SOURCE OF WEALTH: Pilara Associates, RS Investments
FUNDING AREAS: Arts & Culture
OVERVIEW: Andy and Mary Pilara operate the Pilara Family Foundation and Collection on San Francisco’s Pier 24. The photography collection draws artists from America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Available tax filings indicate that the foundation awarded just $15,000 in grants in 2018.
BACKGROUND: Andy Pilara Jr. graduated with a B.A. in economics from Saint Mary’s College. He established Pilara Associates in 1974 and went on to join RS Investments in 1993.
ISSUES:
ARTS & CULTURE: Andrew Pilara began collecting in 2004 when he purchased a photograph from Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco. He has since amassed thousands of photos, and now operates the Pilara Family Foundation and Collection on San Francisco’s Pier 24. In a recent tax year, the Pilara Family Foundation held some $35.7 million in assets, but gave away only $25,000. Grantees have included the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and California College of the Arts.
Pier 24 Photography opened to the public in 2010 and since that time has produced several exhibitions. The first exhibition focused on portraiture, contemporary Bay Area photographers, historical images of San Francisco, early American color photography, and works produced through the Farm Security Administration (FSA).
One exhibition, The Grain of the Present, examines the work of ten photographers including Robert Adams, Diane Arbus, and Garry Winogrand.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the couple to remain laser-focused on Pier 24. It is unclear whether the Pilara Foundation will expand its interests and actual grantmaking.
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