Artadia and United States Artists Announce Multi-Year Partnership

Two arts funding organizations—United States Artists (USA) and Artadia—have announced a multi-year partnership. The most immediate outcome will be the return of Assembly, USA’s short-lived annual gathering of artists and fellows that launched in 2015 and last took place before the COVID-19 pandemic. The newly reimagined Assembly events, focused on community building and interdisciplinary exchange, will now include Artadia award winners as well. Judilee Reed, president and CEO of United States Artists, said in a statement: “We recognize the strength of our collective power in navigating an ever-evolving landscape, and through this collaboration, we’ll model organizational co-creation and shared support—a vision for our collective future in the field.” Related Articles María Magdalena Campos-Pons, New Red Order, and EJ Hill Among 50 Winners of 2024 USA Fellows Carolyn Ramo, Longtime Director of Grant-Making Nonprofit Artadia, to Step Down USA was founded in 2006 in response to the National Endowment for the Arts’ elimination of individual artist grants and to a Urban Institute study that revealed that 96 percent of Americans valued art in their lives, while only 27 percent valued artists. USA aims to address this discrepancy through unrestricted grants, partnerships with foundations and philanthropists, and other forms of direct support for working American artists. Over the past two decades, the Chicago-based organization has awarded more than $38 million to over 800 artists. This year’s fellows include Gala Porras-Kim, Kahlil Robert Irving, and Sadie Barnette. Since its founding in 1999 in San Francisco, Artadia has awarded more than $6 million to over 400 artists based in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Artadia executive director Patton Hindle noted that the organization’s partnership with USA “models a new way forward for arts organizations—one rooted in collaboration and shared purpose to better serve artists and recognize their indispensable role in our society.” Awardees include Roksana Pirouzmand (Los Angeles), Brittni Ann Harvey (Boston), Zalika Azim (New York), Jenifer Wofford (SF Bay), B. Ingrid Olson (Chicago), and Ayana Ross (Atlanta). Artadia and USA have committed to organizing annual Assembly gatherings in 2026 and 2027. The invite-only events will bring together USA artist fellows and Artadia award winners from the past five years, along with select others affiliated with each organization, for workshops, panels, and other interactive sessions.