国際交流基金 The Japan Foundation Performing Arts Network Japan

Arts Organizations 世界の支援団体

Feb. 19, 2020

ア・ブレイド・オブ・グラス A Blade of Grass

A Blade of Glass is a not-for-profit organization established for the purpose of promoting socially engaged art. It was founded in New York in 2011with the belief that art can help make the world a better place. The organization seeks to propose cutting-edge solutions for political, social and environmental issues, while working to bring support and mentoring for artists active on the front line. With its core of grant programs, the organization serves as a research institution that evaluates the quality of work in this evolving field and fosters discourse about the aesthetics, function, ethics and meaning of socially engaged art and promotes the dissemination of information regarding the importance and potential of bringing art out of the galleries and museums and into the society at large.

Fellowship Program
To promote socially engaged art, the organization knows that artists must take time and care to develop relationships built on mutual trust, as well as work with diverse non-arts partners and communities. They also know that following previously existing methodologies and strictly laid plans is not the only way to a successful project. In light of this, efforts are made to provide relatively unrestricted funding to enable the artists to pursue their aims freely, while also providing a collaborative research component. Additionally, field research by A Blade of Glass replaces grant reporting written by the artist, and is grounded in the goals and areas of inquiry defined by the artist and the perspective of project participants.
The fellowship grants are given to individual artists or collectives, and applicants must be at least 25 years of age for all fellowships and US citizens or US residents with legal work status. There are no limitations on where the projects will take place。Also, A Blade of Grass and SPArt are collaborating to offer one Los Angeles-based fellowship for each year from 2019-2021. There is also a grant program for minority artists under the age of 30.
Research
A Blade of Grass evaluates and qualitatively assesses the impact and methods of socially engaged art projects using action research methodology. This approach studies an action while it’s in process by identifying initial project goals and definitions of success, and then conducting interviews with project participants and stakeholders to gather their perspectives and views on whether and how these goals are met. A Blade of Grass applies this methodology to Fellowship projects as well as to the work of NYC Department of Cultural Affairs’ Public Artists in Residence, a program that embeds artists in municipal agencies, while making proposals for ways to evaluate the success of socially engaged art that transcends the realm of contemporary art.
Information, Promotional Activities
The organization posts information about A Blade of Grass Fellowship program activities and events in the social media and its website. On its website, documentary films about featured socially engaged art projects are posted, as are interview articles and critical discussions and parts of the organization’s magazine published biannually.