Periods of backlash demand more than resistance. They demand imagination.
As women’s rights and democratic institutions came under increasing attack, Maja Kristin saw an opportunity others had not yet imagined: invest in the artists, storytellers, and cultural institutions capable of redefining how we see and understand the world.
Her $10 million matching investment launched the Art Catalyst Matching Fund, inviting the WMM membership community to consider the role of art in advancing gender equality and democracy. Members responded by backing projects across film, journalism, museums, music, literature, theater, photography, and community arts while forging collaborations that continue to shape the fund.
Kristin has always gravitated toward ideas that bring unlikely people together around difficult problems. Whether representing survivors of sexual abuse in court, teaching mediation, supporting organizations that foster dialogue, or investing in teacher compensation, she has consistently looked for ways to challenge entrenched systems. The Art Catalyst Matching Fund is another expression of that philosophy.
She saw an opportunity to bring women artists, cultural institutions, and philanthropists into the same conversation. Members who had never considered investing in narrative change became champions of women artists. Others found collaborators they might never have met otherwise. In the process, the fund expanded the community’s imagination of what philanthropy could accomplish through art.
Speaking to young writers at Girls Write Now, one of the organizations she supports, Kristin reflected on an idea that has shaped much of her philanthropy.
“I was slow to come to trust,” she told the audience, reflecting on the challenges of her childhood. She described first supporting Girls Write Now because she trusted the recommendation of a friend. Years later, when the organization extended that same confidence in her own work, she recognized the power of trust reciprocated.
