“The arts belong to everyone.” That conviction of our co-founder, Lila Wallace, has defined two decades of The Wallace Foundation’s work in the arts: supporting effective, innovative ideas and practices that bring the benefits and pleasures of the arts to more people, especially adults and children who might never otherwise experience them.

This two-pronged approach is grounded in principles that were strongly affirmed by Gifts of the Muse, a widely heralded Wallace-commissioned report published in 2004 by RAND. First, arts participation takes many forms and confers a wide range of benefits on both individuals and communities. And second, these benefits will be most fully realized if people have meaningful arts experiences as children. For a copy of this report, click here.

In each of Wallace’s three current areas of activity — arts participation, education leadership and out-of-school learning — we seek to create widespread change by sharing lessons that public and private institutions can use to promote benefits for the people they serve. Please visit the Arts Participation section of Wallace’s Knowledge Center to download publications that offer field-based insights. 

Partner institutions

In each of its three focus areas, The Wallace Foundation supports public and private institutions that are committed to pursuing innovative ideas and practices. Wallace funds their work so that their experiences and lessons can ultimately help the field nationwide.

For more information about Wallace’s grant policies and restrictions, see our Funding Guidelines page. To download publications that can help further your own organization’s work, please visit the Knowledge Center.