Mile-High Musings on Arts, Culture, Creativity and Philanthropy

The newest "guerrilla musical" by the New York-based group Improv Everywhere is called " Grocery Store Musical " (photo on left) was just recently shared with me and is very cool. It got me thinking about this whole new trend towards finding ways to insert art into our everyday lives, in ways that are designed to jolt us out of our complacency, our routine. Many have seen the Belgian train station choreographed dance , which has been seen THIRTEEN MILLION times. A special favorite of mine is a flash mob dance routine that appeared in an episode of Weeds (featuring a great song by Michale Franti and Spearhead!). Check it out here . And in Philly a flash mob dance was organized on the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. (With apologies to the organizers, not in the same league as the best of this sort of work - keep trying!) There is a group called " Urban Prankster " that has a web site and documents these sort of flash mob projects all around the world, b...

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal Community Development Block Grant program received $1 billion in additional funding. Philadelphia's share of that allocation worked out to about $14 million. As part of its effort to foster the cultural and creative economy sector as an integrated component of building healthy communities, the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) was able to create a new $500,000 grant program as part of Philadelphia's plan for use of these funds, with the support of both the Mayor and the City Council. This grant program will include the nonprofit arts and culture community as well as for-profit arts, entertainment and creative businesses, and is a part of the Office's larger strategy to nurture and develop this sector by providing specific programs and resources to the creative industries. This grant program also intersects with The Commerce Department’s business services, neighborhood development, busi...

Philadelphia's two original Percent for Art programs, the program of the Redevelopment Authority , and the City of Philadelphia program , have collaborated on a celebration of the 50th anniversary of their creation in 1959 - the first such ordinances in the nation. More info is available here. A wonderful exhibit has been mounted at the Art Institute of Philadelphia gallery on Chestnut Street which features the work of student photographers from four of our leading arts colleges - Moore College of Art, University of the Arts, the Tyler School at Temple, and the Art Institute - interpreting the City's public art collection through their photographs. The idea was to not just highlight the work of art, but show it "in action," as part of the life of the City, and as perceived by young artists. In addition, a symposium was held last Thursday that featured a panel of artists and curators - Andrea Blum, Dennis Oppenheim, Damon Rich and Adelina Vlas, with Aaron Levy from th...

There is interesting news out of Canada about a new arts awareness campaign that is being launched. I know many of the folks involved in this from my years running the national Arts & Business Council, followed by my years at Americans for the Arts after the merger of the two. I attended a few of the Canadian Arts Summit gatherings, of which this campaign is (indirectly) an outcome, and worked closely with the Canadian equivalent of the Arts & Business Council ( CBAC, now known as "Business for the Arts" ). I had always felt the Canadian Arts Summit is a great model to replicate in the US - there is frankly nothing like it here. Since 1998, the convening brings together every year the board chairs, executive director or managing directors, and artistic directors of the 50 largest Canadian arts organizations across all disciplines - museum, opera, symphony, theatre, dance, presenting, etc. This makes for fascinating conversations at the highest level about governance...

As the Mayor's Cultural Advisory Council works with me on developing some concrete goals, strategies and tactics for both the short and long term (if not a full-blown cultural plan) I can't help but reflect on the challenges of the balancing act this process entails, especially in the current climate. We have a wide array of organizations truly struggling right now with their financial stability, from the Philadelphia Orchestra down to very small one-person operations in danger of literally ceasing operations because they must lay off the one paid staff member. On a pure hard-nosed economic calculation, a large organization like the Art Museum or the Orchestra has the most significant impact on the economy - attracting tourists, generating restaurant revenue, employing workers, etc. As a City looking to bolster its revenues which ultimately serves all citizens, the impact of an institution on the City's economy MUST be an important factor in evaluating City investments. On ...

A new study was issued this week by consultant and author Patricia Martin , who writes a great blog on the cultural consumer. I have worked with Pat for many years, and she always has interesting things to say, and good insight into the "zeitgeist" of the cultural consumer - the folks who form our audiences, visitors and arts participants. The "American Life and Culture Survey" reinforces what many arts groups are seeing - in the difficult economy consumer spending and attitudes towards cultural engagement have not changed all that much - people are still buying books, going to performing arts events, attending and renting movies, etc. One big finding: Millennials create; Boomers consume - 82% of younger respondents said their peers consider them creative, and one third of this group blog. The older Boomer group create less, but consume at a higher rate, participating in cultural experiences and acquiring art.In a sign of the economic times, even though attendance ...

Today we issued a press release announcing the completion of a new study of Philadelphia's public art landscape. The text of the release follows: Philadelphia, PA - The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy announces the completion of a year-long study entitled Philadelphia Public Art: The Full Spectrum performed by PennPraxis , the clinical arm of the School of Design of the University of Pennsylvania, and funded by the William Penn Foundation .  The study was undertaken to assess how public art is currently commissioned, managed, and conserved by the City and other local public art organizations and to make policy recommendations on how to best utilize this tremendous resource relative to the city-wide goals of neighborhood revitalization, economic development, and the creative economy. “This study will be an essential tool as we develop a strategy for how to take what is arguably already the most extraordinary public art city in the country...