Leeway Foundation Celebrates 25 Years with MAKING SPACE
August 23, 2018
CONTACT:
Erin Mooney
Moxy PR
267-788-2196; erin@moxypr.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
LEEWAY FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 25 YEARS WITH MAKING SPACE, A NEW EXHIBITION AT THE GALLERIES AT MOORE
2018 marks the ​25th anniversary ​of the ​Leeway Foundation​, dedicated to grantmaking and community building among artists, cultural producers, and organizers in Greater Philadelphia. In celebration of this milestone year, Leeway announces the opening of ​MAKING SPACE: Leeway @ 25,​ an exhibition at ​The Galleries at Moore​, running from September 20 through December 8, 2018.
“It is an honor to feature over 100 artists within this exhibition,” said Leeway executive director, Denise Brown. "From the collaborative installations and the work on the walls, to the Leeway library, showcasing a variety of books, zines and prints, we are so grateful for the contributions our grantees have made to ​MAKING SPACE ​as an expression of their continuing support of the mission of the foundation. These artists and cultural producers use art and culture, not only as declarations of resistance and protest, but as a chorus of voices, expressing the richness of ​allcultures and human experience,” Brown said.
The exhibition opens on September 20 at Moore College of Art & Design with a conversation featuring Lambent Foundation Executive Director Michelle Coffey, world-renowned South African photographer Zanele Muholi, and artists from The Women’s Mobile Museum. Moore’s Socially-Engaged Art MA/MFA program has worked with Leeway and the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center (PPAC) to present this dialogue with Muholi, who has developed a new project with Philadelphia Photo Arts Center and 10 local artists that make up The Women’s Mobile Museum. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is preferred but not required.
[page1image1624240] [page1image1624448] [page1image1624656]
The exhibition features a curated selection of artworks by former Leeway grant recipients, as well as historical materials that recognize Leeway’s impact. Moore alumni and faculty are represented in the exhibition. Eighteen Moore BFA students worked with Leeway in preparation for the exhibition.
On view are works that demonstrate the powerful intersection of art, culture, community and change—the artists and visionaries who lovingly and courageously continue to “make space” for fresh stories and new realities to emerge. The exhibition encompasses collaborative works such as a front window installation titled One is Part of the Many, an altar honoring the legacy of forebears, and an installation from The Colored Girls Museum, as well as many other solo works, all by grantee artists.
Exhibiting artists include: Anula Shetty, Betty Leacraft, Michelle Angela Ortiz, Ana Guissel Palma, Lori Waselchuk, Ruth Naomi Floyd, Syd Carpenter, Nanette Clark, Barbara Bullock, Ife Nii-Owoo, Yinka Orafidiya, Nancy Lewis Shell, Sandra Andino, Christina Johnson, Toni Kersey, Betsy Casañas, Marta Sanchez, Celestine Wilson Hughes, Denise Allen, Li Sumpter, Marie-Monique Marthol, Annie Mok, Beeta Baghoolizadeh, Camae Ayewa aka Moor Mother, Eva WÅ, Kerry Radley, Maria Dumlao, Mary DeWitt and Muthi Reed.
A Leeway Vision Poem by Walidah Imarisha and filmed by Anula Shetty includes contributions from grantees Andrea Walls, Boston Gordon, Debra Powell-Wright, Denice Frohman, Emily Abendroth, Indah Nuritasari, J.C. Todd, Julia Lopez, Kai Davis, Kavi Ade, Michelle Myers, Misty Sol, Mytili Jagannathan, Pat McLean, Sonia Sanchez, Susan DiPronio, Trapeta Mayson and Ursula Rucker and former Program Director Sham-e-Ali Nayeem.
For more information on Leeway’s 25th anniversary, visit https://www.leeway.org/about/leewayat25​.
For images or interview requests, please contact Moxy PR at ​erin@moxypr.com​ or 267-788-2196.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
September 20, 5:30pm - 8:30pm
MAKING SPACE: LEEWAY @ 25 OPENING RECEPTION
(Conversation at 5:30pm; Reception at 7:30pm)
The Galleries at Moore
October 6, 10am - 5pm
LEEWAY DAY: Artist Talks, Tours, and Workshops
The Galleries at Moore
October 16, 7 - 10pm
CHANGEMAKERS CABARET
The Ibrahim Theater at International House Philadelphia
November 1 - 30
REEL CHANGE: LEEWAY'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY FILM FESTIVAL
PhillyCAM​ (Comcast Xfinity 66/ 966HD/ 967 and Verizon FIOS 29/30)
Everywhere on Roku and online
Shorts on air Monday through Friday 10:00pm-11:00pm; Features on air Saturdays & Sundays.
November 8, 3 - 5pm
TRANSFORMING INCLUSION: LAUNCH EVENT & PANEL DISCUSSION
Skyline Room at the Parkway Central Library
November 9, 11am - November 10, 1pm
25 HOURS FOR 25 YEARS: A RADIOTHON
The Galleries at Moore Radio
December 2, 2 - 5pm
LOOKING FORWARD: THE FUTURE OF LEEWAY COMMUNITY MEETING
Moore College of Art and Design - Stewart Auditorium
December 5, 6:00 - 8:00pm
THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE: FINDING PLEASURE IN THE AGE OF #METOO
A Conversation with #MeToo founder Tarana Burke
Temple Contemporary
December 7, 6:30 - 9pm
MAKING SPACE: LEEWAY @ 25 CLOSING RECEPTION
The Galleries at Moore
About Leeway Foundation
The ​Leeway Foundation​ supports women and trans* 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.
*Leeway is a trans-affirming organization committed to gender self-determination, and uses 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.
About Moore College of Art & Design
Moore College of Art & Design educates students for careers in art and design. Founded in 1848, Moore is the nation's first and only women's visual arts college for undergraduates. The College's career-focused environment and professionally active faculty form a dynamic community in the heart of Philadelphia's cultural district, surrounded by world-class museums. The College offers ten Bachelor of fine arts degrees for women and four coeducational graduate programs. In addition, Moore provides many valuable opportunities in the arts through The Galleries at Moore, Continuing Education Certificate programs for professional adults, the acclaimed Young Artists Workshop, The Art Shop and Sculpture Park. For more information about Moore, visit ​www.moore.edu
