The Sound of Freedom

A group of ten artists smiling and posing for a photo inside a building, near a radio station entrance with a large digital screen displaying event information, and a view of a city skyline with a park through the windows.

Black Music City

Facilitator x Social Impact Evaluator

For Black Music City, a collaboration between WXPN, WRTI, and REC Philly, which funds new artistic works by Philadelphia-area Black creatives celebrating the city’s rich Black music heritage. I provided consultation to conduct social impact measurement to measure the effectiveness of the Cycle 4 of the program. I facilitated a day-long retreat with 16 grant recipient artists to gain valuable insight into their experience with the program, from application to final exhibition. To ensure honest and anonymous feedback, I developed and administered pre-retreat digital surveys. The results of these surveys guided the retreat's agenda, allowing for a focused and productive discussion.

 Following the event, I synthesized all findings into a detailed post-retreat report for the William Penn Foundation. My work ensured that the program's purpose and impact were clearly communicated to the grant funders and aligned to the program partner’s goal of increasing funding and recognition for Black creators in Philadelphia. 

I also served as a key spokesperson for the artists' collective experience and the program's overall impact as a previous grant recipient (2022) and Philadelphia based creative. 

A group of people sitting around a large, round table with a colorful tablecloth in a conference room. The table has papers, water bottles, cups, a phone, and a plate with a pastry. The room has dark gray walls, windows, and soundproof panels.
Group of people in a room with blue soundproofing panels, some writing on large sheets of paper on the wall, one person in a gray suit and others in casual attire, some standing and some seated at a table with water bottles, notebooks, and snacks.
A presentation slide discussing whether artist celebrations should continue on Juneteenth. The slide includes pie charts showing survey results, with the first indicating 92.3% support and 7.7% opposition, and the second showing 64.3% support and 35.7% opposition for continuing artist celebrations. There are quotes: one in green reading, 'Juneteenth is an important spiritual holiday, grantee gatherings fall in the realm of work and I feel strongly that Black folks should not be working or obligated to work on this holiday,' and another in red stating, 'The holiday is a timely way to highlight Black creative works while celebrating our liberation.' A paragraph in black text explains that more grantees favored celebrating Juneteenth as the artist celebration day, but at the retreat, more felt conflicted about the holiday being the most appropriate day. The slide is branded with the logo 'SCF SHE GET FREE' at the bottom right corner.

More Case Studies

Black Music City:
The Sound

BlackStar Film Festival:
Crew Love

Black Woman Radicals x Philadelphia Print Works:
But Some of Us Are Brave

Civic House:
Celebrating 20 years
of Community Service

Eugenio Maria de Hostos
Bilingual Charter School:
Manos a la obra! 

Kanaval Rhythms:
Nou La

T.U.F.F. Girls:
Freedom Reels

WXPN Welcomes:
Dancing in the Streets