Launched in November 2024 by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, in partnership with PA Humanities, Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, and Creative Philadelphia, Cultural Dynamics is a collaborative, community-driven effort to shape Philadelphia’s first Cultural Plan. The process convened artists, cultural workers, institutions, funders, residents, and civic partners to understand what Philadelphia’s cultural sector needs to thrive—and to mobilize the community toward collective action.

Call to action: The findings from Cultural Dynamics underscore that Philadelphia has the talent, assets, and community imagination to lead the nation in showing how culture strengthens civic life. To realize that potential, the city must:

  • Unify: Strengthen connections across neighborhoods and disciplines, build shared infrastructure, and develop a coordinated sector voice.
  • Amplify: Increase the visibility, recognition, and value of arts, culture, and humanities as core to Philadelphia’s identity and future.
  • Invest: Commit long-term, equitable resources to the people, spaces, and systems that sustain creative work.

Speak up for Philadelphia’s first Cultural Plan. Read the full Cultural Dynamics report for how you can strengthen our city. Explore how the cultural community, legislators and policymakers, business and philanthropic sectors can analyze, take accountability, and act upon policies and recommendations.

Nina Elizabeth “Lyrispect” Ball, Deputy Director of the Painted Bride Art Center, speaks at Cultural Dynamics event.

Photography by Ryan Brandenberg.

Participant quotes

“What if Philadelphia became a cultural treasure unto itself … and made commitments to that?”
“We need a culture-based economy in the City of Philadelphia – one that centers around culture.”
“Connect Philly's artists into the processes of City Hall. We need imaginative solutions to real problems and artists have both insight from the communities… in addition to out-of-the-box thinking that can help our city transform itself into a more sustainable society.”
“Philadelphia has a deep cultural heritage and a strong arts scene, but there’s always room to strengthen access and participation—especially for grassroots and underserved communities.”
“There's no awareness that there's all this talent here in Philadelphia because it's just sort of underground and spread all over.”
“I often feel like the Northwest … and the Northeast gets overlooked … in terms of funding, in terms of steering visitors.”
“We should invest more in the future of the different neighborhoods that are in Philadelphia, and how arts and culture is not just in Center City...”
“When thinking about affordable spaces, how do we leverage our existing assets and work within the community?”
“I want to build a shared cultural commons where intergenerational and cross-sector relationships fuel systems change..."
“I am barely getting by, and it's incredibly draining.”
“One of the things that drew me to Philadelphia is its vibrancy and its relative affordability compared to the rest of the Northeast Corridor. But Philadelphia is also far behind the rest of the Northeast Corridor in terms of pay.”
"[S]ome kind of dedicated revenue stream for the arts in our city has been conspicuously missing for a really long time. … I always hear, like, there's no money and there's no money. Here's the truth. There is always money."
“I'm never gonna get paid for what I do. This is a volunteer thing, and I think there's a pretty wide swath of volunteerism throughout Philadelphia that … shouldn't get kind of washed away, but we still need money [to operate].”
“[A] Department of Arts and Culture that can't go away depending who the mayor is… that kind of permanence would be absolutely valuable.”
“We're advocates, but we're not significant players. And unless we're prepared to exercise power, we're not going to be taken seriously by the people who do.”
“If you compare this industry to the other industries that operate in Philadelphia as communities, whether it's the business community or the labor community, they are in the game in a way that the cultural, arts, and history community is not.”
“This kind of infrastructure would ensure that art is accessible to everyone in Philly—not just in galleries, but in schools, community centers, public spaces, and beyond. It would empower artists to take risks, experiment, and build long-term, impactful work..."
“I was inspired by the aspect of really branding the city, kind of like Nashville. That to me was something that I see as a doing action could take some funding, but it's a branding exercise of getting the uh message out of what we are and what we have to offer as a city.”
“If I could wave a magic wand, I would create a universal, city-wide arts fund that supports artists, community-driven projects, and cultural organizations with accessible, long-term funding.”
“City of Philadelphia's brand is embedded in history, whether it's Benjamin Franklin or the. Liberty Bell, or whatever it is. History is on the front pages of the newspaper, because there are people who are trying to erase it.”

Engagement & Participation

  • Citywide kick-off convening in November 2024 hosted at Drexel University, featuring NEA Chair Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson

  • 500+ total participants representing arts, culture, humanities, education, civic sectors, and neighborhoods citywide

  • 4 Community Conversations held across Philadelphia in partnership with Ensemble Arts Philly (Center City), the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University (North Philadelphia), FringeArts (South Philadelphia), and the Institute of Contemporary Art of University of Pennsylvania (West Philadelphia).

  • 1 virtual Cultural Dynamics Insight Session to validate and refine findings

  • 114 narrative responses to sector-wide online survey

  • 6,000+ coded statements gathered from transcripts and surveys

Cultural Dynamics: Community Conversations, March 2025. Photo by Dominique Nichole.

What we heard

From our conversations, six core themes emerged to reflect the current needs and aspirations of Philadelphia’s cultural community, highlighting opportunities to build a more connected, equitable, and sustainable cultural ecosystem. These themes point to clear priorities—such as improving access to space, advancing fair pay, expanding funding pathways, and strengthening collaboration and advocacy—and call on civic leaders, cultural organizations, funders, businesses, and residents to work together.


Amplify Philadelphia’s Creative & Cultural Identity

Philadelphia’s cultural assets are abundant but under-recognized. The city needs a coordinated marketing strategy that elevates local artists, highlights neighborhood-based experiences, celebrates diverse histories, and increases participation—positioning Philadelphia as a premier cultural destination.


Connect People, Places & Creative Possibility

Cultural vibrancy exists citywide, yet siloed systems and uneven access to resources limit connectivity. Strengthening Philadelphia’s cultural infrastructure requires bridging geographic and disciplinary divides through shared platforms, coordinated promotion, and improved transit access.


Increase Access To Space, Facilities, and Housing

Rising real estate costs threaten the affordability and availability of studios, rehearsal rooms, live-work spaces, and other creative and cultural facilities. Philadelphia must adopt stronger zoning tools, cultural districts, historic preservation incentives, and adaptive-reuse policies to secure long-term, community-rooted creative space.


Advance Fair Pay, Livelihood, And Career Opportunities

Artists and cultural workers face low wages, unstable gig work, and escalating living costs, undermining both livelihoods and the city’s broader creative economy. Equitable pay, benefits, and clear career pathways are essential to retaining talent and sustaining cultural vitality.

Reduce Barriers To Funding

Funding opportunities remain inequitable and difficult to navigate, leaving many artists and small cultural organizations to self-fund their work. Strengthening the sector requires diversifying revenue streams, reducing grant barriers, supporting operations, and investing in historically underfunded communities.

Provide Advocacy And Visible Leadership

Verbal support from City leadership has not translated into structural investment or recognition. Philadelphia needs strong, permanent cultural advocacy—including dedicated governance, cultural representation in policymaking, and unified sector-wide advocacy—to drive lasting, equitable change.

Who we heard from

The insights and recommendations in this report come directly from more than 500+ artists, cultural workers, educators, and community partners who participated in Cultural Dynamics through conversations, surveys, and listening sessions across Philadelphia.

We wish to thank everyone who participated. Your perspectives, insights, and passion were essential to this research.

Cultural Dynamics: Community Conversations, March 2025. Photo by Jessica Griffin.

What can Philadelphia do?

The following slides are examples of recommendations that emerged from the voices and experiences of Philadelphia’s cultural community, reflecting months of listening and collaboration. They translate community insight into actionable steps that can guide the City and its partners toward coordinated, equitable implementation. Download the Cultural Dynamics report for the full list of recommendations for each theme.

Building on a strong foundation
Develop a city-wide tourism marketing and communications strategy targeting both locals and tourists that amplifies local artists and cultural experiences in neighborhoods across the city. Advertise the unique cultural experiences found in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods at the Independence Visitors Center and welcoming centers, the airport, 30th Street Station, and other key locations.
Rising together
Break down silos between communities that have historically operated in isolation by creating an inclusive, informative, and interactive directory/database. This platform will showcase funding opportunities, trainings, and tools to activate and maintain creative spaces that facilitate cross-disciplinary conversations.
Sharing space
Re-imagine libraries, recreation centers, schools, warehouses, and other neighborhood-based spaces as multi-use cultural hubs by adding rehearsal space, recording and editing suites, and storytelling labs where people can freely access resources.
Supporting a thriving workforce
Develop support systems that ensure artists are compensated fairly and on time, and have access to benefits such as healthcare. This could include a freelance artists' union, exemptions of creative work from the business income tax, and asking foundations and other funders to encourage/require applicants to adhere to fair wage practices for artists.
Fighting for access
Develop less onerous reporting requirements, clearer expectations, and greater transparency (public scoring criteria) around grant applications and offer more support for first-time grant seekers, individuals, and small organizations/businesses.
Championing the community
Embed artists in local government by developing residency programs for artists, creating full-time salaried positions for creatives in different departments, and consulting working cultural workers when shaping policy, development, and community narratives.

Downloads

Read the full Cultural Dynamics report, a vision and action plan for Philadelphia’s cultural future.

Download Report >

Explore key insights and highlights from Cultural Dynamics in this concise overview.

Download Summary >

View Report

Project Partners

The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is committed to leading, strengthening, and amplifying the voices of Greater Philadelphia’s cultural community during this planning process. The Cultural Alliance is dedicated to being a thought leader, trusted resource, and powerful advocate for the Greater Philadelphia creative sector. We are committed to driving progress through research, thought leadership, and advocacy. The Cultural Alliance serves the entire cultural sector, encompassing performing arts, visual arts, history, science, horticulture, arts education, community art centers, and other cultural organizations.

PA Humanities puts participatory research at the forefront of all their work and believes in contributing their learnings to the larger national conversation about the role of arts, humanities, and culture in creating lasting change. PA Humanities is an independent nonprofit and official federal-state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. They champion the humanities – and our shared humanity – as a means to build community, educate, inspire, and make change.

Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design is committed to unlocking the creativity of critical thinkers, researchers, makers, and creators who connect ideas and solve real-world problems, transforming careers and lives. Drexel’s reputation as a knowledge-intensive institution has assured the University a place in the top 100 research universities in the country, with the goal to generate new knowledge and impactful solutions by growing basic and applied research and fostering transdisciplinary collaborations, both within the University and with external partners.

Creative Philadelphia provides creative and economic opportunities for all Philadelphians to thrive through the arts. They advance public access to arts and culture, collaborate with local creative communities, and celebrate the city’s cultural assets, contributing to a safer, cleaner, and greener city.

Support for Cultural Dynamics Provided By

Cultural Dynamics was made possible by the generous support of New Venture Fund, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the William Penn Foundation, and PA Humanities.

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