FAQ

What is Advancing Latinx Art in Museums?   
Advancing Latinx Art in Museums supports the work of museums committed to collecting and studying Latinx art by funding early- and mid-career curatorial staff positions. The initiative is a funding collaboration by the Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Getty Foundation, and Terra Foundation for American Art. Ten grants of $500,000 each support salary and benefits for permanent curatorial positions specializing in Latinx art over five years. The grantee institutions will assume full costs for the position in its sixth year and thereafter. Grants also included support for other items, including acquisitions, project support, professional development, research, and travel.  

Advancing Latinx Art in Museums is the second phase of the U.S. Latinx Art Visibility Fund, a collaborative initiative of the Ford Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. The first phase was the Latinx Artist Fellowship. The forthcoming third phase will focus on nurturing the study of Latinx art in academic spaces. 

What is Latinx?  
Latinx is an inclusive, gender nonbinary term to describe persons of any race, ethnicity, and/or Latinx-identity affiliation who are of Latin American/Caribbean descent, who are born in the United States, or are long-term residents of the US and its territories. Latinx is inclusive of Afro-Latino/a, Asian-Latino/a, Chicano/a, Cuban American, Dominican American, Hispanic, Indigenous, Latino/a, Mexican American, Mestizo/a, Nuyorican, Puerto Rican, etc. 

Why is Advancing Latinx Art in Museums necessary? 
While Latinx artists have made significant and vital contributions to American art and culture, they continue to lack the institutional and philanthropic support necessary to secure their rightful place. By ensuring that museums committed to collecting and studying Latinx art have the capacity to employ specialist curators, Advancing Latinx Art in Museums will ensure that Latinx art is woven into the permanent collections, research, and exhibitions of these institutions. 

What organizations were eligible for consideration? 
Museums and visual arts organizations from the US and Puerto Rico, that have shown a commitment to collecting, studying, exhibiting, and engaging with Latinx art and artists, were invited to apply. Grants supported the creation of curatorial positions and/or the enhancement and formalization of existing positions, as long as the position was not already endowed (for example, bringing part-time or temporary positions to full-time and permanent status). 

How were the proposals reviewed/institutions selected? 
Forty-eight museums and visual arts organizations from the US and Puerto Rico that have shown a commitment to collecting, studying, exhibiting, and engaging with Latinx art and artists were invited to apply. Applications were reviewed by a panel jury of five experts in Latinx visual art and museums.  

What is the timeline for these grants?  
Awards cover the period from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2027.