Philanthropy as Defender of Culture

Words (and an urgent call to action) by GP President Rafael González:

This week, I had the honor of speaking at the Southern California Grantmakers Conference, under the theme Act of Courage. The session, “Reimagining Philanthropy in Defense of Culture Work, History, and Civil Society”, featured Jim Herr, Director of the National Center for the Preservation of Society, was moderated by Álvaró Márquez, Senior Officer, Communications & Arts of the California Community Foundation, and included my fellow panelist Ann Burroughs, President & CEO of the Japanese American National Museum (JANM).

Jim, Rafael, Ann and Alvaro

In times of political pressure and cultural erasure, the arts are a force for justice. Among many things, they bring joy, and joy itself is an act of resistance. The arts are where memory, belonging, and democracy converge. Just as importantly, they are woven into our everyday lives, shaping how we gather, heal, and imagine.

At Grand Performances, we see art as civic infrastructure, as essential to democracy as roads and schools. Our stage is a public commons where Angelenos gather freely to see themselves reflected and affirmed. It’s where our stories come alive. From the film screening of The Great Dictator to the poetry series of She Speaks, from the orchestral celebration of California Love to the current relevancy of J-Town/Bronzeville Suite, our programming this past season pushed back against amnesia and uplifted stories too often erased.

We cannot do this work alone.

One of the points I made on the panel was for philanthropy to be more than a funder. We need you as allies, defenders, and our biggest advocates. Help us build a big tent for culture and the arts. One wide enough to hold the innovative creativity emerging from our communities alongside traditional art spaces. Culture is everywhere, and it must be funded everywhere.

We know funders have their priorities, and too often the arts fall lower on the list. The truth is that the arts intersect with education, public health, justice, and civic life. Supporting the arts strengthens every one of those priorities.

What’s needed for the arts to thrive is sustained, flexible funding that affirms the arts as civic investment…investing directly in people, in communities, and in a just and shared future. Support that pays artists and crews fairly, bolsters the work behind the stage, and values cultural workers whose daily labor already shapes civil society.

Playing it safe is not neutral. It perpetuates harm. In this climate, we are all targets. We must take action together. The real danger isn’t backlash. It’s becoming irrelevant. Institutions and funders that stay silent in times of crisis lose their moral authority and their place in the civic fabric.

Because what’s at stake is bigger than the arts. It’s democracy itself.