April 22 is the first Philadelphia Arts Advocacy Day, and the arts need your help

In 2010, the grants budget for the Philadelphia Cultural Fund was slashed nearly in half. While some other city agencies who faced budget cuts that year — Parks and Recreation, the Free Library — saw later reinstatement of funds (at least partially) PCF did not. Its current budget is $1.8 million.

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund distributes money, provided from the city’s budget allocation, to local arts and cultural organizations. In 2012 and 2013, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s then-president, Tom Kaiden, testified before City Council for reinstatement of PCF’s 2010 funds of $3.2 million. The GPCA receives a grant from PCF, but receives most of its money from other sources.

This year, GPCA has helped instate the first citywide public campaign and social media blitz to restore PCF’s budget. To that end, April 22 has been dubbed the first-ever Philadelphia Arts Advocacy Day, where GPCA and PCF representatives will testify before council to restore that $3.2 million.

Along with GPCA’s social media campaign, #RestoreArtsFundingPHL, the organization is urging locals to sign its online petition and pack City Hall for the April 22 City Council budget hearing for 2015. Groundswell, the GPCA’s grassroots advocacy arm, is steering the Advocacy Day and #RestoreArtsFunding campaign efforts.

Nicole Allen, director of policy and community engagement for GPCA, said on the phone today that the $3.2 million funding in 2010 was in the highest range of the funding PCF has seen. This year, she said, felt like the right time for a large-scale push for public involvement in PCF’s need for restored funding.

“We heard some positive feedback that there was some wiggle room for it,” she said of city budget funds to PCF.

What would be done with restored funds, even if the amount doesn’t reach the desired $3.2 million?

For one, PCF would be able to reinstate the Youth Arts Enrichment Grants, which provide funding to programs that serve students in the Philadelphia School District. Allen said $500,000 in restored funds from Council is necessary to reinstate those grants.

“With the school district in such a crisis, arts have all but been eliminated in most schools, so a lot of the arts organizations have taken it upon themselves to provide art education to school age kids outside of school. If funding is restored, there can be even more programs,” Allen said.  

The Groundswell petition had about 1,800 signatures on Tuesday afternoon, and Allen said she hopes for about 8,000 to 10,000 to present to council before the hearing on April 22.

That day, PCF aims to have representatives from all 273 of its grantees present at Council. June O’Neill, manager of PCF, as well as Michael Norris, interim executive director of GPCA, along with representatives from Spells Writing Lab and STAMP (Students at Museums in Philly) will testify. At 3:45, some of the performing arts-focused PCF grantees will actually perform in City Hall. The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m., but Groundswell is telling people to arrive around 5.

According to the Inquirer, the Mayor Michael Nutter administration has not responded to the question of whether Nutter supports a restoration of the $3.2 million.

“We’d be happy for any amount of increase,” Allen said.

So would we. Support Philly arts and the students that need them, folks.

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