25th Anniversary

This provided an opportunity for the Foundation to celebrate 25 years of grant-making and community building among artists, cultural producers, and organizers in Greater Philadelphia.

Since 1993, Leeway Foundation has invested in the lives of artists and cultural producers through direct funding and promotional support. We approached our 25th anniversary milestone as an opportunity to tell Leeway’s story – a story grounded in the founder’s feminist principles that explore the intersection of art, culture, community, and change. 

In those 25 years, Leeway became more inclusive in how it defined its community in terms of who (practitioners) and what (practice) the foundation supports; initially funding women-identified artists, then expanding its criteria to embrace women, trans, and gender nonconforming artists with a vision for social change. Through its grantmaking, programming, and community partnerships, Leeway has been able to keep the conversation around art and social change on the ground and in practice. It is in that spirit of equity, engagement, and exploration that we strive to highlight the kind of work we exist to support, as well as the artists, cultural producers, activists, scholars, and organizations who have carried us along our journey. 

The 25th anniversary allowed us time to reflect on and explore the intersection of art, culture, community, and change, while we celebrate the artists and visionaries who lovingly and courageously made and continue to “make space” for fresh stories and new realities to emerge.