From the WPA:
We're pleased to announce the 10 grant recipients for the 2026 funding cycle of Wherewithal Grants, providing financial support and peer mentorship for DC-area artists in areas of research and project presentations. Six artists and collectives have been awarded with research grants of $5,000 each, and four artists and collectives have been awarded with project & presentation grants of $7,500 each, for a total disbursement of $60,000 this cycle.
Research grantees: Gia Harewood, Jackie Hoysted, Brooke Jay & Chrystal Seawood, Christopher Kardambikis, Adriana Monsalve, and Kat Thompson.
Project & Presentation grantees: abdu ali mongo & Maleke Glee, Sobia Ahmad & Benny Shaffer, Ama BE, and Shariq Shah.
Over the next year, artists from this cohort will organize projects including: a multi-genre publication inspired by the Black queer body in motion; a three-day symposium bringing together a cohort of artists, filmmakers, and poets whose work probes land and film as reciprocal sites of encounter; a performance dinner; and an intergenerational cooking workshop. Others will conduct research around fascinating topics such as: soil memory, mycology, diasporic memories and language, and the history of DIY publishing in the 21st century.
Throughout the yearlong grant cycle, grantees will produce their work independently and in dialogue with one another, convening regularly as a group facilitated by Nathalie von Veh, Wherewithal Regrants Manager.
An independent panel of four artists and curators reviewed 113 applications and are awarding 10 grants. The adjudication panel consisted of: Jenna Crowder, Writer and Editor (Washington, DC); Krista Green, Grit Fund Program Manager, The Peale (Baltimore, MD); Rex Delafkaran, Artist and Wherewithal Alum (Chicago, IL); and Sara O’Keeffe, Senior Curator, Art Omi (Ghent, NY). They evaluated each proposal based on the criteria of Artistic Impact, Context/Audience, Collaboration, Feasibility, and Budget.
