The New York City-based Helen Frankenthaler Foundation has announced grants totaling $3.3 million in support of efforts to accelerate climate action at visual arts institutions across the United States.

Grants were awarded to 69 arts organizations across the country through the fourth cycle of the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative (FCI), which was launched in 2021 in partnership with RMI and Environment & Culture Partners to assist nonprofit visual arts and arts education organizations of varying sizes in undertaking energy efficiency and clean energy generation projects. The 2024 cohort of grantees also includes the first recipients of the foundation’s Catalyst Grant, which funds short-term projects at organizations that are often in the early stages of their climate action trajectory.

The latest recipients include North Carolina Glass Center, which will use “electric hot shops” in its new education facility; the Flint Institute of Arts, which will replace electric steam humidifiers with new ultrasonic humidification units to regulate artwork storage conditions; and the Seattle Art Museum, which will modernize its building management system with automation and digitization capacities to maintain optimal energy efficiency.

“The foundation is delighted with the advancements in environmental sustainability spearheaded by our partners through [FCI],” said Frankenthaler Foundation board chair Lise Motherwell. “With its newest round of grantees, FCI has supported over two hundred visual arts organizations to date and is leading the way in tangible climate action.”

For a complete list of recipients, see the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation website.

(Photo credit: North Carolina Glass Center)