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Supporting land conservation, artistic vitality, and regional collections for the people of the Chicago region and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Through grantmaking and other tools, the Foundation helps strengthen and sustain the communities in which we work by supporting equitable and inclusive access and engagement with land, art, and collections.

LAND CONSERVATION

Natural lands; preserved and restored on a landscape scale — are critical to the well-being of wildlife, plant life, and human communities.

ARTISTIC VITALITY

Arts organizations; creatively accomplished and operationally strong — are the backbone of our regions’ artistic vitality.

COLLECTIONS

Collections; accessible to the public and creatively interpreted, urge us to consider where we’ve been, where we are now and where our next steps might take us.

GDDF News

Explore recent news and stories from the Foundation, grantees, and partners.

Performances and Exhibitions | December 2019

New Study Reveals Significant Impact of Chicago’s Storefront Theatres

Photos of Theater Y, Babes With Blades, Silk Road Rising in Chicago Sun-Times article

David Farren, Executive Director in The Chicago Sun-Times

Get Social

Follow GDDF on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter to see what exciting things we have been up to!

gddonnelley

Supporting land conservation, artistic vitality, & regional collections for the people of the Chicago Region & Lowcountry of South Carolina.

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Celebrating 30 years of the ACE Basin Task Force, a group created to engage public / private conservation of the lands around the confluence of the Ashepoo, Combahee, & Edisto rivers (ACE). As human development creeps up from Savannah, GA and down from Charleston, SC, the reserve now has "more than 300,000 acres under some form of protection... [and] its value as a refuge continues to grow as species decline elsewhere." #LandConservation #ACEbasin #Lowcountry #SouthCarolina #wetlands
https://bit.ly/36bwmOS [📷 from GDDF archives]

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Five years ago, we visited a lot in the Pullman neighborhood that had been vacant since the 1930s, flanked by two historic buildings, also vacant. A bit outside our usual grantmaking, we saw the potential, and awarded pre-development funds to @artspaceusa. This week, the Pullman Artspace Lofts welcome their first tenant to this artist live / work space. It's an exciting time for this South Side neighborhood, which is also a @NationalParkService #NationalMonument .
https://www.artspace.org/pullman
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#ArtisticVitality #CommunityDevelopment #pullman #ArtistSpace #ChicagoRegion #SouthSide

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West Town/Noble Square is home to grantees Artistic Home Acting Ensemble, Pegasus Theatre Chicago, and Chicago Dramatists. They all dedicate themselves to illuminating the human journey by telling great stories with imaginative theater and well-developed writing. Small theaters are at the heart of our vibrant cultural experience of Chicago.

#ArtisticVitality
#YearofChicagoTheatre
#2019isYOCT
#ChiTheatre
#TheatreThursdays 📷 from Jitney, Pegasus Players, 2018

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Over 40 of our small theater grantees served 267,400 patrons last season, about 10% of the population of Chicago. Chris Jones at The Chicago Tribune calculates that to be $80 million in storefront economic impact.
And... scene! 🎭
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https://bit.ly/341BmVw
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#ArtisticVitality #ChicagoRegion #2019isYOCT
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📷 @ARedOrchidTheatre

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The Den Theatre is a great model for smaller theaters because “Creating your own space from the ground up is so expensive,” said Elise Marie Davis, the artistic director of Broken Nose Theatre. “It’s been wonderful being one of the companies to thrive in [#WickerPark] and bring more diverse and economically accessible theater in that area.” They're in residence along with grantees First Floor Theater and The New Colony and a couple other groups.

A number of other theater grantees have performed at or been in residence at the Den through the years.

http://bit.ly/2XjnOlV

#ArtisticVitality #2019isYOCT #ChicagoRegion #ChiTheater