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Announcing the Inaugural West Philadelphia Creative Grant Awards

September 23, 2024

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania and the Paul Robeson House & Museum (PRHM) are thrilled to announce the first round of West Philadelphia Creative Grant awards, providing $40,000 to support sixteen West Philadelphia artists and creative organizations.

“We are overjoyed by the tremendous response that we received from the artist community in West Philly,” said Janice Sykes-Ross, executive director of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance that administers the Paul Robeson House & Museum, “The creativity and community focus of the projects are fantastic! We are especially pleased that we were able to increase the number of grant recipients from six to 16 to support even more artists and groups.”

Each awardee receives $2,500 for projects representing a broad range of West Philadelphia’s vibrant creative community. The projects include performances in dance, theater, and drumming; workshops in drawing and storytelling; poetry, filmmaking, and community-greening activities, and the creation of a mural.

For a complete list of the sixteen inaugural awardees and their projects, please visit the Paul Robeson House & Museum website.


West Philadelphia Creative Grants

West Philadelphia Creative Grants are a newly established funding opportunity for the West Philadelphia creative community coordinated by the West Philadelphia Arts Council under the auspices of the Paul Robeson House & Museum. These grants provide both organizational and individual financial support, as well as funding to implement specific projects. The program is a collaboration between the Paul Robeson House & Museum and The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, with lead support from the William Penn Foundation.

The next opportunity in this collaborative initiative will be an artist residency scheduled for spring 2025, with applications accepted beginning late fall of 2024. The residency will provide funding for a BIPOC West Philadelphia artist to work out of the newly renovated administrative space of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, adjacent to the Paul Robeson House & Museum. Additionally, a second round of West Philadelphia Creative Grants will begin accepting applications in December 2024.


West Philadelphia Arts Council

The West Philadelphia Arts Council was formed to establish ongoing dialogue about resources needed to support arts and culture in West Philadelphia and manage a sub-granting program supporting artists and arts activities in the community. A portion of the lead support grant from the William Penn Foundation supports honoraria for council members and administrative costs.


Paul Robeson House & Museum

Paul Robeson House & Museum (PRHM) is located in West Philadelphia and was the final home of artist, actor, and activist Paul Leroy Robeson. PRHM keeps Paul Robeson’s legacy alive by supporting the values he stood for—social and economic justice, racial equity, artistic excellence, and the power of art as a force for fundamental social change. PRHM is a museum, a hub for research on Paul Robeson, a center for the arts, and a community hub serving West Philadelphia and the world. Since 1984, PRHM has connected the community to the arts through workshops, gallery shows, author talks, and concerts and by providing free or low-cost tickets to other cultural organizations in Philadelphia.


William Penn Foundation

The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is committed to expanding access to resources and opportunities that promote a more vital and just city and region for all. The foundation does this through funding programs in the Philadelphia region in arts and culture, children and families, democracy and civic initiatives, environment and public space, and workforce training and services.


The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation is a center at the University of Pennsylvania that provides grants and other forms of strategic support to artists, faculty, cultural centers, students, and other arts advocates at Penn and beyond. Our vision is that the arts at Penn are valued and embraced as a creative catalyst, driving innovation, inspiration, and action.

The Sachs Program supports a creative, culturally diverse, and pluralistic Penn community. We are committed to supporting individuals and groups from all races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, religions, disabilities, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation

John McInerney (he/him)
Executive Director
215-573-0874
mcinernj@upenn.edu

Chloe Reison (she/her)
Associate Director
215-573-2159
reison@upenn.edu

Elizabeth Shaw (she/her)
Administrative Assistant
215-898-5930
elizshaw@upenn.edu

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation offices are located at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania.

3680 Walnut Street
Philadelphia PA

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