ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the Dedalus Foundation’s recent educational and curatorial outreach programs as a case study of how a small, private arts institution can work with other established arts organizations or community-based social service organizations to serve traditionally under-resourced populations. The Dedalus Foundation was created in 1981 by the American artist Robert Motherwell to further the understanding of modern art and the principles of modernism. Since Motherwell’s death in 1991, Dedalus has supported educational, research, archival, curatorial, and conservation initiatives on both the individual and institutional levels. At first this was accomplished largely through a grants program, but in 2013, following a board decision to take additional space in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn, Dedalus began working directly with established community-based non-profit organizations to create arts programming that complements their work in the public education and social services sectors.
The Dedalus Foundation works with other organizations to support existing educational programming, and to grow with them in new directions, by providing financial and in-kind support, in the form of space and staff time, and by generating new programs in response to needs expressed by the surrounding community. These programs take many forms and remain purposefully flexible so that the foundation can be nimble as changing needs are expressed by its partner organizations. For the purposes of this chapter, we will review in detail and include example classes for our ESOL adult education classes, and our family art-making workshops. The Dedalus Foundation’s education programs also include teen curatorial programs, initiatives for adults with disabilities, middle- and high-school portfolio programs, and internship programs. All programs are free to the public.
