Life Expressions

James Kirk Bernard Foundation Launches Virtual Cultural Arts Center

POBA – Where The Arts Live, a new, fully-digital online arts community celebrating the enduring power of creativity, is now open to the public. POBA’s nonprofit mission is to preserve, display and promote the creative legacies of talented 20th and 21st century artists who passed away without recognition of the full measure and impact of their work. Artists shown on POBA range from the famous to the unknown. While they share noteworthy talent, their works collec- tively cover all fields of creative endeavor: from painting to music; from literature to dance; from spoken word to multimedia creations, and more. Their collections come to POBA through the decision of their loved ones, agents or representatives to participate. Anyone who is responsible for a deceased artist’s legacy may participate in POBA by becoming a member. The public can discover and enjoy this unique online resource free of charge.  Read more.  Download press release.  Download information on founding artists.  Download fact sheet.

Life Expressions Grants Funded

2011

A $15,000 grant will be awarded to Bard College which will be used for initiatives like Let’s Talk where members of the Counseling Center go out to popular campus gathering spaces and hold drop-in sessions for all students; support of the Bard Active Minds chapter, and mental health peer counselors. In addition, funding will be used for upkeep of the Bard Cemetery and cleanup following Hurricane Irene. Bard Cemetery is located on the Bard campus on a wooded hill and is where Jamie and other Bard students, faculty, and staff are buried.

2010

The James Kirk Bernard Foundation’s  first grant since it’s  inception in February 2010 will go to the Bard College Class of 2010 Scholarship Fund. The fund was established by the graduating senior class to provide scholarships to rising seniors unable to complete their education due to financial hardship. The fund honors the memory of the three members of the class of 2010 who died before graduation, Jamie Bernard, Anna Finkelstein and Warren Hutcheson.  The James Kirk Bernard donation is for $42,000. It is a dollar-for-dollar match for the amount the senior classed raised for the scholarship fund. The Bard reunion classes of ’60, ’70 and ’85 raised an additional $11,900 for the fund, bringing the total amount of the fund to over $95,000. The Bard Development Director, Matt Soper, described the class effort as “unprecedented” in Bard’s history, the seniors having raised far more dollars than any prior class. The citation on the fund appearing in the Bard College 2010 Commencement Brochure is provided below.

It was Jamie’s wish that his fellow classmates at Bard be able to obtain their degrees if they so choose. This grant from his foundation will help to make this wish a reality. Founded in 1860, Bard is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located in the Hudson River Valley. With 1,600 undergraduates, the College offers the bachelor of arts degree with concentrations in more than 40 academic programs.