October Member Spotlight on the William Penn Foundation

At the William Penn Foundation, we are excited to see Philadelphia increasingly recognized as an arts and culture destination. Those of us who live and work here have always known that there is a remarkable array of cultural offerings throughout the city. But it is gratifying to have media outlets such as Travel & Leisure, The New York Times, and The Travel Channel feature Philadelphia as a place for cultural connoisseurs.

And here’s why. There are about 400 nonprofit cultural groups and programs of varying types and sizes in the city. Major institutions such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Ballet, Opera Philadelphia, and the Barnes Foundation loom large, and the historic attractions are well-known.

But the rich texture of the city can also be found in theatres with names like Wilma, Lantern, InterAct, Azuka, 11^th Hour, 1812, Pig Iron, and Arden. Boundary-pushing dance is explored by BalletX, Koresh, Kulu Mele, Headlong, Nichole Canuso, and Miller Rothlein. Music from baroque to contemporary can be heard courtesy of Tempesta di Mare, Network for New Music, Orchestra 2001, Intercultural Journeys, and Philadelphia Singers. Galleries abound, such as Clay Studio, Center for Art in Wood, Print Center, and Vox Populi, and multidiscipline groups that cross genres and traditions include FringeArts, Shofuso, First Person Arts, Asian Arts Initiative, Raices Culturales, Art Sanctuary, and Taller Puertorriqueno. Additionally, Philadelphia has one of the country’s largest collections of outdoor sculpture.

What makes us even more excited is that we have barely scratched the surface of what’s happening in the arts (not to mention the explosion of the restaurant scene, craft beers, biking, and hiking trails). We hope you use GIA’s conference as an opportunity to see what the media buzz is about and experience Philadelphia.