A massive effort is underway to showcase Philadelphia’s vibrant and strong commitment to the arts during the Democratic National Convention. The city’s—and region's—artistic breadth and talent will be on display from noon until 6 pm each day of the convention from Monday, July 25th to Thursday, July 28th.
Access to the DNC is tightly controlled, but further north, at its center, the city is alive with music, theater, visual art, and more.
All up and down Broad Street there will be an incredible mix of professional and community groups— from the Philly Pops to the cabaret group The Bearded Ladies, to high school students from the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, to Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, to Jazz Bridge.
The PhillyFunGuideis the best source of information regarding these performances (times, venues, and who’s performing) from Lenfest Plaza (at Broad and Cherry streets) north of City Hall, on down the Avenue of the Arts.
Stages are set up at Lenfest Plaza, Dilworth Park, The Union League, the Academy of Music, and the University of the Arts.
“Jazz on the Avenue of the Arts” is the focus at thePhiladelphia Clef Club of Jazz and the Performing Arts. The Clef Club is sponsoring performances outside at Brandywine Plaza (Broad and Fitzwater streets), and inside, in Blue Note Hall. It’s Philadelphia’s artistic richness for all to see.
Radio script:
Meridee Duddleston: Access to the Democratic National Convention is tightly controlled, but further north, at its center, the city is alive with music, theater, visual art, and more.
From City Hall to South Philadelphia, bands of bright color fill the Broad Street median. It’s an artistic tribute to multiplicity titled “14 Movements: A Symphony in Color and Words,” well-suited to Philadelphia, says City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Founder and Executive Director Jane Golden.
Jane Golden: It really is like music. It’s very fluid. The colors are brilliant. Every bit of color—and there’s so many parts to this whole—represents the citizens of this city.
MD: Along this gigantic vessel of color, music (jazz, pop, classical), dance, and theater performers are spread out along the Avenue of the Arts. The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance spearheaded much of this pop-up extravaganza. Its president, Maud Lyon, says the arts represent a passion that’s the opposite of the violence that has many hearts hurting of late.
Maud Lyon: The arts are the other side of that passion. We are the passion that is about sharing, where diverse people come together, where we emote, where we talk about what these things mean. And that’s exactly what’s going to be celebrated in all of these locations during the DNC up and down Broad Street.
MD: It’s a message designed to outlast this week’s Democratic National Convention.