The Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation’s activities focus on making grants to individual artists and to ensuring accessibility to arts education programs. Since 2010, the Foundation has made multi-year funding commitments to programs and organizations that support artists, enable youth arts education, and enhance quality of life for fragile populations including the elderly, veterans, and the disabled, through art-making experiences.
Chihuly Foundation Grantees
Artist Trust
Since 2010, The Dale & Leslie Chihuly Foundation has funded the Arts Innovator Award, an annual program which recognizes artists who demonstrate innovation in their art practice. The unrestricted awards of $25,000 are given to two Washington State artists of any discipline who are pushing the boundaries of their fields.
Hilltop Artists
Dale Chihuly co-founded Hilltop Artists in 1994 and continues to support the organization through the Foundation. Hilltop Artists connects young people to better futures by building confidence and personal expression through tuition-free glass art programs and mentorships in Tacoma and Franklin-Pierce School Districts.
Path with Art
The Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation provides annual grants to support Path with Art programs that transform the lives of adults recovering from homelessness, addiction, and other trauma through the power of creative engagement.
Classical KING FM
Leslie Jackson Chihuly serves as honorary co-chair of the Campaign for KING FM, which aims to fund a new home for the listener-supported classical music radio station on the Seattle Center Campus in 2020, and The Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation has made a financial commitment to this effort. Classical KING FM 98.1 is the only 24/7 classical music station in the Pacific Northwest. It reaches over 250,000 listeners from all backgrounds each week and partners with over 180 ensembles to make classical music available to all in our region.
Hot Shop Heroes™
Hot Shop Heroes leverages the therapeutic quality of glassblowing to help individuals with traumas and injuries that have occurred during military service. The concept for Hot Shop Heroes was inspired in part by Chihuly. The program was developed by Museum of Glass and operates in partnership with the Warrior Transition Unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and the American Lake Veterans Administration.
Aspen Institute
The Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation supports the Aspen Institute Artist-Endowed Foundation Initiative by assisting with the costs of its research and publication activities. These efforts are designed to generate and disseminate knowledge to strengthen the charitable impact of the artist-endowed foundation field in its art stewardship and cultural philanthropy roles.
Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA)
Dale Chihuly’s relationship with IAIA began in 1974 as a visiting teacher from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and subsequently, he helped to establish IAIA’s first glass program and taught glass blowing at the college for several years. The Chihuly Scholarship, underwritten by the Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation, is a four-year, full-ride scholarship covering tuition, room and board, programmatic expenses, and experiential learning opportunities for an Indigenous student within any full-time undergraduate major at IAIA who demonstrates exceptional talent and innovation. Announced in 2023, the Scholarship is dedicated to the memory of IAIA alum, glass artist Tony Jojola.
Video: 2024 Chihuly Scholarship Recipient
Seattle Rep
The Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation provides multi-year grants to Seattle Rep. Founded in 1963 and winner of the 1990 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Seattle Rep collaborates with extraordinary artists to create productions and programs that reflect and elevate the diverse cultures, perspectives, and life experiences of the Pacific Northwest. Nationally recognized programs include the New Play Program, Seattle Rep's Public Works, the Next Narrative Monologue Competition, Pay What You Choose, and numerous audience enrichment and engagement opportunities including post-play panels, discussions, and community events.
(Photo by Lindsay Thomas)