Philanthropy Runs in the Family

By Michele Graham, Fairfield County Look

Cricket Lockhart and Graci Djuranovic are a dynamic mother-daughter philanthropic duo. As Graci says, “My family members’ commitment to service and the community has been a consistent theme in my life.”

For Graci, this model for community involvement began when, in 7th grade, she had just moved to Greenwich and enrolled in Greenwich Academy. “My six years at Greenwich Academy empowered me in so many ways — and my education helped give me the tools to advocate for causes that I am passionate about and showed me the importance of women helping each other.”

Graci, who used to manage UBS’s art sponsorships in the U.S. and worked with museums, art fairs, and orchestras across the country, recalls, “When my husband [Marko] and I moved to Greenwich, it felt natural to volunteer with the Bruce Museum. I initially got involved in a number of different ways – chairing and volunteering with fundraisers, helping with the Development Committee and most recently, I helped to found Bruce Contemporaries.”

Cricket and Grace pose with African and New Guinea art collected by Grace’s Lockhart grandparents. Photos By ChiChi Ubiña

The idea for Bruce Contemporaries started to grow after having chaired the Night at the Museum family fundraiser for two years and seeing all of the enthusiasm around that event. I saw an opportunity to engage this group and, luckily, I have a wonderful group of friends who also have had careers related to the art world and a passion for art, so we worked with the Bruce Museum to make this idea a reality.”