Overview

The Friends of the Tanner House (FOTH) and its project partners are leading an arts-rich participatory planning and preservation visioning process that invites community voices to provide input into the rehabilitation and proposed re-use of the Henry Ossawa Tanner House. This project centers the specific ways Black folks have shaped Philadelphia. The FOTH intends to grow and sustain a transformative community cultural platform for and by the heart, hands, and imagination of Black folk’s everyday lives.  

Supported by the Mellon Foundation, FOTH, Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites (CPCRS), and local partners will create a community-centered platform for a collective vision for the Tanner House. FOTH will assemble a cohort of Philadelphia cultural workers and community partners to participate in the art-centered participatory planning process, emphasizing design justice principles and community-centered inquiries in its execution.

We are inviting individual artists or small arts collectives as partners in designing and executing five (5) free community arts-centered events inspired by the accomplished legacies of Tanner family members. The primary audience is residents of the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. We plan for opportunities to gather community input during these activities to be further contextualized within and elaborated upon for ongoing preservation planning.  The project budget is $25,000. 

Part I Qualification Applications will be accepted through 11:59pmEST on June 16, 2023 through the RFQ Google Form. Applicants may also submit via email to tannehousefriends@gmail.com if they do not have a Gmail account. Please be sure to read the full RFQ before applying.