In a time of global unrest and uncertainty, Leeway Foundation continues to be led by our community and grantees to reimagine our world and reclaim spaces of power through their socially engaged artistic and cultural practices.
There is power in taking and reclaiming space, and the narrative around your community. Whether photographing fat queer, trans, and nonbinary femmes/fems, documenting over 50 years of disability advocacy, or using culinary arts to connect to ancestral Filipinx recipes and traditions, this cycle of Art and Change Grantees showcase the power of shaping and leading their narrative in collaboration with their communities.
Leeway’s Art and Change Grant provides grants of up to $2,500 to fund art for social change projects by women and trans* artists and cultural producers living in Greater Philadelphia.
The Fall 2021 Art and Change grantees are (in alphabetical order):
Akilah Green of Germantown, Music/Visual Arts, $2,500
Anne Hoffman-Freedman of Fishtown, Media Arts, $2,500
Curtis Walker of Germantown, Visual Arts/Media Arts, $2,500
Debra Powell-Wright of Clifton Heights, Literary Arts/Performance, $2,500
Elaine S. Holton & Chris Kane of West Philadelphia, Music/Performance, $2,500
Eppchez! of Germantown, Literary Arts/Crafts & Textiles, $2,500
Gigi McGraw of Southwest Philadelphia, Multidisciplinary, $2,500
Iliana Pagán-Teitelbaum of West Philadelphia, Media Arts, $2,500
India Bernadino of Lindenwold, Multidisciplinary, $2,500
Karen L. Smith of Germantown, Literary Arts/Music, $2,500
Kelly Holohan of Cheltenham, Visual Arts/Media Arts, $2,500
Kristin Auer of Center City, Multidisciplinary, $2,500
Lex Wiley of Mantua, Folk Art, $2,500
Mariam I. Williams of Cedar Park, Literary Arts/Performance, $2,500
Meg Foley of South Philadelphia, Performance, $2,500
Nicky Uy of Graduate Hospital, Folk Art, $2,500
OreOluwa Badaki of West Philadelphia, Literary Arts/Performance, $2,450
Qiaira Riley of West Philadelphia, Multidisciplinary, $2,500
Raani Begum of West Philadelphia, Crafts & Textiles/Visual Arts, $2,500
Tall Order (Jess Conda of Center City, Jenn Kidwell of Cobbs Creek, & Mel Krodman of Cobbs Creek), Multidisciplinary, $2,500
Art and Change Grants are distributed twice a year and evaluated by an independent peer review panel. The 2021 review panel consisted of theatre artist, writer, and educator Briyana D. Clarel (ACG ’20), multimedia and textile artist Lynda Grace Black (WOO ’01), and writer, photographer, and multimedia artist Lovella Calica (ACG ’14, ’07, ’06; LTA ’09).
Applications are made available on the Leeway website and may also be obtained by calling (215) 728–9273 or emailing info@leeway.org. Potential applicants are encouraged to attend one of the many support sessions offered throughout the year or schedule an appointment with a staff member for one-on-one support. The next Art and Change Grant deadline is March 1, 2022.
ABOUT LEEWAY
The Leeway Foundation supports women, trans* and gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers working in communities at the intersection of art, culture, and social change. Through our grantmaking and other programs, we promote artistic expression that amplifies the voices of those on the margins, promotes sustainable and healthy communities, and works in the service of movements for economic and social justice. For more information about Leeway, its grant programs, grantees, and events, visit leeway.org.
*Leeway is a trans-affirming organization committed to gender self-determination, and we use the term “trans” in its most inclusive sense, as an umbrella term encompassing transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, Two-Spirit people, and anyone whose gender identity or gender expression is nonconforming and/or different from their gender assigned at birth.