Pia Agrawal is returning to Philadelphia after a stint in her native Staten Island — coming back to the city to become executive director of the Leeway Foundation, an organization that supports women and trans people whose work as artists and cultural producers focus on social change.
Leeway — best known as a grantmaker — has done a good job building trust and relationships with the artists it serves, Agrawal said. This includes offering tangible resources — such as funding, professional development and a connection with community.
The organization recently announced its 2024 recipients of their Transformation Awards — Azra Liaqat Khan, candice iloh, Detty Katsubi Aziz, Hagudeza Rullán-Fantauzzi, Hazel Edwards, Lane Timothy Speidel, Mateo Souada, Sam Rise, Selina Morales, Talie, Ximena Violante and Yvonne Lung. This group of literary, folk, multidisciplinary, music, visual and performing artists were selected for their commitment to work that showcases a vision for and analysis of art as a catalyst for social change.
The awardees — who range in age from 20-somethings through people in their 60s — received $15,000 each to use however they please. For many, the funds will directly or indirectly be funnelled back into their art — but some need to use that money to survive.
“I think we’re going to deal with a lot of folks who are coming with a lot more expressed needs,” Agrawal explained about grant-seekers — highlighting specific concerns that have been created for marginalized artists due to the current political climate and living in a world affected by COVID-19. “It’s a louder call for racial justice, for showing up for communities who have been historically underserved and under-resourced. Their needs have gotten a bit more acute.”
Agrawal, who was most recently executive director of Staten Island Arts, expects that Leeway Foundation will develop stronger partnerships with other organizations that serve marginalized communities to ensure people can find the resources they seek. Vulnerability is more visible right now, she explained — making it easier for people who are paying attention to listen to the voices who express their needs and better address the concerns they raise.
“We’re feeling it a lot more. We’re seeing it a lot more. We’re hearing these stories a lot more,” she said.
Because art helps people to both feel seen and challenge their ways of thinking, Agrawal believes diversity plays a vital role in initiating conversations “about who we are, who our neighbors are, and who makes up our city.” She looks forward to learning more about how Leeway is already engaged in those conversations, how the organization can participate more deeply, and in what ways the organization needs to learn from them.
“I think that’s the job of this role,” she added. “That is the job of this organization.”
Another aspect of her job, Agrawal said, is to recognize whose work needs to be seen or experienced in a given moment and help make that possible.
“I think art and culture has the power to make you feel more at home in your own body — the power to make you feel more at home in your own community,” Agrawal said, underlining that the platforms people use to express themselves help to shape their audience’s personal sense of being and their sense of belonging in the world.
“Isn’t that what we’re all doing everyday?” she asked. “We’re trying to grow as human beings — and I think artists are amongst the strongest voices in our society to be able to help us do that.”
“I’m a woman of color. I’m Indian ethnically,” she said about aspects of her own lived experience which influence her work. “And beyond that, something that has certainly — critically — informed my perspectives is that I’m a child of immigrants.”
Agrawal’s parents were the first in her family to build a life outside of India — which she said was challenging at times. Although she felt understood and supported at home, she still sought a broader sense of community she could fit into beyond those walls — and the art scene was where she found her people. She isn’t an artist or performer but has helped to cultivate those experiences with a career as an arts administrator, producer and curator.
Originally from Staten Island — a place New Yorkers and outsiders alike tend to treat dismissively, she said Philadelphia shares an underdog spirit she appreciates. These are places with complexity and layers, she explains, lending a shared, gritty experience to individual stories — stories that gain even more depth from the places they originate.
“One of the things that draws me to the city and really sustained me when I previously lived there is that while nothing is perfect in the arts, there’s a real sense of community and collaboration,” she said about what makes Philadelphia’s scene feel welcoming and approachable.
Agrawal said she feels like she grew up in Philadelphia even though she didn’t live there until her 20s, but she moved out of the region more than a decade ago and spent those years living in various cities around the United States — each with a unique arts scene of its own.
One of her favorite projects was producing a culinary-centered performance at a decommissioned cheese factory-turned-art-space in Bentonville, Arkansas — where the artist, Kristin Worrall, invited attendees to use their tastebuds during a live show that combined local history, theater and cooking demonstrations. She appreciated the show’s ability to draw the audience’s attention to the history of the space while also honoring more personal narratives during a communal experience.
During Agrawal’s time curating shows for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, she had the opportunity to produce “The Show Must Go On,” a dance project by French choreographer Jérôme Bel, through a more local lens — casting the show in a way that reflected the diversity of Philadelphia. The experience offered an opportunity to reflect about which people actually represented the city — even if they weren’t often seen on stage. This led to choosing talent that spanned from first-time performers to retirees.
“To see the reflection of my city back to me from stage, I found that really impactful,” she said.
As she steps into her new role with Leeway Foundation, Agrawal isn’t planning to radically change anything about how the organization already operates or functions in the community — but she is asking questions to help evaluate what the organization is already doing well, identify areas for potential improvement, and dream about what’s next.
“What communities can we be serving better? What communities can we be serving differently?” she asked, noting that she wants Leeway Foundation’s impact to help people develop their own sense of home and stability both in their work and in their everyday lives. “What opportunities might there be for us to serve those communities so they have the ability to grow and thrive?”