Commissioner draws inspiration from collaborative banking traditions, in which individuals pool resources to create shared economic power and mutual benefits. Through an annual membership ranging from $175 to $2,400, members in Miami collectively commission original and limited-edition artworks from established and emerging artists.

The expansion builds on eight years of growth in Miami, where Commissioner has engaged more than 800 members through collective commissioning and shared educational experiences. Since launching in 2018 with support from Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge, members have collectively funded 55 artist commissions from leading contemporary artists including Anastasia Samoylova, Antonia Wright, Cornelius Tulloch, Edouard Duval-Carrié, Germane Barnes, Juana Valdes, Michele Oka Doner and Reginald O’Neal.

“Arts and culture are essential to thriving communities and local economies,” said Kristina Newman-Scott, vice president for arts at Knight Foundation. “Commissioner shows how communities can support artists, strengthen their financial durability, and open new pathways for people to become collectors and stewards of creative work. That cultural infrastructure makes cities more creative, resilient and vibrant.”

With Knight Foundation support, Commissioner will expand its annual membership program and develop new community-driven commissioning initiatives in Detroit, Philadelphia and Charlotte. The program will launch in Detroit this fall, with Philadelphia and Charlotte to follow in 2027 and 2028.

“Supporting artists and collecting art should feel participatory, collective and rooted in community,” said Dejha Carrington, co-founder and executive director of Commissioner. “What began in Miami as an experiment in shared cultural investment has grown into a model for how communities can build deeper relationships with artists as both audiences and active supporters, stakeholders and memory-keepers in the creative life of their cities.”

The organization’s waitlist now exceeds 300 Miamians, reflecting growing demand for more accessible ways to participate in the arts. Commissioner is meeting that demand by offering new community-driven programs that help people affordably pool resources to commission and collect work by emerging and established artists.

The initiative is part of Knight Foundation’s broader arts strategy to support artists and arts organizations as civic partners that drive economic mobility, community well-being and cultural vibrancy. Since 2005, Knight Foundation has invested more than $495 million in the arts.

 Source: Knight Foundation