Art and Change Grant is sponsored by Leeway Foundation. Offers grants to women, trans, and gender nonconforming artists in Greater Philadelphia for projects that foster social change. This grant emphasizes collaborative processes with a Change Partner, promoting community engagement through various artistic mediums.

Art and Change Grant (ACG) | Leeway Foundation What Makes a Leeway Artist or Cultural Producer?

Leeway Transformation Award (LTA) Media Artist + Activist Residency (MAR) Art and Change Grant (ACG) Window of Opportunity (WOO) Community Care Fund (CCF) Leeway x Fleisher Visual Artist Residency Leeway x NextFab Art & Technology Residency Submit Your Grant Reports Sweet Corey Bey (ACG ‘22; WOO ‘24) Photo credit Ashante Universe The 2026 Application will open in May 2026 Art and Change Grant (ACG) The Art and Change Grant (ACG) provides grants of up to $5,000 to fund art for social change projects by women, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers living in Greater Philadelphia.

The grant is project-based and open to artists and cultural producers working in any medium, including traditional and nontraditional as well as multimedia and experimental forms. Leeway supports artists and cultural producers involved in creating art for social change that positively affects and engages communities and audiences.

Creating social change must be integral to the ideas, beliefs, and goals that are woven throughout your art and your process of creating and sharing your art.

We encourage you to apply if you: Identify as a woman, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming artist Are at least 18 years old Live in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia County Have a Change Partner (see section below) Read the full eligibility criteria for artists on page 3 of the ACG Guidelines in English and Spanish *Leeway is a trans-affirming organization committed to gender self-determination, and we use the term “trans” in its most inclusive sense, as an umbrella term encompassing transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, Two-Spirit people, and anyone whose gender identity or gender expression is nonconforming and/or different from their gender assigned at birth.

Leeway believes art for social change work happens through relationships — working with others collaboratively, often in community. Because of this, we ask artists to submit an application together with a Change Partner that affirms your grounding in a community-based process.

someone the applicant has built a relationship with who is a member of the community that the project seeks to engage or in which it takes place; or a person, organization, or business that has an interest in or connection to the project in some form.

Eligible Change Partners can live within or beyond the Greater Philadelphia Area and may include mentors, editors, art spaces, theaters, nonprofit organizations, dance studios, radio stations, production companies, etc. – or anyone who can support the project. Change Partners should not be an applicant’s employer. Change Partners cannot benefit financially from the grant.

Change Partners complete and sign their own form, which includes: The Change Partner’s relationship to you and your project Why they believe you are well-suited to carry out this project What they will bring to the project as a Change Partner Change Partner Forms can be dropped off at our office or completed online in English or in Spanish .

Apply with a Co-Applicant You may apply collaboratively with other artists for the Art and Change Grant . We understand that most projects are done in collaboration with others, so you are only required to submit a co-applicant form in English or in Spanish , if you are both playing the same roles as artistic directors or partners for the project.

Applicants may only apply once per cycle, whether submitting as part of a collaborative or as an individual. Please note : Co-applicants must meet the same basic eligibility requirements, which includes identifying as a woman, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming person. For more information, read the “Collaboration” section (page 4) of the ACG Guidelines in English and Spanish .

Click here to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for ACG Art and Change Grant (ACG) Info Session - June 17, 2025"> Watch ACG Information Session with Talie Revisit this ACG Information Session, where Leeway staff walked through best practices for a successful application and Talie (ACG '23) shared their experience applying for grant.

Information & Application Support Sessions ACG Info Session @ Camden Fireworks ACG Virtual Info Session (English) ACG App Support @ InLiquid Gallery ACG Sesión Informativa en línea Meet Art and Change Grant ees Is the Art and Change Grant open to the public? Yes!

The Art and Change Grant (ACG) is open to the public and provides grants of up to $2,500 to fund art for social change projects by women, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers living in Greater Philadelphia. Deadline: August 1st. How does Leeway define Art for Social Change?

Art with a vision and an intentional analysis. Find out more here. What makes a Leeway artist or cultural producer?

Lots of different aspects! Find out more here. What are social change intents?

Leeway asks applicants to identify at least one but no more than three social change intents that best describe their intent or vision behind their work. There is no correct or incorrect way to choose; you should pick one that resonates with you as the core intent or vision of your work. You will have an opportunity to define further what that vision is for you in Question 3 of the application.

For more details, please see page 2 of the ACG Guidelines in English and Spanish . Where can I find information about past grantees? Past ACG grantees are awesome.

Find out more about them here . Can I apply with other artists? Yes.

You may apply collaboratively with other artists for the Art and Change Grant . We understand that most projects are done in collaboration with others, so you are only required to submit a co-applicant form in English or in Spanish , if you are both playing the same roles as artistic directors or partners for the project. Applicants may only apply once per cycle, whether submitting as part of a collaborative or as an individual.

Please note : Co-applicants must meet the same basic eligibility requirements, which includes identifying as a woman, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming person. For more information, read the “Collaboration” section (page 4) of the ACG Guidelines in English and Spanish. What does the ACG not support?

The Art and Change Grant is intended to support an individual’s or collective’s artistic practice. In your application, it should be clear what your art practice is and how this project engages that practice.

The ACG does not support: organizations, corporations, or fundraising activities activities completed prior to when the grant is announced (10-12 weeks after the deadline) the creation of residencies, apprenticeships, and/or retreats unless it is clear how it will (1) move the applicant’s own artistic practice forward; and (2) engage the community-at-large with a socially engaged project the same project for which you received a prior Leeway grant.

However, you may apply for different phases of a previous funded project. Do I need to submit my resume/CV? No. Instead, Leeway asks applicants to complete an “Experience Page”.

This is a space where artists will provide brief descriptions/dates of 4-10 artistic, personal, political, professional, and/or social change-based experiences relevant to their art for social change work. The Experience Page is not meant to read as a traditional resume and should reflect defining moments for you as an artist or cultural producer.

The review panel values experiences that are often not included in traditional resumes and know that these experiences can be defining moments for artists. For ACG, we recommend including experiences that reflect the artistic practice and/or social issues your project is addressing. Please note: These experiences are shared with the review panel but will never be shared publicly.

Do artists need to submit work samples? No. Work samples are not required for the Art and Change Grant . Any work samples that are shared as part of this process will be removed and not submitted for the panel’s consideration.

Yes. A simple budget is requested as part of the ACG application. You’ll provide information about your project expenses and any element necessary to make your project happen (e.g., equipment, supplies, stipends, transportation).

Make sure that everything listed in the budget is clearly connected to what you describe in the “Project Description” section. Does my Change Partner need to identify as a woman and/or trans* person? No. Your Change Partner does not need to be a identify as a woman, trans*, and/or gender nonconforming person.

They should simply be the best person, organization, or business to support the project. Does my Change Partner need to live in Greater Philadelphia? No. Your Change Partner can live within or beyond the Greater Philadelphia area and should simply be the best person, organization, or business to support the project.

Who decides who receives funding? An independent review panel – consisting of community-based artists from different ranges, breadths, and depths of art for social change work – decides who gets funded. Leeway staff do not make these decisions.

How are applications evaluated? An independent peer review panel will evaluate applications. Keep in mind that the panel may not be familiar with your particular artistic practice or cultural context, so describe them clearly.

Peer review panelists will look at the “Project Description” section of your application to get a sense of the following: Why you are doing this work The importance, urgency, and motivation for this project Whether or not social change is an intentional part of your project How who you are and how you identify play a role as it relates to the audience/communities you’re proposing to work with How communities and audiences in the Greater Philadelphia region are engaged and impacted Clear understanding of the Change Partner’s role/contributions How many grants are given each year?

Leeway receives approximately 75-100 ACG applications each year – and 20-25 grants are given, depending on Leeway’s budget. When will grant notifications be sent? Notification letters are sent approximately 10 to 12 weeks after the application deadline.

Do applicants receive feedback on their applications? To keep our process transparent, every applicant receives feedback, based on the panel’s deliberations. This offers a view into the process and gives information applicants can use as they think about their work and future applications to Leeway or other funders.

Applicants may opt out of receiving feedback — and can always request it at a later date. We offer feedback with the understanding that grantmaking is a reductive process, where there is never as much money as qualified applicants, so please consider if you are prepared to receive this feedback. Can I apply for ACG + another Leeway grant at the same time?

ACG applicants may apply for and receive either the Transformation Award or the Media Artist + Activist Residency in the same year, as well as a Window of Opportunity Grant. If I’ve previously received ACG, can I re-apply? Yes!

If you’ve previously received an Art and Change Grant , you are welcome to re-apply if: you have turned in all reports from previous Leeway grants and awards. are not applying for the same project for which you received a prior Leeway grant. However, you may apply for different phases of that project.

How do I get help with my application? Leeway staff are here to support! You can: Attend an Information Session where you can learn more about Leeway grants and how to prepare your application Register for an Applicant Support Session where you can meet one-on-one with a Leeway representative to get direct feedback on your application Contact Leeway staff to set-up a one-on-one appointment at [email protected] or 215.

545. 4078