The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today $9.5 million to support the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage and its programs, including Dance Advance, the Heritage Philadelphia Program, Pew Fellowships in the Arts, Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, Philadelphia Music Project and the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative. Over the next year, these initiatives will award approximately 200 grants to support artistic and heritage programs, as well as historic preservation projects, and professional development for individual artists and organizations.
Since the inception of the first program in 1989, the six initiatives have supported a combined total of more than 1,100 projects and provided more than $48 million in funding for the Philadelphia region's arts and heritage institutions and artists.
The Pew funding represents increased support for each of the initiatives and for the Center's core operating costs. The Center will continue to act as a resource for the arts and cultural community, convening educational and informational seminars, workshops and lectures. Additionally, the initiatives will begin research and development of new major publications, including a guide on organizing successful history exhibitions.
Other details include:
In the past year alone, these initiatives funded almost 700 individual exhibitions, heritage programs, preservation projects and musical, dance and theatrical performances. The Center also organized 125 professional development activities and events for individual arts and heritage professionals from across the cultural community.
A June grant of $2.7 million to the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative (PCMI) brings Pew funding for the Center's programs to over $12 million for 2007. PCMI complements the other six initiatives by providing resources to strengthen the management and operations of cultural organizations in the region.
The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life. We partner with a diverse range of donors, public and private organizations and concerned citizens who share our commitment to fact-based solutions and goal-driven investments to improve society.
The Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage (PCAH) houses seven initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trusts that are dedicated to assisting cultural organizations in the five-county Southeastern Pennsylvania region develop high-quality public programs and effective management practices. PCAH is the home of Dance Advance, Heritage Philadelphia Program, Pew Fellowships in the Arts, the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative, Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, Philadelphia Music Project and Philadelphia Theatre Initiative. Each year these programs support dozens of performances, exhibitions and other public programs. They also seek to encourage high levels of artistic and management capacity through seminars, publications, and other activities designed to develop and sustain a rich array of world-class cultural programs for audiences in the Philadelphia region.