Art Works Kensington250 Microgrant Recipients

Manuéla Guillen

Visual Artist

Manuela Guillén is an illustrator, educator, and muralist creating public art and community-centered work rooted in storytelling and cultural connection.

Richie Lopez

Textile Artist

Richie Wilde Lopez is a textile artist using weaving and embroidery to explore memory, identity, and Puerto Rican and queer lived experience.

Alyssa Bigbee & Rebel Arts

Organization

Rebel Arts is a Black-owned social circus school using aerial arts, acrobatics, and performance to build confidence, creative expression, and community among young people in Kensington.

Nnamdi Ejim and Digital Media Program at KCAPA

Media Arts Program

Led by educator Nnamdi Ejim, Kensington CAPA’s Digital Media Production program provides young people with hands-on experience in photography, video production, design, storytelling, and digital media.

Jaq Masters

Individual Artist

Jaq Masters is a Philadelphia-based multidisciplinary artist working across painting, tattooing, printmaking, and muralism to explore memory, identity, transformation, and Black femme life.

Tina Ngo

Individual Artist

Tina Ngo is a film programmer, writer, and community organizer whose practice uses cinema, research, and public dialogue to explore social and political life.

Pedro Ospina

Individual Artist

Pedro Ospina is a Colombian-born artist, educator, and founder of The Open Kitchen Sculpture Garden, using art, food, and found materials to create spaces for gathering, collaboration, and community.

Jean Ruiz

Individual Artist

Jean Ruiz is a Fairhill-based multidisciplinary artist and educator using environmental art, sculpture, and bioactive terrariums to connect young people with nature, creativity, and their environment.

Sarah Trad

Individual Artist

Sarah Trad is a Lebanese-American filmmaker and curator whose community-based practice explores Arab history, queerness, disability, climate justice, and cultural preservation through film and exhibition-making.

Vanessa Vega

Individual Artist

Vanessa Vega is a visual artist working across street art, murals, and installation to explore and celebrate Puerto Rican culture, history, and community.

Ayiana Viviana

Individual Artist

Ayiana Viviana is a visual artist, writer, and creative facilitator using neurographic art and storytelling to explore personal transformation, ancestral connection, and collective healing.

Michael Wilson

Individual Artist

Michael Wilson is a Kensington-born artist creating expressive portraits and character drawings in public spaces to spark creativity and inspire young people in his community.

John Zerbe

Individual Artist

J.C. Zerbe is a Kensington-based muralist and multidisciplinary artist using street and graffiti-inspired art to foster community connection, creative expression, and social change.

Natasha Zeta

Individual Artist

Natasha Zeta is an oil painter creating interactive portraits on broken mirror in collaboration with trauma survivors to explore healing, resilience, and personal storytelling.

Mr Tony & Los Bomberos De La Calle

Individual Artist

Los Bomberos De La Calle, led by Anthony Mendez (Mr. Tony), preserves and celebrates Afro-Puerto Rican traditions of Bomba and Plena through music, dance, cultural education, and community gatherings.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

We recognize these artists for their continued contributions and longstanding work within Kensington and surrounding neighborhoods.

Miguel Rosa
Kelechi Azu
Bempa Ashia
Erica Mines
Sara Rodriguez and Yaneli Morales
Sarah McAnulty
Idalis
Marilyn Rodriguez
Gilberto Gonzalez

Selection Committee

Our selection committee includes:

Luis Cruz (Founder, Ride Free), Jeannine A. Cook (Writer, Founder/Owner, Harriett’s Bookshop), Nilda Pimentel-Perez  (Founding President, NSCAN), Rafael Damast (Curator & Exhibitions Director, Taller Puertorriqueño), Roberto Lugo (Artist), Sunanda Ghosh (Executive Director, Forman Arts Initiative), and Leann Ayers (Philadelphia Foundation)

Sheldon Abba

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