Philadelphia

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has announced the finalists for the second year of the Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia. The 55 finalists – which include individual artists, artist collectives, community groups, music organizations and theater companies – offered a wide array of innovative ideas, rising above a field of 1,267 applicants. Read full story

The museum invited a half-dozen area musicians to learn about its ancient objects, write a song, and return to the museum to perform. They will all return to the Egyptian hall on March 28 to perform a concert. Read full story

The name "Scratch Night," a monthly salon from the good folks who bring you the Live Arts Festival, is supposed to connote performing art at its beginning stages. Read full story

A poster by a Philadelphia artist will represent the American Jobs Act on walls and lawns this election year. Graphic Designer Amanda Benton's poster was one of three chosen in a national competition to promote the plan President Obama is struggling to get through Congress. Read full story

Atlanta is one of the many cities in an era of tight budgets having trouble affording the routine restoration and maintenance for public-art projects as well as occasional instances of vandalism and theft. "I think it's a national problem and every municipality is facing this problem as they are faced with the budget issues that are common today," said Margot Berg, the director of the Philadelphia Public Art Program. Read full story

On a recent weekday afternoon the music coming out of the third floor of St. Michael's Church in North Philadelphia would have surprised the Sunday congregation. A group of middle school students wailed away on electric guitar, drums and keyboard while a young lead singer belted out a rendition of Kiss' Rock And Roll All Nite that would have made Gene Simmons proud. Read full story

Much has been written about the decline of cultural journalism in America, an outgrowth of the larger challenges being faced in the journalism sector. The now defunct Columbia University National Arts Journalism Program published a study in 2003 "Reporting the Arts II" that followed the original "Reporting the Arts" that was published in 1999. RTAII found that during this period when the number of arts organizations was growing, editorial coverage of the arts was flat or shrinking in most markets. Philadelphia was one of the cities studied. Read full story

Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program has leased new space in the Gallery at Market East, creating a place for the public to explore what the world’s largest public art program has to offer. Read full story

The Mural Arts Program has just opened a retail store in Center City. Over the last 25 years, the public art organization has created more than 3,000 murals in Philadelphia. An experiment at The Gallery at Market East will turn that legacy into currency. Read full story

Philadelphia has been crowned first in the nation for cultural tourism by the readers of Travel+Leisure Magazine. This creative vitality didn't blossom out of thin air. It was the result of a long-term commitment to arts and culture. That investment has been a crucial part of the revitalization of Center City and of downtowns throughout the region. It has made this a better place to live and work, provided critical educational opportunities for our children, and generated more than $150 million annually for city, county, and municipal governments. It's in this context that the budget proposed for Montgomery County is so troubling. Higher education and culture have been disproportionately targeted, accounting for nearly a quarter of the $41 million in proposed cuts. This region could see a real payoff from a regional cultural fund, but we also need to protect the investments we have already made. --Tom Kaiden, president, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Philadelphia Read full story