GIA Podcast

Across the nonprofit arts sector, national regranting programs are ending and institutional infrastructures are shrinking as philanthropy resets how it supports the field. In this moment of contraction and uncertainty, institutions can no longer afford to remain unprepared to work with artists on structural design. The Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists program (DFA) became one attempt to learn how.
 
In this episode, Haowen Wang of Dance/USA joins artists Laurel Lawson and Peter Rockford Espiritu (Tau), and curator Michèle Steinwald to reflect on eight years of responsive design through DFA. Together, they examine moments of rupture, redesign, and learning, and share lessons about what it takes for institutions to reposition themselves so artists can lead.

Across the nonprofit arts sector, national regranting programs are ending and institutional infrastructures are shrinking as philanthropy resets how it supports the field. In this moment of contraction and uncertainty, institutions can no longer afford to remain unprepared to work with artists on structural design. The Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists program (DFA) became one attempt to learn how.
 
In this episode, Haowen Wang of Dance/USA joins artists Laurel Lawson and Peter Rockford Espiritu (Tau), and curator Michèle Steinwald to reflect on eight years of responsive design through DFA. Together, they examine moments of rupture, redesign, and learning, and share lessons about what it takes for institutions to reposition themselves so artists can lead.

This episode was recorded on March 9, 2026.

AI is often framed as either a miracle tool or a looming threat, but what does it actually mean for disabled artists navigating grants, fellowships, and creative partnerships? In this episode, Meier Galblum Haigh [Hague] and Kenrya Rankin from Disability Culture Lab take over the GIA podcast to unpack the realities of AI, from access tools to authorship, labor, and institutional policy. Listen for an examination on how justice-minded organizations can channel conversations about AI that center on disabled artists’ autonomy, creativity, and care.

In philanthropy, when we think about all of the ways we are invested in our communities, we often don’t think about our retirement savings. Yet, around $20 trillion is invested in retirement savings across the United States. However, who gets to participate in our retirement systems, how decisions are made about our retirement money, and how that money is used before we retire are often complex and, frankly, hard to navigate in ways that align with our values.

In this podcast episode, Rachel Fagiano (Philanthropic Consultant and Former Senior Fellow with Funders for Justice) interviews Erin Axelrod (LIFT Economy), Courtney Wicks (Racial Justice Investing Coalition) about ways foundation staff can start thinking about a spectrum of interventions and community care when we think about retirement – at the tactical, organizational, and worker levels  – and how that can impact you and your community.  The Center for Cultural Innovation commissioned Rachel Fagiano to author a toolkit called Envisioning Retirement that explores these themes. Listeners interested in next steps should be encouraged to follow an upcoming working group from Racial Justice Investing, co-sponsored by LIFT Economy and Just Futures.

Sunsetting a foundation isn’t just a financial decision; it’s relational and strategic. In this GIA podcast episode, Cate Fox (Center for Cultural Innovation) and Farhad Ebrahimi (Solidaire Network) share candid insights from their (completed and/or currently active) spend down journeys, unpacking how funders can collaborate to avoid funding cliffs, align resources, and strengthen the cultural ecosystem. This conversation tackles the tension between strategic clarity and trust, what it takes to foster vulnerability with grantees, practical steps funders can take to begin a spend down journey, and the importance of civic positionality.

This podcast was recorded on January 21, 2026.