Los Angeles - An Occasion for AEF Leaders: Reflections on Artists, Legacy, & Philanthropy

Over 50 AEF leaders gathered on October 20, 2024, at Hauser & Wirth art gallery in LA for a special program featuring a conversation with artist Charles Gaines and Olga Viso, Selig Family Chief Curator and Curatorial Director, Phoenix Art Museum. The two discussed the topic of artists, legacy, and philanthropy. In 2020, Gaines provided the initial financial gift to establish an endowed fellowship dedicated to assisting graduate students who self-identify as Americans of African, Mexican, and Central American descent enrolled in the CalArts School of Art MFA program where he had taught for 30 years. Through the fellowship, named by the school’s leadership to honor the founding artist, two students annually receive substantial tuition support. Additional funding for the fellowship has been provided by members of the CalArts board of trustees, by the artist’s former students, and by private collectors facilitated by the artist’s gallery, Hauser and Wirth. https://calarts.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/aid-graduate-students/scholarships/charles-gaines-fellowship

The opportunity to connect with colleagues was avidly embraced by the audience’s members, which included AEF leaders from foundations located in the Western States as well as graduates of AEFI’s Seminar on Strategy for AEF leaders. Charles and Olga’s conversation, which ranged across conceptual, personal, and philosophic points, was followed by a networking reception held in the outdoor garden of the gallery’s unique facility, a collection of historic industrial buildings in downtown LA built in 1898 to house the Globe Grain & Milling Company.

View more event photos here. All Photography by Noé Montes.

The evening was made possible by AEFI Event Sponsors:

And AEFI’s Lead Underwriters: