Prebys Announces $1.4M for the Far South/Border North, Artists and Cultural Practitioners

Foundation joins effort to help artists and cultural practitioners design public campaigns about health, climate, civic engagement, and social justice

Early in June, the Conrad Prebys Foundation announced it will contribute $1.4 Million to artists and cultural practitioners involved in the Far South/Border North (FSBN) program led by the City of San Diego. The effort provides grants to artists and cultural practitioners to support the creation of media, outreach, and engagement campaigns to increase public awareness of pressing challenges via a regional, open-call process.

In February, The Conrad Prebys Foundation announced a new region-based strategic plan to help build an inclusive, equitable, and dynamic future for all in the greater San Diego region. The plan prioritizes well-being and is highly dependent on making sure the communities facing the most barriers have access to the resources, shared vision, and collaborative infrastructure they need to thrive. Within the plan, the foundation describes the visual and performing arts as critical to social cohesion, belonging, and economic opportunity in San Diego​.

“The goals of this program simply could not be more aligned with the strategies that The Conrad Prebys Foundation just announced,” said Prebys Foundation CEO Grant Oliphant. “We believe a great arts community celebrates and lifts up its artists and turns to them for inspiration and hope. Artists bring an invaluable perspective to the urgent health, climate, and democracy challenges that define our times and will shape our shared future, and we are delighted to support them in that work.”

Further, the foundation's plan affirms the arts' importance in promoting mental and emotional well-being, increasing connectedness across communities, and strengthening narratives of belonging and inclusion.

“The artists who will design and carry out this exciting set of public awareness campaigns are exactly the voices we need to center to show how these issues connect to our collective commitment to justice,” said Kaberi Banerjee Murthy, Chief Impact Officer at the Prebys Foundation.

“We are also excited to join a community of funders to support this initiative instead of creating a separate effort as part of our strategic work. We are committed to developing deep partnerships with the nonprofit community, government partners, regional philanthropic colleagues, and individual leaders, and this effort allows us to be part of the community as we move and learn together.”

To learn more about the Far South/Border North initiative, please visit: www.sandiego.gov/far-south-border-north/about

About The Conrad Prebys Foundation

The Conrad Prebys Foundation is working to create an inclusive, equitable, and dynamic future for all San Diegans. In order to achieve this vision, we advance excellence and shared opportunity through investments in groundbreaking institutions, ideas, and people, so that in San Diego County, more people are financially secure, healthy, and empowered; communities are more uplifted and connected; and so that the institutions and systems that serve us offer equitable access to opportunity.

About the Far South/Border North Program

Far South/Border North is a California Creative Corps arts program for San Diego and Imperial counties led by the City of San Diego. Implementation partners include Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties, The San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition, The San Diego Foundation, and five nonprofit social see organizations. FSBN implementation is through a bi-county, regional collaborative, funded through a $4.75 million California Creative Corps grant from the California Arts Council.

To fuel positivity and support the social, environmental, and civic engagement of California’s most disproportionately impacted communities, the California Arts Council, in partnership with the State legislature, developed California Creative Corps.