Moore College in Philadelphia - Group Six

The Big Canvas - July 30, 2008

The group of 11 people was a diverse one. They ranged in age from young to middle-age to seniors. There were two artists and one consultant to arts organizations; the others were mostly arts and culture “junkies,” as one participant called herself, plus one person committed to the Great Expectations process. Five people were from Center City, two from South Philly, one from the Northeast, one from West Mount Airy, and two from the western suburbs. When asked why they chose to attend, the replied:

• Center City - world traveler and appreciate all the cultures in Philadelphia.
• Center City - cultural district - arts and culture is a driving force in the city - support the diversity of people in arts and culture.
• Northeast - supporter of Great Expectations.
• South Philly – artist, works at Fleisher - wants improved access to arts and culture in the city.
• West Mount Airy – consultant for arts organizations – arts and culture important as a parent and for work and enjoyment.
• Center City – blockbuster exhibits (Matisse) – the power of art teaching institutions.
• Center City – arts and culture “junkie” – docent for Mural Arts program.
• Wayne – love arts and culture – Philly is a “sleeping giant” in arts and culture – need to get more people to appreciate what’s here.
• Rosemont – have seen arts and culture “expand and explode” – need to do more.
• Center City – was in arts and culture in universities and docent for PAFA – importance of teaching art and culture to kids.
• South Philly – artist – Director of Spiral Q Puppet Theater – belief in art as essential for expression and communication for oneself, in interactions with others and in building communities.

Moderators: Carol Cohn and Ellen Greenberg

For what do people use arts and culture?

Concerts; book clubs; organize communities around arts and cultural events; singing; provides escape; music lessons; art lessons: painting, sculpting; language lessons; reading; poetry, writing; public art; theater groups, street theater; protest and incite; city planning; social; fund-raising; telling our stories; entertainment; festivals; documentation; memorials; creates sense of place; Philadelphia Orchestra; Fairmount Park; photo exhibits; parades; puppet shows; restaurants; Internet – creating content; Chinatown; dance; art therapy; movies; architecture; personal and community gardens.

Who are the users?

Kids; artists; audiences; ethnic and racial groups; religious groups; families; health-care professionals; students; tourists and tourism bureaus; corporations; nonprofits; teachers; anthropologists; historians; collections and collectors; affinity groups, geographic groups; therapists; community groups; community organizers; seniors; activists; all kinds of designers; developers (5 percent devoted to art – in city); politicians; all media; advertisers; architects; schools; museums;
prison-industrial complex; labor unions; and military bases.

What values do you think arts and culture bring to individuals, families, communities? What basic values do they support?

• Venues that bring people together.
• The amount of money that comes to the city through utilizing arts and culture venues.
• Beauty.
• Fun.
• Escape.
• Challenges me and the assumptions that I make about life.
• Childhood development.
• Reducing violence.
• Supports creativity.
• Education.
• New uses for old resources (i.e. the building that now houses the World Café Live).
• Tool to help learning.
• Therapy.
• Opens people up to new realities.
• Inspiration.
• Helps organize experiences to tell stories.
• Produces both a physiological and neurological change when participating.
• There is a physical need to express art.
• Feeds my soul.
• Community building.
• Direction in life.
• Escape strengthens understanding of different ethnic heritages.
• Creates ability to be creative in other ways.
• Creates energy.
• New perspective.
• Creates opportunities to spend time with the family and with the community.
• Enables people to learn about different cultures without traveling.
• Learn about self.
• Transcends language.
• Creates pride, patriotism and nationalism.
• Helps develop peoples’ identity.
• Helps people organize their experiences to tell stories.

In our region, what are the barriers to these uses and values?

• Unsafe parks.
• Crime.
• Litter.
• Fear.
• Money.
• Cultural relevance.
• Cultural irrelevance.
• Transportation.
• Racism, homophobia, sexism, etc.
• Ignorance.
• People who feel / believe they / their definition of art doesn’t fit in the prevailing / dominant narrative.
• People aren’t aware of what’s going on (not enough information provided).
• Political correctness.
• Assumptions about the political character of a given event or the idea that art may be elitist.
• Lack of handicapped access.
• May not fit in the family narrative.
• No one asked/not invited: lack of reaching out to people.
• We’re not promoting our institutions / activities the way we could.
• Intimidating (facilities and /or perception of code of conduct and dress).
• Time and prioritizing activities.
• Lack of curriculum in schools.
• Competition – so many places are going after the same pot of money.
• Lack of parking.
• Lack of access to technology.
• Culture doesn’t reinforce that we can all be creative.
• Lack of imagination in the way we connect things (i.e., we’re all participating in cultural activities all the time – like sports, itunes, etc.).
• People think that if they don’t have what they perceive to be the “right” clothes, they can’t go.
• The experience of arts and culture as personally challenging can be scary.
• Fear of the unknown – go places you haven’t gone before (outside of your neighborhood).
• Lack of encouragement.
• Lack of creating new habits early on.
• No one to go with.
• Television and computers (keeps people from doing other arts and culture stuff).
• Individual choices/ personal taste.
• Too many choices.
• Being a minor.
• Sponsorship.

You're part of a committee that's going to decide how $60 million gets spent. What's on your list?

• For kids: expose them to art, music, theater.
          - Every school, K-12, has an art teacher.
          - Free buses to transport kids to arts and culture events.
          - New money for arts organizations to teach kids.
• Pay artists and art teachers.
• Support for community arts organizations in each city neighborhood and grass roots community organizations. Centers would have after school programs. Money would be used for neighborhood art funds.
• Free space.
• Cultural heritage funds for racial and ethnic groups that have historically been excluded from resources – learning about their history brings pride in their identity and culture.
• Hi-profile campaign sponsored / led by Mayor which could be a seasonal promotional effort to get corporate sponsorship of arts and culture. Use funds to get / make more money. Goal is to establish an endowment for arts and culture that would grow.
• Free admissions to institutions and events; half-price tickets for special groups, i.e. seniors.
• Once a month, free admission to institutions and events.
• Discounted transportation to institutions and events.
• Resource bank for arts, materials, supplies, tools.
• Innovation funds to non-traditional partnerships, like for-profit and non-profit.
• Funds for collaborative initiatives.
• Health insurance and health care for traditional and non-traditional artists.
• Promote new ventures in Fairmount Park – like Central Park in NYC.

There's only $20 million to spend. How do you prioritize your list from the previous question?

The group voted on which of their ideas would get priority if only enough money were available to fund five of the priorities. Each participant had five votes. Here are the group’s five priorities:

• For Kids: expose them to art, music, theater (15 votes).
          - Every school, K-12, has an art teacher
          - Free buses to transport kids to arts and culture events
          - New money for arts organizations to teach kids
• Community Center/neighborhood fund (11 votes)
• Free admissions and discounted tickets (6 votes)
• Cultural Heritage/Racial and Ethnic Funds (5 votes)
• High Profile Campaign – tying in seasonal and promotional activities with Corporate sponsorship to keep things going (4 votes)

Other ideas that received votes were: Resource bank for arts materials (2 votes), innovation funds for new partnerships (2), collaborative initiatives (2), Health care and insurance for artists (2) new ventures in Fairmount Park (2)

Other major regional concerns or issues? Which of these have a higher or
lower priority than arts and culture?

Higher priority:

• Infrastructure
• Schools (regional and city public schools)
• Jobs
• Police protection / crime / safety and gun control
• Economic development, including small business development
• Health and Human Services, including health care

Lower priority:

• Public transportation
• Energy innovation
• Property taxes
• Parks
• Funds for college students
• Regional collaborations

Could arts and culture be part of the solution to other regional issues or concerns?

We looked at the top 5 areas (from above) where people wanted to spend the regional fund and asked if money was spent in those areas, which of the other issues might be impacted.  The answers are as follows:

• Kids – would impact Jobs, Crime, Economic Development, Schools and Health and Human Services.
• Community Center/neighborhood fund – would impact crime, economic development, jobs, health and human services and infrastructure.
• Free admissions and discounted tickets – would impact crime/safety, jobs and economic development.
• Cultural Heritage/Racial and Ethnic Funds – would impact jobs, economic development, crime, health and human services.
• High Profile Campaign – tying in seasonal and promotional activities with Corporate sponsorship to keep things going – would impact jobs and economic development.

Any other ideas the group wanted to discuss?

• Wondering about who makes the decisions as this project moves forward and would like to see both individual artists as well as artists affiliated with organizations as part of the decision making process.

• Philadelphia is not alone in this effort – we need to value what we have and we need to be aware that we’re competing against other areas and cities.

• We can use other cities as resources (look at their best practices).