Knight Foundation gives $1.48 million to 22 Philly arts groups

Victoria Rogers, the Knight Foundation’s recently appointed vice president for the arts, announced the recipients of its 2015-2016 grants on June 24. Arts groups in Philadelphia, which is one of eight resident communities where the foundation makes grants, will share a total of $1.48 million in the coming year.

Recipients include groups of all sizes. Large, established companies get grants for programs to engage with their communities in new ways, such as the Kimmel Center’s Underground Residencies, which will now expand to include cabaret and jazz artists. Smaller groups get funding for more experimental fare, like INVISIBLE RIVER (read our piece about them here), the public art and boat festival that will take place in, on, and above the Schuylkill on August 29 this year.

There’s also an emphasis on bringing the arts to young people, such as the Cultural Alliance’s STAMP (Students at Museums in Philly) program and Play On, Philly!, the local El Sistema-inspired music program.

Grant amounts range from $10,000 (to Pennsylvania Ballet Association for the company premiere of a Larry Keigwin work) and $15,000 (to Philadelphia Young Playwrights) to $135,000 (to the Curtis Institute, for its ArtistYear program, which places professional musicians in the community) and $150,000 (to Opera Philadelphia and the Bearded Ladies Cabaret for their site-specific cabaret opera, ANDY: A Popera).

“Each of these groups reflect the artistic excellence and audience engagement that Knight Foundation is committed to advancing,” Rogers said.

You can read the full list of recipients here.

Below: Students enrolled in the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s STAMP program show off their credentials. Image courtesy of the Knight Foundation.