Grants to go to black artists, agencies
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thanks to $229,000 in grants, the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh initiative will be funding a local comic book series, mixed media ceramic work, holistic healing guide, collection of short stories and many more projects.
Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh, a partnership of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowment, aims to support individual artists’ careers, promote awareness of the city’s black arts sector, provide financial stability to cultural organizations with focuses in African-American art and support efforts toward eliminating racial disparities within the larger arts community.
Through this most recent endowment, $82,090 went to six Pittsburgh artists who were granted funding. Among these, Lovie J. Jackson Foster, who researches mental health and holds a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Washington, plans to use her $15,000 grant toward therapeutic journaling and healing workshops for AfricanAmerican youths. Another $15,000 grant recipient, Sandra Gould Ford will be putting her grant toward developing 20 new short stories for publication. Ms. Gould Ford — a creative educator, as well as award-winning author and artist — also plans to use her grant to update her online presence and provide creativity workshops in Pittsburgh.
Other grant recipients include Christine Bethea, Christian Hall, Billy Jackson and Liana Maneese, with grants ranging from $8,050 to $15,000 per artist.
Nearly $57,400 from the $229,000 endowment will also fund grants for artist residencies, including the Alumni Theater Company, Bunker projects and the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, spanning between $18,000 and $20,000 per residency.
The selected artists and residencies, as well as 59 other applications, were reviewed by a panel of artists and cultural workers who are “curating experiences across genres.”
The group included Lisa Yancey, nationally acclaimed organizational development consultant with Yancey Consulting; Brian Burley, who wrote “YNGBLKPGH,” pronounced “Young Black Pittsburgh;” Trevor Miles, Trevor C. Dance Collective founder and choreographer; and Adeniji Valerie Williams Lawrence, a multicultural artist and cultural educator.
Since its development in 2010, Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh has put $4.8 million toward the 304 grants it has awarded.