All News Is Local. All Arts News Especially So.

The State of The Arts in Philadelphia & Beyond

Philadelphia has been in a downward spiral this past week when it comes to The Arts.

‘Anger and questions swirl as University of the Arts abruptly shuts down’ (Billy Penn)

Many shared panicked, frustrated, deeply upset notes about University of the Arts (UofArts) declared the institution is closing without notifying anyone—including current and incoming students (or their families). It doesn’t sound like many were in the loop.

‘University of the Arts students rally to demand answers about sudden closure’ (WHYY)

‘University of the Arts president resigns amid sudden closure; Temple explores possible merger’ (6ABC)

These mergers with larger institutions are what I’ve been expecting will happen across the country in the coming months and years. The process has already started and is continuing. A conversation I plan to explore more deeply in an essay that will focus on the future of Higher Ed.

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Then this (which I began assembling a when initial news broke):

There is also something mysterious going on with the Free Library of Philadelphia.

The “something mysterious” is a series of emails from the Free Library. (Below)

Luckily, we still have a news organization that managed to provide coverage—The Philadelphia Inquirer.

‘The Free Library’s Author Events staff resigned Monday due to what they called ‘heartbreaking’ work culture’ (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

“Sources say library employees have been at odds with Richards and Pryor for some time with internal meetings becoming contentious and staff feeling disrespected.”

“The events team refrained from speaking about top brass, instead describing a declining workplace culture with high turnover. They described the environment as “death by a thousand cuts” with the team feeling as though their work wasn’t important to the foundation. They had expressed concerns over pay parity where half the team felt they were being underpaid.”

“The team said the foundation was losing experienced and quality workers.”

“On average, the team hosted 120 to 130 events per year, which brought in about 20,000 people. Still, they say their reach was global with their YouTube and podcast reaching up to 3 million people in a good year.”

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Here’s an email that was sent to newsletter subscribers:

Dear Friends,

The entire lineup of scheduled Author Events is cancelled. The Author Events team is no longer with the Free Library Foundation.

With sincere thanks for your support over these many years of our program, "the big, beating heart of literature in Philadelphia," (Philadelphia Inquirer),

Andy Kahan, Laura Kovacs, Jason Freeman, and Nell Mittelstead

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Not too long after… Another email arrived… :

Dear Friends,

I hope this email finds you well. We recently discovered that a message was sent out indicating that all future Author Events have been cancelled.

We want to clarify that no Author Events are cancelled and we remain committed to continuing this beloved program.

We regret to inform you that the Author Events Team—Andy Kahan, Jason Freeman, Laura Lovacs, and Nell Mittlestead—have submitted their resignations, effective immediately. While we respect their decision and thank them for their many years of dedication, we want to assure you that we are taking steps to ensure a smooth transition and the continuation of our Author Events.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me directly. We appreciate your support and understanding as we navigate through this change together.

Thank you for your continued support of the Free Library and our Author Events program. We look forward to welcoming you to our upcoming events.

Warm regards,

Monique Moore Pryor

Executive Director

Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation

moorepryorm@freelibrary.org

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Ok, so… “We regret to inform you that the Author Events Team—Andy Kahan, Jason Freeman, Laura Lovacs, and Nell Mittlestead—have submitted their resignations, effective immediately.”

Hmm… not fishy at all.

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Then, there’s this, today (6/5/2024), from Chairman of the Board for The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation:

Dear Friends of the Free Library,

Over the past day, there has been a lot of confusion regarding the Author Event series offered by the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation (“Foundation”). The staff running this program unexpectedly resigned on Monday, and one individual of this team sent an unauthorized note indicating that our beloved Author Event Series is cancelled for the remainder of the year. This is simply not the case. All events will take place as scheduled.

The departure of Author Event series staff was unfortunate. And some of you may ask why. We have not had exit interviews with any of them, but based on prior conversations there was a fundamental disagreement on the strategic direction chosen by the Board for the Foundation. This involved the Foundation untangling itself from the day-to-day operations of the Free Library of Philadelphia (Library) now that it was fully staffed, bringing on new leadership at the Foundation to better execute on our philanthropic mission and finally, aligning cost structure with current revenue generation in support of the many programs the Foundation funds.

The Board is very pleased with the results achieved so far under the leadership of Monique Moore Pryor at the Foundation as well as Kelly Richards at the Library. As we approach the close of fiscal year 2024, Kelly and staff, with the support of the Mayor’s office and City Council, have been able to restore funding to enable six day service at our Neighborhood Libraries and Parkway. To accomplish the same, Kelly’s team has done a remarkable job in hiring hundreds of new employees. With Monique at the helm of the Foundation, it also has been a transformational year. The Foundation’s cost structure has been aligned with revenues and without drop off in our individual giving and our balance sheet remains strong. In the coming year, we plan to bring on additional resources in development, marketing and of course and with the highest priority, restaff the Author Events series team.

As we near the warmer months and the last day of school, we are reminded of the impact the Foundation made last year and will do so again this year. Last summer alone, we raised funds so libraries could offer 2,850 programs for children and teens that were attended by more than 61,000 people, 19% more than the previous year. 260,000 minutes of reading were logged by Summer of Wonder participants and 1,000 books were completed by young learners. This is just one of many programs offered by the Library through the support of the many donors to the Foundation.

Finally this spring, the beloved Author Events series turned 30 years old and we welcomed New York Times bestseller and Emmy-award winner George Stephanopoulos, 17-time Grammy Award winner Sting in conversation with Diane Foley and Colum McCann, National Book Award finalist Amy Tan, New York Times nonfiction bestseller Stacey Abrams, and more! The Foundation is strongly committed to continuing to offer the Author Events series as it has in past. We will restaff and continue to bring to the community noted authors and programs.

In summary, the Foundation Board is in full support of our leadership and that of Kelly Richards at the Library and is looking forward to even brighter future.

Sincerely,

Jeffry Benoliel

Chairman of the Board

The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation

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Not just Philadelphia, right? 

I’m sure The Arts are suffering where you live, too.

Not enough funding and resources. Not enough arts initiatives.

I’ve pitched local representatives about arts funding in the past. In one instance, it turned out other reps had the same idea and the one we brought to the table was already being set in motion.

Philadelphia offers ACCESS to those who receive entitlements such as Medicaid. I’d like to see this available to all Philadelphia artists without a burden of proof. State “I am an Artist”, “I am a Poet”, “I am a Painter”, “I am a Musician”… and the list goes on— and this should be enough to receive a pass that allows you to engage with otherwise cost-prohibitive spaces including but not limited to such as: arboretums, museums, theater, orchestra, opera,

Currently you can purchase an ACCESS card. I know I’m preaching to the choir but, there’s plenty of data showing writers/artists have a median income in the range of $8,000/year. (Yeah, sources differ on this.)

“Traditionally published authors earned more in 2022 from nonbook writing-related income than book-related income ($5,000 vs. $7,400), while self-published authors earned more from book income.” (Publishers Weekly, September 2023)

Of course, people in the arts rarely earn a living solely from their art community-related endeavors.

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Not all writers and artists are living paycheck to paycheck. At least that would seem to be the case according to this episode of The Indicator (~ 9-minute listen). That being said, they are not speaking about writers/artists specifically.

What does this have to do with colleges going under and trouble at the library?

Well, I believe we are at a crossroads. There are a number of paradigm shifts all happening at once in our cultural moment.

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A few questions as an out-shot.

What do artists need most?

Evolve or perish. What changes do you believe Higher Ed needs to make?

Put another way – What would Higher Ed reform look like for you?

Generally, what do people need most (in their working life) to feel a sense of satisfaction and purpose while still earning enough to live a healthy and meaningful day-to-day existence?