PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mural Arts Philadelphia is celebrating its fourth annual Philadelphia Fellowship for Black Artists with a new exhibition, open this month, featuring the work of 15 young Philadelphia artists.
More than 35 works of art are on display at the Ubuntu Fine Arts Gallery in Germantown.
Mural Arts’ fellowship was designed in 2020 to fund and spotlight the important work of emerging Black artists in Philadelphia.
Fellowship curator Ginger Rudolf says the program is meant to build a network to support the next generation of Philly’s best and brightest artists.
“We keep hearing from all of the cohorts that they didn’t know how to find one another. And now they’re supporting one another, collaborating,” said Rudolf.
“Because I think in order to have a foothold in Philadelphia we have to create this community.”
The fellowship supports 15 artists working in any medium with $2,000 in unrestricted funding to support their artistic expression. But the program goes even further, teaching the business side of being an artist.
“So they have the talent but don’t have the business acumen — so what I’m trying to do is take the 15 years I’ve been in the industry and show them how to get through that door,” said Rudolf.
More than 35 works of art will be on display at the Ubuntu Fine Arts Gallery in Germantown through Feb. 22.