Press release via Leeway Foundation
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Leeway Foundation announces $62,500 in project-based funding to 30 women, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers in Greater Philadelphia with the 2024 Art and Change Grant (ACG).
For over two decades, the Art and Change Grant has supported artists who are, as beloved Philadelphia queer artist and activist Paul Robeson said, “the gatekeepers of truth [and] civilization’s radical voice.” This year’s recipients are no different and highlight a strong focus on cultural preservation as well as disability, LGBTQIA, and racial justice movements. The 2024 ACG grantees are working in a diverse range of artistic practices such as crafts & textiles, folk arts, media, music, performance, visual arts, and multidisciplinary forms.
Chosen from over 100 applications, this year’s grantees are developing work that challenges dominant narratives and gives radical voice to topics such as adoption, aging, immigration, mental health, mortality and mourning. This cohort includes, but is not limited to: a portrait series centering Philadelphia’s LGBTQIA ancestors; audio tours of historic jazz venues; a documentary exploring the intersections of autism, race, and gender; son jarocho workshops preserving and reimagining Mexican traditions; a collective zine uplifting the transracial adoptee community; a musical-visual project intertwining folk songs from Haitian and Black American traditions; fashion events designed to bring together and support LGBTQ+, plus-size, and disabled communities; and an experimental film that explores climate change, mental health, migration, and Arab identity.The
2024 Art and Grant Recipients are (in alphabetical order):
Andrea Ngan and Danita Reese of Germantown & West Kensington, Media Arts $2,500
Ants on a Log of West Philadelphia, Performance/Music, $2,500
Arleen Olshan of Mount Airy, Visual Arts/Crafts & Textiles, $2,500
Chaska Sofia of Kingsessing, Music/Media Arts, $2,500
Christina Jackson of Mount Airy, Media Arts, $2,500
CJ Jasen of University City, Performance, $2,500
Ella-Gabriel Mason of West Philadelphia, Performance, $2,500
Gina of South Philadelphia, Multidisciplinary, $2,500
Jaye McNair Obaseki of Overbrook, Crafts & Textiles/Folk Arts, $2,500
Kate Welbes and Nila Devaney of West Philadelphia, Visual/Media Arts, $2,500
Kisha Barr of Pennsauken, Media Arts, $2,500
Kris Aman of South Philadelphia, Crafts & Textiles, $2,500
Leticia Roa Nixon of Swarthmore, Visual/Media Arts, $2,500
Maia Chao of Powelton Village, Visual/Media Arts, $2,500
Maya Yu Zhang of West Philadelphia, Multidisciplinary, $2,500
Mila Romero of Southwest Philadelphia, Multidisciplinary, $2,500
Ñuuxakun of Northeast Philadelphia, Multidisciplinary, $2,500
Philly Queer Life Drawing of South Philadelphia, Visual Arts, $2,500
Ro Adler, Jackie Soro, and Nicole Dupree of Southwest Philadelphia, Mount Airy, & Kingsessing, Multidisciplinary, $2,500
Sarah Trad of Kensington, Media Arts, $2,500
Shavon Norris of Point Breeze, Performance, $2,500
Stephanie Amma of Chestnut Hill, Folk Arts/Crafts & Textiles, $2,500
Talie of Cobbs Creek, Music/Media Arts, $2,500
Ximena Violante of Montgomery County, Folk Arts/Music, $2,500
Zoë Greggs of East Mount Airy, Multidisciplinary, $2,500
ABOUT THE ART AND CHANGE GRANT
Art and Change grant applications are evaluated by an independent peer review panel. The 2024 review panel consisted of cultural organizer and inaugural Executive Director of the Forman Arts Initiative (FAI), Adjoa Jones de Almeida; writer, educator, and organizer, Asali Solomon; and media artist and community organizer, Feini Yin (ACG ‘23).
The Art and Change Grant (ACG) provides grants of up to $2,500 to fund art for social change projects by women, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers living in Greater Philadelphia.
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.
ABOUT LEEWAY FOUNDATION
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.