A Statement on the City of Philadelphia’s Newly Announced Restrictions

While no one argues with the City of Philadelphia’s desire to protect public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, its decision to close museums and libraries and prohibit “all indoor gatherings and events involving people from more than one household” through January 1, 2021, will threaten arts and culture even more than the initial COVID-19 shutdown of the spring.  Without full understanding of the painful economic and social impact that a continuing shutdown of arts and culture will have on the Philadelphia region, we are left to brace for a winter of mandated darkness, without a single word or discussion of immediate economic relief for arts and culture.

While no one argues with the City of Philadelphia’s desire to protect public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, its decision to close museums and libraries and prohibit “all indoor gatherings and events involving people from more than one household” through January 1, 2021, will threaten arts and culture even more than the initial COVID-19 shutdown of the spring.  Without full understanding of the painful economic and social impact that a continuing shutdown of arts and culture will have on the Philadelphia region, we are left to brace for a winter of mandated darkness, without a single word or discussion of immediate economic relief for arts and culture.

It is not hyperbolic to say that without any relief from the city, state, or federal government, this 6-week closure during the holiday season – when local families and visitors traditionally seek out cultural programming – will be devastating. It is widely acknowledged that arts and culture will be the last to recover from the effects of the pandemic.  It is our survival, however, which helps create and nourish the “product” that is Philadelphia. Beyond our role as a driver for tourism, the invisible infrastructure that arts and culture has built in this city is deeply at risk. We engage in vital day-to-day work addressing critical areas of social impact, such as racial justice, mental health, anti-violence, and more. We focus not just on connecting with BIPOC voices but elevating them. We continue to provide programs for incarcerated populations, those in need of sensory-friendly programming as well as thousands of school children. But without the ability to come together, collaborate and create in any discernible way, this work will largely stop.

So, let me be unequivocal: Arts and culture is essential to the City of Philadelphia and our shared humanity. Without our industry, the City of Philadelphia will not fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now is the time for us to be unified and explicit in our call for economic relief at the local, state, and federal levels. We must continue to turn the “Lights On” how important arts and culture is to the fabric of Philadelphia and how, without real, comprehensive assistance, our region will not be the same come January 2, 2021 or whenever “reopening” can occur. 

Priscilla M. Luce
Interim President and CEO
Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance