The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation’s climate initiative has awarded 83 new grants totalling $4.5 million to visual arts organisations in the US and Puerto Rico.
Launched in 2021, the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative (FCI) has provided more than $21.8m in funding to nearly 300 visual art institutions, advancing an industry-wide shift towards climate action by supporting energy-efficiency and clean energy projects.
The full list of 2026 grantees can be found here, with large-scale museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art among those receiving funding.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is among those receiving funding from the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative
In addition to major institutions, grantees include community-based organisations such as Racing Magpie in South Dakota, art schools such as the Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency in Michigan, and artist-endowed foundations, including the Edward and Nancy Kienholz Foundation in Idaho.
In Puerto Rico, three grantees are addressing the territory’s grid vulnerability through solar and battery storage projects. These include Barrioization in ManatĂ, Espacio Santurce in San Juan, and the Museo de los Santos y Arte Nacional, also in San Juan.
"The Frankenthaler Climate Initiative reveals what is possible when arts and culture organisations commit to taking environmental responsibility seriously," said Lise Motherwell, chair of the board of directors of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.
"In this sixth cycle, we are proud to see that commitment deepen and diversify – reaching a more dynamic range of grantees than ever before."
Supporting clean energy projects
Marking the highest proportion since FCI’s launch, 46 percent of funded organisations are returning grantees. The figure indicates that the programme’s staged-support model is helping institutions sustain and advance their sustainability work over multiple years.
"FCI’s staged-support model enables institutions to grow their commitment to sustainability over time and advance their projects to have multifold effects," said Elizabeth Smith, executive director of the foundation.
"Nearly half of this year’s cohort are returning grantees, many of whom are using infrastructure as anchors for community resilience, connecting environmental action to justice and belonging in ways that are deeply mission-driven."
Images courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
