Created at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Forman Arts Initiative and the Philadelphia Foundation launched Art Works, a four-year $3 million grant initiative to support the robust and important work of locally based artists and organizations working in partnership with low-income, working-class, and communities of color across the city.

Since 2021, the program has supported the incredible work of 20 powerhouse organizations and 19 groundbreaking individuals enacting art and culture in dialogue with Philadelphia communities. With the completion of the fourth year of funding in 2024, we are pausing applications for the Art Works Grant program in 2025 to closely evaluate its impact to date and make a case for renewed and ongoing financial support. During this time, we will continue supporting our existing 39 grantees through opportunities for organizational capacity-building and professional development for artists.

Created in partnership with Mural Arts, Public Works is a residency program that places artists in Philadelphia government agencies or organizations to develop artwork that forges new connections between the agency’s work and the communities they serve. It seeks to deepen the exchanges between community and institution, provide meaningful opportunities for artists, and give a voice to underrepresented constituents.

Forman Arts Initiative is pleased to join Philadelphia Contemporary, and Drexel University to co-present Monument in Waiting, courtesy of the artist and GRAY Gallery, Chicago/New York. Monument in Waiting is an evocative dismantled public forum, created in response to ongoing public scrutiny of historical figures and monuments, particularly those that reinforce systems of oppression.