In 1990 Robert Rauschenberg formed a foundation in his name to promote awareness of  the causes and groups close to his heart. Activities of the foundation have included grant
making, educational programs, as well as prints and campaigns to benefit environmental and humanitarian initiatives. Today the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation’s (RRF) vision,mission and strategy are coordinated to promote the artist’s values and to ensure that all endeavors express the essence of Rauschenberg’s philosophy: “Art can change the  world.”

Founded in 2010, Marfa Dialogues is the product of Ballroom Marfa and the Public Concern Foundation. Struck by the interdisciplinary learning their initial collaboration generated, RRF resourced a redux of the Marfa Dialogues by inviting the organizations to bring this platform to NYC in 2013 with a focus on the topic of climate change. To be sure that the chorus of voices on this important topic would be broad and diverse, RRF resourced 18 additional grantees to mount unexpected and far-reaching programs that would provide multiple points of entry to what can be a daunting subject.

The result is an ambitious exhibition centered on our changing environment that Ballroom Marfa will mount in the Rauschenberg Project Space (located in Chelsea), along with a host of complementary public programs—from panel discussions and performances to staged works and exhibitions—organized by cultural and scientific institutions across NYC. Our investment in this effort to better understand a complex scientific challenge through a cultural lens, as well as our partnership last year with the Lambent and Andy Warhol Foundations to address the needs of the cultural community  following Superstorm Sandy, exemplify our belief in the value of collaboration and sustain our founder’s deep concern for the health of our environment.

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Special Thanks

Ballroom Marfa
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation
The Public Concern Foundation