Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh awards $1.12 million in grants

Grants provide general operating and project support

PITTSBURGH, Pa., may 6, 2026 – Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh, a program funded by The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments, today announced 21 grants totaling $1.12 million for individual artists and arts organizations. These grants reflect the continued commitment from philanthropy to celebrate and support the dynamic expressions of local artists, ensuring they have financial resources to continue creating work representing the African diaspora.

Project support grants totaling $920,000 were awarded to 17 individual artists and two arts organizations. General operating support grants of $100,000 each were awarded to two additional arts organizations. All grants in the 2025 cycle include two years of support spanning 2026-27. A complete list of recipients is detailed below.

“Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh is one of the most unique, responsive and artist-centered programs in the nation,” said Michelle McMurray, vice president of program and community engagement, The Pittsburgh Foundation. “We recognize the incredible value of these projects to the social and cultural fabric of the region and are committed to doing our part as a foundation community to provide both material and ‘more-than-money' support for these vital projects, raising culture and community consciousness.”

Pittsburgh Foundation staff and the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh grant-review panel reviewed 142 proposals. The panel, composed of Pittsburgh-based and national artists from varied artistic disciplines, included Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black, ImagineJoy, Dr. Zuly Inirio, Mars Jackson, Juliandra Jones, Ricardo iamuuri Robinson, Tylie Shider and Marvin Touré.

Since 2010, Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh has awarded $13.5 million to support artists, expand community awareness of the arts representing the African diaspora, and increase the profiles of artists and arts organizations.

Full list of 2025 grant recipients:

Project Support Grants
  • Adrian Jones: $50,000 to support the growth of the Looking Glass platform and its community storytelling initiatives. 
  • Ajani Zanaya: $50,000 to support the production of a poetic fashion short film, "FITTED." 
  • Dr. Amber Epps aka Dr. HollyHood: $50,000 to support efforts to preserve, amplify and celebrate the creative, cultural and historical legacy of Black women in Pittsburgh's hip hop history. 
  • Charlese Dawson: $50,000 to support the production of the photobook "Send My Love to the Hill" and produce community events in Pittsburgh. 
  • Devan Shimoyama: $50,000 to support a new multidisciplinary project and expand individual artistic practice. 
  • Dominique Swift: $50,000 to support the creation, exhibition and international cultural exchange of Uli Awakened, an art project that explores identity, womanhood and cultural memory through the Igbo art form of Uli. 
  • Idasa Tariq a.k.a. SoulMan IT: $50,000 to support the Multimedia Dojo, a media literacy and digital storytelling project serving Black artists in Pittsburgh. 
  • Ivana: $50,000 to support the creation of the music album and accompanying collection of short films titled “No More Knowing.” 
  • Kelly Strayhorn Theater: $50,000 to support collaborations between two national Black choreographers and Kelly Strayhorn Theater. 
  • Kleaver Cruz: $50,000 to support crafting two landmark novels that amplify Afro Latine voices and contribute to a sustainable, inclusive literary ecosystem in Pittsburgh and beyond. 
  • Melike Vivastine Konur: $50,000 to support the research, creation and presentation of Brown Moon, a multidisciplinary new work and living archive of Afro-Turk matriarchal traditions. 
  • Morgan Moody: $50,000 to support the preservation of Black Pittsburgh sports history. 
  • Percy Echols II: $20,000 to support the creation, documentation and public exhibition of Stealing Fire, Taming Lightning, a solo presentation of plasma and neon light sculptures. 
  • Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company: $50,000 to support CAB LAB, a writing incubation program. 
  • RaiZArts: $50,000 to support the development of comic and zine programming for youth ages 12 to 18 in the City of Pittsburgh. 
  • Ricky Davii: $50,000 to support the creation and documentation of God’s Peace: Bind, an art installation that explores shared human connection through the universal act of braiding, storytelling and spiritual reflection.  
  • AMARUKAN SUN: $50,000 to support the research, development and production of a short film that reintroduces jazz as a living Black language and technology. 
  • Willa Cotten: $50,000 to support the preservation and elevation of Black storytelling through costume design. 
  • yvette l. shipman: $50,000 to support genealogical research, ancestral veneration, collaborative artistry linking the diaspora and Africa through adornment, sound/film and ceramics, alongside tea rituals and exhibition. 
General Operating Support

About The Pittsburgh Foundation
The Pittsburgh Foundation works to improve the quality of life in the Pittsburgh region by evaluating and addressing community issues through partnerships, promoting responsible philanthropy and connecting donors to critical needs. In its commitment to creating a vibrant, equitable and just Pittsburgh region where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and fulfill their potential, the Foundation administered grants totaling $71.6 million in 2025.

About The Heinz Endowments
The Heinz Endowments works to grow an exemplary, sustainable Pittsburgh region where everyone prospers and belongs. We invest in organizations working to uplift the region’s visual and performing arts communities; preserve and rebuild trust in democratic institutions; expand economic and social opportunities for youth and young adults; and restore and protect the natural environment on which our health depends. The Endowments made grants totaling $92 million in 2025.

CONTACT: 

Matt Minczeski
Sr. Director of Communications and Marketing
minczeskim@pghfdn.org
724-554-7993