PITTSBURGH, Pa., Dec. 3, 2024 – Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh, a foundations-funded program created to celebrate and grow the Black arts sector, has awarded a total of $1.2 million in new grants to 24 individual artists, collectives and arts organizations.
This is the second year that the program funded by The Heinz Endowments and The Pittsburgh Foundation has provided two-year grants for project-specific support. Pittsburgh Foundation staff and the Advancing Black Arts grant-review panel reviewed more than 100 proposals and awarded grants averaging $49,000.
“Pittsburgh’s Black artists and related arts organizations produce amazing work and they – and our city at large – are celebrated for it nationally,” Pittsburgh Foundation President and CEO Lisa Schroeder said in announcing the grants. “But the financial challenges in the sector are significant and funding from our foundations is critically important in helping individuals and organizations stay in business to develop new work.”
“Our city’s Black artists – and the vibrance, happiness and conversation sparked by their talent and creativity – bring enormous value to our region,” said Jasmin DeForrest, managing director of Creativity at The Heinz Endowments. “We are honored to support this incredible group of artists and organizations, and grateful to them for the world-class beauty and depth they bring to their work, and to our city.”
Recipients include:
• Kaila Carter for choreography, documentation, workshops and the creation and premiere of new works performed by a cohort of Black dancers.
• Anyah Nancy for her debut album "Sounds like Honey."
• Joy Priest for an anthology of poems, “The Black Outside.”
• Damon Young for “Made in America,” a hybrid literary conversation and salon series bringing nationally renowned authors to Pittsburgh and celebrating the craft of writing.
Since 2010, Advancing Black Arts has awarded more than $13 million toward the goals of expanding community awareness of the Black arts sector, supporting collaboration among artists, increasing the profiles of artists and arts organizations, and combatting racial disparities within the larger arts ecosystem.
Images of the artists and their work are available for media use. Details on each artist, including social media handles, are available on the “About the Awardees” resource page on The Pittsburgh Foundation’s website.
Aboveground Railroad grant totaling $10,000 for one year:
• James Manning ($10,000) to support education in pursuit of a career in arts administration.
Project-Support grants totaling more than $933,610 over two years:
• Barrel & Flow Fest, Day Bracey ($40,000) to provide artist support and national promotion for Black artists based in Western Pennsylvania through its festival and events.
• Gavin Benjamin ($49,900) to produce a self-directed photography residency culminating in a photobook and short documentary film that delves into themes of migration, colonialization and identity.
• Kaila Carter ($50,000) to support choreography, documentation, workshops and the creation and premiere of new works performed by a cohort of Black dancers.
• Addoley Dzegede ($46,910) to support research, studio space, a residency and continuing education for the development of a Ghana Album series, new soft sculptures and new glass works.
• Adrie Rose ($30,000) to support "I Hate My Job," an anthology project aiming to amplify the voices of sex workers, particularly those from the Black community.
• Jasmine Green (Black Girl Absolute) ($20,000) to support a self-directed residency and publishing support for "A Field Guide for Blue Girls," a collection of visual art and poetry centering on the mental health needs of Black women and girls.
• HEALING BY DEZIGNS, Dr. Ameela Boyd ($50,000) to support the Holistic Barber Shop and Healing Her Story Therapy programs, designed to assist Black men and women dealing with remnants of trauma.
• TaMara Howard ($50,000) to support quilt artists through The Quilt Empowerment Project.
• Anyah Nancy ($50,000) to support the debut album "Sounds like Honey."
• KBK Foundation, Brandon R. Jennings and Marlon Gist ($46,800) to support the "Junior Art Expo Academy" course, titled “Black Art In America,” which aims to familiarize students aged 10-14 with diverse art techniques, movements and renowned African American artists.
• London Pierre Williams ($50,000) to support the creation of a series of paintings to be featured in an exhibition and public artist talk in Pittsburgh.
• Jessica Gaynelle Moss ($50,000) to support the transformation of a four-story residence in the Hill District into a site-specific public artwork.
• Mikael Owunna ($50,000) to create "Blackstar Sanctuary," a virtual reality experience supporting the mental health and communal wellness of Black LGBTQ individuals.
• Joy Priest ($50,000) to support an anthology of poems, “The Black Outside,” elevating themes of Black ecology, the Great Migration, Black desire and Black addiction, and a collection of essays on Black surrealism and poetic craft.
• Marques Redd ($50,000) to support the creation of a feature-length dance film entitled “The Four World Ages."
• Ricardo iamuuri Robinson ($50,000) to support the creation of new multimedia art piece, "And Who Told You That You Were Naked?"
• Sibyls Shrine ($50,000) to support the programming of Sibyls Shrine, a collective of more than 100 Black artists who are m/others.
• Unshakeable Motherhood ($50,000) to support “Her Dreams” documentary extension, pop-up community interactive arts simulation and film screening events.
• Damon Young ($50,000) to support Made in America, a hybrid literary conversation and salon series bringing nationally renowned authors to Pittsburgh and celebrating the craft of writing.
• The YOUniversity ($50,000) to support multidisciplinary creative workshop series “The Basquiat Project: Where Have All the Wildflowers Gone?".
General Operating Support grants totaling $300,000 over two years:
• ALMA | LEWIS ($100,000) to support its work as an experimental contemporary art platform for critical thinking, constructive dialogue and creative expression dedicated to Black culture.
• Alumni Theater Company ($100,000) to support its mission to create bold theatrical work that gives fresh voice to the experience of young Black artists and highlights their rich contribution to our community.
• August Wilson House ($100,000) to promote the literary and social legacy of August Wilson through the restoration of his Hill District boyhood home as an arts center.
For more information, please contact:
Doug Root
The Pittsburgh Foundation
Vice President of Communications
412-394-2647
[email protected]