Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
  • Virtual

2026 Artist-Endowed Foundation Leadership Forum

Nov 12 – 13, 2026
Virtual

Date

Nov 12 – 13, 2026
11:00am – 5:30pm EST

Location

Virtual

Contact

    [email protected]

Hosts

Presented by the Aspen Institute Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative | AEFI

Hosted By the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum & Clyfford Still Museum

Members of the AEFI learning community will gather online on Thursday and Friday, November 12 and 13, for the 2026 Artist-Endowed Foundation Leadership Forum. The Forum provides two days of presentations, discussions, and meet-ups considering critical issues and opportunities that are shaping foundation leaders’ work in art stewardship and in cultural philanthropy today. See the Forum schedule/overview here.

The 2026 edition of AEFI’s annual Forum is headlined: Meeting the Moment & Celebrating 20 Years of Impact. Registration, free of charge, is open exclusively to leaders, senior staff, and board members of AEFI’s member foundation as well as our individual Seminar alum members.

The Forum will be hosted by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Clyfford Still Museum, each providing a curator-led exhibition tour probing what art stewardship considerations arise when an artist’s legacy takes the form of a single-artist museum.

The Forum’s theme, Meeting the Moment, will be explored by two distinguished thought leaders:

  • Scientist and futurist Knatokie Ford, Ph.D., will examine how foundation directors can respond as leaders when challenges seem overwhelming.
  • Artist and philanthropist Theaster Gates will reflect on how we can draw on our core principles of sustaining creativity and community to stay true in our work.

Further elucidating the theme of Meeting the Moment, knowledgeable practice experts will join Artist-Endowed Foundation leaders in panel discussions, including Q&A, designed to examine four critical issues/opportunities currently facing the AEF community:

  • Navigating the AI Revolution, Its Threats and Its Potential
  • Engaging the Rising Generation, Sustaining Foundation Artists’ Relevance
  • Responding to the Challenging Policy Climate for DEI, Freedom of Expression, & Arts Funding
  • Charting a Path in This Art Market, Finding Opportunity Amid Turbulence

Peer-Hosted Breakout Rooms will provide dedicated spaces for AEF leaders to share and discuss lessons learned in their work across a wide range of practice issues inherent in leading and governing AEFs. Resourced-Breakout Rooms, hosted by expert practitioners, will provide designated spaces for AEF leaders to ask questions about a variety of issues critical to their organization’s effective operation.

As a reminder, this AEFI collegial program is open, with no-fee registration, exclusively to leaders, senior staff, and board members of AEFI’s member foundations as well as our individual Seminar alum members. Not yet an AEFI member foundation or Seminar alum member? It’s not too late. Check out the membership info here. 

Questions? Contact Christine J. Vincent at [email protected].

With Thanks to Our Event Sponsors

And AEFI’s Lead Underwriters: