CultureWire | November 2024

Thank you to everyone who made this year’s Annual Meeting & Arts Party a huge success! We welcomed nearly 400 guests from every corner of Greater Philadelphia’s cultural community to celebrate our vibrant Creative Economy. See photos from the event. Photo by Ryan Brandenberg.

Arts & Culture in the News 

• “The time is right for Philadelphia’s cultural community, our elected officials and other stakeholders to come together to discuss the future of arts and culture,” says Cultural Alliance President Patricia Wilson Aden. Read more on WHYY; Arts and culture leaders to gather at first-ever Cultural Dynamics Summit at Drexel University.
• The City of Philadelphia awarded $1.5 million through the 2024 Illuminate the Arts Grant, led by Creative Philadelphia, to local individual artists, nonprofit art organizations, and creative enterprises. View the list of awardees.
• The Arts + Business Council programming, including Business on Board, found a new home within The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University. Learn more. 
• The Philadelphia Cultural Fund has launched the 2025 Art & Culture Grant for returning organizations with an average budget of $1.5M or less. Learn more.
• The Shapiro administration has launched a new grant search tool to streamline access to Pennsylvania state funding opportunities. Learn more. 

Updates from the Cultural Alliance

We’re pleased to share that the Cultural Alliance has been invited to testify at an upcoming Philadelphia City Council hearing to examine the city’s preparations for the multitude of events coming in 2026, including celebrations for America’s 250th birthday, the FIFA World Cup, and Major League Baseball's All-Star game. Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, Committee Chairman, introduced Resolution No. 240701 to hold the hearing on November 18 and we need to hear from you. Learn more about submitting written testimony for your organization and find information about how to watch the hearing on our website. 

Join us next Tuesday, November 19 Cultural Dynamics: Co-Creating a Vision for Philadelphia, a groundbreaking convening featuring Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, Chair, National Endowment for the Arts, 20+ additional voices from across the sector, and artistic and musical performances. 

Cultural Dynamics will unite artists, nonprofit leaders, funders, and elected officials to explore strategies that integrate arts and culture into transformative civic decision-making. We invite the public to join us for a livestream of this important conversation and a series of community-based meetings that will follow. Full schedule is below. Register for the livestream and you can tune in at any time throughout the day.

Livestream Schedule

• 9:30 a.m. | Welcome Remarks 
  • Patricia Wilson Aden, President and CEO, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance 
  • Shawn McCaney, Executive Director, William Penn Foundation
  • Laurie Zierer, Executive Director, PA Humanities 
  • Valerie V. Gay, Chief Cultural Officer, City of Philadelphia and Executive Director of Creative Philadelphia
  • Denis O’Brien, Interim President of Drexel University
• 10:30 a.m. | Panel I: The Role of Arts & Culture in Building a Thriving Philadelphia 
  • Prema Katari Gupta, President & CEO, Center City District
  • Alba Martinez, Director of Commerce, City of Philadelphia
  • Tayyib Smith, Founding Partner and Chief Strategist, The Growth Collective / 7th Ward Tribute
  • Isaiah Thomas, Councilmember At-Large, City of Philadelphia
  • Laurie Zierer, Executive Director of PA Humanities
  • Moderated by Jamie Bennett, Interim Co-CEO, Americans for the Arts
• 11:30 a.m. | Keynote Address from Maria Rosario Jackson, Ph.D., Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts followed by a conversation with Jason Schupbach, Dean, Drexel University, Westphal College of Media Arts & Design
• 1:00 p.m. | Panel II: Arts, Culture, and Community Power-Building
  • Jamie Brunson, Executive Director, First Person Arts
  • Vivian Chang, Executive Director, Asian Americans United 
  • Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, Chief Executive and Equity Officer, Ashé Cultural Center in New Orleans
  • Dave Kyu, Interim Executive Director, Asian Arts Initiative
  • Moderated by Aviva Kapust, Co-Director, The Culture and Community Power Fund
• 2:00 p.m. | Panel III: Creative & Cultural Pathways to Healthier & Greener Communities 
  • Nadia Malik, Porch Light Program Director, Mural Arts Philadelphia
  • Maitreyi Roy, Executive Director, Bartram’s Garden
  • Susan Slawson, Commissioner, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation
  • Clyde Valentin, Executive Director and Founder, One Project, One Nation
  • Moderated by Matt Rader, President, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
• 3:30 p.m. | Closing Remarks

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Arts & Culture by the Numbers

Thank you to the 50 cultural organizations who participated in the Cultural Alliance's Social Impact Database supported by AARP. The full report will be released in December and will give Philadelphia’s government officials a tangible tool to better serve the city’s population. The tool will also raise greater awareness of social impact programming and services by arts and cultural organizations. Learn more. 

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, Donor Relations at Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, PA
• Arts and Community Internship at Lansdowne Economic Development Corporation in Lansdowne, PA
• School Programs Manager and Partnerships Coordinator at the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia, PA
• Assistant/Associate Curator at the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, PA
• Spring Marketing Research Intern at Art-Reach in Philadelphia, PA
• Executive Director of the Historical Society of Montgomery County, PA

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.

Partner Messages

The City of Philadelphia's Office of Children and Families is seeking proposals for their Extended Day/ Extended Year pilot programming beginning in September 2025. Extended Day/ Extended Year is part of the Mayor’s overall goal to create access to economic opportunity for all by allowing adults to fully participate in the labor force and improving student academic success through enhanced learning time, stronger engagement, and improved attendance. Learn more.