PARTICIPANTS

Shelley Rubin

Shelley Rubin is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Rubin Museum of Art, and Founder and Chair of A Blade of Grass. Both of these cultural institutions share a deep interest in community engagement and expanding the audience for art. The Rubin Museum, one of the newest museums in New York City, offers an immersive environment in which to explore the ideas, cultures and art of Himalayan Asia. The Museum is known for its commitment to creative talks, films and concerts, as well as its education and community initiatives which explore the connections between art and cultures of the region to contemporary life and ideas. A Blade of Grass is the only funding nonprofit solely dedicated to nurturing socially engaged art, an exciting contemporary art practice that positions artists as leaders working directly within communities as creative change agents.

This work is grounded in Ms. Rubin's belief that art and cultural enrichment have the power to change lives in straightforward, practical ways. She works consistently at the intersection of art and social change, both in the two public arts organizations she has founded and as Co-Chair of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, which supports numerous cultural and humanitarian projects all over the world. She also serves on the boards of Thirteen/WNET and Human Rights Watch and is an emeritus Trustee of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center. She is a member of the Global Philanthropists Circle.