Guggenheim Museum and Converse Form Global Partnership to Empower Next Generation of Creators

The Guggenheim and Converse proudly announce the formation of a Global Partnership committed to empowering the next generation of creative minds. As collaborators and champions of youth, creativity, and education, both the institution and the brand will support strategic Academic Engagement initiatives and programs that offer creative young people transformative, dynamic experiences in the museum. By investing in emerging creatives—from a range of disciplinary, cultural, economic, social, and educational backgrounds—the Global Partnership aims to amplify diverse imaginations shaping the future of creative industries.

As part of the Global Partnership, Converse is supporting the Guggenheim’s Paid Internship Program and the Innovation Lab Series, which provide invaluable experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students across New York City interested in pursuing careers in the arts, design, and museum fields. Furthermore, participants in the Converse All Stars Program—a global collective connecting and nurturing emerging creatives through immersive experiences, mentorship opportunities, commissioned work, and more—will take part in select Global Partnership-supported programs at the museum throughout the academic year.

Cyra Levenson, Deputy Director of Education and Public Engagement at the Guggenheim, states, “We are thrilled to announce our new Global Partnership with Converse, a collaboration that reflects our shared commitment to young people, youth culture, and creativity. Through this Global Partnership, we will ensure together that our respective efforts to support the next generation of innovators and changemakers stay strong.”

The Guggenheim will present its first public program supported by the Global Partnership: Late Shift x Center for Disability Studies at NYU with Jerron Herman: Rest. Made possible by Converse, the event will include a site-responsive, interactive performance and score choreographed by interdisciplinary artist and dancer Jerron Herman and will explore the Guggenheim’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda and its exhibitions through the lens of disability arts and design, with a focus on the creative potential of rest and stillness. The event will also include a screening of Notes from the Panorama, a video collaboration exploring embodied awareness of Black rest and leisure by multidisciplinary artist and 2023 MacArthur Fellow Carolyn Lazard and writer and performer Amber Rose Johnson.

The two visionary organizations are dedicated to promoting innovation and fostering a diverse future. This partnership is a testament of their shared values and legacies.

Says Converse Vice President of Communications & Social Impact Ilana Finley, “Converse is the brand of creative self-expression, and we’re thrilled to partner with an institution such as the Guggenheim that also champions the breadth of creative endeavors. This Global Partnership speaks to a future vision for both entities—supporting, nurturing, and guiding the next generations of storytellers, artists, and boundary-pushers through access and opportunity.”

About the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was established in 1937 and is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary art through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The international constellation of museums includes the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; and the future Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. An architectural icon and “temple of spirit” where radical art and architecture meet, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is now among a group of eight Frank Lloyd Wright structures in the United States recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. To learn more about the museum and the Guggenheim’s activities around the world, visit guggenheim.org.

@Guggenheim

About Converse

Converse Inc., based in Boston, Massachusetts, is a wholly owned subsidiary of NIKE, Inc. Established in 1908 as a rubber company, the introduction of its first canvas basketball sneaker propelled a legacy as the original brand of youth culture around the world.

Today, Converse is a socially progressive and highly inventive footwear and apparel brand for and powered by All Stars, a global community of emerging creatives reshaping culture and sport. The interpretation and adoption of its iconic sneakers, including the Chuck Taylor All Star, Pro Leather, One Star and Jack Purcell continue to enable expression in the creative, basketball and skateboarding communities while inspiring the new lines of its design.

Follow @Converse on converse.com.

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