Announcing the 2020 Leeway Transformation Award Recipients
LEEWAY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES $165,000 IN UNRESTRICTED FUNDING TO 11 ARTISTS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE.
PHILADELPHIA- Leeway Foundation announced $165,000 in funding for 11 individual women, trans* and gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers in Greater Philadelphia. The $15,000 unrestricted award recognizes each individual’s commitment to their communities and art for social change.
Spanning an array of artistic disciplines and social change intents, the 2020 LTA recipients are focused on issues like upholding our cultural legacies, developing artistic responses to systemic racism, and raising questions of sustainability in the built and natural environment and are a reminder of the importance of arts and culture as a tool for community building and a conduit for change.
The 2020 Leeway Transformation Award (LTA) recipients are (in alphabetical order):
Ama Ma’at Gora of West Philadelphia, Performance
Heather Raquel Phillips of Whitman/South Philadelphia, Multidisciplinary
Jaz Malone of South Philly, Visual Arts/Media Arts
khaliah d. pitts of Mt. Airy, Literary Arts/Folk Art
Li Sumpter of Germantown, Multidisciplinary
Madhusmita of Germantown, Performance/Folk Arts
Maria Dumlao of Kensington, Visual Arts
Natacha Yazbeck of University City, Folk Arts
Rea Tajiri of Brewerytown, Media Arts/Visual Arts
Rocío Cabello of Germantown, Visual Arts
Toni Nash of Washington West, Multidisciplinary
A national panel of artists and cultural producers convened to review applications and work samples in this two-stage process. The 2020 panel included Philadelphia-based multidisciplinary maker, performer, and cultural advocate, Wit López, Arkansas-based multidisciplinary artist, cultural organizer, popular educator, strategist, and administrator, Tufara Muhammad, and New York-based multimedia artist, filmmaker, educator, and activist Betty Yu. In the second stage panel welcomed Tucson-based folklorist, curator, and community arts expert, Maribel Álvarez, and Saint Paul-based poet, performer, educator and cultural producer, Tish Jones and was facilitated by Sage Crump, New Orleans based culture-strategist, artist, and facilitator.
The next Leeway Transformation Award deadline is May 15, 2021. In addition to the Transformation Award, Leeway offers the Art and Change Grant two times per year. These project-based grants of up to $2,500 are awarded to women and trans* artists in Greater Philadelphia. The 2021 Art and Change Grant deadlines are March 1 and August 1.
Applications are available on Leeway’s website, and may also be obtained by calling 215.545.4078 or emailing info@leeway.org. Interested 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.
Press inquiries and photo requests should be directed to Brittnie Knight at 215.728.9273 or bknight@leeway.org
ABOUT LEEWAY: Leeway Foundation supports women, trans*, and/or 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, 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.
