David Ulmer

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation builds on the legacy of Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) who believed strongly that creative practitioners could serve as catalysts for social change. He shared his appreciation for chance and the everyday by seeking to act in the “gap” between art and life. He was also a gifted collaborator, breaking disciplinary boundaries by experimenting with scientists, performers, and visual artists. As such, we celebrate new and even untested ways of thinking and acting. The Foundation promotes in-depth research and partnerships for staff, curators, critics, scholars, and students that open the artist’s life and work to wider interpretation and understanding. Its philanthropic activities, driven in part by a recently constituted Artists Council, primarily support small to midsize arts and socially engaged organizations that are contrarian and experimental, even courageous, in driving towards equity. In addition, the Foundation holistically sustains the creative life and well-being of artists across the disciplines by providing for a range of needs including time to think during multi-week residencies, funding for new commissions, and emergency medical grants. Finally, the Foundation supports exhibitions, publications, and special projects across the globe that reflect Rauschenberg’s joyful, responsive, and irreverent approach to making art while living an empathetic and meaningful life.