The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has announced the finalists for the second year of the Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia. The 55 finalists – which include individual artists, artist collectives, community groups, music organizations and theater companies – offered a wide array of innovative ideas, rising above a field of 1,267 applicants.
The full list of finalists and ideas is included below and available online at KnightArts.org. Knight Foundation will announce the 2012 winners in the spring.
The three-year, $9 million community-wide contest seeks the most innovative ideas in the arts to engage and enrich Philadelphia’s communities by asking one simple question: What’s your best idea for the arts in Philadelphia? In the Challenge’s first year, Knight Foundation awarded $2.7 million to 36 winners representing a broad spectrum of the community – from individual artists and artist-driven organizations to some of the city’s premier cultural institutions.
“We look for ideas that can engage this community and bring its artistic excellence to an even higher level – and Philadelphia continues to deliver,” said Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation’s vice president/arts.
“The diversity of finalists proves that good ideas really can come from anywhere. We’re seeing ideas from across our many neighborhoods that we believe will help bring us together through the arts,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Philadelphia program director for Knight Foundation.
Winningideas from 2011 have enriched and engaged Philadelphia’s communities in a variety of ways. For example, artist Darla Jackson won funds to establish the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym to help sculptors create their works safely; the African American Museum in Philadelphia built new community relationships with the launch of “RAAMP It Up Wednesdays,” showcasing local performers in free weekly concerts at the museum’s Seventh Street Plaza; and Pig Iron Theatre Company opened the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training, to strengthen the contemporary performing arts scene with a two-year training program for actors and directors.
The Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia is open to anyone with a great idea for the arts. The Challenge has just three rules: 1) The idea must be about the arts; 2) The project must take place in or benefit Philadelphia; 3) The grant recipients must find funds to match Knight’s commitment.
The Knight Arts Challenge began in 2008 in Miami, where the initiative is now in its fifth year. Philadelphia is only the second city in which Knight is offering this program.
For more on Knight Foundation’s arts initiative and to view a full list of Knight Arts Challenge finalists, visit www.KnightArts.org. Philadelphians can also learn more, ask questions, and share ideas on the Knight Arts Challenge Facebook page here, and on Twitter @KnightArts.
Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia 2012 Finalists
Artists and Musicians of Latin America
To cultivate new audiences for Latin Jazz by presenting “pop-up” performances of local artists using a portable stage
Arden Theatre Company
To diversify artistic offerings by presenting theater performances alongside the dozens of gallery events during Old City’s monthly First Fridays
Art Sanctuary
To celebrate two art forms that use the human voice to tell profound stories by creating a “Hip H’Opera” using the stories of urban life
Asian Arts Initiative
To provide everyday artistic experiences in Chinatown and South Philadelphia by creating site-specific works for nontraditional places like restaurants, storefronts and public plazas
Bearded Ladies Cabaret
To attract new audiences to theater – and use the medium as a way to explore politics, gender, sexuality and identity – through a series of original, late night cabarets
Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra
To showcase diverse cultures by transforming a symphonic “pops” concert into a celebration of world music
Brandywine Workshop
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this printmaking institution by commissioning 10 emerging and established artists to create prints
Campus Philly
To foster a lifelong appreciation of the arts by offering free or discounted admission to venues and performances for college students
Catzie Vilayphonh
To promote storytelling within the Lao-American community through a writing, performing and filmmaking workshop
