> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://unhyd.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # PA Humanities Names 50 PA Cultural Exchange Fellows - URL: https://unhyd.com/article/pa-humanities-names-pa-cultural-exchange-fellows/ - Published: 2026-09-16T16:46:36.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-01T19:38:43.000Z - Description: The 18-month statewide program gives 50 Pennsylvania cultural practitioners $10,000 each and begins with a scheduled Pittsburgh exchange. - Author: Unhyd Editorial Staff - Tags: Culture, Events, #sidebar-popular-posts **PA Humanities has named 50 inaugural PA Cultural Exchange Fellows**, beginning an 18-month statewide fellowship that combines $10,000 in individual-practice support with three planned learning exchanges. The organization announced the cohort on September 15 after a competitive process that drew 350 applications from across Pennsylvania. The fellows represent 23 counties and every region of the Commonwealth, according to [PA Humanities’ announcement](https://pahumanities.org/conversations/2026/09/15/pa-humanities-names-50-fellows-to-inaugural-statewide-cultural-exchange/?ref=unhyd.com). The group includes artists, storytellers, historians, educators, organizers, scholars, librarians, filmmakers and other cultural leaders. The first Cultural Exchange Weekend is scheduled for Pittsburgh from September 24 to 26; the fellowship then plans exchanges in the PA Wilds and York in 2027. ## A statewide cohort, not a one-off award PaX, short for PA Cultural Exchange, is structured around more than a grant payment. PA Humanities says each fellow will take part in three immersive weekends, virtual learning opportunities and small peer-coaching groups. The stated goal is to connect practitioners who may work in different disciplines and regions, then give them space to compare approaches, build professional relationships and carry ideas back to their own communities. The numbers make the program’s scale clear. With 50 fellows receiving $10,000 each, PA Humanities describes PaX as a direct $500,000 investment in Pennsylvania’s cultural sector. That figure refers to the individual-practice awards; readers should not treat it as a complete program budget or as funding for a separate project pool. The program page also describes seed funding for community-based projects inspired by the fellowship, but does not state that it is part of every fellow’s $10,000 award. The organization’s public roster provides a useful sense of the range involved. It includes public-history practitioner Tailinh Agoyo of Philadelphia County, visual artist Sobia Ahmad of Allegheny County, public-history practitioner Kelly Armor of Erie County and hip-hop dancer Raphael Xavier of Philadelphia County. Those examples are not a ranking: the full list spans rural and urban counties and disciplines from libraries and archives to cultural leadership, music, visual arts and film. ## What the PA Cultural Exchange Fellows will do first The Pittsburgh weekend is scheduled as the first of three exchanges, not as a public festival or a completed event. PA Humanities says the itinerary will include the Andy Warhol Museum, Rivers of Steel’s Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark, Pittsburgh’s Hill District and the August Wilson African American Cultural Center. Fellows are expected to meet practitioners and community leaders, take part in creative activities and discuss what the experiences could mean for their own work. The later exchanges are also scheduled rather than confirmed outcomes: the PA Wilds gathering is set for May 13–15, 2027, and York is scheduled for October 7–9, 2027\. Between those dates, PA Humanities says it will convene virtual gatherings and peer-coaching groups. That sequence matters because it frames PaX as a program designed to sustain contact across the state, rather than a single networking weekend. ## Why the format matters Cultural work is often local by necessity. A librarian, place-based historian, independent filmmaker or neighborhood organizer may have deep knowledge of a community while lacking easy access to peers working on similar problems elsewhere. PaX is premised on the value of linking those local practices without flattening their differences. The fellowship’s most concrete promise is therefore twofold: direct support for individual work and a structured opportunity for practitioners to meet across regions. Laurie Zierer, executive director of PA Humanities, described the rationale in the announcement: “PaX gives these cultural and civic leaders opportunities to learn from one another, expand their professional networks, and deepen their practice, while supporting the long-term growth and resiliency of a sector that has historically been underfunded and overlooked.” The statement is the organization’s view of the program’s intended impact, not evidence that the new cohort has already produced those outcomes. There is outside corroboration for the fellowship’s basic structure. A [PDE SAS notice](https://www.pdesas.org/Main/News/871479?ref=unhyd.com) describes the three exchange locations, virtual workshops, peer coaching and $10,000 award. It does not independently verify the newly named roster, so the September 15 announcement remains the source for the 50 fellows, the application total and the Pittsburgh schedule. ## What to watch next The next verifiable milestone is the Pittsburgh exchange later this month. PA Humanities says it will document the fellowship through photography, video, fellow reflections and stories from the Cultural Exchange Weekends. Until those materials are published, the meaningful development is the cohort’s selection and the program design—not a claim about collaborations, community projects or career effects that have yet to occur. Readers can review the [complete fellow directory and PaX schedule](https://pahumanities.org/pax?ref=unhyd.com) directly. For more reporting on the institutions and ideas shaping creative life, explore Unhyd’s [culture coverage](https://unhyd.com/category/culture/). ## Sources [PA Humanities: “PA Humanities Names 50 Fellows to Inaugural Statewide Cultural Exchange”](https://pahumanities.org/conversations/2026/09/15/pa-humanities-names-50-fellows-to-inaugural-statewide-cultural-exchange/?ref=unhyd.com) [PA Humanities: PA Cultural Exchange (PaX)](https://pahumanities.org/pax?ref=unhyd.com) [PDE SAS: “Introducing the PA Cultural Exchange Fellowship”](https://www.pdesas.org/Main/News/871479?ref=unhyd.com)