As the board chair of the National YoungArts Foundation, established by her grandparents Lin and Ted Arison in 1981, Sarah Arison represents the new wave of philanthropists who are using their position to address the issues of today. “The focus on the individual, not just institutions, is important to me,” says Arison, who took over as board chair of MoMA PS1 last year and became president of the American Ballet Theatre, in addition to serving on the boards of the Museum of Modern Art and Americans for the Arts.
The YoungArts Campus Jewel Box Photo: Greg Clark, Courtesy of National YoungArts Foundation
On the rise: “I just bought a piece by Adam Amram, who received the Daniel Arsham Fellowship through YoungArts. Daniel was also a YoungArts winner, and now he’s a mentor. Watching the growth of these incredible people excites me, and then they become mentors to the next generation.”
Spaghetti Junction (2020) by Adam Amram. Acrylic and Pigment on Canvas Photo: Courtesy of the Artist
2020 YoungArts Winner in Dance Tyrone Reese performing at New World Center in Miami as part of National YoungArts Week 2020 Photo: Em Watson courtesy of National YoungArts Foundation
Building community: “MoMA PS1 is focused on being artist-centric. We’re nimble and a smaller institution, so we can pivot quickly and take risks.”
MoMA PS1 Annual Benefit Honoring Sarah Arison, Simone Fattal, Titus Kaphar, and Reginald Dwayne Betts, June 2019. Photo: Austin Donohue
2020 YoungArts Winner in Visual Arts Destiny Moore with her work at the Design, Photography & Visual Arts Exhibition Opening at the YoungArts Campus in Miami as part of National YoungArts Week 2020 Photo: Gesi Schilling, Courtesy of National YoungArts Foundation
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A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2021 Spring Issue under the headline “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.
