Kimmel Center for the Preforming Arts

Premier performing arts groups reside in the Kimmel Center and the Academy of Music, forming an exciting community of artists, and an oasis for art lovers.

Click to visit the Kimmel Center

Mission
The Philadelphia Office of Arts and Culture is the City's designated Local Arts Agency and supports the interests and concerns of the City's cultural community and advocates on its behalf.  Some of the programs currently coordinated by and associated with the Office of Arts and Culture are described below.

• The Art Commission
• Art in City Hall
• Student Exhibition Program
• Calendar of Events
• Arts in Education
• Percent for Art Program
• Sculpture Conservation and Collection Management Program
• Philadelphia Festival of the Arts, Inc./Marian Anderson Award
• The Philadelphia Cultural Fund
• Additional Involvements
• Contact Information

THE ART COMMISSION
The Art Commission is the City's charter-mandated design review board for architecture and art.  The Commission must approve the designs of all construction and alterations that are paid for wholly or in part with City money or that are on City land, including streets.  The Philadelphia Code also requires Art Commission approval for construction and/or signs on private property in certain special control areas. The Commission also reviews and approves proposals for the acquisition of new works of public art and conservation treatments to the City's existing collection, executed by the Public Art Office.
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ART IN CITY HALL
Art In City Hall presents exhibitions of contemporary artwork by professional Philadelphia visual artists. Encompassing a variety of mediums, techniques, and subjects, this unique municipal program is committed to presenting a diversity of ideas and artistic explorations. The program strives to link visual artists with the larger community by providing the public with a greater knowledge and appreciation of their artistic achievements. Located on the 2nd and 4th floors of City Hall, adjacent to the offices of the Mayor and City Council, Art In City Hall has exhibited the work of over 600 artists in 22 shows since 1993.
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STUDENT EXHIBITION PROGRAM
An educational outreach program of the Office of Arts and Culture, the student exhibition series consists of artwork created by students of the Philadelphia public schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade.  Display cases are conveniently located on the 7th floor of City Hall in the Northeast Quadrant, en route to the City Hall tower.  Over 25,000 students, tourists, and citizens enjoy these exhibits on their way to take the tower tour.  We are currently working with City Council and the School District of Philadelphia to expand this program to create student exhibition spaces throughout City Hall.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
A new initiative, the Calendar of Events features information from non-profit arts and cultural organizations from every corner of the city.  It is our intention to keep this up to date on a semi-annual basis.  We invited organizations to send us their listings and we present them here for your information.  If your organization is not listed, please call Laura Maurer at 215.683.2089. 

This calendar is not a comprehensive listing of all organizations' events. Please call each organization for more specific details concerning their listing.
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PERCENT FOR ART PROGRAM
In 1959, Philadelphia's City Council adopted one of the first Percent for Art Ordinances in the nation.  Since then, more than 200 works of art have been commissioned through the City of Philadelphia's Percent for Art Program.  The program is administered by the Office of Arts and Culture under the guidance of the Percent for Art Advisory Council.  The mission of the Percent for Art Program is to commission artwork which will enrich the public environment and possesses significant enduring qualities, while also fostering the public's understanding of the visual arts.  The Percent for Art Advisory Council encourages artists to propose works that do the following:  respond directly to the characteristics of the site specified, increase the public's appreciation of art in Philadelphia's public spaces, and resonate with Philadelphia's character and landscape.
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ARTS IN EDUCATION
The Office of Arts and Culture is represented on the advisory boards for the Greater Philadelphia Arts and Sciences Education Network (GPASEN) and the Philadelphia Arts In Education Partnership (PAEP).  These organizations were developed as a result of the decentralization of the Philadelphia School District and the subsequent need for the arts in education providers in the cultural community to communicate with individual schools instead of the school district for programming dollars.  GPASEN is currently on hold due to development and funding issues.  PAEP is managed by Dr. Jan Norman of the University of the Arts, advocating for and promoting the outstanding artists, artistic resources and educational institutions in Pennsylvania's most populous community.
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SCULPTURE CONSERVATION AND COLLECTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
The City of Philadelphia is privileged to have one of the world's largest and most renowned collections of public artwork, including a total of over 1,500 sculptures, reliefs, mosaics, stained glass, kinetic works, and murals.  Many of these were gifts to the citizens of Philadelphia, while over 200 were commissioned through the City's Percent for Art program.  The Conservation and Collection Management Program undertakes conservation treatments and repairs to public art, protects public artwork from potential harm, reviews proposals for new gifts to the City, oversees temporary or permanent relocations of artwork, performs short- and long-range planning for the collection, creates and maintains inventories of the collection, provides information as requested by the public, and facilitates partnerships with private individuals and groups to establish endowments for the ongoing care of individual pieces.
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PHILADELPHIA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS, INC. / MARIAN ANDERSON AWARD
Founded in 1998, the Marian Anderson Award is a prestigious honor that celebrates the unique contributions that artist humanitarians have made to our culture.  The Award and its annual festivities are produced by the non-profit organization Philadelphia Festival of the Arts, Inc. in partnership with the City of Philadelphia.  Now in its third year, the Award has been conferred upon Harry Belafonte (1998) and Gregory Peck (1999).  Elizabeth Taylor is the recipient for the year 2000.
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THE PHILADELPHIA CULTURAL FUND
This organization was established as an outgrowth of the desire by Philadelphia's Mayor, City Council and arts and cultural community to have City money awarded by peer panels for operating support of Philadelphia arts and cultural organizations.  By offering this support, the Cultural Fund seeks to: promote, enhance and serve arts and cultural institutions and organizations within the City of Philadelphia; recognize the contributions of established and new organizations with a demonstrated track record; encourage and increase opportunities for involvement in arts and cultural activities by culturally diverse constituencies; advocate the value of the arts in daily life; preserve and protect the cultural heritage of the City; recognize and nurture artistic quality and innovation in established as well as new organizations. In its first year, 1994, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund distributed half a million dollars to Philadelphia non-profit arts and cultural groups.  From 1995 through 1998, the Fund distributed one million dollars annually and in 1999, the amount was raised to $1.5 million, which was distributed to 181 Philadelphia organizations.
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ADDITIONAL INVOLVEMENTS GENERAL COMMUNITY SUPPORT
The Office of Arts and Culture is represented on Boards and Advisory Councils of non-profit arts and cultural organizations in Philadelphia.  We serve in an ex-officio capacity offering guidance, insight and assistance wherever appropriate.
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