Great Expectations

In the coming days and weeks, you’ll hear more ideas about making the most of what’s often called Philadelphia’s creative sector. There’s even a free ticket out there – if you can pull yourself away from the NFL this weekend.

First up is a town meeting (followed by wine and cheese) on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at the Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street. The Culture, Creativity and the City Town Hall Meeting will feature several out-of-town experts from other cities that have grown their arts and culture scene – with a particular emphasis on the supporting role of city government.

In a theater full of artistic types, there had to be someone who would revolt against the regimen of color-coded index cards upon which we were supposed to submit our questions and inspired ideas for boosting Philadelphia as a creative capital.

Indeed, one artist in the crowd didn't disappoint. The bearded man couldn't contain himself as he sat amid the impressive (all right, incredible) crowd of at least 200 people at the Culture, Creativity and the City Town Hall Meeting, held at the Painted Bride Art Center on this muggy, Sunday night. So he blurted out a protest and later requested that audience members turn to each other – right then - and say what they wanted about art.

No word on what those individual conversations revealed. But, you know, those index cards, they were pretty darn impressive, after all.

The issues for today (Thursday) are in contrast.

The constellation of trends and concerns that we've gathered under the heading Neighborhoods in Flux is tremendously complex. This is one of the gnarliest, most emotional, least understood issues that the Agenda addresses. And it is one whose dimensions and visceral pop emerged (for me, at least) as the biggest surprise out of the forums we did last winter around the city, hitting 30 neighborhoods in 30 nights. I had little idea before those sessions that the prospect of rising property values and new neighbors with nice incomes was cause for such high anxiety for so many. But night after night of hearing people say their biggest fear was "more condos" kind of drove the message home.

The action steps for this issue include some interesting ideas, but I have no doubt that this part of the Agenda falls short of addressing the full nuances and possibilities of the topic. There's so much more that could be said or done on the issue of helping neighborhoods in transition cope, and on the goal of fostering stable, diverse, mixed-income neighborhoods.

Citizen blogger Susan Zalenski of West Philadelphia attended Citizen Convention issues sessions based on: What she knows best, what she thinks about most, and what she takes for granted. She writes:

When it comes to Philadelphia, “Great Expectations” is something most residents probably lack. We’ve learned to lower the bar and deal with. But why shouldn’t we expect more from our civic leaders and our city government? How can we make Philadelphia a Great American City?

Great Expectations has put forth the agenda to make Philadelphia great.

Mayor-elect Michael Nutter warmed up the crowd with a heartfelt speech about Philadelphia, the Great Expectations agenda and a promise to focus on doing instead of dreaming about doing. How can we improve our city? Why DO we choose live here? And better yet what, can we citizens do? The day was an opportunity to open up to ideas and think about how our civic leaders and institutions can initiate and manage the change than needs to happen. The agenda has been drafted – now it’s time to fine-tune, modify, review and elaborate – what do you LIKE about the agenda, what could be different and how will YOU make a difference?

There were a dozen core issues up for discussion. Each person was encouraged to attend three sessions during the day. Choosing only three topics wasn’t an easy task, but I went with what I knew best, what I think about the most, and something I take for granted.

What I Know Best: Transportation

Myself and a group of other engaged citizens/SEPTA warriors gathered for a moderated discussion on the transportation issues that affect Philadelphia with the #1 priority going to something basic, but very important: SEPTA Customer Service.

Albert Yee moves on to Arts & Culture in his second installment from the Dec. 2 Citizens Convention. He writes:

The biggest issue in the Arts & Culture session was the creation of a regional fund to support the arts. The group of 20 was split into two groups that did not come back together to discuss as a whole. The side I was in did not come up with the how to get that money. People were confused as to where it would come from. It could come from tax money, a pledge of 1% of the city's budget, somewhere else. Taking the leap of faith that hundreds of millions of dollars would be poured into Philly's thriving arts scene, where would it go and what would it do?

An artist, Sue, was concerned that much of the money would end up going to administrative costs. She said that usually, 80% of monies end up going to admin costs and a trickle ends up in the pockets of the artists themselves. She stressed that the message must be clear that artists cannot create art for free and they must be paid for their contributions to the city. Sue added that the old Office of Arts & Culture (it currently doesn't exist, but I believe Nutter has pledged to reopen it) did not do anything other than organize artists around Christmas time to create displays around City Hall. She said that a revived Office of Arts & Culture must actively act as a liaison between all of the arts groups in the city. A well designed website would be a huge step; the group agreed.

Citizen blogger Marisa McClellan attended the "Presenting the Agenda" community forum for the 2nd Council District. The event was held Feb. 21 at St. Gabriel's school. Marisa lives in a Center City apartment that has been in her family for more than 40 years. She blogs at Apartment 2024, Metroblogging Philadelphia, Stories from Reading Terminal (currently on hiatus) and Slashfood. When she's not writing online, she can be found co-hosting the local online cooking show Fork You and desperately trying to finish her thesis. She writes:

The first thought I had when I pulled into a parking spot was, “Wow, I had no idea that this was down here!” This was St. Gabriel’s Church and down here was 29th and Dickinson Streets. I’ve lived in Center City since moving to Philadelphia six years ago, and while I’ve explored many of the city’s neighborhoods beyond downtown in the intervening years, I’d never had reason to be in that pocket of southwest Philadelphia.