Mellon Foundation and Urban Bush Women Celebrate Partnership with Transformative Grant
In celebration of the company’s past, present, and future, Mellon has awarded Urban Bush Women a transformative multi-year grant.
The Urban Bush Women Company in Haint Blu | Photo by Hayim Heron
Brooklyn, NY — Urban Bush Women (UBW) is proud to announce that the Mellon Foundation has awarded the organization a three-year $2 million grant– a commitment that will propel UBW’s capacity to move into its next decade of work with clarity and ambition. As UBW celebrates its 40th anniversary, this grant is more than financial support—it is a validation of our decades-long commitment to inspiring collective action and change, and an affirmation of our bold vision for the company we dream of being at our 50th anniversary.
“This moment is a powerful affirmation of the work we have done and the work we are yet to do,” says UBW Founder and 2021 MacArthur Foundation Fellow Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. “The Mellon Foundation’s support allows us to dream bigger, push further, and deepen our impact in ways we’ve only imagined. UBW has always been about transformation—of individuals, of communities, of the very systems that shape our world. With this grant, we move forward with even greater purpose, ready to build a future where art and social change are inextricably linked.”
“We are grateful for the bold partner that Mellon has been to Urban Bush Women over the years. This gift comes at a time of deep transformation for our organization, and it supports our ability to dance into this next decade rooted and energized,” said Executive Director Michele Kumi Baer.
According to Dance/USA, only 11 percent of dance organizations operating today are 40 years or older. In the face of these odds—stacked even more heavily against organizations led by and serving people of color, and Black women in particular—UBW continues to contribute to the vibrancy of the dance ecosystem four decades after its founding.
Since its founding in 1984 by visionary choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, UBW has brought the power of Black Women+ to the forefront—shifting perceptions in dance, challenging social norms, and sparking meaningful change. Now directed by artistic leaders Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis, UBW continues to be an engine and amplifier for the stories of Black Women+.
For years, Mellon’s generous support has fueled UBW’s artistic vision, innovative programming, and field-building initiatives. Since 1999, Mellon has invested over $1.6M in UBW’s growth across the apprentice program, the Choreographic Center Initiative, and general operating support.
This partnership with Mellon marks an exciting chapter in UBW’s legacy as a leader in the arts and social activism. We are boldly envisioning what tomorrow will look like for the next generation of UBW’s artists, leaders, and organizers for justice.
"The power of Urban Bush Women's past legacy and bright future is undeniable," said Mellon Foundation Program Officer Stephanie Ybarra. "Mellon is proud to celebrate our partnership in the midst of this seminal moment for the organization."
In an era of growing division and isolation, UBW embraces radical storytelling to activate societal transformation. Whether creating genre-defying work for the stage, guiding the development of Black Women+ choreographers and producers, organizing for justice through artmaking, UBW is an innovator, operating at the vanguard.
We have pursued these priorities for decades, and this generous support from the Mellon Foundation will help us deepen and expand our impact in the decade to come.
ABOUT URBAN BUSH WOMEN
URBAN BUSH WOMEN (UBW) is a groundbreaking Black women-led theatrical dance company and social activism ensemble founded in 1984 by visionary choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Through its mission of engaging with artists, activists, audiences, and communities through performances, artist development, education, and community engagement, the award-winning nonprofit has performed throughout the United States, as well as Asia, Australia, Canada, Germany, South America, Europe and Senegal (in collaboration with Germaine Acogny and her all-male Compagnie JANT-BI). UBW has been an engine and amplifier for the stories of Black Women+ for forty years. UBW affects the overall ecology of the arts by promoting artistic legacies; projecting the voices of the under-heard and people of color; bringing attention to and addressing issues of equity in the dance field and throughout the United States; and by providing platforms and serving as a conduit for experimental art makers. Signature programs run by UBW include the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), BOLD (Builders, Organizers & Leaders through Dance) and the Choreographic Center Initiative (CCI) and the CCI Producing Program (CCI 2.0). Now directed by artistic leaders Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis, UBW combines radical performance, deep engagement, and ancestral knowledge from the African diaspora into a force that is urgent, forward-looking, and essential. www.urbanbushwomen.org
ABOUT THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Makeda Smith
Marketing Manager
Urban Bush Women
info@urbanbushwomen.org
(718) 398-4537
urbanbushwomen.org
