The city of Philadelphia is teeming with creative, innovative minds and collaborative endeavors that transcend all-too-common myopic barriers: corporate and nonprofit institutions remaining separate, cultural groups acting as islands without ties to others, the disciplines of art and music keeping separate from mathematics and science, et al. The 21st century brings with it countless opportunities for growth, for change, for maximizing the benefit we have on our surroundings, our people. We at Arch Street Press encourage multidisciplinary collaboration with other Philadelphia organizations, keeping down those barriers while actively contributing to positive social change.

You can access, stream and download the Philadelphia Channel series on Public Radio Exchange (PRX) here.

Spotlight: Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance members

As a membership and service organization working on behalf of this sector, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance believes in supporting the growth of arts organizations and their audiences; working to keep the arts in schools; preserving the diverse cultural activities in our communities; and empowering arts and cultural organizations to make a difference in our neighborhoods.

The Association for Public Art

The Association for Public Art (aPA) is the nation's first private nonprofit organization dedicated to integrating public art and urban planning. aPA carries out its multiple objectives to commission, preserve, promote and interpret public art in Philadelphia through exemplary and innovative programs and advocacy efforts. 

Founded in 1872 by concerned citizens who believed that art could play a role in a growing city, aPA initially focused on enhancing Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park with sculpture. The organization’s scope soon expanded to the city as a whole. The aPA has supported planning projects such as the design of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a grand boulevard punctuated by outdoor sculpture; the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial Sculpture Garden along Kelly Drive and the Schuylkill River; and the International Sculpture Garden at Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River. The aPA also advocated the establishment of the city’s Art Jury (the forerunner of the current Art Commission) and the adoption of the country’s first “percent for art” ordinance, under which a percentage of construction costs for city projects must be set aside for fine arts. aPa maintains a Public Art Inventory with information about more than 1,400 works of public art in Philadelphia commissioned by various agencies.

Learn more about the Association for Public Art here.

Contact the Association for Public Art here.

2016 Internship Positions Available

Arch Street Press is seeking undergraduate students enrolled in a college or university in the greater Philadelphia area for two part-time internships in Bryn Mawr, assisting with various projects, programs and initiatives of Arch Street Press. Interns will gain experience within an organization uniquely situated at a crossroads of the nonprofit sector, publishing, media, communications and marketing. Candidates should demonstrate and possess clear attention to detail; a strong command of language and writing skills; passion for/an interest in social entrepreneurship and advocating for the arts, culture and education; innovative problem-solving; and strong social-media and SEO skills. We are looking for a commitment of eight to 10 hours a week. 

To apply, please submit a cover letter and résumé to Associate Director of Communications Holly Camisa. 

TechniCulture: Presented by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and Philly Tech Week 2015 

Mayor Nutter’s 2016 proposed budget will slash support of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund by 40%. Although the city's cultural institutions and advocates of the arts face a potential drastic reduction in government support for their programs, evidence that the arts are key to citywide growth abounds. The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s TechniCulture event on Friday, April 17th provided ample testimony that the arts in Philadelphia are alive and well, are challenging barriers to growth and are offering diverse solutions and improvements across the city. 

TechniCulture featured two panels of key innovators in Philadelphia—leaders in education innovation, design and technology, marketing, engineering and more. Presentations focused on the converging points of art and technology. How do these intersections provide avenues for unique collaboration? What problems inherent in both sectors can be solved through bridging the gap between those sectors? These 16 speakers and their respective initiatives across the city represent powerful answers to these questions and test assumptions about how art and technology projects come to life. The event was sponsored by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and The Pew Charitable Trusts. 

Featured interview:

The Philadelphia Orchestra has teamed up with Drexel University's ExCITe Center to create the LiveNote program and LiveNote app, introducing optional handheld technology into concertgoers' experience at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts' Verizon Hall in Philadelphia. Learn about the program through our dialogue with Ezra Wiesner, Managing Director of Information Technology for The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Presenters included:

Click through the gallery of images below of TechniCulture presenters and their work.

Join us!

To open a dialogue about a collaboration between you/your organization and Arch Street Press, please contact Holly Camisa.