Mission Priorities

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation mission priorities are the guiding principles for our program. They align Sachs Program activities with our mission, and have been developed in dialogue with our advisory board and with input from other community members.

Sachs Program grant applicants will be asked to make a compelling case for how their proposal supports these priorities. It is understood that not all priorities are relevant to every project or grant category.

To support a range of creative practices and practitioners at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn’s extended community.
To provide equal opportunity—welcoming grant applications from individuals from a variety of backgrounds, including marginalized peoples and those whose voices have historically been silenced.
To engage current issues and ideas relevant to our time.
To contextualize scholarly and historical research in topical ideas and innovative approaches to practice and pedagogy.
To be catalytic—seeding new initiatives and supporting arts activities that might not happen otherwise.
To promote experimentation and innovation within and through the arts.
To encourage interdisciplinarity and collaboration.
To strengthen art departments and centers and to promote rigorous engagement with the arts across the university.
To cultivate meaningful partnerships between the university and its surrounding communities and to encourage non-hierarchical artistic and intellectual exchange.