The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts | Core Values

Mission: In accordance with Andy Warhol’s will, the mission of the Foundation is the advancement of the visual arts.

About:

As one of the stewards of Warhol’s legacy, we embody the independent and forward-thinking spirit of our founder in everything we do from our innovative and flexible grants program, to our creative and responsible licensing policies, and in our scholarly research for ongoing catalogue raisonné projects.

Our grants support artist-centered organizations, the creation of new work, and/or projects that we believe will lead to significant contributions in the visual arts field. The program is notable for its accessibility and its responsiveness to the evolving needs of artists. Our catalogues raisonnés are rigorously researched studies of Warhol’s artistic practice, and demonstrate his enduring importance in contemporary culture. At the same time, our unique approach to licensing celebrates the continued global influence of Warhol’s unconventional character and ensures his work is available to a wide audience.

Core Values:

Visual art and artists are at the center of our work. We believe in the intrinsic value of experimental artistic practice and promote artistic participation in cultural conversations at the highest level.

We value risk-taking; we stand behind work that is challenging in nature, and encourage others to do the same.

We acknowledge our culture’s systemic marginalization of artists because of race, gender, religion, age, ability, sexual orientation, and/or immigration status among other factors. We actively seek to highlight the work of under-represented practitioners and support efforts to address entrenched inequities.

We believe freedom of artistic expression is fundamental to an open and enlightened democracy and are committed to promoting and defending it.

Andy Warhol was an avant-garde artist and a philanthropic visionary; his life, work, and directive to establish a Foundation for “the advancement of the visual arts” are a testament to that. We honor his cultural influence in our core values and all of the Foundation’s activities.