En Foco is the recipient of a $500,000 three-year grant from the Mellon Foundation, allowing the non-profit dedicated to promoting diversity in photography to move forward and grow by adding critically needed professional staff and enhancing artist and community programming.

As En Foco evolves into the next phase of its development as a premier advocate and supporter of underserved artists of color, the grant supports its growth over the next three years. Priority areas include capacity, collections, archival work, and strategic planning to build a sustainable infrastructure to ensure the organization’s long-term stability. A highlight is making En Foco’s rich historical archives more publicly accessible.

En Foco will continue to invest in and further promote the work of underserved artists to the broader public by boosting the preservation of the archives and building demand for its use.

“The Mellon Foundation will help En Foco to realize its potential in the investment in the artists and their growth,” said Bill Aguado, executive director of En Foco.“ The archives, which include En Foco’s signature Nueva Luz publications, provide an essential resource for understanding the rich legacy, history, and culture from En Foco’s roots as a socially conscious collective of Puerto Rican photographers in the 1970s to the increasingly diverse art organization En Foco is today.

“The Mellon Foundation grant affirms the importance of En Foco as a community arts organization, serving underserved artists while assuring that their archives are preserved and made available for current and future generations to appreciate,” Aguado said.  

“The Mellon grant is a validation of En Foco’s mandate to provide a supportive venue for the photographic arts,” said Frank Gimpaya, chairperson of En Foco’s Board of Directors. “What began as a simple gesture of faith on the part of a handful of Puerto Rican photographers 50 years ago has blossomed into a prized artist’s resource. I’m honored to have contributed to this effort.”

In the next three years, En Foco will focus its efforts on the following priority areas of its organization: capacity building, sustainability planning, and implementation for its stability.

The Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Through its grants, the Mellon Foundation seeks to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. More information at www.mellon.org 

For more information about En Foco, visit www.enfoco.org.