We are dedicated to supporting community-based arts and creativity in Philadelphia through programming, convening and advocacy. Our Art Works program supports Philadelphia-based artists, collectives, and organizations and was developed in close collaboration with the Philadelphia Foundation (see more below). Our Public Works initiative is an artist-in-residence program connecting local Philadelphia-based artists with Philadelphia civic agencies.
Isabel Kokko
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.
In 2026, we are launching a special version of the Art Works program. In support of Philadelphia’s citywide 250th semiquincentennial celebration, Forman Arts Initiative and Philadelphia Foundation are offering microgrants to artists living and/or working in the Kensington neighborhood and surrounding zip codes. Awarded grantees will have the opportunity to present or perform their work in collaboration with Kensington-based organizations and events. Applications close March 31, 2026.
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.
In 2026, we are launching a special version of the Art Works program. In support of Philadelphia’s citywide 250th semiquincentennial celebration, Forman Arts Initiative and Philadelphia Foundation are offering microgrants to artists living and/or working in the Kensington neighborhood and surrounding zip codes. Awarded grantees will have the opportunity to present or perform their work in collaboration with Kensington-based organizations and events. Applications close March 31, 2026.
Shaily Dadiala for Philly Daydreams: Stories in Transit by Anula Shetty in partnership with SEPTA
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.
David Evan McDowell
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.
