The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Launch of
Art Access Calendar of FREE Arts and Culture Events on CreativePHL.org
PHILADELPHIA – The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy has launched the Art Access Calendar on OACCE’s website, CreativePHL.org that is a comprehensive calendar for families, groups, and individuals seeking free arts and culture activities in the city of Philadelphia. The Art Access Calendar not only features cultural programs produced by OACCE, which includes Culture on Tap, Art in City Hall exhibitions, and Performances in Public Spaces, but also serves as a calendar for arts organizations and artists to promote their free cultural events, exhibitions, performances, film screenings, and workshops.
The Art Access Calendar was born out of OACCE’s mission to provide equitable access to arts and culture to all Philadelphians through enabling organizations and artists throughout the city the opportunity to reach a wider audience through the user-friendly platform of a searchable online events calendar.
“With the Art Access Calendar, the OACCE looks to meet both the needs of the organizations as well as that of the public looking to gain access and take part in arts and cultural activities in our city without having to worry about cost or simply not knowing where to look to find this information in one accessible place,” said Chief Cultural Officer Kelly Lee. “We encourage cultural organizations and artists that have free events, open dress rehearsals, or pay what you can nights to make sure to submit their event to the Art Access Calendar. It will enable them to reach new audiences from across the city through this tool.”
OACCE encourages interested organizations to submit their events directly to the Art Access Calendar event submission form on CreativePHL.org. The Art Access Calendar is categorized to enable it to be easily searchable for calendar users, who can import calendar events to their own online calendars and smartphones. As of March 2017, there are over 600 listings on the Art Access Calendar, which can be searched by tags that range from art education, dance, workshops, to teen programming. With the help of the Philadelphia arts community, OACCE hopes to gather and feature a wide diversity of arts and cultural activities that will expose the public to high quality artistic experiences that are available to them almost every day of the week throughout the year in their own neighborhoods and communities.
Along with featuring free cultural events throughout the year, the Art Access Calendar will also be utilized to bring attention to particular citywide initiatives, such as Philly Celebrates Jazz, the city of Philadelphia’s celebration of jazz that happens every April in celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month. Special initiatives such as Philly Celebrates Jazz listings include free and paid events.
“All Philadelphians deserve to attend and participate in arts and culture activities no matter what their socioeconomic background may be,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy’s Art Access Calendar is one step in that direction in making the arts more accessible to Philadelphians and their families as they now have a resource to use to find cultural activities that are suitable to their needs and thereby have a means to hopefully improve their lives and wellbeing through taking part in the arts.”
OACCE’s Arts Access Calendar can be found on CreativePHL.org with new listings submitted daily by arts and cultural organizations, performers, and artists. For more information on the Art Access Calendar, visit: www.CreativePHL.org, Facebook.com/CreativePHL and on Twitter @CreativePHL and Instagram @CreativePHL.
About the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy
The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy supports and promote arts, culture and the creative industries; develops partnerships that ensure culture and creativity are essential components of Philadelphia’s community revitalization, education, and economic development strategies; and links Philadelphians to cultural resources and opportunities. For more information about the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, visit: www.CreativePHL.org, Facebook.com/CreativePHL and on Twitter @CreativePHL and Instagram @CreativePHL.