New Grants from MSP Foundation to Fund Black Voices and Arts Equity

by Sarah Hotchkiss

The nonprofit arm of Andy and Deborah Rappapaort’s Minnesota Street Project arts hub announced today the creation of two new grantmaking programs to “address the systemic racism in the art world.” The couple has seeded an initial $150,000 to the programs, which are called the California Black Voices Project and Grants for Arts Equity.

The California Black Voices Project will bestow five grants of $10,000 each on Black artists, curators or collectives to create new artwork or exhibitions in any medium. Grantees will receive exhibition space at the Minnesota Street Project’s Dogpatch gallery building, 1275 Minnesota Street, home to a dozen galleries and currently open only by appointment due to the ongoing pandemic. Guidelines and the jury for the California Black Voices Project will be announced by July 15, with applications due by Aug. 31. Grantees will be announced in September.
 

Grants for Arts Equity will provide capacity-building grants to Bay Area visual arts organizations serving BIPOC and “other underserved audiences.” This program will provide grants of up to $10,000 per organization; applications will open July 15 and funds will be distributed starting in September on a rolling basis.
 

The foundation encourages other funders to match the Rappaports’ investment in the local and state arts ecosystem, hinting that more grantmaking programs are coming before the end of 2020.
 

The Minnesota Street Project Foundation was created in late 2019. In its initial press release the foundation promised to “engage sponsorship opportunities, curate experiences, encourage community efforts, and help organizations meet funders where they want to be met.” The California Black Voices Project and Grants for Arts Equity programs mark the first dispersal of funds from the foundation. Details here.