The Leeway Foundation has recently announced the recipients of its 2025 Media Artist + Activist Residency, which funds the collaborations between women, trans, and non-conforming media artists and social justice organizations in Philadelphia.

Subjects such as housing and support for queer people, support for immigrant mothers, and drama therapy for court-involved Black youth are the focus for this year’s recipients: Aisha Mershani, Angel Shanel Edwards, Bryheem “Broc” Hawkins, Gabriela Watson-Burkett and Melissa Beatriz.

Aisha Mershani

Aisha Mershani didn’t initially set out to be a photographer or document the Apartheid Wall in the West Bank. They had gone to grad school in Spain, getting their degree in Peace, Development Studies, and Conflict Transformation from an UNESCO program con

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