From To
Find an Event
  • Today
  • Tomorrow
  • This Weekend
  • COVID-19 Response
  • RestART: The Arts are Back!

    Published: December 16, 2021

    By: Kabria Rogers

    • Image of Kun Yang Lin Dancers with RestART Logo. Sponsored by NEA and PECO

    The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has devastated the arts & culture community. From March 2020 through March 2021, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (Cultural Alliance) estimates a total revenue loss of $371.7 million for the arts and culture community in the Philadelphia region. Although the sector has been resilient in pivoting to virtual programming, there is uncertainty around the recovery of the community. 

     

    The RestART initiative was developed by the Cultural Alliance as a response to the current COVID-19 crisis. We know that the road ahead is long and uncertain, but we also know that together we will get through this. Through RestART, the Cultural Alliance will be working with 10 arts and culture organizations who were impacted the most by the crisis. The goal of this project is to bridge the gap between the concerns of audiences and the needs of arts and culture organizations to encourage broader participation in the Philadelphia arts and culture community.

     

    The RestART Initiative is made possible by our local sponsor, PECO. PECO is committed to supporting a stronger workforce, ensuring energy empowerment in the community, strengthening enrichment through local vitality and providing equal access to arts and culture. To learn more about how PECO is powering the community, visit https://www.peco.com/SafetyCommunity/. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

     

    Below are the current participating organizations in the RestART initiative:

    Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers

     

    Hailed for its superbly trained dancers and inventive choreography, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (KYL/D) draws upon Eastern philosophies, contemplative practices and the movement arts. Founder and Artistic Director, Kun-Yang Lin's zen-inspired practice of dance manifests in lush works of poetic sensibility that The New York Times says "create and inhabit worlds of their own." Lin draws upon insights from his ongoing research throughout Asia and around the globe, creating a personal movement language that is suffused with strong spiritual underpinnings.

     

    The company’s core programs include the creation and performance of original dance works by its professional ensemble, direct education and outreach activities for youth (CHI Dance), community engagement activities on-site at the company’s center, CHI Movement Arts Center (CHI MAC), and professional development services for established and emerging artists (Inhale Performance Series).

     

    To learn more about KYL/D, please visit: kyld.org

    Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture

     

    Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture offers artistic and educational programming that enriches cross-cultural understanding and celebrates diversity. Al-Bustan’s goal is to expose and educate youth and adults of Arab and non-Arab heritage to the diversity of Arab culture and other cultural traditions. They support the development of youth leadership by empowering them with a deeper knowledge of their cultural heritage and history, creating opportunities for greater academic achievement and civic engagement. Al-Bustan creates a welcoming and inclusive space in West Philadelphia that serves as an administrative and programming space for Al-Bustan and engages with community members in Philadelphia and beyond.

     

    To learn more about them, https://www.albustanseeds.org/about/.

    Intercultural Journeys

     

    Intercultural Journeys imagines a world of more: more welcome, more curiosity, more empathy, and more connection. One where more voices tell our history and shape our future, and we create an inclusive space to be still, to listen, to watch, to dance, and to learn together; one where recognition and respect for one and all are the starting point, and not the finish line, and love drives our journey forward. 

     

    Each year, Intercultural Journeys presents and produce projects and performances that amplify the diverse cultural life of the city in genres as wide ranging as jazz, Kathak dance, Klezmer music, and Sufi-inspired music and poetry. In the 2021-22 season, titled Scars and Emblems, they open the door to shape-shifting stories, welcoming artists to reflect on the common and uncommon ways they have been marked.

     

    To learn more about Intercultural Journeys, you can visit their official website and watch previous concerts on YouTube.

    ArtVolution Cultural Innovation Project, Inc.

     

    ArtVolution Cultural Innovation Project, Inc. (ACIP) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that was founded in 2014 by Vena Jefferson as a multi-dimensional arts , culture and science program as a submission for Artplace America Creative Placemaking Grant. We were chosen as one of 130 finalists out of 1300 submissions. That was the catalyst to develop this idea into an ongoing organization. ACIP was created with three distinct areas of programming; youth initiative, presenting and preserving and neighborhood beautification. ACIP is creating, advancing and empowering pathways to success for urban and rural communities through innovative learning opportunities and high-quality cultural arts. We affirm these ideas through inspirational presentations, meaningful education and health and wellness programming.

     

    To learn more about them visit their official website.

    Tiny Dynamite

     

    It is the mission of Tiny Dynamite to offer audiences new ways to experience theater and artists new ways to create it. They present high-quality plays at modest ticket prices, in an environment that is intimate, social, joyful, and welcoming.

     

    Their principal project is A Play, a Pie and a Pint®, a form of theater that breaks down perceptions that the arts are only for special occasions: they offer inventive short plays, in unexpected spaces, served with food and beverages.

     

    To learn more about Tiny Dynamite, you can visit their official website.

    Da Vinci Art Alliance

     

    Da Vinci Art Alliance (DVAA) is a non-profit art organization founded in 1931 that builds community through art. Based in South Philadelphia, DVAA fosters an artist membership and provides free exhibitions and programming for the community. DVAA has created a Fellowship program for underserved artists, designed an annual community art and science festival called Da Vinci Fest, and installed a permanent mural on their building to build community within Philadelphia.

     

    To learn more about them https://davinciartalliance.org/history 

    EgoPo Classic Theater

    EgoPo transforms classic theater and literature into living breathing stories

    that communicate the experiences of all human beings. They expand the idea of classics by reintroducing diverse works omitted from the canon and by re-voicing familiar works so that they are filtered through our contemporary perspectives. They begin with commitment to the essence of the original texts and reawaken them through radically-innovative and physically-dynamic stagings to create unforgettable theatrical events. To learn more about them visit https://www.egopo.org/about-us

     

    Rush Arts Philadelphia

    Located in the Logan section of Northwest Philadelphia, Rush Arts Philly opened in September 2016 with a show called “Power, Protest, and Resistance: The Art of Revolution”. Through works by dozens of artists—both Philadelphia- and New York-based—the inaugural exhibition showcased the intersection of visual art and social action. Rush Arts Philly gallery has space dedicated to exhibition and program space based on the successful Rush model and mission: to build a community-driven art space that provides opportunities to both local artists and curators, focused on community revitalization and relevance to the people of the surrounding neighborhoods, and arts-based educational opportunities for local youth who can benefit from them the most. To learn more about Rush Art Philly, visit: rushphilanthropic.org/rush-arts-philadelphia/

     

    To learn more about RestArt and what these organizations have in store sign up for Funsavers! 

    General

    Title

    More Info