City Reveals Awardees of $1.5 Million 2024 Illuminate the Arts Grant

Creative Philadelphia (formerly the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy) and the Illuminate the Arts Grant Committee have announced that 730 of Philadelphia’s individual artists, small and mid-size nonprofit arts organizations, and small creative enterprises have been awarded a total of $1,500,000 through the 2024 Illuminate the Arts Grant.

The 2024 Illuminate the Arts Grant (ITAG) launched on August 12, 2024 to continue to financially support and uplift Philadelphia’s creative sector, particularly in Philadelphia’s Black and Brown communities, and those that do not have access to most traditional sources of arts funding.   

A total of $1.5 million will be distributed to Philadelphia’s individual artists, small and mid-size arts organizations, and small creative enterprises to support and acknowledge their creative practice and impact on Philadelphia’s disadvantaged and most underserved and poorest communities.    

”Artists and arts organizations help beautify our neighborhoods, enrich our lives, and unite our communities,” said Val Gay, Chief Cultural Officer, City of Philadelphia. “The Illuminate the Arts Grants are one of the ways Creative Philadelphia acknowledges artists for their vital role in shaping our City’s culture and the positive social impact of the arts community in Philadelphia.”

730 applicants will receive a total of $1,500,000 through the 2024 Illuminate the Arts Grant. A diverse group of local individual artists, nonprofit art organizations, and creative enterprises submitted 850 applications for the 2024 grant. 92 percent of all eligible applicants were selected to receive funding. Awardees include:

• 645 individual artist grants of $1,629 per artist, worth a total of $1,050,774. One hundred percent of eligible individual artists will receive funding, in proportion to 81 percent of total applicants being individual artists. Individual artist applicants were required to report an annual income of $55,800 or less with tiers for income limits provided to applicants reporting dependents.

• 20 small nonprofit arts organization grants of $5,000 per organization, worth a total of $100,000. 62 percent of eligible small nonprofit arts organizations will receive funding. Small nonprofit arts organizations were required to report operating budgets of $100,000 or less.

• 19 mid-size nonprofit arts organization grants of $5,000 per organization, worth a total of $95,000. 62 percent of eligible mid-size nonprofit arts organizations will receive funding. Mid-size nonprofit arts organizations were required to report operating budgets between $100,000-500,000.

• 46 small creative enterprise grants of $5,500 per enterprise, worth a total of $253,000. 100 percent of eligible small creative enterprises will receive funding. Small creative enterprises were required to report operating budgets of $500,000 or less.

2024 awardees represent a cross section of Philadelphia neighborhoods and 9 of the 10 Council Districts. Individual artists were prioritized for this grant as there are fewer arts grant opportunities for individuals compared to organizations and enterprises. Awards were given to applicants from a diverse set of creative sectors including: arts and culture venues, cultural event production, dance, design, education, fashion, literary arts, media arts, music, performing arts, photography, theater, visual arts, and many more. 

”Investing in the arts means investing in our local economy and the well-being of Philadelphians,” said City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas (At-Large). “We created this grant to help those struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we continued this grant because the arts help our City thrive.”

”We are proud to distribute the third round of Illuminate the Arts Grant awards to support a sector that is so often overlooked,” said City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson (At-Large). “The arts are an important driver of tourism to our City, bringing visitors to our neighborhoods who provide revenue to our local businesses.”

Created by Philadelphia City Council, the funds for the 2024 ITAG came from the City’s General Fund. The ITAG Committee—composed of Creative Philadelphia staff and a team of volunteer artists representing various disciplines—developed, reviewed, and evaluated the applications based on the grant’s priorities. The Committee ensured equity and fairness in this process, while also prioritizing expediency. 

“It is important to the Illuminate the Arts Grant Committee that this application is accessible for those who are not traditionally served through arts funding opportunities,” said Ciarra Lambert, ITAG Committee Member. “This year we were pleased to once again provide funds to 100% of eligible individual artist applicants, and for the first time, 100% of eligible small creative enterprises.”

Applications were evaluated on a variety of factors including financial need; constituencies served; location, with a focus on high-poverty zip codes based on census tract poverty data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey; applicants who identified as minorities; and applicants who identified at disabled. Award amounts were determined based on available funds for each grant type with an emphasis on funding as many individual artists as possible. View the list of 2024 Illuminate the Arts Grant Awardees here.

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