Arts Funding & Residency News: Wallace Foundation Launches A4, Abrons Announces AIRspace Cohort, synchronicity Theater Welcomes Fellows
NEW YORK CITY – A surge of support for arts organizations and individual artists is underway, with announcements from the Wallace Foundation, Abrons Arts Center, and Synchronicity Theatre signaling expanded opportunities for creative development and community engagement.
The Wallace Foundation has launched Arts4All (A4), a new $50 million initiative designed to bolster the financial and organizational capacity of arts and cultural organizations serving communities across the United States. As part of its Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative, the program was developed with national Arts Regranting Partners. Over the one-year cycle, A4 will offer grantees a virtual cohort engagement model, fostering a national community of peer organizations for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and mutual support.
In New York City, Abrons Arts Center has named Shamar Watt and Cherrie Yu as the latest cohort of its Performance AIRspace residency. Watt,an interdisciplinary artist exploring liberation through sound,movement,and visual art,and Yu,a choreographer working across multiple mediums,will each receive a commission fee and premium access to studios and theatres. Their work will culminate in a live performance premiering at abrons Arts Center in 2026-27, supported by the Jerome Foundation.
Simultaneously occurring, in Atlanta, Synchronicity Theatre is expanding its team with a new fellows program funded through Arts Midwest‘s Shakespeare in American Communities grant. The inaugural fellows are Anaiyah Sabir (community engagement, partner & event development), kacie Luaders (community engagement, data analysis & messaging), and Parker Rawson (production). The program aims to increase Synchronicity’s outreach impact while providing professional development for the next generation of arts leaders.
Context: These announcements reflect a continued investment in the arts sector, recognizing its vital role in community well-being and artistic innovation. The Wallace Foundation’s A4 initiative addresses critical organizational needs, while residencies like Abrons’ Performance AIRspace and Synchronicity’s fellows program directly support individual artists and emerging professionals. These efforts contribute to a more vibrant and sustainable theatre ecology, as highlighted by Theatre Communications Group (TCG), which encourages support through membership to ensure continued quality arts journalism and advocacy.
