35 Stories with Esther Grimm

"I could write a few thousand words about the joy I experienced during the many years I served on ACA’s Board of Directors, but I agreed to keep this brief, so instead I’ll zero in on the two invincible women whose innate wisdom, elbow grease, and unstoppable vision built the organization and allowed it to take flight.

I arrived at ACA in the era of Caitlin Strokosch’s leadership and witnessed her hard work to stabilize the organization through a time of transition before helping it spread its wings and test its mettle. I often wondered if she ever slept; Caitlin tirelessly traveled to artist communities all over the world and was a kind of one-woman catalyst for collective learning, positive energy, and the formation of deep connections across the field. When she moved on to NPN, Lisa Funderburke took hold of the reins and, to carry on my metaphor, galloped into the future. Lisa’s internal compass for all things just and expansive has allowed her to chart the next generation of the organization with impressive steadiness and vigor. She has an uncanny way of seeing both the next step and the distant horizon at the same time. I am beyond lucky to have worked alongside Lisa and Caitlin—two of the truly fearless leaders of our age.

I hope you will look at the photographs above and see in their smiles how 'Welcome!' is at the heart of everything they have done and will still do to support artists, residency programs, creative freedom, and everything that matters most as we strive to care for the soul of humanity—art and the artists who make it."