2025 Seminar on Strategy for Artist-Endowed Foundation Leaders
2025 Seminar on Strategy for Artist-Endowed Foundation Leaders
February 25 – May 14, 2025
The Seminar on Strategy for Artist-Endowed Foundation Leaders supports the professional development of individuals who currently have, or will have, policy-setting, governance, management, and leadership responsibilities for Artist-Endowed Foundations—directors, officers, trustees, board members, senior staff—as well as those supporting an artist’s stewardship planning efforts with respect to a potential foundation.
Presented biennially by the Aspen Institute Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative | AEFI, the Seminar educates leaders about the characteristics of these distinctive charitable organizations, including foundations’ complex business models, diverse philanthropic practices, influential art historical roles, and manifold governance and management requirements.
The Seminar curriculum is based on findings of AEFI’s National Study of Artist-Endowed Foundations and subsequent research publications, viewable at www.aspeninstitute.org/aefi. It focuses specifically on the strategic concerns of leaders orienting themselves to the field. Site visits and conversations with seasoned foundation directors are central to the curriculum, which is presented by scholars, experts, and AEF leaders.
Seminar Dates – All Seminar Activities Take Place Online
Tuesday, February 25 5:00 to 6:30 PM EST (Opening Reception)
Wednesday, February 26 1:00 to 3:00 PM EST (Opening Class)
Wednesday, March 5 1:00 to 5:15 PM EST
Wednesday, March 12 1:00 to 5:30 PM EST
Wednesday, March 19 1:00 to 5:15 PM EST
Wednesday, March 26 1:00 to 5:30 PM EST
Wednesday, April 2 1:00 to 5:15 PM EST
Wednesday, April 9 1:00 to 5:30 PM EST
Wednesday, April 16 1:00 to 5:15 PM EST
Wednesday, April 23 1:00 to 5:30 PM EST
Wednesday, May 7 1:00 to 5:15 PM EST
Wednesday, May 14 1:00 to 3:00 PM EST (Closing Class)
Wednesday, May 14 5:00 to 6:30 PM EST (Closing Celebration)
Location: Online, hosted virtually by the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Visual Arts, Corita (Kent) Art Center, Emily Mason | Alice Trumbull Mason Foundation, Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, and Surf Point Foundation (Beverly Hallam).
Who Should Consider Applying to Participate in the Seminar:
• Individuals who, within the past three years, have assumed leadership responsibilities for artist-endowed foundations—directors, officers, trustees, board members, senior staff;
• Individuals designated to assume foundation leadership roles in the future, for example upon the artist’s death, including artists’ family members and professional associates; and
• Individuals supporting an artist’s art stewardship planning effort with respect to a potential foundation.
What Participants will Take Away From the Course:
• Comprehensive understanding of the AEF form in its many iterations;
• Firm grasp of the considerations that help define an AEF’s philanthropic and cultural role in both principle and practice;
• Knowledge and tools necessary to shape and advance your organization’s art stewardship and cultural philanthropy mission;
• Supportive cadre of colleagues who share your concerns and interests; and
• National network of established AEF leaders, scholars, and experts with whom to confer and exchange.
Curriculum Topics:
Legacy Stewardship and Artist-Endowed Foundations
– Foundation Basics
– Public Benefit
– Fiduciary Duties
– Self-Dealing & Private Benefit Risks
Organizational Viability
– Governance
– Starting Up/Reorganizing
– Art Market Strategy
– Business Model
Cultural Asset Stewardship
– Art Collections
– Archives
– Oeuvre Scholarship – Catalogues Raisonné, Oral History, Conservation Research
– Intellectual Property
Philanthropic Impact
– Grantmaking
– Support to Individuals
– Museum Gifts/Sales
– Educational Programs
Foundation Operations
– Professional Advisors
– Risk Management
– Digital Engagement
– Foundation Planning
Focused Conversations:
• Family & Foundation
• Long-term Art Stewardship Planning
• Oeuvre Management
• Diversity, Equity, Access, & Inclusion (DEAI)
• Foundation Termination
Application: By online submission, deadline January 27, 2025. Participant selection determined by Seminar Admissions Committee. Notification of acceptance February 3, 2025.
Application Contents: Applicant’s letter outlining motivation to apply; applicant’s cv; two letters of reference; foundation documentation – all submitted online with the Seminar online application form, including agreement to comply with Seminar Eligibility and Application Guidelines and Seminar Participant Guidelines.
Application Timeline: Key dates in the Seminar application process are as follows:
- Monday, January 27 – Application Deadline
- Monday, February 3 – Acceptance Notification
- Monday, February 10 – Tuition Payment Deadline
- Tuesday, February 25 – Opening Reception
Tuition: $5,225 USD, payable upon notification of acceptance and no later than February 15.
Completion Certificate: Conferred by the Aspen Institute Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative | AEFI.
Seminar Refund Policy: No tuition refunds will be made. In the case of an inability to participate, with prior AEFI approval tuition may be applied to participation in the subsequent, biennial Seminar if the individual remains in a foundation leadership position at that time.
Click here to apply for participation in the 2025 Seminar
Please contact Christine J Vincent with any questions, christine.vincent@aspeninstitute.org.