16 Black arts groups, nonprofits receive $10K grants
Sixteen Pittsburgh arts and nonprofit organizations including Texture Contemporary Ballet, August Wilson House and Bounce House Studios & Productions will receive unrestricted grants of $10,000 apiece in the second phase of a multimillion dollar grant project.
In 2020, The Ford Foundation, a national philanthropic organization, began partnering with foundations around the country to funnel money to arts organizations that produce work with or by underrepresented communities. The program, called America’s Cultural Treasures, aimed to support arts organizations serving communities of color in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Pittsburgh, the Heinz Endowments is Ford’s local connection. Heinz is also partnering with the POISE Foundation, one of America’s oldest Black community foundations, to allocate a total of $10 million to Blackled organizations.
The foundations distributed $5.4 million in 2021. This second round of funding is intended to build out organizational capacity. All 16 organizations will receive assistance in developing and implementing a strategic plan, and some organizations will received additional funding.
The funds will be administered by the Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise (PACE). The organizations selected are:
• ALMA|LEWIS, an experimental, contemporary art platform dedicated to Black culture.
• Alumni Theater Company, a theater organization that works with Black youth in grades 6-12.
• Balafon West African Dance Ensemble, a West African dance performance ensemble.
• Barrel & Flow Fest, a festival that showcases Black breweries, artists and small businesses.
• Bounce House Studios & Productions, a women-led organization that develops and features multimedia works by Black and BIPOC creators and hosts events, workshops, interactive art exhibitions and immersive live productions.
• Children’s Windows to Africa, a youth-focused organization that exposes young people to arts and forms of communication. • Community Arts Experience Worldwide, a mentoring arts academy.
• Daisy Wilson Artist Community/August Wilson House, an arts center celebrating the Pittsburgh-born playwright by restoring his childhood home in the Hill District to serve as a cultural hub.
• Guardians of Sound, a musical organization that engages professional, preprofessional and youth musicians.
• Hill Community Development Corporation/Nafasi on Centre Artist Residency, a partnership between the Hill CDC and the artists and cultural workers collective #ArtsinHD that works in community development.
• JADA House International, a faith-based social ministry for youth and adults.
• Josh Gibson Foundation, a youth-focused philanthropy that provides academic and athletic programs in honor of the Hall of Fame baseball player for the Homestead Grays.
• Sankofa Village for the Arts, an arts organization that delivers culturally responsive, African-centered programs and services to children, youth and families, including cultural programming in African arts, specifically African drum and dance and martial arts. • Sybils Shrine, an art collective and residency program that provides Black
artists with financial assistance, career development, skill-sharing and exhibition opportunities, and support for self-care, child care and other daily needs.
• Texture Contemporary Ballet, a dance company that fuses artists’ classical ballet foundations with other styles of dance.
• When She Thrives, an organization dedicated to assisting single mothers’ move from poverty to prosperity.