Nine Philadelphia-area arts projects get Pew grants

The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage has awarded $874,900 to nine exhibition projects throughout the region, including an unusual exhibition planned around removal and preservation of graffiti at abandoned Holmesburg Prison and a 10-year museum retrospective of work by photographer Zoe Strauss, known for her installations beneath I-95.

Philagrafika, which organized an international graphic arts festival in 2010, received $80,000 in support of "Doing Time," the Holmesburg Prison graffiti show. The project involves a six-week residency by two Spanish artists who will remove graffiti by transferring it to canvas via a technique known as strappo. The canvases will be shown at Moore College of Art and the transfer process will be broadcast live on the Internet.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art received $250,000 for its 2012 retrospective of Strauss' street portraits, buildings, and signage, a documentation of struggling urban life.

Strauss says that her ambition is to "create an epic narrative that reflects the beauty and struggle of everyday life."

The exhibition will include a lobby kiosk designed by Megawords; the museum will project Strauss-designed slide shows on its facade, mount a banner-size photograph facing west over the Schuylkill, and present Strauss photographs on city billboards.

Other grants made as part of the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative include:

David Dempewolf/Marginal Utility, $24,900 for "Chronicles of Dissent," an exploration of the topic of protest. Fabric Workshop and Museum, $195,000 for a two-year Sarah Sze residency culminating in an installation throughout the museum's Arch Street building.

Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, $250,000 for an exhibition based on graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister's exploration of happiness.

Asian Arts Initiative, $25,000 to plan a new series of guest residencies and installation projects.

Anthony Smyrski/Dan Murphy (Megawords), a $5,000 planning grant for a mobile publication studio to produce interviews, zines, and videos documenting neighborhood residents and their environments.

Sought Foundation, $25,000 to plan Mixplace Studio, a research and mentoring project bringing together young people from West Philadelphia and architecture and design students from the University of Pennsylvania.

Vox Populi, $20,000 for planning "Self-Generated Spaces, on Their Own Terms," a collaborative project exploring the current role of artist-run spaces within the broader artistic community.

Contact culture writer Stephan Salisbury at 215-854-5594 or ssalisbury@phillynews.com