Meet Our 2025 Grantees

Delaware River Waterfront Corporation

Sail Through This To That

A large-scale artwork on the Delaware River explores the pursuit of freedom and connects the lives of two women across centuries: Ona Judge, an enslaved seamstress to Martha Washington, and Rem’mie Fells, an aspiring fashion designer and trans woman killed in 2020. The installation is created by artist Indira Allegra, curated by Rob Blackson, and presented in partnership with ArtPhilly. It features vibrant sails to be paraded during a public procession from Philadelphia’s Old City to the river and flown from a schooner docked in Spruce Street Harbor.

History Making Productions 

(fiscally sponsored by CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia)

In Pursuit: Philadelphia and the Making of America

A ten-part documentary series, directed by Andrew Ferrett and written by Nathaniel Popkin, offers a deep dive into the history of American democratic life through the lens of Philadelphia. Released during the nation’s Semiquincentennial—as both a television broadcast on 6abc and at multiple community screening events across the region—In Pursuit spotlights the diverse experiences of Philadelphians and the city’s unique role in shaping the founding ideals of the country.

Orchestra 2001 

A More Perfect Union: Musical Reflections on Five Amendments to the U.S. Constitution 

A performance series during America’s 250th anniversary interprets five important constitutional amendments through contemporary classical music. Featuring both new commissions and existing works from thirty American composers—including many based in Philadelphia—A More Perfect Union examines the nation’s blueprint for democracy and provokes thoughts on freedoms of speech, religion, press, and assembly; the right to bear arms; the abolition of slavery; women’s suffrage; and the repeal of prohibition.

The Print Center 

America Today 

Contemporary artworks from six community-centered, mission-based printshops across the US come together to consider the breadth of the American experience in the context of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Accompanied by gallery talks, public programs, and a publication, America Today highlights new voices in printmaking and the power of print as a medium for expressing political ideals and urgent concerns. 

Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History   

The First Salute: An Untold Story of the American Revolution

An expansive exhibition marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by giving voice to a group rarely featured in the story of America’s revolution: the Jewish people. Presenting material culture, first person narratives, and historical records, the exhibition explores how 18th-century American Jewish experiences offer new insight into the Declaration and the country's pursuit of religious liberty and self-determination. 

WXPN, University of Pennsylvania 

Declarations of Independents: Philly Anthems 

Musicians from Philadelphia share their perspective on America’s founding document in a multi-faceted project honoring the country’s Semiquincentennial. Featuring commissioned new anthems by established artists—including Eric Bazilian (The Hooters), Devon Gilfillian, and Eliza Hardy Jones (The War On Drugs)—a songwriting challenge for emerging artists, workshops, live performances, and a vinyl LP, the project offers contemporary reflections on the concept of independence.

Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center 

Cultural Exchange with Delaware Tribe Cultural Education Department 

A multi-year cultural exchange between the Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma and the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center fosters an inclusive and authentic interpretation of regional history. Informed by in-person visits between Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, the project illuminates the rich multicultural history of the Perkiomen Valley in Western Montgomery County and highlights the region’s Lenape roots through an exhibition of historical items, newly commissioned works, and stories of the Delaware Tribe’s homeland. 

Vox Populi   

An Endless Meeting: Collective Process, Artistic Labor, and the Politics of Working Together

A multi-pronged project surveys the practices of collaboration and collective action, looking to artist-run creative spaces for insights into working together across differences. Interactive exhibitions, performances, workshops, roundtables, and a print publication encourage reflections on collective artmaking and offer a model for building communities beyond the arts.

We Are the Seeds 

(fiscally sponsored by CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia) 

this situation: an examination of myth and memory 

The historical painting Penn’s Treaty with the Indians serves as a conceptual anchor for a new theater piece centering contemporary Indigenous presence, creativity, and joy while confronting historical erasure and ongoing threats to sovereignty. Developed by a team of Indigenous artists and collaborators, the production challenges dominant narratives of peaceful colonization through original music, dance, live painting, archival material, and digital media.

Arden Theatre Company

Their Eyes Were Watching God

A new play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames adapts Zora Neale Hurston’s landmark 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. A story about community, resilience, and transformation, Their Eyes is brought to the stage in partnership with Orlando Shakes, a theater near Hurston’s hometown of Eatonville, Florida. The play follows central character Janie’s struggles in a world shaped by patriarchy and racism and her journey to self-discovery.

Institute on Disabilities, Temple University

You Caught Me on Your Shoulders by Kinetic Light 

A multi-sensory dance performance created by disability arts ensemble Kinetic Light presents a series of vignettes based on significant moments in disability advocacy and culture. Recognized for its innovative approach to access, Kinetic Light rejects traditional assumptions that dance must be experienced exclusively through sight and makes use of captions, ASL interpretation, sound, haptic vibration, and multiple styles of audio description for choreography, soundscapes, and score—offering audiences multiple pathways to experience the work.

Philadelphia Dance Projects 

SERMON 

A new work conceived and choregraphed by Tommie-Waheed Evans reimagines performance as ritual, transforming contemporary dance into a participatory spiritual gathering rooted in Black queer experience. Designed in a sanctuary-like setting and with an original score by Omar-Frederick, the performance evokes the architecture, music, and emotional intensity of Black church traditions, while reclaiming those spaces for new forms of belonging, communal healing, and spiritual inquiry. 

The Philadelphia Orchestra 

The Party 

A genre-blending, contemporary opera combines performance with modern visual storytelling in a collaboration with artist Alex Da Corte and composer Austin Fisher. Marisol Escobar’s 1965 sculptural installation The Party comes to life in a cinematic reimagining that features surreal, stop-motion animation, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and a cast of singers. The production explores themes of femininity, image, and artifice as it satirizes social rituals and consumer culture. 

Philadelphia Theatre Company 

La Guagua 47: An American Musical 

A bilingual musical written by Alba Martínez and directed by Laurie Woolery reflects stories of belonging, migration, and the search for home. Framed around an eye-opening ride on SEPTA’s 47 bus taken by a Puerto Rican girl new to Philadelphia, this world premiere production celebrates and reflects the city’s Latino community, blending musical styles such as salsa, bachata, soul, and hip-hop and is performed in both Spanish and English.

Wilma Theater 

The Animal Farm Project 

A reflection on the production of Animal Farm that launched the Wilma in 1979, this newly devised staging explores questions of power, corruption, resistance, and hope. Lead artist and Wilma HotHouse Acting Company member Justin Jain and director Eva Steinmetz draw from George Orwell’s allegorical novel and incorporate multimedia design, docu-theater elements, and migrant stories collected through workshops and community interviews to create a contemporary examination of oppressive regimes.

African American Museum in Philadelphia

Tangible : Blacktronika Artifacts & Archives

A multi-sensory exhibition led by King Britt—a composer, producer, performer, and professor—celebrates the contributions of Black innovators in electronic music. Continuing the work of UK DJ Charlie Dark MBE, Britt and co-curator Eugene Lew organize installations of audio, video, and tools such as drum machines, samplers, and turntables. Interactive workshops and performances expand on the stories of Black musical pioneers who shaped global culture.

Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra

Black Women Composers Initiative

Concerts, panel discussions, and a podcast showcase living and historical Black woman composers making contemporary orchestral music. In response to Black Composers Series: 1974–1978—an important recording collection that introduced listeners and orchestras to Black composers but neglected to include women—this project offers a more balanced and comprehensive representation by spotlighting award-winning composers Courtney Bryan, Valerie Coleman, Hannah Kendall, and Julia Perry.

Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts

Soundscapes for Tomorrow: Stage One Residencies

Five acclaimed jazz artists develop new work and give audiences a window into the creative process in a newly created artist-in-residence program. Composers and multi-instrumentalists Tia Fuller, Derrick Hodge, Nabate Isles, Papo Vazquez, and Miguel Zenon participate in collaborative rehearsals, artist talks, public workshops, and a culminating performance held at the Clef Club and livestreamed globally.

Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO!)

For the Love of Philly

Music from the Philadelphia International Records catalog provides the soundtrack for four ballets celebrating the legacy of Gamble and Huff’s Philly Soul sound and over five decades of PHILADANCO. The program features new commissions by Dawn Marie Bazemore and Rennie Harris and remounted works by Dwight Rhoden and Gene Hill Sagan, reflecting a broad spectrum of Black dance and representing the past, present, and future of the dance company.

PRISM Quartet

Roots and Branches

A concert encompassing traditional and newly commissioned compositions extends and reimagines the heritage of roots, folk, and bluegrass music from the Black diaspora. Roots musicians Leyla McCalla and Jake Blount act as the project’s curators, composers, and performers, forming a new ensemble that combines PRISM’s saxophonists with string and percussion instruments for a live performance, radio broadcast, and studio recording.

Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Drexel University 

Escape->Control->Play 

An interactive exhibition looks at video games as a means of community building, creative expression, and social critique. Transforming the gallery space to feel more like an arcade, Escape->Control->Play invites audiences to play games created by independent producers and view gaming from a range of historic and present-day perspectives. From early 8-bit games to contemporary pieces inspired by their visual language, the installation considers the bridge between gaming and art. 

Museum of Music Technology / EMEAPP 

Instruments That Talk Back: Celebrating the Legacy of Don Buchla 

An exhibition surveys the work and impact of Don Buchla, a synthesizer pioneer and influential figure in electronic music. Encompassing performances, workshops, and lectures, the project charts a path from Buchla’s analog instruments developed in the 1960s to his digital innovations of the 2000s. It also engages with his core collaborators, including composers, engineers, and scholars, as well as contemporary artists who perform newly composed pieces using instruments Buchla designed.

Asian Arts Initiative

Joyce Ho: Coffee Protocol

A multi-site exhibition of video sculptures, drawings, and paintings examines the “in-between” of everyday spaces with installations at both Asian Art’s Initiative’s gallery and venues such as cafes and bookstores in Philadelphia. Created by designer and multimedia artist Joyce Ho, Coffee Protocol focuses on immigrants, BIPOC individuals, and service workers to explore daily rituals, gathering, and labor in places where public and private blur.

Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site 

ReVision: Art and Justice at Eastern State

Artists impacted by the criminal justice system develop site-specific works at America’s first penitentiary as part of an eight-month artist-in-residence program. Encompassing guided tours, salon-style conversations with legal experts and historians, and video content documenting the artists’ work, ReVision focuses on advancing public understanding of the criminal justice system through narratives rooted in empathy, dignity, and lived experience.

Monument Lab 

[birdsong]

Three new environmental soundworks create a living monument to Philadelphia’s birds, inviting audiences to gather for deep listening: to birds, to one another, and to the places we cohabitate. Curator Yolanda Wisher works with vocalists and sound artists Mendi & Keith Obadike, Raúl Romero, and Hanna Tuulikki, as well as ornithologists and wildlife biologists, exploring the intersections of public memory, environmental stewardship, and ecology through sound. 

Mural Arts Philadelphia

New Deals: Artists Commune with Infrastructure

Three interdisciplinary artists investigate and respond to civic infrastructure and its relationship to public art in newly commissioned artworks. Maia Chao focuses on Philadelphia’s trolley network, while misael soto looks at the city’s air quality, and Alex Strada examines its sidewalks in projects that seek to better understand infrastructure at a human scale and celebrate the labor, care, and investment in municipal systems that impact shared public life.

Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania

Blackwater Creature (working title)

Artist and filmmaker Allison Janae Hamilton furthers her examination of Black Southern life, nature, memory, and community in her first solo museum show and exhibition catalogue, surveying existing and newly commissioned works. In sculpture, film, photography, and instillation, Hamilton creates immersive environments that intertwine personal family narratives, imagery of domestic spaces, legacies of displacement, and the flora and fauna of the American South.

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens 

Held Within

Chilean artist Carmen Mardonez uses textiles to develop two site-specific exhibitions exploring intimacy and womanhood—installed in the galleries at the Magic Gardens Museum and at its recently opened, ten-thousand-square-foot studio location in South Philadelphia. Mardonez interweaves her embroidery and beaded techniques with materials sourced from the archives of Magic Gardens artist and creator Isaiah Zagar to create “soft worlds," presented in contrast to Zagar's “hard-edged mosaics.”

EgoPo Classic Theater

EgoPo undertakes a strategic planning and feasibility process to create a path toward establishing a permanent performance venue that is rooted in community engagement. Working with consultants in nonprofit finance, real estate, and law, the theater company considers how a shift from producing as a site-specific, itinerant company to working from a neighborhood-based permanent home will affect its operations, audience engagement, and artistic processes.

The Fabric Workshop and Museum  

As it approaches its 50th anniversary, The Fabric Workshop and Museum explores opportunities to expand artist and community access as an institution “committed to sharing both process and product.” With guidance from consultants and thinking partners in the museum field, FWM develops a plan that will grow earned revenue while delivering increased value, leading to successful entrepreneurial practices and greater sustainability.

Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia  

Drawing on its more than 150-year legacy, Mendelssohn Chorus seeks to address its single-staff operational challenges by researching and establishing a choral collective designed to share administrative, fundraising, and audience development functions. In collaboration with a nonprofit consulting firm, the chorus conducts a two-phase study: first researching the regional choral ecosystem and potential collaborative frameworks and then engaging with other organizations to co-design a model that embraces collaboration and fosters long-term sustainability.

South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)

In a year-long study, SAADA seeks to leverage its community archiving expertise to create revenue-generating products and services that help tell the stories of America’s diverse immigrant populations. Working with consultants to conduct market research, SAADA develops program models that meet the need for heritage preservation and intergenerational storytelling while establishing a plan for expanded reach and sustainable income.