November 2025

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The Strides Collective Celebrates 5 Years of Queer Storytelling 

This year, Cultural Alliance member The Strides Collective celebrates its 5th anniversary—five years of amplifying emerging queer voices through bold, authentic, and innovative theatre.

Join the celebration at New Strides: A Play Festival on December 4 & 5 at 7 PM, featuring staged readings of three brand-new one-act plays by Philly playwrights. Part developmental workshop, part community event, the festival offers audiences a first look at fresh queer stories brought to life by local artists. Learn more here.

If you haven’t already, join or renew your membership with the Cultural Alliance to help us continue uplifting Philadelphia’s vibrant arts and cultural community. Become A Member Today.

Arts & Culture in the News 

  • A coalition of seven charitable foundations has established a Literary Arts Fund to support independent publishers and nonprofit organizations. Read more from AP News.

  • The Forman Arts Initiative promises to turn Philadelphia’s North American Street into a grittier version of the Parkway. Read more the Philadelphia Inquirer.

  • An ‘exuberantly eclectic’ new building is set to open at Chestnut Hill’s Woodmere Museum. Read more from WHYY.  

  • President Trump fires entire Arts Oversight Committee. Read more Hyperallergic.

  • Local Sacramento, California artists are reclaiming control over how cultural work is valued and funded. Read more Comstock’s Magazine.

2025 Annual Meeting & Arts Party Recap

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What a night! Thank you to our members, partners, performers, vendors, and friends who made this year’s Annual Meeting & Arts Party a huge success!

Building on our theme of Standing Together: Arts & Culture in Solidarity, over 300 artists, cultural leaders, and supporters gathered to celebrate, collaborate, and look ahead—with music by Laurin Talese and DJ Elevator Machine Room presented by our Performance Curator, ArtPhilly. The evening also included remarks from our President and CEO Patricia Wilson Aden, Board Chair of the Cultural Alliance and President of Jazz Philadelphia Gerald Veasley, and ArtPhilly Creative & Executive Director Bill Adair. We also shared a sneak peek at our new logo! To see more photos from the evening, please see our Flickr. Thank you to our Sponsors: 

Platinum: PNC, The PSS Group, William Penn Foundation 

Gold: Longwood Gardens, TD Bank 

Silver: Creative Philadelphia, The Mann Center

Supporters: Visit Philadelphia, Signature57, Rowse Consulting, Ensemble Arts Philly

InKind: The Franklin Institute

Additional Sponsors: Scout, Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia, Custom Picture Framer, Drexel University

Performance Curator: ArtPhilly 

Updates from the Cultural Alliance

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Announcing the 2025 Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Recipients. The Cultural Alliance is proud to announce the latest Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator recipients! In partnership with PA Creative Industries (powered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts), we’ve distributed $150,000 in grants to 75 local creative businesses across the Greater Philadelphia region. These $2,000 grants provide vital resources and consulting to help creative entrepreneurs grow their businesses, generate revenue, and strengthen our region’s creative economy. See the announcement here.

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Bring PA Humanities’ Rain Poetry To Your Community. PA Humanities’ Rain Poetry Toolkit is now live—and they’re offering a limited number of grants to help communities across Pennsylvania launch their own projects! Rain Poetry engages youth (ages 8–18) in hands-on poetry workshops that turn public spaces into canvases for creativity using a special water-activated solution that reveals their words “like magic.” Explore the free Rain Poetry Toolkit for tips and inspiration, and join PA Humanities’ informational webinar on November 6 at 12 PM to learn more about the new grant opportunity. Register here.

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Applications Open Soon: 2025 Illuminate the Arts Grant. Creative Philadelphia will soon open applications for the 2025 Illuminate the Arts Grant (ITAG)—a $1.5 million initiative designed to uplift Philadelphia’s creative sector, with a focus on artists and organizations rooted in historically underfunded communities. Grants will support individual artists, small to mid-size arts organizations, and creative enterprises across the city, helping sustain creative practices and expand access to the arts in economically marginalized neighborhoods. Applications will be accepted November 5 at 10AM through November 30 at 11:59PM. Learn more on Creative Philadelphia’s website.

ADVERTISEMENT

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CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia is closing out its 15 anniversary year by investing directly in the region’s creative workforce. For a limited time, they’re offering deeply discounted annual memberships to their Center City coworking hub—designed for artists, cultural entrepreneurs, and nonprofit leaders who value shared resources, collaboration, and community. Members can choose standard business-hours access (Community Vanguard) or 24/7 access (Cultural Maverick), with amenities including workspace, meeting rooms, WiFi, podcast and game rooms, coffee/tea, and a supportive peer network. This special anniversary rate is available to new members through November 30, or until the limited number of discounted memberships is filled. GPCA members receive 50% off CultureWorks membership year-round. For details or questions, contact Ariel Shelton at ashelton@cultureworksphila.org.

By the Numbers

During a time of increasing food insecurity, PA CultureCheck found that 31% of responding cultural organizations across Pennsylvania partner with Farmers’ Markets or Food Pantries (+4% from 2022). Additionally, as cultural engagement is increasingly vital to health and wellness, PA CultureCheck survey results confirmed notable growth in programs supporting mental health (from 29% of organizations in 2023 to 43% in 2024), physical wellness (from 20% in 2023 to 25% in 2024), and aging (from 25% in 2023 to 30% in 2024). These emerging trends highlight the sector’s important role in healing, connection, and community care. See the full report online. 

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Job Bank

The Cultural Alliance’s Job Bank is Greater Philadelphia’s top resource for job opportunities in arts and culture. You’ll find positions at all professional levels in museums, theaters, historic sites, art galleries, dance studios, community centers, and much more. Keep reading for the most recent listings from Member organizations.

SEE MORE ON THE JOB BANK
 

Want to connect to candidates? The Cultural Alliance’s Job Bank has 60,000+ views each month. Job listings are free for Cultural Alliance Members and start at just $95 for non-Members. Learn more.

 

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