Richard H. Driehaus is many things to the city of Chicago. Among its dance community, he is best described as a hero and a champion. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Driehaus died unexpectedly March 9 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He was 78. Driehaus is survived by three daughters and two sisters.
Born July 27, 1942, Richard Driehaus was raised in the South Side neighborhood of Brainerd. His father worked as mechanical engineer in the declining coal mining industry and Driehaus was motivated to save and invest money from an early age. He collected coins and delivered newspapers; he first invested in the stock market at age 13. Driehaus Capital Management, founded in 1982, is now a $13.2 billion endeavor.
His interests were vast—and eclectic. A graduate of DePaul University, Driehaus was a key benefactor to his alma mater and also supported St. Ignatius College Prep and St. Margaret of Scotland parish. He advocated for investigative journalism—a holdover from his paperboy days—partnering with Chicago Media Workshop, the Chicago Headline Club, the Third Coast International Audio Festival and the Better Government Association on several award programs.
Driehaus voraciously invested in classical architecture and owns two historic Gold Coast mansions housing Driehaus Capital Management and the Driehaus Museum. His Lake Geneva estate was another passion project and the site of Driehaus’ fabulous annual birthday party. The prestigious Driehaus Architecture Prize embraces his love of classical architecture and design. Driehaus also had a keen interest in community building, establishing the Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards in 1995 as a reflection of his belief that the built environment plays a vital role in improving quality of life, particularly in underserved neighborhoods.
While his architectural tastes and philanthropic endeavors were explicitly defined, his eponymous foundation, formed in 1983, eventually earned a reputation for taking chances on new, experimental performing arts organizations, too.
“The vision and support of Richard Driehaus to the performing arts in Chicago has been life changing to so many,” said Mark Yonally, artistic director Chicago Tap Theatre, founded in 2002. “When we were a new organization, it was the Driehaus Foundation that gave us our very first grant. We would not be where we are today without their support.”
Carrie Hanson, artistic director of The Seldoms, received her first grant from the Driehaus Foundation in 2001. “By choosing to invest in small theater and dance companies, the Foundation has radically nurtured and sustained Chicago's cultural landscape,” she said. “In our leanest years (they're all relatively lean), when we've been running on fumes, it was our Driehaus general operating grant that kept us going.”
Yonally and Hanson are not unique in this regard. Many of their peers (Julia Rhoads of Lucky Plush Productions, Jan Bartoszek of Hedwig Dances and Pranita Nayar, initially of Kalapriya and the current director of Mandala South Asian Performing Arts), likewise laud the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation (RHDF) for providing critical grant funding early in their history as artistic directors. It’s a trend that continued into the aughts and up to today, made possible through a strategic partnership with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation formed in 2000. RHDF and MacArthur’s specific support of small Chicago dance companies such as Red Clay Dance Company, South Chicago Dance Theatre and Tango 21 is likewise some of the first grant money those organizations received. In 2016, this funding partnership surpassed $20 million of annual operating support for arts organizations whose annual budgets are less than $150,000.
The money is nice, of course. More importantly, RHDF instills confidence that has inspired artistic directors and choreographers from small organizations to keep going, even when it feels like an uphill climb (which is most of the time). For companies like Lucky Plush and Red Clay, multi-year grants have enabled them to think more strategically about capacity building and organizational growth. The Foundation’s general operating support of Hedwig Dances’ prolific catalog of more than 60 works in the span of 25 years catalyzed their international presence in Cuba, Spain and Germany.
“Richard H. Driehaus knew that rich and diverse arts and culture in Chicago could elevate the quality of life for all its citizens,” said Liz Sung, managing director of Tango 21. “This vision has led to the growth of incredible dance and theater companies in our city. The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation gives us the space, the encouragement and the support to take artistic risks. As a small arts organization, the work can seem daunting, but the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation gives us wings to soar into the future.”
Driehaus’ commitment to his city of origin—and the decision to spend his life there—was intentional. “In New York, I’m just another successful guy,” he said in 2016 at the City Club of Chicago. “You can’t make an impact in New York. But in Chicago you can, because it’s big enough and it’s small enough and people actually get along enough.”
Winifred Haun, director of Winifred Haun & Dancers since the 1990s, said Driehaus realized early on how critical it is to support small arts organizations thus laying the groundwork for the MacArthur partnership. “He knew his support would have a huge impact on small dance and theater companies,” she said. “And he knew this because he asked us directly what we needed.”
Haun recalls a dinner with Driehaus and Lisa Tylke, executive director of the Chicago Dance Coalition (a dance trade association predating See Chicago Dance). Driehaus had insisted that Tylke bring a working artist to the meeting, which is how Haun happened to be there. “He loved listening to stories and hearing the challenges from the field,” Haun said. “He had a real offbeat, goofy sense of humor. After the meeting, Lisa told me that that was the most unusual funder meeting she had ever been to. It was my first one, but 25 years later, I can say that that was, indeed, the most unusual funder meeting ever. And it was lovely.”
Equally unusual is the amount of care RHDF gives to its grantees. It was Driehaus’ nature, and that of the RHDF foundation leaders and program officers in his stead, to not simply hand them money and await a final report. The guidance RHDF provides to organizations, many of them applying to grants for the first time, provides an onramp to additional funding from state and national sources, in addition to foundations requiring a grant history.
Ginger Farley, executive director of Chicago Dancemakers Forum (CDF), has been on all sides of that equation. “My first contact with the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation was as an applicant to the Small Theater and Dance program. Then I was hired as a consultant to review dance performances and proposals. Then I was invited to be their representative at the table for the Excellence in Dance Initiative at the Chicago Community Trust, which birthed Chicago Dancemakers Forum, which has now granted more than $1 million to individual dancemakers to fulfill their artistic dreams.”
Always seeking innovation and growth for the performing arts, RHDF maintains a deep commitment to arts service organizations like CDF whose missions are centered around collaboration, advocacy, and knowledge and resource sharing. (Full disclosure: See Chicago Dance is one such organization receiving RHDF support.)
“We mourn the passing of Richard Driehaus,” Farley said in a statement to See Chicago Dance. “His love of dance and his vision and consistent commitment to supporting small organizations, which are the vast majority of dance endeavors, have changed the dance landscape in Chicago.”