Pew Center for Arts and Heritage

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What is West?

University City Arts League
Journalist and writer Sofiya Ballin. Photo by Emmanuel Afolabi.
Journalist and writer Sofiya Ballin. Photo by Emmanuel Afolabi.
Pew Fellow angel shanel edwards, untitled collage.
Pew Fellow angel shanel edwards, untitled collage.
University City Arts League community arts program. Photo by Daniel Collier.
University City Arts League community arts program. Photo by Daniel Collier.

Community-designed public art installations express the character and creativity of West Philadelphia, centering on the neighborhood’s cultural and racial diversity. Working in collaboration with lead artists Selina Carrera and Pew Fellow angel shanel edwards, residents engage in discussions and art-making workshops including spoken word, video, collage, and movement-based mediums. Final works are installed at public sites throughout West Philadelphia. Community-authored essays and a short documentary by journalist and filmmaker Sofiya Ballin create a historical record of the community's responses to the project.

The total grant amount represents project funding plus an additional 20% in unrestricted general operating support.

Recipient
University City Arts League

University City Arts League

The University City Arts League is a non-profit organization dedicated to intergenerational education and cultural enrichment in the arts, offering classes to more than 5,000 students each year, along with exhibitions of local artists and community programming. Founded in the 1960s by West Philadelphia artists, art enthusiasts, and neighbors, UCAL’s facility now hosts studios for visual art, ceramics, and dance, as well as gallery space, a computer lab, and communal spaces.

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News

$9.5 Million From The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage to Support 30 Philadelphia Organizations and 12 Artist Fellowships

Sep 19, 2022
Explore Connections
Nels Cline in performance at Royce Hall, Los Angeles. Photo by Phinn Sriployrung.

Guitarist Nels Cline on Musical Lineage
Video Tradition & Translation
Walking with Trane, Urban Bush Women. Photo by Gennia Cui.
Questions of Practice: Choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar on Art and Social Justice
Video Social & Community-Based Practices
Sonia Sanchez. Photo by Erika Vonie.
Celebrating Poet Sonia Sanchez, plus Pew Fellows Earn Guggenheim Fellowships, Peabody Award, and More
Sonya Clark, The Descendants of Monticello, 2024, part of Declaration House, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA. Photo by Steve Weinik, courtesy of Monument Lab.
Fall Arts Preview: From the Personal to the Historic, 17 Events to Add to Your Calendar
Pew Fellows Candice Iloh and Armando Veve. Photos by Neal Santos.

Fellow to Fellow: Candice Iloh and Armando Veve Find Inspiration in Each Other’s Mediums
Interview Cross-Disciplinary Practices
Enrique Bostelmann, Portrait of Cora Flores, 1980, part of Mirages series.

Projects in Process: Discoveries in the Archives with Berman Museum and Japan America Society
Essay Legacy & Archives
Side-by-side portraits of Sumi Tonooka and Phillip B. Williams.

Fellow to Fellow: Sumi Tonooka and Phillip B. Williams on Expanding Their Artistic Identities 
Interview Practice & Process
Sinta Penyami Storms, 2022 Philadelphia's Cultural Treasures fellow.
Four Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures Fellows on Care and Community Impact
EgoPo Classic Theater, rehearsal for Ramayana with Papermoon Puppet Theatre and Kalanari Theatre Movement, 2023, Java, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of EgoPo. 

Projects in Process: Wilma Theater and EgoPo on Creative Collaborations
Essay Co-Authorship & Collaboration