Over $1 million worth of grants has been recently awarded to Greater Philadelphia’s BIPOC creative community through Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures Program. Ten of the 39 grants are going to West Philly based artists and art organizations: Arts Without Boundaries, jaamil olawale kosoko, Linda Fernandez, One Art Community Center, Selina Morales, Sherman Fleming, Tania Isaac, Theatre in the X, Val Gay, and Xenia Matthews.

Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures grants are administered in flat amounts of $10,000, $25,000, and $50,000 and will fund new performances, exhibitions, films, community-engaged public art, and help strengthen long-term organizational success. Here are some of the projects that these grants will support.

Arts Without Boundaries will utilize their grant to create a community theater program in West Philadelphia for children ages 6 to 13.

Sherman Fleming will create Stand, a “durational, multimedia performance piece in which the artist recreates the courageous stances embodied by Black historical figures who stood up to racial and social injustice, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Tess Asplund, and John Carlos.”

Theatre in the X is planning to upgrade the sound and live-streaming capabilities of the organization’s live performances at Malcolm X Park, “furthering the theater company’s mission to make professional-quality theater performance more accessible to West Philadelphia residents and the greater Black community.”

Val Gay will create Their Will, incorporating music, poetry, dance, and film to tell the story of G. Edward and Addie W. Dickerson, a Black “power couple” in early 20th-century Philadelphia, along with stories of other notable Black couples in Philadelphia history.

For more information on the other grant recipients and their projects, visit: https://www.philadelphiasculturaltreasures.org/project-grants.