PNC has long understood the unique and crucial role that arts organizations play in fostering discussions on the most complex matters of our time and helping advance diversity in thought. The arts have been pivotal to affecting social change, and PNC’s unwavering commitment to the arts acknowledges this inherent strength. Within Greater St. Louis, PNC’s long-standing collaboration with the Arts and Education Council provides organizations with crucial funding for arts and education programs that address community needs. With support from the PNC Foundation, the Arts and Education Council administers the stARTup Creative Competition, which infuses financial and incubation support into new local arts organizations that offer creative approaches to arts access and programming.
David Rockefeller pARTnership Award
Thanks to a four-year commitment from the David Rockefeller Foundation, the winning arts organization or artist will be awarded $2,500 in recognition of their work.
"Our hope with the project, “Lakota in America,” is to shed some light on an organization that is providing young people access to fundamental tools that create opportunity for a vibrant and more secure future. Access is not purely a means of generating financial wealth. The program places strong emphasis on the value of cultural wealth through art in an apprenticeship model. By honoring heritage, CRYP is empowering the next generation of Lakota and fostering a collective sense of self-worth among the youth."
– Kevin Burke, CMO, Square
“We’re deeply grateful to Square for commissioning the ‘Lakota in America’ film project, and for working so closely with us to help raise awareness and generate support for Cheyenne River’s young people. They showed us so much respect, and they honored us by giving us the opportunity to tell our own story.”
– Julie Garreau, Executive Director, Cheyenne River Youth Project
Square, Inc., the payment and financial services company led by CEO Jack Dorsey, has changed the way businesses process transactions. Square products have become commonplace in many American businesses as point of sale hardware and software help businesses grow through managing inventory, locations, and employees—as well as providing access to financing, invoicing, appointments, and more.
Armed with an essential understanding of corporate responsibility and funding to make a difference, Square has been partnering with various organizations that aim to empower the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2017, Square launched a film series, “For Every Kind of Dream,” which highlighted the stories of small businesses that are working towards success. Thus far, the company has shared four stories: “Yassin Falafel,” “Made in Iowa,” “Sister Hearts,” and “Lakota in America.” The latter focuses on Genevieve Iron Lighting in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, and her participation in the Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP), a nonprofit on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation that provide youth and family services to its community.
After years of discrimination and prejudiced policies against American Indians, Cheyenne River community members continue to be greatly impacted by poverty and unemployment.CRYP, founded by Cheyenne River Sioux tribal member Julie Garreau, intends to empower the next generation of community members while instilling a sense of pride in Lakota culture. Through its innovative teen internships in social enterprise, native food sovereignty, indigenous cooking, wellness and the arts, Cheyenne River teens learn critical job and life skills while also embracing Lakota culture and values. According to Garreau, “[The more] viable economic skills to go along with an appreciation for their powerful heritage [young people have], the better the odds are that this generation of young people will be able to pull the whole tribe up.”
Through economic and cultural empowerment, these teens are prepared to make a difference in both their own lives and in their community. Due to her participation in CRYP’s teen internship program, Genevieve Iron Lighting was hired for her first job in the organization’s Keya Cafe (where they use Square) and continues to perform traditional Lakota dance. “I just feel like when I dance I can help keep my culture alive; I feel like I’m in touch with my ancestors and the past generations,” she explained.
In 2016, CRYP announced the opening of its Waniyetu Wowapi Lakota Arts Institute. The Eagle Butte campus offers dance and art studios, regular classes and workshops with guest and local artists, and the public Waniyetu Wowapi Art Park, which features an outdoor stage. CRYP also hosts the annual RedCan invitational graffiti jam, a celebration of both graffiti and Lakota culture. This groundbreaking event has received the Robert E. Gard Award, which is presented by Americans for the Arts to programs that are working at the intersection of arts and community life.
By collaborating with organizations such as CRYP, Square is able to share meaningful stories of the dreams of business owners across America. Square is using its platform to to spread awareness for the arts and to foster economic empowerment.
Uniqlo and The Museum of Modern Art
New York, NY
Global apparel retailer, UNIQLO, believes in truly great clothes – clothes that meet the demands of a wide group of people around the world and which play a role in changing customers’ lifestyles. The company, with over 1,800 stores worldwide, oversees the entire clothes-making process from procurement of materials, product planning, development, design and manufacture through distribution and retail to inventory management. Their casual basics can be worn by anyone, of any age and on any day, including a line of graphic T-Shirts (UT), featuring designs from the worlds of fine art, music, and culture.
With the world’s finest collection of modern and contemporary art and a dynamic exhibition program, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is a place for discovery and engagement that fuels creativity and ignites minds. Each year, MoMA inspires millions of visitors from around the world through its collection and exhibitions; the efforts of its Library and Archives, conservation labs, and study centers; and education programs for arts enthusiasts of all ages and experiences.
In their different fields of expertise, UNIQLO and MoMA share a passion for quality, innovation, and spreading the joy of art around the world, and it is through these shared values that a dynamic partnership was born.
Since May 2013, UNIQLO has been the sponsor of UNIQLO Free Friday Nights, providing free access every Friday evening to the Museum’s renowned collection of modern art, special exhibitions, and film programs to more than 1.6 million New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. By sponsoring UNIQLO Free Friday Nights, the company continues to make possible free access to the general public, promoting wider appreciation for modern art and design.
In March 2014, UNIQLO first launched ‘SPRZ NY’ (abbreviation for Surprise New York), a product line which includes specially designed clothing and accessories inspired by artwork from the Museum’s collection, which are labeled as ‘MoMA Special Edition’ designs. At that time the second floor of UNIQLO’s Fifth Avenue Global Flagship Store was remodeled to accommodate this new style of partnership, and the floor became known as the ‘SPRZ NY Store.’ UNIQLO continues to launch new ‘MoMA Special Edition’ designs throughout the year and sell them in UNIQLO stores worldwide including the uniqlo.com online store. Additionally, MoMA’s retail channels, including MoMA Design Store and store.moma.org, sell select ‘SPRZ NY’ products.
The result of this retail partnership has been T-shirt designs featuring the artwork of renowned artists such as Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Yayoi Kusama, and Sol LeWitt, as well as the photographers Stephen Shore, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Man Ray. The partnership has also offered T-shirts highlighting graphic designers including Paula Scher and Massimo Vignelli. UNIQLO acknowledges the joy in encouraging people to discover art through T-shirts as the company wishes to make art more accessible through casual clothing and other items from the SPRZ NY project.
The partnership not only enhances the MoMA and UNIQLO brands and fuels traffic across Manhattan’s 53rd Street – but also creates an innovative and personalized experience for shoppers and museum visitors alike. For UNIQLO, the partnership brings vibrancy to the workplace and helps communicate marketing messages in engaging ways.
