The Velocity Fund

Still from Taking in the Tailors, featuring Larnell Baldwin of Baldwin’s Leather and Fabrics. Filmed on 16mm by Ty Burdenski, Aidan Un, and Catching on Thieves, 2025.

A moment from TENANTS/TENETS: PLAYGROUND RULEZ, a movement workshop series by Very Good Dance Theatre, in 2024. Photo by Torian Ugworji.

Who can apply?

• Individual artists living in Philadelphia
• Artist-run spaces & collectives, whose lead applicant lives in Philadelphia

Who cannot apply?

• Incorporated 501(c)3 not-for-profit organizations
• For-profit businesses
• Artists who live outside of Philadelphia
• A Lead Applicant who received a Velocity Fund grant the previous year
• Senior staff at Asian Arts Initiative

What types of projects are eligible for the Velocity Fund?

• Projects that involve visual arts components
• Projects that will take place between February 2027–February 2028
• Projects that will reach a public outcome in Philadelphia, within this grant period

What types of projects have received the Velocity Fund?

• Projects that are rooted in their communities, designed and realized by people within or with built connections to those communities
• Projects that are led by artists, often collaboratively
• Projects that consider their impact, whether immediate or ongoing, whether through their public outcome or through their process
• Projects and programs that take place in their communities, rather than in traditional arts spaces like commercial galleries and museums; projects that otherwise complicate the relationships between visual art and institutions