Elysia Borowy Named Executive Director Of Rema Hort Mann Foundation

The Rema Hort Mann Foundation has announced that Elysia Borowy has been appointed as its Executive Director. Established in 1995, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation provides direct support both to cancer patients and to emerging artists.

As Executive Director, Borowy will advance its work that enables cancer patients to connect with family and loved ones during treatment. She will also enhance and expand its grant programs for emerging artists at critical junctures in their careers.  

Borowy is a seasoned curator and leader with over two decades of experience in the field. Most recently she co-led VHE ART, a consulting group and cultural engine dedicated to artists and artist-centered philanthropy. At VHE, she worked with the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) to secure funding for their new museum project in Nigeria and their presentation of the group exhibition Nigeria Imaginary at the official Nigeria Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale. While at VHE Art she also supported curator and activist Mashonda Tifrere who recently was honored at the Pérez Art Museum Miami for her work uplifting women, people of color, and marginalized voices. Borowy previously served as Executive Director and Chief Curator at Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) from 2012 to 2020. She assumed her new role on May 6, 2024.  

Borowy's appointment comes as the Foundation enters its next phase of growth marked by expanded grantmaking and programming. The foundation's grants include: 

• Quality of Life Grants, which facilitate connections between cancer patients and their loved ones, providing emotional support and companionship throughout their treatment journey. 
• Emerging Artist Grants, which support the growth of promising visual artists who demonstrate a strong commitment to contemporary creative practices. 
• Artist Community Engagement Grants, which support community-based projects that foster cultural exchange. 

As the Foundation's Executive Director, Borowy will collaborate closely with the Director of Programs, Charlotte Meyer, to oversee and support staff in carrying out program directives; shape the foundation's programming strategy, enhancement, and expansion; and cultivate relationships with external partners and other organizations to build awareness of the foundation's initiatives. She will also work with the foundation's Board of Directors and key stakeholders to identify opportunities for growth and innovation, increase support for the organization's mission, and guide the foundation in the expansion of its grantmaking and programmatic initiatives, including its educational programming. 

“Elysia is a seasoned professional with extensive experience spanning the visual arts field and a strong background in institutional leadership, fundraising, and relationship building,” said Carole Server Frankel, Board Chair of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation. “The foundation has entered its next chapter of growth with the recent expansion of its Emerging Artist Grants and the Artist Community Engagement Grants, and, under Elysia's direction, is poised to further deepen its impact on the arts through the advancement of its grantmaking and programmatic initiatives while, at the same time, strengthening our cancer care initiatives. We are so excited to have her joining us and are looking forward to collaborating with her to extend the Foundation's work.” 

“I am honored to join the Rema Hort Mann Foundation at this significant moment in the organization's trajectory,” said Borowy. “I look forward to working alongside the Board, Charlotte, and the dedicated staff to advance Rema Hort Mann and Peter Hort's legacies and expanding the foundation's reach and capacity to provide critical support for cancer patients and emerging artists. I am very grateful for the opportunity and look forward to being in service of others.” 

The Rema Hort Mann Foundation was established in 1995 to continue the legacy of Rema Hort Mann, who died of stomach cancer at the age of 30, by providing direct support both to cancer patients and to emerging artists. The foundation's Quality of Life Grants, renamed the Peter Hort Quality of Life Grants in remembrance of Hort Mann's youngest brother, who passed from bile duct cancer in 2022, enable cancer patients to connect to family and loved ones during treatment. To date, the foundation has awarded over 2,000 Quality of Life Grants to cancer patients, totaling over $3M, providing airfare, hotels, childcare, and other services necessary to ensuring the patient is not alone during their treatment. The foundation's Emerging Artist Grants, which extend Rema's lifelong passion for the arts, support creative practitioners exhibiting the potential to make transformative contributions to the field and have become legendary for esteemed alumni including Kehinde Wiley, Mickalene Thomas, Sarah Sze, and Dana Shultz. Since its establishment, the foundation has given over 600 Emerging Artist Grants, totaling over $5.5M to young creatives at a point in their artistic development where they most need financial assistance, no longer attending school and not yet having had a solo show at a for-profit gallery. The foundation also awards an Artist Community Engagement Grant to community-based projects that foster cultural exchange. These initiatives, driven by the foundation's belief in the unifying power of art, carry on Rema and Peter's belief in the beauty of human connection and the transformative power of creative expression, and empower artists to craft narratives that inspire, challenge, and bring communities together.  

In addition to her work with the Museum of West African Art, while at VHE ART, Borowy also facilitated curatorial projects such as Brigitte D'Annibale's site-specific, multidisciplinary installation in Point Dume, California, and co-directs 1364, an avant-garde contemporary art viewing space housed in a Mies van der Rohe townhome that she opened in Detroit in 2021 with Carl Craig. Borowy served as Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) from 2012 to 2020, leading the institution through a period of financial and operational growth, spearheading expanded grantmaking, enhancing the museum's national visibility and reputation, and curating over 70 exhibitions with a focus on highlighting women artists and artists of color. Borowy previously served as Founding Director at CAM Raleigh, and held leadership roles in the communications and marketing departments of institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Milwaukee Art Museum, and School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) during the first decade of her career. 

Borowy has a bachelor's degree in visual arts from Antioch College and master's degrees in art history and art education from Michigan State University. She also received certificates from the Getty Museum Leadership Institute, the Yale School of Management, and Harvard Business School.  

For more information about the Rema Hort Mann Foundation, visit remahortmannfoundation.org. 

Photo Credit: (pictured) Elysia Borowy, Artwork by Ndubisi Okoye for Murals in the Market.