Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

Recap: 2nd Annual Philadelphia Arts Advocacy Day

On Tuesday, April 7, the Cultural Alliance's GroundSwell grassroots advocacy and community engagement program held the 2nd Annual Philadelphia Arts Advocacy Day to demonstrate against the Mayor's proposed FY16 budget cuts to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund. Hundreds of arts and culture supporters showed up at City Hall, emailed City Council, and tweeted messages to #SavePHLArts.

 

 

Wow! What a wonderful showing we received from art advocates on April 7 during GroundSwell's 2nd Annual Philadelphia Arts Advocacy Day. Thank you to everyone who joined GroundSwell, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund to speak up for arts and culture! Whether you sent letters to City Council members, used #SavePHLArts on social media or held up signs during Jane Golden's budget testimony, we are grateful for your support and continued investment in the cultural sector.

Here are the numbers:

160 letters submitted to City Council

50 advocates in City Hall rallying to save PCF’s budget

1,052 tweets with the hashtag #SavePHLArts, reaching over 627,863 people on Twitter 

Performances/Activities from Diane Monroe (Violinist), Sounds of Liberty Chorus and Anna Crusis and City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program 

We also had significant press coverage from media outlets including: Philebrity, Philly.com, Philly Mag, Curbed Philly, Broad Street Review, CBS Local and NewsWorks.

This is just the beginning of the process. As City Council continues to work through June to finalize the budget for FY2016, we need to make sure that level funding for the Cultural Fund is a priority. Please continue to email your councilmembers, use #SavePHLArts on social media, and when the time comes, join us for public testimony as we testify about the importance of the Cultural Fund and the drastic impact of a 40% cut! Stay up-to-date with budget news by signing up for GroundSwell email alerts. 

You can also join GroundSwell and the Philadelphia Parks Alliance on April 22 at the Free Library of Philadelphia for a Mayoral Forum on Arts & Parks. The mayor has a huge impact on how arts and culture is supported in Philadelphia, and we want to hear how the mayoral candidates plan to support our quality-of-life sectors. The forum is free to attend, but pre-registration is required. Click here to register.

On Tuesday, April 7, the Cultural Alliance's GroundSwell grassroots advocacy and community engagement program held the 2nd Annual Philadelphia Arts Advocacy Day to demonstrate against the Mayor's proposed FY16 budget cuts to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund. Hundreds of arts and culture supporters showed up at City Hall, emailed City Council, and tweeted messages to #SavePHLArts.