Corina Larkin, an artist and editor, has long regarded Ted Berger, executive director emeritus of the New York Foundation for the Arts, as a mentor. Over the years, she has sought Berger’s guidance on funding artist-run projects. During her tenure as executive director at Chelsea’s CUE Art Foundation, Larkin frequently discussed with Berger, who serves as board president of CUE, ways to address the scarcity of resources in the field. The culmination of these discussions, Larkin announced at a press reception on Tuesday, is the establishment of the Trellis Art Fund, a new private family foundation dedicated to supporting artists’ practices.
Based in Chelsea, the fund will award 12 recipients with $100,000 each over two years, with Larkin serving as its executive director.
“Given the current world challenges, the role of the artist is increasingly precarious,” Larkin told ARTnews. She noted a disconnect in philanthropic circles between the perceived value of art and the understanding of what it takes to produce it.
Berger, in a conversation with ARTnews, expressed concern that the current system of arts funding, both public and private, is approaching a crisis point. He remarked that the system, which he played a significant role in shaping in New York, revealed its weaknesses during the pandemic, failing to keep up with rising costs of living and materials due to inflation.
“Trellis Art Fund will manage a $15.8 million endowment, largely contributed by Larkin’s husband, Nigel Dawn, who serves as the fund’s treasurer,” Berger explained. Dawn oversees public pensions and university endowments at investment firm Evercore. Although Trellis falls into a lower financial bracket compared to larger arts funders in the country, such as Milwaukee’s Ruth Foundation for the Arts and Minnesota’s Jerome Foundation, Larkin emphasized their commitment to providing unrestricted grants without tracking how the money is used by artists.
The fund’s advisory board, consisting of five members, includes prominent advisers and curators associated with New York’s major art institutions. These include sculptor Arlene Shechet, and curators Marcela Guerrero and Eugenie Tsai, who have worked at the Whitney Museum and the Brooklyn Museum, respectively.
Nominees for the grants are selected by a board-selected group of 75 academics, artists, and curators from various locations across the United States. The initial recipients will be announced in mid-July, with another round planned for 2026.
Guerrero and Tsai, who have curated exhibitions highlighting underrepresented artists during their museum careers, shared their enthusiasm for joining Trellis’s advisory board. Tsai, formerly a senior curator at the Brooklyn Museum, explained her decision to join, citing the opportunity to support artists operating outside mainstream institutions.
Looking ahead, Larkin mentioned the possibility of partnerships with other arts organizations and the addition of established artists to the board. She emphasized the foundation’s commitment to growing its endowment ethically while providing artists with the time, space, and recognition they need.
