The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts claims victory over the Smithsonian

There is a new executive vice president at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Michele Warman will oversee the foundation’s overall operations in that role, including the chief financial officer and director of communications, according to a Jan. 10 press release. “Her extensive institutional knowledge and experience across multiple areas of the foundation makes her the connective tissue for so much of the work here,” Elizabeth Alexander, president of the foundation, said in the press release. “Michele’s proven track record, personal integrity, intellect and effective leadership are invaluable assets to the Mellon Foundation.”

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts is declaring victory over the Smithsonian Institute. The New York City-based nonprofit has lifted an eight-year funding ban against the Washington, D.C. institution. “The funding ban on the Smithsonian was initiated in 2010 after the National Portrait Gallery,” reads a Jan. 10 press release from the foundation, “under pressure from the Catholic League and several Washington politicians, removed artist David Wojnarowicz’s video, ‘A Fire in My Belly,’ from the Foundation-supported exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture.”

The Smithsonian has done better at promoting work by “underrepresented artists” in recent years, according to the press release. Accordingly, the foundation is donating $100,000 to the Smithsonian-run National Museum for the American Indian. The money will fund an exhibition in honor of Yanktonai Dakota artist Oscar Howe, who died in 1983. “We believe that the ban has had its intended effect of promoting freedom of artistic expression at the national level,” foundation President Joel Wachs said in the press release. “The Smithsonian has also demonstrated a strong track record of highlighting underrepresented artists over the past eight years, which aligns well with the Foundation’s core values.”

Housing Works and Bailey House have completed their merger. Together, they are the largest supportive housing nonprofit for people living with HIV/AIDS, according to a Jan. 11 press release. NYN Media reported the background to the merger in July:

The new partnership will also create a new housing development enterprise under the Bailey House brand, according to a July 12 press release. While the 35-year-old organization will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Housing Works, Bailey House will be able to expand its efforts in low-income housing under the deal, which is scheduled to close on Nov. 15, Crain’s New York reported.

Beyond the dollars and cents of the merger are more lofty considerations, according to the press release. The idea that housing and health care are fundamentally related was central to Bailey House’s identity as the first organization in the country to address homelessness among people living with HIV/AIDS, according to Daniel Tietz, CEO of Bailey House – values that are also reflected in the name of Housing Works.

The Legal Aid Society has won a $2 million contract from New York City. The money will fund legal services through June 2019 for low-income people on behalf of the Department of Social Services, according to the City Record. The Osborne Association has won a $295,153.15 contract extension with the Department of Probation, which will fund a program for young adults through June 2019. Montefiore Medical Center has won a $293,322 contract to provide clinic services for autism spectrum disorders.