News Release – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2025
Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) Awarded $350,000 Grant to Strengthen Organizational Capacity, Sustainability, and Global Collaboration
The Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) has received a $350,000 General Operating Support grant from the Mellon Foundation, marking a transformative investment in the organization’s continued growth, capacity building, and leadership in advancing scholarship, ethical museum practices, and artistic exchange in African art studies.
As the only professional organization based in the United States dedicated to the study of African arts, ACASA has, for more than four decades, supported scholars, artists, curators, and museum professionals across the world. This new three-year award builds on ACASA’s prior Mellon-funded capacity-building initiatives (2022–2025), ensuring sustained administrative and strategic development while expanding global engagement and fostering ethical stewardship of African art collections.
Grant-Supported Initiatives
The Mellon Foundation’s support will enable ACASA to:
- Sustain key administrative leadership by continuing the role of an Arts Administrator/Project Manager to oversee strategic planning, governance, and event delivery.
- Host the 20th Triennial Symposium on African Art in Rabat, Morocco (July 2027) in collaboration with Université Mohammed V, expanding ACASA’s global footprint and fostering cross-continental dialogue.
- Launch a Provenance Research Training Workshop Program in partnership with leading museums to strengthen ethical research capacity and transparency.
- Partner with Matrix at MSU to support the “Making United States African Art Collections Accessible and Visible” (MUSAA) digital initiative — an aggregator connecting users, especially those based in Africa, with data on African artworks in U.S. collections.
- Create a long-term sustainability plan in partnership with nonprofit consultants to diversify funding streams and ensure ACASA’s financial independence.
These initiatives align with the Mellon Foundation’s commitment to supporting historically under-resourced organizations and advancing new models that reflect a holistic approach to social and cultural change.
Please direct inquiries to ACASA President Amanda M. Maples at president@acasaonline.org.
About the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA)
The Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) is the leading U.S.-based professional organization dedicated solely to the study and promotion of African and African Diaspora arts. Founded in 1981, ACASA’s mission is to foster greater understanding of African material and expressive culture in all its myriad forms and to encourage ongoing collaboration among artists, scholars, curators, museum professionals, students, and global communities. Through its core initiatives—including the Triennial Symposium on African Art, awards for teaching, curatorial and publication excellence, webinars, museum- and artist-centric resources, and its Collaboration, Collections, and Restitution Best Practices for North American Museums Holding African Objects (CCRBP) document—ACASA creates dynamic forums for exchange, supports the ethical stewardship and visibility of African art, and advances equity, access, and dialogue in the field. For more information about the organization, its activities, and its global membership, visit www.acasaonline.org.
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab