The Foundation
Established in 2023, the Sam Gilliam Foundation advances the vision and values of abstract artist Sam Gilliam by organizing and supporting significant exhibitions of the artist’s work, fostering new research and publications, and collaborating with arts organizations and institutions on initiatives that extend Gilliam’s generosity and enthusiasm for supporting emerging and longtime artists, art students, scholars, curators, and the cultural ecosystem at large. Helmed by Annie Gawlak, the Foundation serves as a primary resource on the artist and a steward of his collection and archive, with important holdings of Gilliam’s work in a variety of mediums and original papers and materials pertaining to his life and work. Since its activation, the Foundation has expanded its mission to champion the work of rising artists by establishing the Sam Gilliam Award in partnership with Dia Art Foundation, and to continue Gilliam’s legacy by launching the Gilliam Visiting Artist Program in collaboration with the Speed Art Museum and the Sam Gilliam Lecture series in collaboration with John Hopkins University.
The Sam Gilliam Foundation guides and advances the legacy of pioneering abstract artist Sam Gilliam. Serving as a primary resource on the artist and a steward of his collection and archive, the Foundation also carries his legacy forward by investing in visual artists who, like Gilliam, push boundaries and grapple with the pressing issues of our time.
Archives
The Foundation serves as a primary resource on Gilliam and a steward of his collection and archive.
Scholarship
The Foundation advances research and scholarship on Gilliam through publications, catalogues, and more.
Public Programs
The Foundation carries his legacy forward by investing in visual artists who, like Gilliam, push boundaries and grapple with the pressing issues of our time.
Exhibitions
The Foundation stewards Gilliam’s artwork and guides presentations locally and internationally.
Meet the Foundation Team
Annie Gawlak
Founder and President
Sam Gilliam’s partner of 42 years, Annie Gawlak champions his legacy through her work leading the Sam Gilliam Foundation. Gawlak and Gilliam lived and worked in Washington, D.C., spending their time between Gilliam’s studio and their home. Gawlak traveled with Gilliam for installations, shows, lectures, and residencies, observing, absorbing, and participating in Gilliam’s creative practice and life as a citizen artist and advocate and educator of younger generations of artists.
Gawlak focuses her full-time attention on advancing Gilliam’s legacy, leading the Foundation since its establishment in 2023, developing its own programming and collaborating on partner projects. Gawlak currently manages his copyright, cares for his studio and remaining works, oversees publications, and participates in the organizing of exhibitions. She has created several initiatives in honor of Sam, including the Sam Gilliam award at the Dia Art Foundation and the Gilliam Visiting Artist Program and Sam Gilliam Assistant Curator of Artist Programs at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.
Gawlak continues to live and work in Washington, D.C. in the home she shared with Gilliam. Gawlak was a contemporary art dealer when they met, and she operated her own gallery for over 20 years. Her cutting-edge vision and passion, as well as her establishment of quality exhibitions, special projects, lectures, performance, and curatorial excellence, advanced conversations in Washington, D.C. about art, painting, installation, photography, sculpture, and community outreach.
L. Franklin Gilliam
Strategic Advisor
L. Franklin Gilliam’s is an artist, educator, and strategic designer prototyping the future of art, technology, and networked learning.
L. Franklin’s design practice is project-based and highly collaborative and focuses on shaping digital experiences for social impact. L. Franklin’s twenty-plus-year career includes stewarding a learning network at Mozilla, developing digital products and expanding access to computer science at Girls Who Code, and opening a public school inspired by game design at Institute of Play. Prior to working in strategic design, Franklin was a tenured Professor at Bard College where L. Franklin designed the electronic media curriculum and chaired the arts division.
L. Franklin’s projects have been screened and presented widely, including at the 1997 Whitney Biennial (Sapphire and the Slave Girl), Thread Waxing Space Gallery (Apeshit v3), the New Museum (Agenda for a Landscape), Oberhausen Short Film Festival (Now Pretend), New York University Game Center (Lesberation), and the Center for Afrofuturist Studies (Open Call for Luthers).
Gilliam holds a master’s degree in Interactive Telecommunications from New York University, an MFA in Film from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and a BA in Modern Culture and Media from Brown University. Gilliam is the senior strategy and design officer for the Lambent Foundation, a strategic adviser to the Sam Gilliam Foundation, and a board member at Out in Tech, a 40,000 member community of LGBTQ+ tech leaders.
L. Franklin is also one of Gilliam’s three daughters.
Jenn DePalma
Studio Manager
Jenn DePalma is the Studio Manager for the Sam Gilliam Foundation. She began working with Gilliam in 2018. Jenn continues to advance Gilliam’s legacy through her work with the Foundation, overseeing publications, museum exhibitions, and the ongoing preservation and documentation of his work.
During the final five years of Gilliam’s life—a transformative period for both the artist and his studio—Jenn played a pivotal role in preservation, installation, leading studio assistants, and managing operations. She worked closely with Gilliam on the installation of historic works at preeminent art institutions, including Dia, Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Hirshhorn Museum, and The Broad. She also contributed to the research and development of major publications and catalogues, such as Existed Existing, Moving West Again, The Last Five Years, and the definitive monograph Sam Gilliam.
A graduate of the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design, DePalma is also an artist. In her early years, Gilliam offered her a studio space in his historic U Street studio—a gesture he extended to young artists as a way to foster and encourage emerging talent. This mentorship played a seminal role in her formative years as an artist in Washington, D.C. Previously, Jenn worked at a leading contemporary art gallery on programs and installations.
Olivia Armacost Bliven
Registrar and Publications Associate
Currently serving as the registrar at the Sam Gilliam Foundation, Olivia oversees archival research, collection management, and supports publications and exhibitions, ensuring the preservation of and access to Gilliam’s legacy. She has contributed to the research and development of major publications and catalogues, including Sam Gilliam: Sewing Fields, The Last Five Years, and the definitive monograph, Sam Gilliam. Armacost Bliven began working for Gilliam as a painting assistant in 2021 and has previously served as a curatorial assistant for the National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and a minor in Curatorial Studies from Arcadia University.
