PECO has awarded 34 grants totaling $264,000 to arts institutions and cultural organizations across southeastern Pennsylvania through its competitive grants program, PECO Powering the Arts. 

From using art to center the voices of young people in Chester who have experienced time in the criminal justice system, to increasing pathways for individuals with disabilities to participate in the annual BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia, the 2023 PECO Powering the Arts grantees are focused on engaging new and diverse audiences and reducing barriers to their participation.

Now in its second year, PECO Powering the Arts awards one-year grants of up to $10,000 to support new or ongoing efforts by eligible nonprofits that are currently providing arts and culture programs that directly benefit the neighborhoods in which they operate.

“The PECO Powering the Arts grant will help these 34 community-based arts and culture organizations connect people to opportunity and to each other in new and exciting ways,” said Romona Riscoe Benson, PECO’s Director of Corporate and Community Impact. “October is National Arts and Humanities Month, a recognition of the positive impact that the arts have on our communities and a reminder that in order to ensure equity in the arts, it must also be accessible to all. I can’t think of a better time to provide these organizations with the investment needed to ensure they are able to expose their work to as many diverse audiences as possible.”

The richness of the 2023 grantees reflects the diversity, complexity, and vibrancy of the Greater Philadelphia region. Following is a list of the organizations receiving awards from Philadelphia and other specified counties throughout southeastern Pennsylvania: 
 
Reaching New Audiences                                

• Allens Lane Art Center                                         
• Applied Mechanics                                               
• ARTZ Philadelphia                                               
• Astral Artistic Services (Montgomery County)                     
• BalletX                                                                 
• Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra
• Bristol Riverside Theatre (Bucks County)
• DaVinci Art Alliance
• Orchestra 2001
• Philadelphia Chinese Opera Society (Montgomery County)
• The Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design
• Vox Populi Gallery
• Wilma Theater

Making Art Accessible

• Black Lily Inc. (BlackStar Film Festival)
• Keep Music Alive (Delaware County)
• Piffaro, The Renaissance Band
• The Clay Studio
• Twelve Gates Arts

Expressions of Cultural Identity & Community 

• Intercultural Journeys                                            
• Lansdowne Economic Development Corp. (Delaware County)  
• Mamadêlê Foundation                                          
• Project Capoeira                                                   
• Rock to the Future                                                 
• The Bearded Ladies Cabaret                                
• Theatre Exile Co.                                                  

Telling Diverse Stories

• Anna Crusis Feminist Choir 
• Arts Holding Hands and Hearts (Chester County)
• Beyond the Bars 
• Dolce Suono Ensemble 
• Ego Po 
• First Person Arts 
• Friends of Laurel Hill 
• Project 440 
• The Head & The Hand Workshop of CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia 

Learn more about PECO and its commitment to arts and culture.