The 2024 list of Black Music City project winners is here. 30 Black Philly-area artists across mediums will be awarded grants of $1,500 to $5,000 to fund art aimed at honoring Philadelphia’s Black music heritage. The winning projects, which include live performances, photo and video storytelling, and multi-media visual art installations, will be exhibited in June during African American Music Appreciation Month.
Out of 717 applicants, the 30 grantees were chosen by the Selection Committee of Samantha Rise (singer-songwriter, activist Pew fellow), Greg Bryant (radio host, musician), Seraiah Nicole (vocalist, spoken word artist), Laurin Talese (songwriter, vocalist), Chill Moody (performer, entrepreneur), and XPN’s own radio host and music journalist, John Morrison. “We saw the enormous impact of Philadelphia’s Black music history and its ongoing importance in reviewing the grant applications,” said committee member Seraiah Nicole. “The selected artists’ new projects will really help illuminate this abundant resource and its many contributions to our culture.”
Black Music City is a collaboration among REC Philly, WRTI, and WXPN, and received funding from the William Penn Foundation. Read more about the project at their website. Check out a photo gallery from last year’s showcase of Black Music City projects hosted at World Cafe Live and featuring music from Julia Pratt and Zeek Burse. Check out this year’s winners and their intended projects below.
