Good afternoon Council President Clarke and members of City Council. Thank you for the privilege of speaking to you about culture’s impact on our city right now.
My name is Tom Kaiden, and I’m the President of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. The Alliance represents 411 museums, theaters, libraries and cultural organizations, nearly 300 of them right here in the City of Philadelphia. The Cultural Alliance produces the region’s event calendar, Phillyfunguide, listing over 18,000 local events a year to make it easy for residents and visitors to find out what’s happening. We also supply that calendar to 23 partner organizations,so that Philadelphians have one place they can go to learn about all the great events our region has to offer.. We also produce Funsavers, a weekly half-price ticket announcement that goes out free to 105,000 people, that ensures that culture is affordable to all, and that seats don’t go empty unnecessarily.
The Cultural Alliance is also a research house. We regularly conduct rigorous research to help cultural organizations understand and adapt to the changing environment, and help local policy and civic leaders measure the impact that culture is having on our City. It’s in that context that I join you today.
As all of you know, the City of Philadelphia and the cultural sector have a longstanding and productive partnership. Council and successive mayors have leveraged our vital cultural community and assets to spur economic development, support public education and to tackle Philadelphia’s most pressing social challenges.
Thank you. This partnership was crucial to Philadelphia’s renaissance, helping to lift our city from the brink of bankruptcy in the early 1990s. And today, as we cope with one of the most prolonged recessions in our nation’s history, arts and culture are at the heart of the city’s planning initiatives and economy.
The Cultural Fund, which you have consistently supported, uses a transparent peer review panel process to distribute $ 1.6 million to cultural partners in neighborhoods throughout the City. 45% of its funding is given to small organizations under $ 250 thousand.And what’s the economic return to Philadelphia’s taxpayers? Alliance members generate one and a quarter ($1.285) billion dollars for the city’s economy. That’s billion with a “b”. We contribute $67 million in City tax revenues, and provide another $84 million in taxes for the state. And, in a city hurting for jobs, we provide 31,000 of them. [1]
We are an economic driver for the region, but cultural organizations are also among its most dedicated civic leaders. Cultural Alliance members maintain programs that help tackle issues around blight, violence, recidivism, and neighborhood safety. We provide safe places for people, young and old, to gather, learn and be social.
Perhaps there is no one issue that is as important to our community right now as education. The fact is: our museums, theaters, libraries and community centers are the region’s cultural classroom. There are 1.7 million visits by school children to cultural organizations. More than 30,000 visits are made by school groups, That’s not 30,000 kids—that’s 30,000 groups of kids. And Alliance members make another 2700 cultural visits to area schools, bringing culture right into the classroom.
The Cultural organizations of this region know that creativity is absolutely critical for our kids, and they know that our financially-pressed school system cannot begin to meet this need without help. That’s why 65 local cultural organizations are running educational programs. An additional 37 have programs focused on child development and 30 run programs tackling truancy.
Cultural Alliance Member organizations hold classes in their facilities and place teachers and artists in classrooms throughout the district. Through their Rock Reach program, the Rock School for Dance Education runs a 36 week residency in Title I schools throughout the district. They send faculty to teach dance, ballet, urban tap and jazz dance. For some of these cash-strapped schools, this is their phys-ed program. The Rock School also offers City Dance, a program for promising low income dance students. Students maintain high grades, and in return they receive free instruction at one of the country’s leading dance academies up until the age of 18. How about that for an incentive to graduate?
Another of our members, Philadelphia Young Playwrights sends teaching artists and theater professionals to work with school teachers to develop programs that inspire students’ literacy, learning and creativity. Young Playwrights staff provides classroom playwriting workshops and run in-school mini-festivals. One program alumni, Quiara Alegría Hudes, won their 1993 Annual Festival. She’s gone on to be nominated for a Tony for the Broadway musical “In the Heights” and last month (April, 2012) won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
And it isn’t just about the arts, our cultural members include the region’s top science museums and learning centers. Through their Women in Natural Science program the Academy of Natural Sciences provides young women with a uniquely nurturing and academically rigorous environment where they can gather with like-minded friends and explore their love of science. The program is a tremendous success–100% of their students graduate high school and over 96% attend college!
Cultural Organizations are also committed to affordable access. Our 2011 Portfolio report (which is provided with this testimony) shows that more than half of all visits to culture are free. And when there is a charge, it’s around $15, less than one-third the actual cost of production.
That’s how we’re making sure that everyone in our city, not just the privileged, have access to the opportunity, education and inspiration that culture provides. Furthermore, the Alliance is now working to fund a Teen Pass program that will give Philadelphia high schoolers free access to city museums.
I’d like to conclude by thanking City Council for its ongoing support of arts and culture through the Cultural Fund, the One Percent for Art program, Mural Arts and City owned institutions. You have committed to making Philadelphia a world-class cultural destination. It is an important investment that is paying dividends for all of our citizens every day.
Just as arts and culture played a key part of Philadelphia’s Renaissance, it continues to be crucial to our city’s future. Last year, readers of Travel+Leisure magazine ranked Philadelphia as the nation’s number one destination for culture. With the Barnes Museum ready to open on the Parkway in a few weeks, we have an opportunity to solidify our leadership position.
And the price tag for all this impact? The City of Philadelphia currently spends about $1.11 per resident each year on culture. That’s a remarkable return on taxpayer investment and one which I urge you to continue.
[1] These numbers were last calculated in 2007 and are expected to increase in our forthcoming report Arts, Culture & Economic Prosperity in Greater Philadelphia (2012) due out this fall.
When state legislators returned to Harrisburg from recess on April 30th, they were greated by arts and culture advocates from across Pennsylvania. Citizens for the Arts, the cultural sector’s statewide advocacy group, coordinated a day of meetings with state Senators and Representatives to remind them, in the midst of budget negotiations, of the importance of their investments in our sector. 
From now through May 17th, 