Author Description

A collection of works from the groundbreaking grantLOVE philanthropic art project. Foreword by New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay Essay by Alma Ruiz, Cassandra Coblentz, and Eman Alami What is love? In LOVE: A Visual History of the grantLOVE Project, artist Alexandra Grant's exploration of that question is documented through a retrospective of her journey engaging in civic art. In 2008, Grant began making editions of her art based on the concept of love and her trademarked LOVE symbol to raise money for arts projects and nonprofit organizations, and this philanthropic art experiment became the grantLOVE project. Partnering with other artists, makers, customers, and to support art projects and nonprofits, Grant explores how philanthropy and art can effectively intersect. This comprehensive history of the grantLOVE project--complete with paintings, prints, sculptures, textiles, jewelry, and architecture--provides a visual meditation on what "love" is, as conceived by Grant and the numerous collaborators showcased here. Compiling more than 14 years of grantLOVE works and partnerships, this book invites you to reflect on the confluence of philanthropy and the arts and celebrates building community around the roles of love and empathy in contemporary art and culture.