand about graduate education in the humanities-one of the Foundation's central concerns-are special bonuses. It is also a bonus that she is a pianist, although she insists on keeping that fact and her playing private. The Trustees approved Ms. Wichterman's appointment with great enthusiasm in September 1996 and she joined the Foundation two months later.

The Interim Program in the Performing Arts and Immediate Future Directions

J. Kellum Smith, Jr., former Vice President of the Foundation and one of its Senior Advisors, assumed administrative responsibility for grantmaking in the performing arts during the search and while the Trustees' committee was at work. The Trustees were determined that the Foundation continue to be active in the performing arts during the review and despite the absence of a permanent Program Officer. It was agreed that a series of large grants should go to major New York institutions (which had not received major Foundation support in the recent past) rather than beginning new programs which, in the future, could obligate the Foundation and the new Program Officer. As a result, the Foundation's grantmaking in 1996 was substantial but departed from the usual pattern of geographic distribution, size of grants, and diversity of institutions receiving funds.

In the coming year, the Foundation expects to renew its support of the theater and to continue its recent focus on artistic and administrative development, professional training of actors and directors, intelligent and innovative production of the classics, and the development of new work. At the same time, we will continue to evaluate needs in music, opera, and dance and to meet with current grantees and other experts in these fields to determine future Foundation initiatives. The Foundation maintains a strong interest in preparing artists and administrators to respond to changes in the cultural environment, in developing dynamic leadership and sound leadership structures within arts organizations, and in supporting artistic work of the highest quality, whether that work involves preserving past traditions or exploring and developing new artistic styles and voices.

In the field of music, the Foundation's program of support for chamber orchestras is ongoing. At several points in its history, the Foundation has also invested substantially in symphony orchestras. During the coming year, we will explore the usefulness of renewed support to symphony orchestras, as they grapple with strategic questions about mission, internal organization, artistic quality, repertoire, and relationship to their local communities. In addition, as other existing programs supporting modern dance companies and regional opera companies move toward conclusion, we will consider how best to continue Foundation support to those fields.

Since much of what is known about the circumstances of the performing arts is anecdotal and since the absence of systematic quantitative information impedes effective planning and decision-making by arts organizations and funding agencies, we will continue to consider appropriate research projects designed to illuminate issues in the field and to identify meaningful courses of action.

In all its programs, the Foundation will endeavor to be consistent and considered in its approach, responsive to the field, and above all, committed to furthering artistic work of the highest quality.

Notes

Note 1 The brief section in this report that deals with the appointment of the new Program Officer in the performing arts was written by Harriet Zuckerman, the section on the interim program and immediate plans, by Catherine Wichterman. The remainder is a joint product. Return to text.