Eleanor Savage (butch/pronoun flexible), born in Macon, Georgia, now living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is an arts and social justice advocate and organizer and currently the President and CEO of the Jerome Foundation. Savage has devoted their work in the arts to centering artists, advancing racial equity, undoing racism, and strengthening community-rooted creative ecosystems.
Before joining Jerome Foundation, Savage spent 16 years as the Associate Director of Events and Media Production at the Walker Art Center, where they fostered a culture of “yes” and deep respect in support of the creative development processes and performances of hundreds of contemporary experimental artists! During the 1990s and early 2000s, Savage founded Naked Stages, a mentorship program for early career performance artists; was a programmer and on-air host for queer artist/activist radio shows Lesbian Power Authority and Forbidden Fruit; founded Vulva Riot Cabaret, a monthly performance event for queer women and transgender community in the Twin Cities; was a founding member of the Twin Cities Lesbian Avengers, a radical, direct-action lesbian activist group founded in New York City in 1992; and curated The Genders that Be and Crossfire(exhibitions of transgender art) and Dyke Night, an annual PRIDE event at the Walker Art Center.
As a media artist, Savage produced documentary and experimental work and did production management, video and lighting design for for many artists, including Morgan Thorson, hijack, Shawn McConneloug, Emily Johnson, Lisa D’Amour, Katie Pearl, Split Britches, Holly Hughes, Kate Bornstein, Ellen Fullman, and Pauline Oliveros. Savage’s work in production and as a curator consistently centered artists and the transformative power of art as a bridge across cultural difference—championing experimental, radical, justice- and liberation-rooted creative practices. Through their work in arts philanthropy, Savage brings her commitment to centering artists as well as equity and anti-racism. They were a founding member of the Minnesota-based Racial Equity Funder Collaborative and authored the collaboratively developed RE-Tool: Racial Equity in the Panel Process, which is a widely used discussion tool supporting equitable review and selection practices in grantmaking.
Savage’s A Call To Action is published in Future/Present, an anthology of writing about arts in a changing America, edited by Alvarez, Uno and Webb. Savage also serves on boards and collective action initiatives to further equitable access for artists. Recently, they served as Vice Chair of the Grantmakers in the Arts Board of Directors, and previously co-chaired GIA’s Support for Individual Artists Committee. Savage received an MFA in Arts Management from Virginia Tech and a BFA in Psychology and Theater from Mercer University.
