U., students seek new performance venue

The location, to be called "The Foundation," would host community events by day and music acts by night. Calling all rat-packers, hip-hop kids and punk rockers. University City could soon see a new arts and culture venue that would host bands playing a diverse array of music -- including jazz, hip hop, experimental music, rock and punk rock -- currently underrepresented in area clubs. A group of five Penn undergraduate students are planning the non-profit arts house -- called "The Foundation" -- which will serve both the University and surrounding community by providing a space for the arts, musical acts and community programs. The students hope to open up the center by the end of the semester, though they still have not found a location. "We work from the belief that art is a catalyst for change and that arts events can lead to the formation of meaningful Penn-West Philadelphia relationships," said College junior Andrew Zitcer, one of the students planning the space. The Foundation's planners are currently talking with Penn officials to try to obtain a University-owned site for the center. Zitcer said that if they don't find a home soon, they'll open in a temporary location. Penn is currently looking into a "handful of well-suited spaces," and hopes to find a permanent location for the arts house, said Tom Lussenhop, the University's top real estate official. During the day, local community organizations will have access to the center at no cost to hold seminars and workshops and use as arts practice space, Zitcer said. At night the venue will host musical performances by local and greater Philadelphia area acts. In particular, The Foundation's planners hope to draw more jazz performances into West Philadelphia. "Philadelphia as a whole does have a rich jazz history," said College senior Noah Bilenker, another Foundation planner and former Undergraduate Assembly chairperson. The center will be alcohol-free, planners said, but will serve food and beverages. "[The Foundation] will be more of a community center than a nightclub," Zitcer said. The center will likely charge a small door fee for performances -- about $5 -- that will pay for the bands and necessary renovations, planners said. The idea for the space came to a head last spring as a group project for an Urban Studies seminar and has since been passed down to and modified by other students. While five students are currently planning the space, others played a key role in organizing the project, including College junior Lindsay Faber, a Daily Pennsylvanian news editor, and members of the UA and Civic House. The group is hoping to receive funding from various University offices and outside sources, although no final funding plans have been made. The Foundation will have an advisory board composed of community groups, student leaders and faculty members that will help manage the space and present "a whole slew of different perspectives," Bilenker said.

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