The third circle out is the artist’s community of artists that they pay for their work, and that they support to get grants from Leeway, other paid gigs and more professional exposure. Leeway artists and cultural producers appear to be redistributing the wealth that Leeway gives them

Stepping out into the neighborhood — Leeway doesn’t wait for applicants to come to them; they go out to where they are. Leeway holds information sessions for artists and cultural producers out in neighborhoods and tries to hold these in new places where they haven’t yet received as many or any applications.

“I think what’s great about the evolution of Leeway is that they’ve always tried to figure out what’s at the margins now and how do we push that and bring that closer to, I mean not the center, who cares about the center, but how do we lift up those voices? How do we broaden the platform so that other folks can stand on that? Now that we’ve pushed at these margins, what’s beyond those margins? And what’s beyond that?” (grantee)

A culture of learning and experimentation • Internal culture of learning and experimentation — Leeway staff and board have built and continue to nurture an internal culture of learning and experimentation. • Space for grantees to experiment — Grantees think that there is a lot of space given by Leeway in the application process and the project/award itself to learn and make mistakes. • Learning exchanges — Leeway’s practices have been informed by learning from artists, organizers, peer organizations and other partners in the field, and from being in spaces where current philanthropic practice is being rebuilt to better support ideas and constituencies outside the mainstream.

Elevating and celebrating artists

Programming and celebration — Leeway celebrates and promotes its grantees with verve and joy through the annual artist book, events, exhibitions, performances, etc.

LEEWAY’S IMPACT

Impact on grantees

Artists and cultural producers feel that they are part of the Leeway community — This community membership is not temporary and based on being a grantee, but long-term and based on a nourishing relationship with Leeway. Artists and cultural producers have built a clearer identity as an artist through Leeway’s invitation for self-exploration/reflection — Being a Leeway applicant and a grantee changes the way artists and cultural producers think about art and social change, and their own artistic and cultural practice and identity. “The application processes every year literally shaped my path moving forward. I really credit Leeway. Going through the rigorous set of questions, evaluating myself and my communities, my impact — having them in my head from the very beginning really impacted me.” (grantee)