Asian Cultural Council
A New York-based nonprofit foundation that advances international cultural exchange between the United States and Asia through arts grants, fellowships, partnerships, and public programs.
Last updated August 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
The Asian Cultural Council (ACC) is a nonprofit grantmaking and grantseeking foundation focused on international cultural exchange through the arts. Based in New York City, it supports artists, scholars, curators, arts administrators, museum professionals, researchers, and cultural organizations working across the United States and Asia. Its exchanges are organized in three broad directions: Asia to the United States, the United States to Asia, and exchange among Asian countries. ACC originated in 1963 as the Asian Cultural Program of the JDR 3rd Fund, a private philanthropic organization established by John D. Rockefeller III. The program was designed to encourage cultural understanding through travel, study, research, artistic creation, and professional relationships. Its early work provided grants to individuals and institutions in fields including visual art, performing arts, architecture, archaeology, museum studies, conservation, literature, music, theater, dance, film, photography, and arts administration. Following Rockefeller's death in 1978, the program was reorganized and became the Asian Cultural Council in 1980, operating as a publicly supported foundation. Rather than offering commercial products, ACC provides customized fellowship grants, project grants, institutional support, graduate-study assistance, travel funding, residencies, mentorship, introductions, and access to an international alumni network. The organization states that it has invested more than $100 million in grants and supported more than 6,000 exchanges involving participants from 26 countries. Reference material describes annual grant support of approximately $1.4 million, although this figure is time-sensitive and is not treated here as a current financial statement. ACC's work combines direct funding with relationship building. Grants may support cultural immersion, collaborative production, professional training, research, documentation and preservation of traditional arts, institutional development, or the exchange of best practices. Its public-facing activity includes lectures, forums, convenings, online discussions, and alumni programs. Examples include East-West Dialogue, Cultural Conversations, and inDialogue, an online series created in 2020 to sustain international connection during the COVID-19 period. The foundation maintains a New York headquarters and regional offices or affiliated foundations in Hong Kong, Manila, Taipei, and Tokyo. These local structures help administer exchanges and cultivate philanthropic and cultural networks in Asia. ACC is funded by individuals, foundations, corporations, and other philanthropic partners, including the Ford Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Starr Foundation, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Newman's Own Foundation, the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation, and other supporters. ACC's institutional identity is centered on long-term cultural diplomacy rather than a single art form or national program. Its portfolio has included artist fellowships, museum and heritage initiatives, contemporary-art exchanges, traditional-arts preservation, arts-management training, disaster-recovery support, and regional programs in East, Southeast, South, and Central Asia. The organization remains active under executive director Judy Kim and chairman Josie Cruz Natori.
History
The Asian Cultural Council traces its origins to the JDR 3rd Fund, a private nonprofit foundation incorporated in 1963 by John D. Rockefeller III. Rockefeller established the organization to support activities connected with human welfare, including a dedicated Asian Cultural Program intended to strengthen cultural exchange between the United States and Asia. Porter McCray, formerly associated with the Museum of Modern Art's circulating-exhibitions program, became the program's founding director. During the 1960s, the program distributed roughly dozens of grants each year to artists, scholars, students, and cultural institutions. The early program treated mobility and sustained professional contact as central tools of cultural understanding. Grants enabled research, study, travel, artistic production, museum work, documentation, and engagement with cultural traditions. Its scope expanded across visual and performing arts, architecture, archaeology, conservation, arts criticism, literature, music, theater, dance, film, photography, ethnomusicology, curation, and arts administration. Richard S. Lanier succeeded McCray as director in 1975. After Rockefeller died in 1978, the Asian Cultural Program was reorganized. In 1980 it became the Asian Cultural Council and adopted a publicly supported operating-foundation structure. Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, Rockefeller's wife, became the first chairman, while Elizabeth J. McCormack, associated with the Rockefeller philanthropic office, became vice president. This transition gave the organization a broader institutional identity while preserving its core mission of advancing artistic and intellectual exchange. During the 1980s and 1990s, ACC developed programs supported by major philanthropic partners. These included exchanges involving Japan, Hong Kong, China, Korea, Indonesia, the Mekong region, traditional Asian arts, American art-history research, and museum development. The organization also created programs for conservation, cultural management, graduate research, and professional training. Its work increasingly connected individual fellowships with institutional partnerships, allowing participants to develop longer-term relationships rather than simply undertake one-time travel. Regional structures expanded over time. The Taiwan affiliate was established in 1995, the Philippines foundation in 2000, the Hong Kong foundation in 2015, and the Japan foundation in 2018. These affiliates have helped ACC maintain local fundraising, selection, alumni, and partnership networks. The organization has continued to support exchanges in both directions and among Asian countries, rather than treating Asia solely as a destination for American professionals. Leadership after the 1980 reorganization included Ralph Samuelson, who served from 1991 to 2008, Jennifer P. Goodale from 2008 to 2013, and Miho Walsh from 2013 to 2020. Judy Kim subsequently became executive director. Under its current model, ACC combines grantmaking with fundraising from individuals, foundations, and corporations. The foundation customizes each grant around the recipient's objectives and may supplement financial support with mentoring, introductions, and alumni-network access. ACC has also broadened its public programming. East-West Dialogue, established in 2013 through an endowment gift from Tsuneko and Shoji Sadao, brings arts and cultural leaders into recurring conversations about exchange and international understanding. Cultural Conversations highlights the work of ACC alumni. In 2020, the organization introduced inDialogue as an online series, enabling continued discussion during the pandemic. In 2021, it presented East West Fest, an online festival that culminated in an East-West Dialogue session. The organization also recognizes contributions to cultural exchange through the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award, which honors significant contributions to the international understanding, practice, or study of Asian visual and performing arts. The Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Award, established in 2009, recognizes philanthropic leadership aligned with ACC's mission. Across its history, ACC has supported thousands of exchanges and remains a nonprofit platform for artistic mobility, professional collaboration, cultural preservation, and dialogue between the United States and Asia.
- 2021
First East West Fest held online
[1]ACC presented its first online festival, concluding with an East-West Dialogue event.
- 2020
inDialogue launched
[1]ACC launched an online public-program series to maintain international exchange during and after the pandemic.
- 2015
ACC Hong Kong Foundation established
[1]A Hong Kong affiliate was established to support ACC's regional activities and networks.
- 2013
East-West Dialogue launched
[1]ACC established an annual lecture and dialogue series for leaders in Asian and Western arts and culture.
- 2009
Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Award established
[1]ACC introduced an award honoring philanthropic support for international dialogue and cultural exchange.
- 2000
Philippines Fellowship Program established
[1]ACC created a Philippines exchange program, supported through the ACC Philippines Foundation.
- 1995
Taiwan Fellowship Program established
[1]ACC launched a Taiwan-focused exchange program for artists, scholars, and specialists working between Taiwan, the United States, and other Asian countries.
- 1980
Asian Cultural Council formed
[1]Following John D. Rockefeller III's death, the Asian Cultural Program was reorganized as the Asian Cultural Council, a publicly supported operating foundation.
- 1975
Richard S. Lanier becomes director
[1]Richard S. Lanier succeeded founding director Porter McCray.
- 1963
Asian Cultural Program established
[1]John D. Rockefeller III incorporated the JDR 3rd Fund and established its Asian Cultural Program to promote arts exchange between the United States and Asia.
Products and positioning
A cross-border cultural-philanthropy and exchange platform connecting arts professionals and institutions across the United States and Asia through tailored grants, professional relationships, and public dialogue.
Grant program · 1963
Individual Fellowship Grants
Funding for artists, scholars, curators, arts administrators, researchers, and other arts professionals to undertake travel, study, research, residencies, training, or creative work connected with cross-border cultural exchange. Grants may support movement between Asia and the United States or exchange among Asian countries.
Grant program
Project and Organizational Grants
Customized support for cultural organizations, institutions, and collaborative projects. The grants can address exhibitions, performances, research, professional development, preservation, institutional strengthening, and other activities that create sustained international artistic or cultural relationships.
Public program · 2013
East-West Dialogue
An annual lecture and conversation series established to bring together influential figures from Asian and Western arts and cultural communities. The program addresses cultural exchange, artistic practice, institutional work, and the broader value of international engagement.
Alumni program
Cultural Conversations
An ACC lecture series featuring alumni and their practices. It provides a public platform for discussing the work, experiences, and cross-cultural relationships developed through ACC-supported exchanges.
Online public program · 2020
inDialogue
An online conversation series launched in 2020 to preserve international connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic and extend ACC's public dialogue work into digital formats.
Arts award
John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award
An award recognizing individuals from Asia or the United States whose work has made a substantial contribution to international understanding, practice, or study of Asian visual or performing arts.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021East West Fest
United States · Asia · Online
ACC's first online festival brought together public programming related to East-West cultural exchange.
Outcome. The festival concluded with an East-West Dialogue featuring Viet Thanh Nguyen and Tiffany Chung.
- 2020inDialogue
United States · Asia · Online
ACC created an online public-program series featuring artists, writers, musicians, and cultural practitioners during the pandemic period.
Outcome. Extended ACC's convening and dialogue activities into a digital format.
- 2017ACC Forum: Making the Case for Cultural Exchange
United States · Asia
A forum examining the public value and practical importance of international cultural exchange, supported by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Outcome. Provided a platform for advocacy, discussion, and reflection on cultural-exchange practice.
Brand decisions
2020
Move to online public programmingStrategyBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted international travel and in-person cultural exchange.
Action taken
ACC launched the online inDialogue series and later presented East West Fest digitally.
Aftermath
The organization maintained public discussion and international connectivity while physical exchange was constrained.
1980
Reorganization as the Asian Cultural CouncilStrategyBackground
The death of founder John D. Rockefeller III prompted a restructuring of the earlier Asian Cultural Program.
Action taken
The program became the Asian Cultural Council and adopted a publicly supported operating-foundation model.
Aftermath
The reorganization created the institutional structure under which ACC continues its grantmaking and cultural-exchange work.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/asian-cultural-council · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled