Tyler Rollins
Tyler Rollins is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Spirituality and the Arts, where he leads efforts to cultivate meaningful dialogue at the intersection of spirituality and creativity. His work focuses on supporting artists and creating spaces for thoughtful engagement through exhibitions, conversations, and community programming.
A summa cum laude graduate of Yale University, Rollins earned a master’s degree from New York University and completed graduate work at the London School of Economics. In 2008, he opened a public gallery space, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, in New York City’s Chelsea arts district, with a program focusing on internationally active mid-career artists from Southeast Asia. The gallery participated in some of the world’s top art fairs, including Art Basel Hong Kong, Art Basel Miami Beach, and Frieze New York. It placed works by its artists in an impressive list of major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, LACMA, SFMOMA, the Smithsonian Museum, Centre Pompidou, and Tate Modern.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most prominent and pioneering gallerists in his field, Rollins presented museum-quality exhibitions over a twelve-year period at his gallery, which was described by the New York Times as “one of the most reliably interesting spaces in Chelsea.” The gallery’s exhibitions often highlighted the links between spirituality, nature, cultural traditions, and varied forms of artistic expression, and many had powerful religious themes relating to Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.
Recognizing the need for intentionally reflective spaces in the contemporary art world, Rollins started the Foundation for Spirituality and the Arts (FSA) in 2021. The Foundation fosters and supports wide-ranging artistic and scholarly explorations of human creativity – from its ineffable sources, to its sustenance, and to its capacity to express shared human values. In his role as Executive Director, he spearheads FSA’s strategic vision, institutional partnerships, and community engagements. He works regularly with both art and faith institutions as a speaker, advisor, and thought partner.
In addition to other philanthropic work, he serves as a Trustee of American Federation of Arts, a leading non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the public’s experience and understanding of the visual arts through organizing traveling exhibitions.