The Soul of Nations Foundation is a for-purpose 501(c)3 organization that aims to uplift Indigenous peoples through various forms of media, innovative strategy, and youth-led initiatives. Our mission is to progress Indigenous and Black communities through the arts, research, and scholarship. We envision a world where all people of color are respected as contemporary societies and have greater access to equal opportunities in the following sectors: social, creative, academic, and economic.
The vision of the Foundation is to fund artists and researchers creating works of large scale with underlying vernacular media, similar to patronage systems of the Renaissance, to invite innovative perspectives of space reclamation and the evolution of cultural transformation over time.
PROGRAMS
All Soul of Nations Foundation programs aim to assist disadvantaged communities to explore and develop alternative relationships among people, place, space, environment, and the non-human; build trust and a sense of shared purpose among and within communities; develop new models of community organization, empowerment, and governance; expand collective imaginative capacity to envision new structures and processes for social relations; and use the expressive arts to inspire and shape alternative social, economic, and technological relations.
ART AND HUMANITIES
Our art and humanities program at the Soul of Nations Foundation synthesizes scholarly research, public programming, and interactive formats to promote critical dialogue on race, gender, and justice in both the United States and Italy. This initiative is founded on a research and process-oriented platform that not only emphasizes academic inquiry but also facilitates the development of professional networks. Furthermore, it champions sustainability through health and wellness methodologies, ensuring a holistic approach to community engagement.The program aims to empower Indigenous and Black communities by fostering alternative relationships among people, place, space, environment, and the non-human.
Our policy program is designed to empower emerging scholars to identify effective strategies for leveraging civil society’s skills, tools, and access to investigate and monitor policy reform initiatives. The program’s primary objective is to support at-risk minority communities within the policy development sector, with a focus on human rights, fundamental freedoms, governance, and environmentalism. This fellowship emphasizes the importance of inclusive advocacy and research methodologies that engage all affected parties. It is predicated on fostering genuine dialogue and collaboration between government agents and local community members. To achieve meaningful outcomes, the program prioritizes bottom-up, culturally appropriate engagement over top-down, centrally imposed models.
Our architecture program aims to facilitate the exploration and conceptualization of cultural intersectionality in relation to critical issues such as affordable housing, urban planning, environmental policy, and traditional architectural representation. This method induces collaborative processes that deepens the understanding of the concept of home as it relates to culture, post-colonial identity, environmental sustainability, and architectural design. The program seeks to foster alternative relationships among people, place, space, environment, and the non-human, thereby expanding collective imaginative capacities to envision innovative structures and processes for social relations.
GRANTS
The following program statements are now accepting applications. Please email apply@soulofnations.org with any questions.
DESIGN MENTORSHIP GRANTS
The Green Architecture Project will provide collaborative mentorship grants ranging from $5,000 – $10,000 for artists, educators, and architects. In order to be selected as mentor, please email apply@soulofnations.org to submit a detailed mentorship concept, along with a CV and portfolio, to be reviewed by the Soul of Nations Artist Advisory Board. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are reviewed three times per year (February 1, June 1, October 1).
CREATION GRANTS
Soul of Nations Foundation is committed supporting artists and environmental research fellowship grants for emerging scholars ranging from $5,000 – $10,000. All dramatic themes should be rooted in natural, environmentally friendly, and Indigenous or Afro-diasporic practices. In order to be selected as mentor, please email apply@soulofnations.org to submit your CV and portfolio to be reviewed by the Soul of Nations Artist Advisory Board. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are reviewed three times per year (February 1, June 1, October 1).
NEWS
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The Soul of Nations Foundation respectfully acknowledges that we currently operate on the ancestral lands of the Munsee Lenape, Piscataway, and Anacostan peoples, which have not been ceded. Thank you for your commitment to Indigenous and Black communities. Please, share our organization’s work with those in your network who are just as invested in BIPOC progression as we are.