Leeway Announces First Art+Technology Residency
PHILADELPHIA—The Leeway Foundation announces its first residency award, the Art+Technology Residency, a collaboration with Breadboard and NextFab Studio. The first recipient is, tiona.m. (LTA ’09, ACG ’07), a filmmaker based in South Philadelphia. The six month residency, which begins this December, is designed to support creation and exploration at the intersection of new media, art, technology, and community by connecting artists with the fabrication resources available at NextFab.
For the duration of her residency tiona.m. will have access to NextFab’s facilities, classes, shared studio space, and will receive a materials budget of up to $2,500 to complete her proposed project. tiona.m. will receive training in the use of specialized equipment, be encouraged to give artist talks and/or host a community workshop, and have an opportunity to promote her work through featured guests spots on Breadboard’s and NextFab’s social media platforms. Projects supported by the Art+Technology Residency must include a public component, in accordance with Leeway’s emphasis on art for social change. The resident artist will work toward a public exhibition, performance or presentation of their work to be held at EKG (Esther Klein Gallery), Breadboard’s exhibition and project space located at 3600 Market Street.
This residency is offered exclusively to artists who have previously received funding from Leeway and have an established art for social change practice. Previous Leeway grantees who are interested in utilizing the high-tech tools offered at NextFab Studio, and have a desire to challenge themselves and their work are encouraged to apply.
Two six-month residencies will be awarded each year and evaluated by a peer review panel. The September 2012 review panel consisted of Breadboard curator David Clayton, visual artist Laureen Griffin (LTA ’07, ACG ’05), and audiovisual artist and music producer Rucyl Mills.
ABOUT TIONA
Executive Producer/Director of Harriet’s Gun Media is an award winning multi-media artist whose mission is to make the invisible, visible and humanize her subjects. Her feature-length documentary film, black./womyn.: conversations with lesbians of African descent, provides a platform for Black lesbians to speak for themselves and to confront the hyper-sexualized image of the Black lesbian. black./womyn. was awarded the Audience Award for Best Documentary by the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival{now QFest} in 2008. Tiona continues to develop and create films on progressive topics with the hope of directing a narrative feature-length project in the near future. She is currently in production with her next feature length documentary The Untitled Black Lesbian Elder Project, recently completed a short narrative film Bumming Cigarettes, and an experimental short series called Be Alarmed: The Black Americana Epic, which is an magical realism themed take on the Black American experience. tiona.m. received the Leeway Transformation Award in 2009 and the Art and Change Grant in 2007.
ABOUT BREADBOARD
Breadboard is a hybrid program at the University City Science Center that facilitates cross-disciplinary art exhibits, community outreach initiatives, and special programs offering public access to a new generation of fabrication technology and workspace in an effort to empower individuals and convene communities around creative applications of technology. Through a unique partnership with NextFab Studio, Breadboard offers artists the opportunity to utilize high-tech equipment alongside engineers, hobbyists, and inventors.
ABOUT NEXTFAB
NextFab Studio is a membership-based, high-tech workshop, and prototyping center—it’s Philadelphia’s “gym for innovators”. NextFab is currently a 4,400 square foot facility, which provides comfortable, clean, and safe workspaces with hand tools, 3D printers, computer-controlled machine tools, software, and electronics workbenches. Expert instructors and a community of collaborators are on hand to help members problem-solve and achieve their vision.
ABOUT LEEWAY
The Leeway Foundation supports women and transgender 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.
