Black Music City Supports Black Philadelphia Creatives

Black Music City

BLACK MUSIC CITY is a new project in collaboration between public music radio stations WXPN & WRTI/PHILADELPHIA and REC PHILLY, a place for creators. With funding provided by the WYNCOTE FOUNDATION. BLACK MUSIC CITY will give grants to Black creatives to produce new artistic works inspired by PHILADELPHIA’s rich Black music history.

Black artists in the greater PHILADELPHIA region (PA, NJ, and DE) working in any creative medium are encouraged to apply for available grants to help them create new projects that recognize and honor the influence of PHILADELPHIA’s Black music history.

A committee of Black PHILADELPHIA professionals in the arts, media, and business will select and award grants of between $1,000 and $3,500 (a total of more than $30,000 in available donations) in late FEBRUARY. Work completed and submitted by MAY 27th will then be featured in videos that spotlight the grant recipients and the journeys of their creations. Exhibition and distribution of the videos and final artwork will take place during JUNE, during AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC APPRECIATION MONTH.

WXPN, GM, ROGER LAMAY, who initiated the project, said, “Our goal is to give aspiring local creatives in every field -  musicians, illustrators, muralists, dancers, spoken word artists, and more - the opportunity to represent and celebrate Black artistry in PHILADELPHIA.”

REC PHILLY, Co-founder/Partner, WILL TOMS, said, “Black creatives have historically had a challenging time securing funding and mobilizing champions to help get their work in front of audiences. This project, with its collaborative outreach and videos that will be produced to prominently showcase and promote their work, offers these critical elements.”

WRTI, GM, BILL JOHNSON, said, “Our partnership highlights the collective strength and extensive reach of PHILADELPHIA’s public media music stations, through our many platforms, to the broader arts community and beyond."

Applications are due on JANUARY 25th. For more information, www.blackmusiccity.com

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