Provisions is committed to exploring new models for art and culture that lead to a more inclusive, equitable, and connected society.
From its library home in George Mason University’s School of Art in Fairfax, Virginia, Provisions’ educational and research programs produce socially-engaged projects at sites throughout the US Capitol Region and across the globe. Projects include exhibitions, public art, residencies, screenings, workshops, lectures, curricula and publications. Participants include artists, activists, academics, students, professionals from a variety of disciplines, and everyday people.
Provisions partners with organizations, artists, scholars, activists and students to develop and amplify new narratives and experiences across cultures utilizing grassroots modes of creative action to build knowledge of social change in its artistic and creative dimensions. The library, public programming, and research opportunities host artistic, intellectual, and activist endeavors that explore the educational and social promise of contemporary culture.
Vision and Mission
We want to live in a world in which people can access information from a variety of sources and in which people are more open and receptive to different perspectives and views.
We want to inspire people to look at art as a source of information and as an educational tool.
We introduce art and artists that express, reveal, and document compelling, powerful, and moving stories.
These experiences create new awareness and understanding across the culture of how individual voices and visions can influence societies.
Meet the Team
STAFF
Donald Russell (President, Executive Director, and Co-Founder)
Contact: donaldrussell@gmail.com, drusse10@gmu.edu
Graduate Assistant
Soojung Paek
Contact: spaek2@gmu.edu
INTERNS
Esther Maria Perez Rosales
VOLUNTEERS
William M. Barker, Savi Alam
DESIGN FELLOWS
Nancy Jamison
CURRENT RESEARCH FELLOWS
Chongha Peter Lee, Diana Guzijan, and James Huckenpahler
Board of Directors
Donald Russell, President, Executive Director, and Co-Founder
John Feffer, Vice President
Tom Ashcraft, Secretary & Treasurer
Provisions’ History
Provisions was founded by Gaylord Neely (President, Gaea Foundation) in 2001 with a five- year seed grant to bring about social change by identifying and amplifying compelling voices of thinkers, writers, and artists from around the world.
The Provisions Research Center for Arts & Social Change has evolved through different phases in its history.
It was established in 2001 with a grant from the Gaea Foundation, aiming to amplify voices of thinkers, writers, and artists for social change. During this time, the concept of meridians emerged, guiding the exploration of art and social change through intersectional thinking.
From 2006 to 2011, the Provisions engaged in experimental art projects in Dupont Circle.
In 2011, it found a home at George Mason University, bridging academia and the art world. Throughout its journey, the Provisions has remained committed to fostering dialogue and promoting social change through art, research, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
People with Provisions in History
EMERITUS BOARD MEMBERS
Gaylord Neely (Founder, Psychologist), Caroline Small (Writer, Editor, Researcher), Gareth Branwyn (Writer), Gita Drury (Philanthropic Advisor), Jeff Leasure (Attorney), Kinshasha Holman Conwill (Museum Administrator), Lea-Ann Bigelow (Financial Administrator, Art Historian), Mark Rosenzweig (Librarian), Rita Thapa (Professor), Robert Moossy (Attorney), and Tom Ashcraft (Sculptor, Public Artist, Professor)
PAST ADVISORS
Alice Myatt, JoAnne LaSala, and Lisa Witter
PROJECT PARTNERS
George Mason University; Cultivate Amherst!!; Goethe-Institut-Washington; The Kennedy Center; The Phillips Collection; The National Gallery of Art, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; The National Portrait Gallery; Mexican Cultural Institute; Museo de Antioquia (Medellín, Colombia); UMBC Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture; Dupont Underground; Kulturpark; Elsewhere; Furthermore; Art in Embassies; City As Living Laboratory; and others.
FUNDING PARTNERS
Gaea Foundation; George Mason University; Quixote Foundation; Metabolic Studio; Trust for Mutual Understanding; Open Society Foundations; Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts;Lambent Foundation; Nathan Cummings Foundation; Humanities Council of Washington DC; Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities; National Endowment for the Arts; Angelina Fund; Arca Foundation; Bell Family Foundation; Broad Art Foundation; Creative Communities Fund of the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region; CrossCurrents Foundation; Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation; Peter Norton Family Foundation; Stewart R. Mott Charitable Trust; Tides Foundation.
PAST STAFF
Adam Griffiths, Angela Goerner, Blair Murphy, Dave Wiecking, Del Hornbuckle, Genevieve Villamora, Luis Edgardo Cotto, Maribel Torres-Piñero, Niels Van Tomme, Peggy Kroutil, Sita Reddy, and Terry Scott
PAST FELLOWS
Stephanie Sherman (Research Residencies Program), Edgar Endress (Floating Lab Collective), Nicolas Dumit Estevez (Balkans Project), Pedro Lasch (Naturalizations Project); Paul Farber (Scholar, Monument Lab), Will Kent (Library Practices), John Feffer (Balkans Project), Michael Loadenthal (Movement Archives, George Mason University, School for Conflict Analysis & Resolution), Olivia Georgia (Balkans Project), James Huckenpahler (Artist), Laura McGough (Scholar), Ding Ren (Artist), Steve Rowell (Public Art Practices), Lynn Sowder (Scholar), Anne Sullivan (Scholar), Jon Winet (Artist)
PAST INTERNS
Fithi Abraham, Wanchen Zhao, Drew Schaeffer, Julia King, Marice Sy, Evelyn Seay, Andrew Hetrick, Elena Goukassian, Damaris Martinez, Paula Matallana, Angela Douglas, Kevin Moss, Melisse Ilhan, Valdi Sica, John Costa, Amy Tasillo, Lindsay Hawks, Katherine English, Mary Donovan, Christian Jaskolka, Matthew Klise, Yago Hunt-Laudi, Evelina Scott, Alys N. Sink, Sloane Taylor, Jonathan Hawks, Jonathan Garnett, Hannah Klein, Krystle Okafor, Anthony Golan-Vilella, Miranda Gendel, Dandan Luo, Taylor Waites, Ari Anisimova, Susannah Blair, Kelley Bostwick, Jacob Chamberlain, Sam Dollenmayer, Andrew Farquhar, Angela Goerner, James Greisler, Annie Immediata, Harmony Lamm, Roc Lee, Caitlin Munro, Stela Nenova, Shannon Post, Jacqueline Protka, Luke Stacks.