Blade of Grass Ends Fellowship Program and Reduces Staff Amid Budget Crisis
Due to financial challenges, Blade of Grass, a nonprofit dedicated to socially engaged art, has discontinued its fellowship program and downsized its workforce. Executive director Deborah Fisher revealed that the organization will finish the fiscal year with under twelve months of operational reserves, slashing its budget from $1 million to $450,000. The fellowship, which began in 2014, awarded $20,000 honorariums for community-oriented initiatives. To help reduce expenses, Fisher will accept a salary reduction. While 70% of funding originated from private donations, fundraising efforts were disrupted by the pandemic. Going forward, Blade of Grass will undertake projects individually. Fisher intends to engage with former fellows to assess community needs, including members of the 2020 cohort like Alfredo Salazar-Caro.
Key facts
- Blade of Grass has discontinued its fellowship program and laid off staff due to financial difficulties.
- The organization's budget has been reduced from $1 million to $450,000.
- Executive director Deborah Fisher will take a pay cut as part of cost-cutting measures.
- The fellowship program, launched in 2014, provided $20,000 honorariums for socially engaged art projects.
- Seventy percent of fellowship funding came from private donors, but COVID-19 disrupted fundraising efforts.
- Blade of Grass will now focus on commissioning projects one at a time to attract patronage.
- The 2020 fellowship cohort included multiple artists and collectives, with Alfredo Salazar-Caro as the inaugural POC Emerging Artists Fellow in New York City.
- Fellows were allowed to use funds for living expenses during the pandemic, unlike previous project-specific allocations.
Entities
Artists
- Deborah Fisher
- Alfredo Salazar-Caro
- Cannupa Hanska Luger
- Alex Hare
- Zhailon Levingston
- Nehemiah Luckett
- Taja Lindley
- Rosalind McGary
Institutions
- Blade of Grass
- Hidden Voices collective
- Papel Machete collective
- Tornillo: The Occupation Coalition
Locations
- New York City
- United States