Citizens Convention II

The biggest issue in the Arts & Culture session was the creation of a regional fund to support the arts. The group of 20 was split into two groups that did not come back together to discuss as a whole. The side I was in did not come up with the how to get that money. People were confused as to where it would come from. It could come from tax money, a pledge of 1% of the city's budget, somewhere else. Taking the leap of faith that hundreds of millions of dollars would be poured into Philly's thriving arts scene, where would it go and what would it do?

An artist, Sue, was concerned that much of the money would end up going to administrative costs. She said that usually, 80% of monies end up going to admin costs and a trickle ends up in the pockets of the artists themselves. She stressed that the message must be clear that artists cannot create art for free and they must be paid for their contributions to the city. Sue added that the old Office of Arts & Culture (it currently doesn't exist, but I believe Nutter has pledged to reopen it) did not do anything other than organize artists around Christmas time to create displays around City Hall. She said that a revived Office of Arts & Culture must actively act as a liaison between all of the arts groups in the city. A well designed website would be a huge step; the group agreed.

Several in the group noted their frustration in not being able to know what's going on around the city at the hundreds of arts and culture venues. Sure, you could find out what was going on at the Kimmel Center, but the small venues have a hard time getting their word out. The group liked the notion of offering bundled ticket incentives. Say you were to go see the orchestra for $50 (pulling that number out of nowhere). On the ticket would be a notice that if you were to go to "studio x" for a show, you'd get 10% off admission or something similar, in order to simply let people know of the smaller galleries and give them a little push towards going to them. Russell said that one of Nutter's proposals to bring the youth out of the classroom is to offer 2 tickets to every child, each year.

The library was another biggie. The expansion of the main branch was one of the 'long-term efforts' outlined in the agenda.

Fund the expansion of the Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia. This is the people’s Taj Mahal of culture, and the inspired design for its expansion by "starchitect" Moshe Safdie should be a top public-funding priority.

With the closing of so many branches around the city, I think that it's insane to plunk $30M into the central branch. Yes, as Sue pointed out, their lecture series (mostly free lectures at that!) is second to none in the city. But, I added, if people were able to go their own branch and watch a simulcast, that would only increase the reach of these fantastic sold-out appearances. What good does an astounding lecture series do for the kid who lives 45 minutes away from the central branch with no way to get there? What good does a $30M expansion project do the kid who can't get a book from her/his local, closed branch down the street? Keep the existing branches open. Open up the ones which have recently been closed. Keep them open more than 3 days a week. Then, then you can think about plunking $30M into the central branch.

Rob took a second to address the artwork outside the room. The My Philadelphia contest winners' artwork was in the area between 4 meeting rooms. He noted that the work out there was shockingly from high schoolers. He thought that the work was on par with the middle schoolers from where he grew up in a small town in North Carolina. This was not a knock on the talents of the winners here, but the acknowledgment that these kids don't have what they need to explore their artistic talents in schools. I recall seeing a statistic that Philadelphia spends something like 13¢ per student per year on art supplies.

I went outside after the session to take a look at the artwork and I wasn't surprised at the content of the pieces, but I was absolutely disheartened at the repetition of the theme I knew would take center stage. There were about 15 displays, here are photos of 9 of them. See a pattern?

As a student at Kensington CAPA high school, David Martinez ranked among the contest finalists for his piece "Go Philly." The drawing depicts the gun violence in the city, and issue that has risen to the top of the list of concerns for many in the community.

Hood Violence, didn't catch the name.

Didn't catch the title/name.

Didn't catch the title/name.

Jocelyn DeGroot-Lutzner's submission, "The Bleeding City," was part of her work as a student at Philadelphia's Central High School.

Didn't catch the title/name.

Didn't catch the title/name.

Cashmier Fields of Benjamin Franklin High School submitted "Study in Red" (above) in the art category. His teacher was Richard Dunoff.

But we ended the session talking about what each of us could/would do. Rob pledged to go to an arts venue he wouldn't normally go to and be a patron. Sue said becoming a member of an organization is great since the dues go to a general fund and not to a specific function. Peg hoped that the local universities and colleges would start mentor programs with their student artists and the children from their communities. The final order of business was to rank the priorities for the Arts. #1 was to support the artists. #2 was to make sure the Office of Arts & Culture was a strong office, but that clout would need to be earned. #3 to make sure kids were exposed to the arts in Philadelphia and ensure they have access to the arts. #4 increase corporate involvement in spreading the gospel that is the arts.

The final session I attended was on transportation and that post will come shortly.

Part I | Part II | Part III