News

In an editorial, Valerie Rockefeller, former chair of the Fund and a great-great granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, explains the RBF’s rationale for joining the global shift toward divesting from fossil fuels and investing in clean energy businesses.

During one of two Composers Now residencies at The Pocantico Center in October 2014, composer and violinist Mari Kimura wrote "Breuer Vivant," a piece inspired by the historic Marcel Breuer House, and performed it at The Pocantico Center in February 2015.

Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, spoke at a seminar about philanthropy at the Terry Sanford Institute's Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society at Duke University in December 2014. Mr. Heintz discussed the Rockefeller family tradition of philanthropy, impact investing, and collaboration with other foundations, among other topics.

Known for their playful and unexpected choreography, Monica Bill Barnes and Company is a contemporary American dance company based in New York City. Two of its key members had the opportunity to participate in a week-long residency at The Pocantico Center in July 2013. In this video, the dancers talk about their creative process and how the time and setting helped to shape their pieces.

Ballet Hispanico explores the diversity of Latino culture through dance. In May 2013, six dancers and artistic director Eduardo Vilaro spent a week at the Rockefeller Brother Fund's Pocantico Center during a residency to advance Ballet Hispanico's creative growth and develop new work. In this video, Mr. Vilaro and the dancers reflect on the value of the retreat and the impact their surroundings have on their pieces.

The Investigative Reporting Workshop has released the trailer to its upcoming series, Years of Living Dangerously, which will air on Showtime in April 2014. The eight-part series examines the impact of climate change around the world, covering it from three angles: how it is affecting people, the politics that surround the issue, and solutions to address the problem.

Rina Castelnuovo's powerful photo essay in The New York Times on July 14, 2013, featured Palestinians and Israelis brought together by grief, after having lost loved ones killed in the region's conflict. The families were convened by Rockefeller Brothers Fund grantee the Parents Circle Families Forum.

Fossil fuel companies have been overvaluing coal and gas reserves resulting in a dangerously inflated investment bubble, according to the latest report released by the Carbon Tracker Initiative and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. With the 2010 agreement among governments to limit global warming to two degrees, the study's authors calculated that 60 to 80 percent of the oil, gas, and coal reserves listed on stock exchanges are unburnable.

Artists in Motion looks at the lives of four artists as they develop and share their struggles, inspirations, and creative work. The  artists include: Claudia Acuña, vocalist, The Jazz Gallery; Tania Bruguera, performance artist, Creative Time; Fran Romo, dancer, Gallim Dance; and Jose Zayas, director, Spanish Theatre Repertory Company.

Four of the Fund’s Charles E. Culpeper Arts and Culture grantees—Creative Time, Gallim Dance, Spanish Theatre Repertory Company, and The Jazz Gallery—are featured in the videos, which take the viewer from behind the scenes to actual performances.