Our VISION: For the past 20 years, the Foundation has invested in strategies to eliminate the idea of the ‘starving artist’. Under the Higher Education arm of the Foundation’s grantmaking programs, the MAC Scholarship program was successful in helping to mitigate student debt for 40 students to date, but we know this is just scratching the surface in terms of the number of artists in need. With an investment of over $1.6M dollars and two decades of awarding scholarships, we’ve experienced first-hand the rising cost of tuition. This has been a concern for many years now and it is limiting the number of students we can help. This, combined with the debt crisis, and the impact that GenAI is having and will continue to have for the next several years on artists and the arts field as a whole, the Foundation can no longer in good conscience continue ‘business as usual’.
We want to do more. We understand that in general carrying student debt can make it less likely for borrowers to be able to start a business, pursue their dream career, buy a home, or live life fully. This is especially true for artists, as earnings are on average lower and more variable for arts graduates when compared to graduates of many other fields. (Paulsen, 2023)
To address these needs collectively, the Foundation is excited to announce that we will pivot away FROM scholarship awards that support artists in school TO reverse scholarships that pay off student loan debt for artists who have GRADUATED art school and have earned an art degree.
We are proud to introduce the MAC Reverse Scholarship Program!
We feel this new philanthropic initiative will be one of the best ways to continue to help ensure artists not only survive but thrive.
Connecting dots. We understand that the arts world is small; that we are all interconnected and share similar passions to advance the field together. We realize that convening, networking, and learning together create opportunities to brainstorm and spark ideas and create artistic fire! This is the purpose behind the McMillen Artist Community (MAC). The MAC is a cohort of artists that the Foundation has supported through its scholarship and fellowship programs. To date, we’ve invested over $2.3 Million dollars and have helped 74 artists directly.
Artwork by: Alex L. Bennett
Artwork by: Ethan Claunch
Through our Art Scholarship & Fellowship programs we are able to directly impact the lives of individual artists; generating a ripple effect which will strengthen the economy, build vibrant communities, improve academic performance, and create a paradigm shift in the way people view artists and the arts.
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