The Foundation
The idea for the Morrison-Shearer Foundation originated in the early 1980’s when noted photographer, filmmaker, and lighting designer, Helen Balfour Morrison, and internationally recognized modern dancer-choreographer, Sybil Shearer, conceived a plan to perpetuate the legacy of their forty-year artistic collaboration as an inspiration to others. In 1991, seven years after Morrison’s death, Sybil Shearer formally established the Foundation as the realization of their shared vision, providing the document “Purpose and Aims of the Museum” to guide its direction. Over the years since Shearer’s passing in 2005, the Board of Trustees worked intensively to fulfill the vision for the Foundation laid out in this document. However, it eventually became clear that the nature and condition of the Northbrook, IL properties could not physically support the founders’ vision.
As a result, the Trustees returned to Shearer’s extensive writings for guidance so that they might carry the Foundation into the future based on the spirit of their intentions rather than a literal fulfillment of their instructions. From this work, The Morrison-Shearer Foundation has assembled the following core values that guide its work.
