Page 26 - The Indian EYE 061722

NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JUNE 17, 2022 | The Indian Eye 26

Ragamala Dance Company

Selected for National Arts Initiative Funded

by The Wallace Foundation

Five-year, $100 million initiative focuses on the relationship between

community orientation, resilience and relevance

OUR BUREAU lion across five years. While Wallace’s
support will not eliminate the need
MINNEAPOLIS, for the other funding that sustains
R agamala Dance Company Ragamala Dance Company and the

(Ranee
Ramaswamy
and
other grantee organizations, it does
Aparna Ramaswamy, Artis-
to explore new approaches to urgent
tic Directors) has been selected to help provide the time and resources
participate in the first phase of The challenges, including: succession
Wallace Foundation’s new five-year planning; developing equity-centered
arts initiative focused on arts orga- practices; developing values-aligned
nizations of color, created as part business models; increasing visibility;
of the foundation’s efforts to foster and creating cultural spaces that nur-
equitable improvements in the arts. ture the creativity and well-being of
Following an open call in 2021 that artists and communities served.
drew over 250 applicants, Ragamala First, Ragamala Dance Compa-
Dance Company was selected as one ny’s Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna
of 18 nonprofit organizations rep- Ramaswamy will embark alongside
resenting a diverse range of artistic the other grantees on a planning year
disciplines, geographic locations, and for their individual projects in part-
communities served. A nership with Wallace, researchers,
longside the other selected orga- consultants, and financial manage-
nizations, Ragamala Dance Compa- ment advisers. While the specifics
ny will receive five years of funding of each organization’s projects are
to develop and pursue a project to unique, there are some commonal-
address a strategic challenge. Re- ities and opportunities for shared
searchers will document each or- learning and support. Grantees will
ganization’s work with the aim of work with Wallace to name the ini-
developing useful insights about the tiative and identify any technical
relationship between community ori- supports they might need before be-
entation, resilience, and relevance. ginning four years of project imple-
mentation.
The Community Orientation
“It is an honor to be selected Action Research Team (COART),
for this inspiring new initiative, made up of researchers from Arizo-
and to be among so many other na State University and the Univer-
sity of Virginia, has been funded to
organizations doing vital work co-develop the initiative’s research

in the arts community,” said design with the grantees. The re-
search is expected to explore the
Aparna Ramaswamy, Ragamala initiative’s guiding question through
Dance Company. the lens of the projects that grantees
will implement over four years. Addi-
of South Asian artist thinkers and vocacy work to serve as a case study tionally, the Social Science Research
“We look forward to building leaders, evolving systems to include for future generations.” Council (SSRC) is overseeing a fel-
a robust partnership with The Wal- them during every stage of the artis- Originally announced in July lowship program for 18 early career
lace Foundation and entering these tic process: from commissioners and 2021 as a $53 million endeavor in- qualitative researchers, one of whom
next five years of innovation and funders to choreographers and de- volving about a dozen organizations, will be paired with Ragamala Dance
development. During this time, we signers. Through this process, we will Wallace has expanded the initiative Company to develop an ethnography
will further our commitment to the extensively document our artistic, or- to include additional grantees and that documents the organization’s
cultivation of the next generation ganizational, and research-based ad- planned funding of up to $100 mil- history, practices, and culture.

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