I recently attended the Davyd Whaley Foundation Launch Party in Los Angeles. I was invited by longtime client Ellie Blankfort who is the Foundation Director. She’d been telling me about the event for several months, so I pencilled it onto my calendar weeks in advance. The turnout for the evening was beyond amazing. Andie MacDowell was in attendance, as well as several other faces I recognized. There were so many people in the room, that it made it a bit tough to get good shots of the art, but better that then to hear the crickets chirping at such an important event.
Established in 2016, The Davyd Whaley Foundation is dedicated to supporting Los Angeles area artists. In the spirit of its namesake Davyd Whaley (1967 – 2014), the Foundation offers a variety of grants to assist these artists in the fulfillment of their vision.
The mission of the Foundation is dedicated to supporting Los Angeles Artists, and was designed around the following tenets: Make art. Buy the art of others. Help people whenever possible. Grow in Consciousness.
The Mid – Career Artist Grant applications will become available October 15, 2016, due on January 15, 2017, and awarded on March 15, 2017. It will be a $10,000 grant for a Los Angeles area artist who has already created a substantial body of work and achieved an initial level of local recognition, but who has yet to receive national exposure and acclaim.
There will also be an Artist – Teacher Grant in the same amount, awarded to an art-educator in the Los Angeles area, to allow them more time, energy, and resources to devote to their studio work.
Ellie Blankfort and Norman Buckley can be seen above announcing these grants to the audience. If you’re interested in learning more about the foundation or the grant process, please follow the link below.