From Pew Research Center: The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage (the Center) announced today that it has awarded 40 grants and fellowships totaling $9 million in support of Philadelphia-area cultural organizations and artists. The grants will fund public events and programs that celebrate the diverse and creative contributions of local artists and tell personal stories of prominent Philadelphians. Several projects highlight the role of the arts in grappling with illness, healing, and caretaking—especially since the pandemic—while others focus on contemporary expressions of cultural identity.

The Center’s 2023 awards include $8.1 million to 28 local arts and heritage organizations for project funding, $1.3 million of which is provided as unrestricted general operating support. Plus, $900,000 in unrestricted funds will go to 12 Philadelphia-area artists as Pew Fellowships in the Arts.

“Our newest grants illustrate the arts’ contributions to understanding and reflecting on salient issues of the moment,” says Paula Marincola, executive director of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. “From contemplating experiences of living through a pandemic to interpreting multifaceted cultural identities, the funded projects and artists will offer programs and creative works that will be meaningful to a wide range of audiences and invigorate civic and artistic life in the Philadelphia region.”

Donna Frisby-Greenwood, The Pew Charitable Trusts’ senior vice president leading the organization’s work in Philadelphia, adds, “The richness of the Center’s 2023 grantees reflects the diversity, complexity, and vibrancy of our city and region, and it is gratifying to see the Center’s grantmaking foster work that will reach communities across the region.”

Following is a partial list of organizations and artists receiving awards, along with the topics they will address. A full list of grantees and funded projects is available at pewcenterarts.org/2023grants.