Thoma Foundation Special Project Funding Grant

Summary

The Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation offers Special Project Funding to support innovative initiatives in the arts, particularly in under-resourced areas. This grant encourages collaborative projects that enhance community engagement and education, focusing on art exhibitions and scholarships in the greater Texas Panhandle. By fostering leadership and creativity, the Foundation aims to empower individuals and organizations to make a lasting impact in the fields of art and art history.

Overview

Carl and Marilynn Thoma founded the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation in 2014, renamed the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation in 2021 to reflect expanded philanthropic efforts, including the Thoma Scholars Program, which aims to strengthen community, leadership, and education initiatives in under-resourced and rural areas. The Foundation makes art collection-related grants, as well as lending and exhibiting its own collection. Education funding focuses on the rural Southwest, primarily offering scholarships to students in the greater Texas panhandle. Through these giving programs, the foundation strives to foster leadership, innovation, and equal opportunity.

Eligibility

The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations whose innovative projects and original ideas will advance scholarship in our collection areas. They accept Letters of Inquiry on a rolling basis for bold proposals that provide promising insights into the fields of art which they collect.

Focus Areas and Collections

• Art of the Spanish Americas: 17th to 19th centuries, principally paintings from South America, including works on religious themes and portraits from the Viceroyalty of Peru and Spanish Caribbean.
• Digital & Media Art: Over 400 artworks by more than 138 artists, representing a global history from 1959 to the present. Highlights specific achievements of modern computers and supports art created with pioneering and emerging time-based technologies.
• Japanese Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo baskets representing both independent artists and bamboo artists from Nitten (Japan Fine Arts Exhibition) and Nihon Kogeikai (Japan Craft Arts Association).
• Post-War Painting & Sculpture: Mid-century global abstract art centered around the years 1950–79 and major movements including Color Field, Hard Edge, Op, Washington Color School, Light & Space, and shaped canvas.