Leeway Transformation Award

The Leeway Transformation Award is an annual, unrestricted $15,000 grant opportunity designed to support women, trans, and gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers residing in the Greater Philadelphia area who have dedicated at least five years to creating art for social change. Administered by the Leeway Foundation, this award recognizes sustained artistic practices that actively engage communities and seek to advance social transformation. Leeway is a trans-affirming organization committed to gender self-determination and inclusivity in both their grantmaking and evaluative processes. The program is structured to be accessible across all artistic disciplines, from traditional forms such as quilting and poetry to experimental, multimedia, and hybrid practices. The award is not tied to a specific project, offering artists unrestricted financial support to deepen and sustain their work. Applicants must have lived in one of six counties within the Greater Philadelphia region—Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia—since at least April 2024. All applicants must be at least 18 years old and meet the foundational eligibility of creating art for social change over a sustained period. Those who are full-time students in arts degree programs, past recipients of the Transformation Award, or 2025 recipients of Leeway’s Media Artist + Activist Residency are ineligible. The application process is composed of two stages. Stage 1 is open to all eligible applicants and requires submission by May 15, 2026. A peer review panel composed of community-based artists and cultural producers evaluates applications and selects up to 30 finalists to proceed to Stage 2. These finalists receive a stipend to support preparation of work samples and receive application support through in-person meetings and feedback. Finalists must submit additional materials by a deadline disclosed only to those invited to Stage 2, with award decisions communicated in December 2026. All applicants, whether funded or not, may receive feedback based on panel deliberations, fostering transparency and learning in the grantmaking process. Leeway defines art for social change as creative work that integrates a vision of justice, community engagement, and cultural relevance. This may include projects aimed at raising awareness, shifting cultural narratives, fostering community identity, or resisting various forms of systemic oppression such as racism, transphobia, and economic inequality. Applicants are encouraged to identify up to three social change intents guiding their work from a list that includes racial justice, disability justice, feminism, immigrant justice, and others. Evaluation criteria emphasize not only artistic strength and evolution but also the social impact of the artist’s work and their accountability to the communities they engage. Applications are accepted both online—via Submittable starting in 2026—and through hardcopy submission to Leeway’s office at 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 832, Philadelphia, PA. Co-applicants are permitted, provided all parties meet eligibility criteria and share leadership in their artistic work. All applicants advancing to Stage 2 must provide documentation for age and residency verification. Throughout the application cycle, Leeway offers public information sessions and one-on-one support meetings to assist prospective applicants. Awardees must maintain residency within the eligible counties throughout the performance period, which runs from January to December 2027. Applicants should contact Leeway via email at [email protected] or by phone at 267.831.4886 for questions or accessibility accommodations. Additional information and guidelines are available on the Leeway Foundation’s website at leeway.org. This award is issued annually, with future deadlines and cycles anticipated to follow a similar timeline.

Clearly describe your artistic discipline and social change vision; use specific examples to show impact and community connection.