CultureWire | July 2024

On July 1, 1874, the Philadelphia Zoo opened its gates to guests for the very first time! Over the last 150 years, the Zoo has welcomed nearly 100 million people. To celebrate this milestone, the Zoo is offering a $150 ticket bundle that includes a family four pack of tickets, the Wings of the World feeding experience (pictured here), and much more. Learn more about the history of America's First Zoo and purchase tickets here.  

Arts and Culture In the News

• The William Penn Foundation, Philly’s biggest foundation focused solely on the city, is changing what it funds, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. 
• Philly’s Avenue of the Arts to spend $100 million greenifying South Broad Street, reports Peter Crimmins for WHYY.
• University of the Arts lacks cash to pay employees money it owes them under federal law, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. 
• Pennsylvania’s historic preservation tax credit program has an annual cap of $5 million. Legislation moving through Harrisburg would change that. Read more on WHYY. 

Updates from the Cultural Alliance

With the city’s new fiscal year beginning on July 1, the Cultural Alliance recognizes how far we have come and how much there still is to do to safeguard, support, and sustain the creative sector. When budget deliberations began in City Hall last month, the Cultural Alliance outlined six key priorities to city leaders calling for a stable investment across the city’s arts portfolio. We're pleased to share that several of those priorities received consistent funding, Mural Arts Philadelphia’s funding was restored, and capital funding was maintained across a majority of city-owned institutions. Once again, the Cultural Alliance and members of Philadelphia’s creative sector made sure that our voices were heard. Our future is bright, but we must remain vigilant. Now more than ever, it’s clear that the creative economy needs financial investment and stability. Read the full statement from our President and CEO here. 

The 2024-2025 Creative Sector Flex Fund grant is open now through July 31! This $5,000 grant, funded by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, provides support to eligible nonprofit organizations that provide consistent artistic programming and services in Pennsylvania and have an annual average arts revenue of $10,000 to $200,000. Learn more.

Photo courtesy of The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Environmental Art Department, a 2023-2024 Flex Fund awardee. Photo by Bastiaan Slabbers.

Current and prospective Cultural Alliance members are invited to join us for upcoming Information Sessions. Tailored to different geographic regions, these sessions are designed to help organizations make the most of their membership and connect directly with Cultural Alliance staff. Coming up: Delaware County on July 11 at 3:30 p.m. at Darlington Arts Center (register) and Philadelphia County on July 18 at 4:00 p.m. at CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia (register).

The Bloomberg Arts Internship has begun! 78 interns have been placed at 40 worksites across Philadelphia, including right here at the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. Interns Natasha and Zahraa have joined the Communications Department this summer to work on a variety of projects including documenting the experiences of their fellow interns across the city. In the coming weeks, they'll be posting to the Cultural Alliance's social media so be sure to follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X.  

Save the date! The 2024 Annual Meeting and Arts Party will be held on Tuesday, October 15 at the Bok Building in South Philadelphia. Every year, the Cultural Alliance brings together hundreds of members of the creative community for an evening of networking and shared celebration. Take a look at some of our past events in the Annual Meeting & Arts Party archive on our website. 

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Arts & Culture by the Numbers

COMING SOON: PA CultureCheck 2024 Survey! 

Once again, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is partnering with PA Humanities and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council to run the PA CultureCheck study to provide better state benchmarking and advocacy opportunities for arts leaders across the Commonwealth. Arts and culture organizations across the region will be asked to complete a survey that has been customized for Southeast Pennsylvania. 
 
Look for the survey to hit your inbox later this summer! Want to make sure you receive a copy of the survey to fill out for your organization? Email Kristen Vinh, Director of Research and Data, at kristenv@philaculture.org. You can read more about PA CultureCheck and the 2023 report here.

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.

• Development Manager at Main Line Art Center in Haverford, PA 
• Building Superintendent at First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA
• Education & Administrative Assistant and Production Manager at Quintessence Theatre Group in Philadelphia, PA
• Part Time Visitor Services Assistant at Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, PA
• Family Concept Store Manager and Family Concept Store Sales Associate at pucciManuli in Ardmore, PA
• IT Operations Manager at Mural Arts Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA
• Assistant Box Office Manager at People's Light in Malvern, PA