Arts and Culture in Philadelphia | STC communication department

By Donn DeBoard, Senior Member

Philadelphia is an exciting and culturally diverse place. With events ranging across the wide spectrum of human expression from music to art to dance, the city can make your toe tap, your heart leap, and your spirit soar. Wherever your passion for the arts lies, you can discover the many cultural gems that Philadelphia has to offer while you are here for the Technical Communication Summit, STC's 55th Annual Conference. Culture is one way Philadelphia welcomes you and says, "We're glad you're here to visit-make yourself at home."

Here are the highlights of the smorgasbord of art and culture in Philadelphia discussed in this article:

Art
Music
Dance
Film

Review the URLs at the end of this article for details on specific arts and cultural events as you plan how to spend your free time during the conference.

Before You Pack

Before you pack your bags, review the Philadelphia culture files at the official visitors' site for Greater Philadelphia (www.gophila.com). The files give you the locals' lowdown on what's available during your visit.

Also, visit the PhillyFunGuide online (www.phillyfunguide.com) before you leave for the conference to get the late-breaking news on all events in Philly during the week of the conference. You can also save on ticket prices.

Getting around Philadelphia

Before you leave the convention center to explore the city, put on your most comfortable walking shoes, pack a TaskyKake for a snack, and download a map of Center City from www.gophila.com/Go/TravelTools/centercitymap.pdf.

Philly is meant to be walked. William Penn's 1,200-acre site, now Center City Philadelphia, forms a rectangular grid bordered by the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers. Broad and Market streets cross each other at City Hall and divide the city into four quadrants.

But you can leave the driving to someone else and take public transportation or Philly Phlash. You can board Philly's public transit-Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)-right at the convention center at 11th and Arch streets. The Market-Frankford, Broad Street, and Subway-Surface lines can take you west toward University City by the Schuylkill River or east toward Penn's Landing by the Delaware River.

Or, you can take Phlash-a purple sightseeing trolley that takes you to most of the city's major attractions. Phlash will pick you up and return you near the convention center at stop 5 (12th and Market streets) on its route. Phlash makes twenty stops at many destinations between Penn's Landing and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. You can purchase tickets before your trip at the Independence Visitor Center at stop 3 (6th and Market streets) or when getting on the trolley. For a map of Phlash's route, see www.gophila.com/assets/dmt/downloads/Phlash_2006.pdf. Remember that the last pickup time for most Phlash routes is between 5:30 and 6:00 PM.

Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of the anchors of Philadelphia culture. It is located just beyond Eakins Oval on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway; you can take Phlash to stop 11 (26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway) to get there.

The museum-a must-see for all art lovers-had an exhibition of Renoir landscapes last fall; a recent exhibit featured the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. The Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, which opened in September 2007, is the first addition to the museum since 1920. Connoisseurs of art can enjoy the renowned collection of prints, drawings, photographs, sculpture, costumes, and contemporary designs in several galleries within the Perelman Building.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art also has a comprehensive collection of the work of Thomas Eakins, considered by many to be the greatest American painter. Eakins called Philadelphia home and, among other work, created portraits of nineteenth-century Philadelphians.

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, founded by painter Charles Wilson Peale in 1805, is the oldest art museum in the country. An exhibit of the leading American portraitist Cecilia Beaux was held here last winter. You can walk to the academy from the convention center (about a six-block walk). Or, take Phlash to stop 6 (Juniper and Market streets) to get there.

The Rodin Museum is another cultural gem for you to discover. Some say it has the largest Auguste Rodin collection outside Paris. Bronze casts of Rodin's greatest pieces are among the 128 sculptures displayed here. His most notable bronze cast, The Thinker, guards the museum entrance. On Phlash, get off at stop 10 (22nd Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway).

The Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, a Philadelphia suburb, showcases the artwork of the Wyeth family. N. C. Wyeth was famous for his illustrations on Saturday Evening Post covers, while his son, Andrew, is best known for the painting Christina's World. N. C. Wyeth's work often reflected the people and landscapes of Chadds Ford.

Music

Philadelphia is home to a rainbow of large and small venues for every stripe of music in the world. The most notable are the Academy of Music, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Opened in 1857, the Academy of Music is the oldest grand opera house in the United States still being used for its original purpose. The academy held its 151st anniversary concert and ball in January 2008. It is Philadelphia's primary venue for major operatic performances, traveling dance and theater companies, and major Broadway productions. Stop 16 (Chestnut Street at Broad Street) on the Phlash route will get you to the Academy of Music.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio, and the Merck Arts Education Center. It is home to six resident performing arts organizations in the field of music-the Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. Use stop 16 (Chestnut Street at Broad Street) on the Phlash route.

The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts serves the University of Pennsylvania and surrounding communities with a broad-based program of music, theater, dance, arts education, and outreach for adults and young people. The Annenberg Center-located on the University of Pennsylvania campus in west Philly-is not on the Phlash route. You can walk a few blocks from the convention center to Walnut Street and catch a bus or trolley to 38th and Walnut streets.

For a smaller venue, visit the Painted Bride Art Center-an Old City alternative arts organization that not only has poetry, dance, theater, and jazz but also offers art exhibits. Past performers have included Carlos Santana, Spalding Gray, and Penn and Teller. Though the Painted Bride is not on the Phlash route, you can get there by taking Phlash to stop 2 (3rd and Market streets) and walking a few blocks to 230 Vine Street in Old City.

Dance

Dance flourishes in Philadelphia. The city is home to more than fifty diverse professional dance companies and a number of excellent venues. If your tastes run to modern dance, go see Philadanco, an internationally renowned modern dance company. This largely African-American company tours the world as Philadelphia's unofficial ambassador.

If you prefer classical dance, see Pennsylvania Ballet, a world-class ballet troupe. Since its inception in 1963, the company has performed ballets by renowned choreographers such as Jerome Robbins, Christopher d'Amboise, David Parsons, Trey McIntyre, Val Caniparoli, and Twyla Tharp.

Both Philadanco and the Pennsylvania Ballet are resident companies at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

Film

The city of Philadelphia and cinema are linked. You may have noticed some Philadelphia row houses in Rocky, Witness, and The Sixth Sense. Many film icons (such as Will Smith, Bill Cosby, and Bruce Willis) call Philadelphia home. Plans are in the works to bring a movie studio to the area in the next few years.

If you have ever spent time discussing how you'd direct a certain actor or shoot a specific scene, visit the Ritz Theatres. The Ritz Theatres are meccas for film buffs with a penchant for quality films in a quality setting. These theaters, located in the Historic District of Philadelphia, have twelve screens between them.

The Ritz Theatres, with three locations in the Old City, are not on the Phlash route. But you can take Phlash to stop 2 (3rd and Market streets) and walk to any Ritz Theatre located nearby: the Ritz Five at 214 Walnut Street (between 2nd and 3rd streets); the Ritz East at 125 South 2nd Street (between Chestnut and Walnut streets, Front and 2nd streets); or the Ritz at the Bourse at 400 Ranstead Street (on 4th Street between Market and Chestnut streets).

There you have it-a taste of Philly culture. Try one or try them all. And, of course, you can always come back for seconds.

Resources

Here are a few links to help you prepare for your cultural adventure in Philadelphia:

Getting Ready

Forever Independent: www.foreverindependent.org

Official Visitors Site for Greater Philadelphia: www.gophila.com

Philly Fun Guide: www.phillyfunguide.com

Specific Venues

Academy of Music: www.academyofmusic.org/home.php

Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts: www.pennpresents.org

Brandywine River Museum: www.brandywinemuseum.org

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts: www.kimmelcenter.org