Open Society Foundations Name Head of Culture and Art
The Open Society Foundations today announced that, as the inaugural director of Culture and Art, Rashida Bumbray will lead work to address the aesthetic, political, and capacity needs of arts leaders, individual artists, and cultural activists, while supporting sustainability for a global network of locally-led cultural organizations and initiatives that work at the intersection of culture, art, and social change.
“Rashida understands the role of culture and art for a robust and courageous civil society at a moment when rights and freedom of expression are under threat,” said Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundations. “With her expertise in contemporary art and socially engaged art, she has the vision and creativity we need to steer this exciting new program.”
Since 2015, Bumbray has been senior program manager of Open Society’s Arts Exchange, an initiative created to support the integration of arts and culture into programmatic strategies across the Foundations’ network. With an expanded budget, Culture and Art will integrate the existing portfolios of the Arts Exchange and the Documentary Photography Project, as well as launch new initiatives to use grant making, capacity building, and convening power to thoughtfully support the field in increasingly challenging times...