Membership

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Dear Friends,

For over a decade Dactyl Foundation for the Arts & Humanities has provided an alternative to the traditional setting for learning and creativity. We bring artists of all types together with scientists of all types, historians, philosophers, art-lovers, and critics. What we do is more important now than ever. We need your help.

As resources have become scarce, many foundations that support the arts and humanities have had to target the widest audiences possible just to survive. Unfortunately this has lead to one-size-fits-all, not something for everyone. Funders—be they corporate, private or government—cannot afford to encourage what is now the smallest most overlooked minority in the United States. Support for artists and philosophers? Not when there isn't enough money for health care. So, if you find yourself among this unlucky group, where do you go for inspiration?

One might think that colleges and universities would provide artistic and intellectual stimulation for the adventurous, but they too have had to become more focused on giving the consumer what he/she wants: a degree that's good for employment, not education per se. At Dactyl, we understand that many problems today stem from a lack of creative insight into the complexities of our ecologies, social organizations, bodies, and thoughts. Interdisciplinary approaches, especially those that pair up art with science, are currently our best candidates for catalyzing transformation and growth.

While Dactyl Foundation strives to re-establish small intellectual and artistic niches—so crucial to the overall health of our society—at our threshold we are egalitarian. We welcome everyone. You don't need a degree or a background in any particular field. You only need to be curious and imaginative. The best way to help artists and researchers is to help build audiences for them. You can't have one group without the other.

In the past year, even with substantial funding cutbacks, Dactyl has actually added more quality programming, more hours open to the public, more access to an artistic and intellectual community. Every Friday we hold the CompostModern Discussion Forum, 4-6pm. With special guest participants from time to time, it's an intimate and cohesive group and together we're working out new ways to think about art, while some of us also forge ahead making it. Currently on view at Dactyl Foundation is a collection of some of the best work by Dactyl supported artists, for example Judy Glantzman, Helena Christensen, Neck Face, Yelena Yemchuk, and Sage Vaughn. In the not too distant future, we will be hosting the annual gathering for the International Society for Biosemiotic Studies. The topic will be no less than "meaning" in nature, advancing some answers to the question, What comes after Postmodernism? Additionally, we're adding a new award for undersung fiction, our semi-monthly open mic night continues to be popular, we have several featured poets scheduled for the spring as well as staged theatrical readings. Many exciting projects are on the horizon, and our audiences are as important as the art and research itself.

Begin your participation now by becoming a member and stop by next Friday if you can. We've got a lot of interesting and important work ahead of us. We can't do it without you.

Thanks in advance for your support. Dactyl Foundation is a 501 c3 organization, and your donation is fully tax-deductible.

Your friends in art and thought,

Victoria N. Alexander, PhD Neil Grayson

Research Visual Art

Membership

We offer various levels of membership:

Sponsor $10,000: all below+ receives invitations to exclusive events.

Benefactor $5,000: all below+ receives invitations to meet artists or to make studio visits.

Patron $1,000 all below+ reserved seating for limited events.

Sustaining $500: all below+ invitations to exhibition previews.

Friend $100: below+ mailing list including cards.

Member $20: mailing list via email and special Members-Only events.