Darren Walker News

Today (May 27) in live streaming: Meet the Top 5 High Schoolers of Next On Stage, it's Game Night on Stars in the House, and more!

Ballet Hispánico has announced its highly-anticipated 50th Celebration commemorating half a century of dance, orgullo, education, sabor, access, amor, community, espíritu, and innovation—a love poem to one of America’s Cultural Treasures.

Ballet Hispánico, America's leading Latino dance organization known for 'piercing stereotypes' (The New York Times), announces its highly-anticipated 50th Celebration commemorating half a century of dance, orgullo, education, sabor, access, amor, community, espíritu, and innovation-a love poem to one of America's Cultural Treasures.

Ballet Hispánico has announced its highly-anticipated 50th Celebration commemorating half a century of dance, orgullo, education, sabor, access, amor, community, espíritu, and innovation-a love poem to one of America's Cultural Treasures.

This campaign will launch nationwide on social and outdoor media featuring leading Asian American public figures, such as Daniel Dae Kim, Naomi Osaka, Lisa Ling, Jeremy Lin, Fareed Zakaria, Michelle Kwan and many others.  

Soho Rep. today announced details of its 2021 Spring Gala. The event, hosted by Soho Rep. Board Member Amber Tamblyn on zoom Monday, May 24, at 7 pm, recognizes the resilience and accomplishments of Soho Rep.’s artistic community through an unprecedentedly challenging year and the vital work of the Vilcek Foundation.

Join the celebration live to toast with your friends, see the celebratory performance premiere, and be a part of the live post-performance conversation.

Harlem Stage today announced the line-up for its 2021 virtual gala, “Art and Activism,” to be held on Friday, May 21 at 8 PM (ET), co-hosted by poet and playwright, Carl Hancock Rux and Harlem Stage artistic director and CEO, Patricia Cruz, and directed by filmmaker, Sekou Luke.

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins addresses vaccine distribution and creation, working with the Trump Administration and the shadow epidemics including opioid addiction and mental illness with Axios editor-in-chief Nicholas Johnston.

Arts nonprofits in LA County will benefit from a record $38.5 million pandemic recovery fund, the result of an unprecedented collaboration between Los Angeles-based and national philanthropic organizations.

The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is gratified to announce that it has been named one of 20 a?oeAmerica's Cultural Treasuresa?? through an extraordinary initiative led by the Ford Foundation in partnership with other leading U.S. foundations and philanthropists, and that MOCA has been awarded a grant of $3 million which will be distributed over four years to provide much-needed support to ensure MOCA's continued sustainability.

Filmmaker and founder of ARRAY, AvaDuVernay will accept the inaugural Marian MacDowell Arts Advocacy Award during MacDowell's Virtual National Benefit on October 19, 2020. MacDowell Fellow and Madame Chairman of the Board Nell Painter will host a free evening that features presentations from MacDowell Fellows in theater, poetry, film, and music.

The Ford Foundation has launched the America's Cultural Treasures initiative, a program which will award $156 million in COVID-19 relief grants to arts organizations run by people of color.

Broadway performers, industry veterans and more are discussing the ways in which the extended shutdown of live entertainment is going to affect Broadway and New York City.

Black Opera Productions LLC, and Presenting Partner, Brookfield Place, will present Jessye Norman at 75: A Celebration LIVE on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 6:00 PM ET, to commemorate the legendary singer's first birthday in memoriam, presented in support of the Estate of Jessye Norman and Jessye Norman School of the Arts, and the forthcoming documentary film Black Opera. 

Today, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation announced a joint commitment to increase their payouts to nonprofit organizations with more than $1.7 billion within the next three years to help stabilize and sustain a nonprofit sector facing devastating economic effects due to the global pandemic and the epidemic of social injustice. This financial commitment represents new funding above the previously approved budgets by each foundation's board. Each foundation will determine priorities for the distribution of the new funds based on its grantmaking guidelines and priorities.

The Apollo Theater announced today its first multi-work commissioning initiative dedicated to the creation of a diverse, 21st century American performing arts canon, Apollo New Works. Made possible with the support of a $2 million grant from the Ford Foundation for the creation of new work by artists of color, the initiative is also funded by a $1 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the Apollo's Master Artist in Residency, a central component of the program.

Sundance Institute will curate dozens of offscreen events, including behind-the-scenes panels on the art of filmmaking, musical performances and a?" around the theme of Imagined Futures a?" a public Bonfire and several extended post-screening conversations (known as IF Screenings), at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival taking place in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Sundance, Utah, January 23 through February 2, 2020.

Signature Theatre has just announced that the company's Annual Gala on Monday, March 30, 2020 will celebrate Signature's current Residency 1 Playwright Anna Deavere Smith and honor Signature Theatre Board President and Margot Adams Signature Award Recipient Nina B. Matis.

Sundance Institute invites champions of independent storytelling to attend An Artist at the Table Presented by IMDbPro, Sundance Institute's annual fundraising event hosted on the first night of the Sundance Film Festival, Thursday, January 23, 2020, in Park City, Utah. During the celebratory event, Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, will be honored with the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy. Proceeds from the evening will advance Sundance Institute's mission and programs that discover, support and amplify risk-taking and exciting independent film, media and theatre artists.  In addition to Presenting Sponsor IMDbPro, the event is supported by Lead Sponsor the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.