As a burgeoning organization, the Ruth Foundation recognizes the deep privilege from which it operates—from the opportunity to conceive of a foundation from the ground up, to the considerable resources that allow us to dream, to the many artists, thinkers, workers, organizers, communities, and ideas that came before that granted permission for us to come into being. We honor the inimitable Ruth DeYoung Kohler II in the way we know best: with a willingness to enter into irresolution, to be unsettled and surprised, to learn and unlearn, to always aspire for more. And to do this together.

With our privilege comes an understanding that a sense of urgency and ambition must underline all our activities. We build this foundation with a full awareness that so much in this field remains unresolved, and that we are not an island in this work. In this program, we invite a selection of long-term thought partners—like-minded companions committed to interrogating the artistic field at large, who share a desire to engage in multi-directional learning, to challenge existing structures, and to reconfigure models for the world. Each partnership involves artistic exchange or opportunity. As part of this ongoing process, we shape dialogues, gatherings, think tanks, excursions, publishing, and residencies around these transformative models.

In conversation with Fogo Island Arts, we consider the connections between land and sea, community and culture, ecological sustainability and collective prosperity, and what it means to reinvest in communities with creativity at the core of change.

With Delfina Foundation, we investigate what it means to support diasporic artists and artists from nations with infrastructural issues amidst global movements and ruptures, learning how to translate the social intimacy and hospitality of a residency to create a global community of support.

With Para Site, we work towards demystifying the operational models of arts institutions, to create pathways for open source and democratized decision-making, to imagine how we can build transnational connections, expand access, and empower individuals to organize within their own institutions.

As we work towards what is still beyond our comprehension, we invite you all to join us in these continuous dialogues. Together, we ask: how do we reimagine all the structures that we have forever assumed to be true?