PA Cultural Exchange (PaX)
The PA Cultural Exchange, or PaX, is an 18-month statewide fellowship from PA Humanities designed to strengthen and support cultural practitioners’ work and careers, forge connections across regions and disciplines, and build a statewide network for learning, collaboration, and shared problem-solving.
Each fellow receives $10,000 to support their individual practice and participates in three immersive Cultural Exchange Weekends, virtual learning opportunities, and small peer-coaching groups. PaX represents a direct $500,000 investment in Pennsylvania’s cultural sector.
Through PaX, fellows will deepen their practice, build and strengthen connections within their communities, and expand the professional networks and partnerships that support future collaboration, professional growth, and workforce development.
Program Highlights
Three immersive cultural exchanges in Pittsburgh, the PA Wilds and York
Virtual skill-building and leadership workshops
Regional peer coaching groups
New perspectives, partnerships and approaches fellows can bring back to their communities
Fellows receive $10,000
Seed funding for innovative community-based projects inspired by their fellowship experience
Announcing our 2026 cohort
PA Humanities has named 50 artists, storytellers, historians, educators, organizers, scholars, librarians, filmmakers, and other cultural leaders as the inaugural PA Cultural Exchange Fellows.
Selected through a competitive process from 350 applications statewide, the fellows represent 23 counties and every region of Pennsylvania. Over the next 18 months, they will experience cultural and humanities work across the Commonwealth, exchange ideas, expand their professional networks, and bring new perspectives and approaches back to the communities they serve.
2026–2027 PA Cultural Exchange Fellows
Search by fellow or county to explore the inaugural cohort.
(Coming soon: Explore an interactive statewide map featuring photos, biographies, and more about each fellow’s work.)
| First Name | Last Name | Region | County | Urban/Rural | Primary Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam | DePaul | NE | Monroe | Rural | Arts Administration/Cultural Leadership |
| Ainsley | Wynn Eakins | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Public History/Heritage |
| Aisha | Khan | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Arts Administration/Cultural Leadership |
| Alexandria | Raymond | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Cultural Memory keeper/storytelling |
| Amara | Geffen | NW | Crawford | Rural | Public History/Heritage |
| Andrea | Walls | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Film/Media/Photography |
| Andrew | Smith | SC | Adams | Rural | Visual Arts |
| Angela | (Medina) Jackson | SW | Allegheny | Urban | Writing/Literary Arts |
| Asia | Ward | SW | Lawrence | Rural | Visual Arts - sculptor |
| Barb | mitchell | SW | Cambria | Rural | Libraries/Archives |
| Camila | Carolina Romero dos Santos | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Public History/Heritage |
| Carmin | Wong | NC | Centre | Rural | Writing/Literary Arts |
| Clare | Finin | SE | Delaware | Urban | Arts Administration/Cultural Leadership |
| Corey | Carrington | SW | Allegheny | Urban | Arts Administration/Cultural Leadership |
| DS | Kinsel | SW | Allegheny | Urban | Events/Producing |
| Eric | Cesar Morales | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Dance/Movement |
| Eric | Dusenbery | SC | York | Urban | Film/Media/Photography |
| Erica | Quinn | NC | Centre | Rural | Arts Administration/Cultural Leadership |
| James | Jordan | NE | Lehigh | Urban | Music |
| Jasmine | Cho | SW | Allegheny | Urban | Public History/Heritage |
| Jeannine | A. Cook | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Writing/Literary Arts |
| Jetta | Harrison | NC | Northumberland | Rural | Community/Civic Practice |
| Julie | Mader | NW | McKean | Rural | Visual Arts |
| Karina | Dandashi | SW | Allegheny | Urban | Film/Media/Photography |
| Kathryn | Rose | SW | Allegheny | Urban | Community/Civic Practice |
| Kelly | Armor | NW | Erie | Urban | Public History/Heritage |
| Kelly | Dessoye | NE | Luzerne | Urban | Film/Media/Photography |
| Kenneth | Hong | SE | Chester | Urban | Public History/Heritage |
| Kimberly | Ellis | SW | Allegheny | Urban | Public History/Heritage |
| Kristal | Sotomayor | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Film/Media/Photography |
| Kristen | Janci | SW | Beaver | Urban | Libraries/Archives |
| Kuwame | Kinsel | SW | Allegheny | Urban | Planning/Place-Based Development |
| LaNeshe | Miller-White | SE | Delaware | Urban | Arts Administration/Cultural Leadership |
| Laura | Knorr | NE | Columbia | Rural | Visual Arts |
| Lazaro | Delgado | SC | Lancaster | Urban | Film/Media/Photography |
| Lisa | Glover | NE | Wayne | Rural | Design/Creative Strategy |
| Mabel | Rosenheck | SC | Lancaster | Urban | Public History/Heritage |
| Max | Gonzales | SW | Allegheny | Urban | Visual Arts |
| Raphael | Xavier | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Dance/Movement (hip hop) |
| Ren | Schaeffer | SC | York | Urban | Research/Scholarship |
| Robert | Lewis | NW | Erie | Urban | Visual Arts |
| Samuel | Price | SC | Mifflin | Rural | Public History/Heritage |
| Sarah | Farbo | NC | Northumberland | Rural | Community/Civic Practice |
| Sobia | Ahmad | SW | Allegheny | Urban | Visual Arts |
| Tailinh | Agoyo | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Public History/Heritage |
| Tannis | Kowalchuk | NE | Wayne | Rural | Theatre, Community Engagement |
| tayyib | smith | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Public History/Heritage |
| Vanessa | Codorniu | SC | Dauphin | Urban | Arts Administration/Cultural Leadership |
| Wilfredo | Hernandez | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Public History/Heritage |
| Yuri | Seung | SE | Philadelphia | Urban | Music |
The PaX Journey
Pennsylvania’s cultural landscape is shaped by the history, creativity, and community knowledge found in places across the Commonwealth. Through three immersive Cultural Exchange Weekends, fellows will experience local cultural work firsthand and explore how place influences creative, humanities, and community practice.
Each exchange will bring together perspectives from rural, urban, and suburban Pennsylvania, creating opportunities for fellows to learn from one another, build lasting relationships, and find inspiration in approaches they can bring back to their own work and communities.
| Date | Cultural Exchange |
|---|---|
| September 24–26, 2026 | Pittsburgh |
| May 13–15, 2027 | PA Wilds |
| October 7–9, 2027 | York |
Between exchanges, fellows will continue learning and building relationships through virtual gatherings and small peer-coaching groups.
First Stop: Pittsburgh
PaX begins September 24–26 with its first Cultural Exchange Weekend in Pittsburgh.
Fellows will gather at the Andy Warhol Museum, explore the history and creative reuse of the Carrie Blast Furnaces, and experience the Hill District’s rich Black arts and cultural legacy. Shared meals, creative activities, and facilitated conversations will help fellows exchange ideas, build trust, and begin forming relationships across regions and practices.
The weekend concludes at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, where fellows will reflect on what they experienced and what it might mean for their own communities.
Follow the Exchange
Throughout the fellowship, PA Humanities will document the experience through photography, video, fellow reflections, and stories from each Cultural Exchange Weekend. Follow along as relationships deepen, ideas develop, and new collaborations begin to take shape across Pennsylvania.
Applications for the inaugural fellowship cohort are closed. Join our mailing list to hear about future PaX opportunities.
Advisors
We’re deeply grateful to our trusted advisors for the care and insight they’ve brought to shaping the PA Cultural Exchange. They come from across Pennsylvania and beyond, each offering perspectives rooted in their own lived experiences and fields of work.
Savannah Barrett, Art of the Rural/Kentucky’s Rural Urban Exchange
Chad Beegle, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
James Claiborne, The Barnes Foundation
Daniel Egusquiza, Reading Library
Patrick Fisher, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
De’Amon Harges, The Learning Tree
Candace Hillyard, PA Route 6 Alliance
Kim Koller-Jones, the Hoyt Art Center
Sarah Merritt, Pennsylvania Creative Industries
Abbi Peters, PA Wilds
Maggie Richardson, PACE Pittsburgh
Funding
The PA Cultural Exchange is made possible through the generous support of Spring Point Partners and The Heinz Endowments, with additional support from Pennsylvania state legislators, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Together, these partners have invested in our community building work, by supporting humanities scholars, practitioners and creative workers as they strengthen their work with communities and build a vibrant and connected network across the Commonwealth.
