The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts has announced a distribution of $573,300 in grants to 39 organisations worldwide for 2025. Selected from over 200 submissions, these awards encompass a wide variety of initiatives including exhibitions, installations, publications, podcasts, student-led journals, international architecture events, and public programmes designed to foster architectural discourse and design innovation. Since its inception nearly seven decades ago, the Foundation has provided in excess of $45 million to support more than 5,200 projects globally. With the latest round of grants, it seeks to reinforce its international network of architects, scholars, curators, and others committed to advancing architectural ideas and public engagement.

This year's grantees represent a diverse spectrum of institutions, ranging from major cultural organisations and academic programmes to nonprofit groups and community-driven initiatives. Their projects operate across numerous global cities such as Vienna, Montreal, Milan, London, Chicago, New York, Lisbon, Rotterdam, Mexico City, and others. Among the highlighted activities are a series of exhibitions and conferences scheduled for the autumn of 2025. Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in Cambridge will host its "Black in Design Conference" in early November. Chicago will witness a cluster of events, including the sixth Chicago Architecture Biennial titled SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change; "Mobile Makers Chicago's The Design Summit for Friends of Friends"; Deem Journal's convening "Design for Dignity 03: A Convening of Possibilities"; and the exhibition "Bruce Goff: Material Worlds" at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Across Europe, key events will include the Lisbon Architecture Triennale, themed "How Heavy is a City?," and London's Architectural Association hosting "The Word for World: The Maps of Ursula K. Le Guin," alongside Marina Tabassum’s 2025 Serpentine Pavilion titled "A Capsule in Time." In New York, the program includes exhibitions such as "OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen: Four Five Six" and Performa's staging of Aria Dean's "The Color Scheme." Rotterdam’s Nieuwe Instituut will open an exhibition titled "FUNGI: Anarchist Designers," while Venice will feature the US Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, curated by the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas, with the project "PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity."

The Graham Foundation's grants are notable for fostering interdisciplinary approaches involving architects, artists, curators, historians, scholars, and writers. These projects not only advance architectural practice and theory but also encourage public engagement with architecture within diverse social and cultural contexts. The Foundation offers project-based Production and Presentation Grants aimed at covering costs from conceptual stages through to public realisation, enhancing visibility and dialogue around architectural work.

In addition to supporting organisations, the Graham Foundation also annually allocates grants to individuals who are impacting architectural ideas through interdisciplinary means. The 2025 Grants to Individuals recently announced total $385,500, distributed among 42 projects from recipients spanning countries like Brazil, Ecuador, France, Greece, and Nigeria. These individual awards complement the organisational grants by promoting diverse and challenging architectural ideas that intersect with arts, culture, and society.

Overall, the Graham Foundation’s continued support underscores its role as a vital catalyst for critical and experimental architectural projects globally. Its commitment to fostering varied disciplinary perspectives and widespread public involvement ensures that the discourse on architecture remains dynamic and inclusive as it adapts to contemporary and future challenges.

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Source: Noah Wire Services