2016 Artist-Endowed Foundation Leadership Forum
The Artist-Endowed Foundation Leadership Forum is an annual, invitational symposium providing a platform for senior artist-endowed foundation leaders to explore and discuss key issues and innovations in practice and policy that are influencing the field’s charitable impact in art stewardship and cultural philanthropy.
The event is presented by the Hoffman Forum in cooperation with the Aspen Institute Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative/AEFI and University of Miami School of Law, and each year is hosted by a major cultural institution. In 2016, the Forum was hosted by The Morgan Library & Museum, New York City. The 2015 Forum was hosted by The Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
The 2016 Forum welcomed 89 senior leaders from 60 artist-endowed foundations, primarily located in cities across the U.S. but also from Europe. Artist-founders are actively involved in ten of the 60 foundations. Twenty foundations of the 60 have been formed or endowed within the past five years and a similar number participated in the Forum for the first time.
The Forum keynote conversation featured international artist Emilia Kabakov, founder, along with her husband Ilya, of the Ilya and Emilia Kabakov Foundation and its Ship of Tolerance project. She was joined by Robert Storr, artist, critic, curator, and former Dean, Yale University School of Art. Their discussion explored artists’ creative visions as the context for philanthropy and considered the special opportunities for artist-endowed foundations’ charitable impact in today’s world.
The Artist-Endowed Foundation Leadership Forum annually fosters collegial exchange among the field’s senior leaders and informs the research, publication, and knowledge sharing programs of the Aspen Institute’s Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative/AEFI. Sessions incorporate presentations and discussions among foundation leaders, scholars, experts, thought leaders, and artists. Discussion topics addressed during the 2016 Forum included:
- Strategy Spotlight: Navigating the Art Market and Art Dealer Relationship
- Issue Briefing: AEF Resale Right Data Analysis
- Considerations in Practice: Opportunities and Challenges in the Digital Realm
- Issue Briefing: View from Abroad – A Proposed Authentication Mediation Board
- Keynote Conversation: Charitable Impact – Creativity, Tolerance, and Hope
- Issue Briefing: Update on AEF Practices in Copyright Fair Use
- Fiduciary Focus: AEF Perspectives on Socially Responsible Investing
- Issue Briefing: Disclaiming Artists’ Estate Assets and the Potential Impact on AEFs
- Closed Door Session: Post-Litigation Leadership Reflections on Settlement of Artists’ Estates, Art Authentication, and Copyright Infringement
View the 2016 Artist-Endowed Foundation Leadership Forum program booklet here.
View the Ship of Tolerance program overview here.