LINC

LINC has been a valued resource and partner throughout my tenure at the Ford Foundation. Planning for LINC was underway when I arrived here in 2002, and it's been my great fortune and pleasure to be a part and supporter of LINC's arc of work-from its early investments in the Creative Communities and health care reform to the Artography and Space fo... r Change programs. Throughout LINC's history, it has embodied certain key values. The most important of these has been its commitment to cultural diversity. LINC's work has contributed in important ways to our understanding of how changing demographics are changing the aesthetic practices of artists and communities. Its partner list is one of the most diverse imaginable-from the International Sonoran Desert Alliance to Elizabeth Streb, from Urban Bush Women to PA'I Foundation in Hawaii to Casita Maria in the Bronx. This is one of the reasons we turned to LINC when we were developing our ideas for a new initiative focused on changing aesthetics in a changing America. LINC was a true thought partner in developing and implementing Artography. And LINC's early work on space for artists helped inform Ford's thinking about investing in artist-centered cultural spaces, especially in communities of color, and ultimately the Space for Change initiative. Another important value that LINC has upheld is a commitment to continuous learning. This can be seen in the numerous research reports that LINC commissioned, but also in the dynamic, multi-facted learning community that LINC built and sustained. LINC's trust in the knowledge and experience of its partners meant that it emphasized cross-community and cross-institution sharing, which speeded both its partners' learning and the creation of new networks of inter-disciplinary practitioners across the country. I hear all the time from LINC groups about how they are sharing knowledge with each other, and now have networks of colleagues they didn't know previously. Another value that distinguishes LINC is flexibility and ...Read More