Last night, the Office of the Provost launched its Arts in the City Year with a public symposium on the significance of fine arts and culture in defining the city of Philadelphia.
The symposium was hosted by the Penn Institute for Urban Research and focused on the incorporation of arts into the city. A variety of panelists were present in Huntsman Hall to discuss fine arts, culture, the economy and the artistic future of Philadelphia.
The event was a part of The Arts and the City seminar series, which centers around art and culture on Penn’s campus and in the Greater Philadelphia area. The series was launched this year by the Office of the Provost and is supported by the William Penn Foundation.
Eugenie Birch, co-director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research, remarked in an introduction to the panel that Penn is committed to arts in the city. She reminded listeners that the arts attract tourism, new workers and new residents to cities with a floundering economic base. She added that the arts also enhance the quality of life for residents.
After the introductory remarks, panel discussion commenced. David Brownlee, a Frances Shapiro-Weitzenhoffer Professor in the Department of the History of Art, emphasized the fact that Pennsylvania legislators have recently proposed a sales tax on arts-related institutions.
Brownlee called the tax a “cold comfort” to the city’s current financial difficulties. While he said he appreciates legislators paying attention to the arts, he is disappointed that this focus had to be in the form of a tax.
Julie Hawkins, vice president of Public Policy at the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, also discussed the recent sales tax proposition. She said it indicates a “real disconnect between people who understand cultural policy and people who can change those policies.”
Hawkins informed listeners that some for-profit organizations may already include amusement taxes on tickets, and the addition of a sales tax would drive the prices up even further.
Jeremy Nowak, president and CEO of the Reinvestment Fund, discussed his experience testifying before Congress on a committee to increase endowment for the arts. Popular music artist Linda Ronstadt and Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Josh Groban also sat on the committee.
Claudia Gould, the Daniel W. Dietrich II Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, discussed various city-wide arts collaborations including “Locally Localized Gravity,” a 2007 exhibition that focused on the phenomenon of artists working as producers and a Kimmel Center Arts Festival, to be held in 2011.
