Phillyfunguide Publishes List of Arts & Culture Organizations with Closures or Adjusted Hours During Papal Visit

Philadelphia, September 14, 2014 – In an effort to help arts and culture audiences plan for next week’s Papal Visit, Phillyfunguide.com and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance today released the results of a survey to Alliance members that were most likely to have their visitation hours impacted by the 2015 World Meeting of Families and Papal visit.

Just under half of the organizations surveyed plan to close on Friday, September 25, but over the weekend that number increases to 64% on Saturday and 65% on Sunday. On Monday, some will reopen, but 52% of respondents will remain shuttered. Philadelphia Museum of Art, The African American Museum in Philadelphia and the Institute of Contemporary Art are among those closed Friday-Sunday. Organizations with alternate or limited hours include Please Touch Museum, The Barnes Foundation, The Franklin Institute and Eastern State Penitentiary.

For a full list of confirmations on what’s open, what’s closed, and which organizations will have adjusted hours or security restrictions during the Papal Visit.

“The whole city has been gearing up for this Papal Visit, including the arts and culture sector,” said Maud Lyon, Cultural Alliance President. “We wanted to see how our members were planning, whether that meant navigating the challenges associated with the visit, or coming up with special Pope-themed programming. Once we had all of the information, it only made sense to share it on Phillyfunguide as a public resource for anyone wondering about visiting the city’s museums, gardens, galleries and other institutions next week.”

Fifty-eight Cultural Alliance member organizations responded to the survey, which was focused on organizations within or in close proximity to the Papal activities. Organizations surveyed included community art/cultural organizations; libraries/archives; museums; science/nature/gardens institutions; visual arts venues; and performing arts venues. For updates on additional music and theater performance times, as well as any unanticipated last-minute schedule changes during this once-in-a-lifetime event, Phillyfunguide encourages the public to check organizations’ websites and social media feeds on the date they plan to visit.

The Cultural Alliance and Phillyfunguide will continue to work with partners including the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, Visit Philadelphia, the World Meeting of Families and others to promote all of the cultural activities happening during the Papal visit. For questions or additional details, please contact Alison Zeidman at alisonz@philaculture.org or 215-805-5737.

ABOUT PHILLYFUNGUIDE
Since 2002, Phillyfunguide has been the Greater Philadelphia region’s “go-to” website for accurate and detailed information about upcoming cultural, entertainment and sporting events. Administered by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the site contains information on thousands of events and attractions. The content found on Phillyfunguide is also made available to events calendars of over 20 partner sites including WXPN, visitphilly.com, and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.

ABOUT THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA CULTURAL ALLIANCE
Established in 1972, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is the region’s leading arts and cultural advocacy, research and marketing organization. Our mission is to “lead, strengthen and give voice to a diverse cultural sector that is making Philadelphia a world-class region to live, work, and play.”  Our membership includes over 400 organizations ranging from museums and dance companies to community art centers, historic sites, music ensembles and zoos. Our members, as well as the cultural community as a whole, count on the Alliance for signature research reports on the health and growth of the sector; grantmaking in partnership with the Pennsylvania Council on the arts; robust professional development and membership services; marketing and audience development through our signature consumer marketing programs, Phillyfunguide.com and Funsavers; and leadership in policy and community engagement through our GroundSwell advocacy initiative and STAMP teen program. For more information on the Cultural Alliance, please visit www.philaculture.org.