Community Initiatives
The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation supports a creative, culturally diverse, and pluralistic community. That goal is central to our mission, and permeates all facets of our work, from grantmaking to exhibitions and programming to our community initiatives.
The communities we serve include the University of Pennsylvania and our neighboring communities of West Philadelphia, as well as the many publics we engage through the projects we support and produce.
Community Partnership Grants and our work with the West Philadelphia community are key strategic initiatives that support this mission and cultivate meaningful partnerships between Penn and its community neighbors. All Sachs Program grant opportunities encourage community involvement and engagement, as reflected in the broad range of projects we support across all our programs.
Community Partnership Grants
As one of the largest grants we award each year, Sachs Program Community Partnership Grants support meaningful collaborations and cultivate partnerships between the University of Pennsylvania and neighboring communities, encouraging non-hierarchical artistic and intellectual exchange.
For the 2027 cycle, the Penn Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts and the Sachs Program are co-sponsoring Community Partnership Grants.
Information about how to apply for a Community Partnership Grant, as well as an archive of previously supported projects, can be found on the Sachs Program website.
West Philadelphia Arts Initiative
In a collaboration with the Paul Robeson House & Museum, the Sachs Program established the West Philadelphia Arts Initiative in 2023 with a lead grant from the William Penn Foundation. The grant supported the creation of a West Philadelphia Arts Council to establish ongoing dialogue about the resources needed to support arts and culture in West Philadelphia and to manage a sub-granting program that directly supports artists and arts activities within the community. During the two-year project, the initiative awarded 34 grants totaling $85,000.
The William Penn Foundation grant also supported a new artist-in-residence program at the Paul Robeson House & Museum. In the spring of 2025, West Philadelphia-based visual and movement artist shanina dionna was the inaugural resident, programming a series of free public workshops in collaboration with local visual artists, musicians, horticulturalists, entrepreneurs, clay makers, tea alchemists, yoga guides, and more.
Another outcome of the West Philadelphia Initiative was the creation of the Penn Arts for Community Engagement group. This group of community-focused arts leaders at the University of Pennsylvania meets regularly to share best practices, develop new collaborative opportunities, and support each other’s efforts to work with and learn from the community.
