Our series of bringing creatives accessible information and resources from their various hometowns continues in Philadelphia. There is no doubt that Philly is a great city for upcoming and on-the-rise artists to relocate and with the following resources, we hope that your road to professionalism becomes clearer.
Even if you have not considered your art to be your profession, there are still numerous ways you can involve yourself in Philly’s art scene. Meeting new people with similar interests as you and finding communities that foster the growth of your passions is the first step.
The youth are our next generation of artists, creators, and entrepreneurs and the following two organizations cater towards young people who honor their creativity.
Fresh Artists advocate for children’s creative works to be shown off somewhere other than their parents' refrigerator through arts funding and innovative art programs throughout the city.
“is an innovative nonprofit empowering compassionate, creative and capable young people to tackle the critical shortage of arts funding in our public schools.”
The nonprofit’s main goal is to amplify children’s voices through the use of displaying their artwork throughout the city’s most populated areas which in return advocates for quality public education. Fresh Artists even has a studio where young people can go to work on their art with professional equipment and learn how to take their creative skills to the next level.
If you are looking to take your child’s artwork to the next level and begin their process of philanthropy, read more about Fresh Artists here: https://www.freshartists.org/
Girls Rock Philly advocates for inclusiveness for all young women interested in music.
“Through the practice of fearless expression, artistic experimentation, and collaboration, we build the confidence and leadership skills needed to transform ourselves and our communities.”
Starting out as just a summer camp where music lovers could go to fine-tune their skills, the organization has now expanded to a full-time year-long program, but their most impressive program is the "Youth Action Council" that gives these young musicians a chance to intersect their love for music with social change.
The women in this specialized program attend skill-building leadership workshops and collaborate on musical projects with professionals in the surrounding areas.
If you are looking for ways to break open your shell to boost your confidence through music, check out Girls Rock Philly here: https://www.girlsrockphilly.org/mission-and-history
Looking to make your creative endeavors your full-time job or have your own non-profit that needs to grow?
The most important thing you can do is learn leadership and business skills and the Arts and Business Council for Greater Philadelphia works to help you with just that.
The Council understands the importance of basic business skills, but also understands how they may be beneficial to creatives trying to boost their business.
“The Arts + Business Council is dedicated to ensuring the success of Philadelphia’s creative economy through leadership development programs, events and volunteer opportunities that help make the sector more productive, impactful and inclusive.”
One of their programs, titled “Designing Leadership”, is a professional development program designed for non-profits in the arts and culture sectors in which they learn networking, business, and leadership skills.
Negotiation, Conflict Management, Decision-Making, Future Thinking, and Management are just a few topics and skills covered in these annual classes. Apply to this program here: https://artsbusinessphl.org/designing-leadership/
The organization also holds a speaker series in which professional thinkers and business creatives discuss their success and insights. This is an amazing opportunity to connect with local leaders and learn a thing or two about what makes your own business capable of success.
Finally, if you are looking to join a group of smaller, local creatives to simply engage in conversation and learn about events in the Philly area, check out the Vision Driven Artists Philly Facebook Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/VDAPhillyResources
All you have to do is request to join the group, but make sure your personal or business profile is up to date when you do!
Connect with creatives from not just the Philly area, but also all over the world in our own Geneva group chat: https://app.geneva.com/invite/02b5d133-f544-470e-89b5-3cf78f1c106e
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