This just in from the press office:
MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER ANNOUNCES MEMBERSHIP OF MAYOR’S CULTURAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
Mayor to host arts and culture town hall meeting today to discuss City’s financial situation
Philadelphia, December 5 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter has announced the membership of the Mayor’s Cultural Advisory Council ahead of a town hall meeting with the arts and culture community at City Hall this afternoon. The meeting will be held in the Mayor’s Reception Room at 5:30pm to discuss the impact of the City’s response to the financial situation on arts and culture in Philadelphia.
“We have gathered an incredibly talented group of leaders from the arts and culture community to help us as we develop, nurture, and promote the arts in Philadelphia,” said Mayor Nutter. “The overwhelming response to the announcement of this advisory council demonstrates the enthusiasm and commitment of people in Philadelphia to the arts.”
The Mayor’s Cultural Advisory Council was re-established by Executive Order on July 18, 2008. The Council consists of over forty leaders from the arts and culture community who will advise Mayor Nutter and Chief Cultural Officer Gary Steuer as they develop a comprehensive arts and culture strategy for the City of Philadelphia.
“I am extremely excited about the appointment of this strong and diverse group of leaders who will provide invaluable advice and counsel to me and the Mayor as we all work together to foster a vibrant Philadelphia filled with arts, culture, heritage and creativity-driven business,” said Steuer.
The primary role of the Council is to:
Provide advice and counsel to the Mayor when requested on arts and culture issues; Mobilize support from the arts and culture community for the implementation of the Mayor's vision for the arts; Assist Gary Steuer as needed in accomplishing the goals and objectives for the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy; and Create an environment in which the various arts stakeholders can interact with each other and become unified on behalf of their common goals and objectives
The Council will be chaired by Joe Kluger, currently an Associate Principal at the arts consulting firm WolfBrown. He previously worked with the Philadelphia Orchestra and has served on other regional arts boards such as the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Arts and Business Council of Philadelphia, and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.
“I want to thank the Mayor for creating an inclusive forum for this broad and diverse group of talented community leaders to communicate and collaborate with the City, and among ourselves, on a range of arts, culture and creative economy policy issues,” said Kluger.
Members were chosen from over two hundred applications and recommendations from leaders in the arts and culture community. The Council will meet at least quarterly, beginning in January, and will organize subcommittees to work on various issues that arise.
Membership of the Mayor’s Cultural Advisory
Amy Adams
Peggy Amsterdam
Jesse Bermudez
Lorene Cary
Jennifer Childs
Mark Christman
Ian Cross
Diane Dalto
Karen Davis
David Devan
Vikram Dewan
Anne Ewers
Carmen Febo-San Miguel, MD
Happy Fernandez
Dawn Frisby Byers
Kumani Gantt
Marian Godfrey
Tanya Hall
Beverly Harper
Gail Harrity
Matty Hart
James Haskins
Gayle Isa
Hilary Jay
Harvey Kimmel
Joseph H. Kluger (Chair)
Nancy Kolb
Sueyun Locks
Martin McNamara
Leslie Anne Miller
Olive Mosier
Joan Myers Brown
Hal Real
Romona Riscoe Benson
Kim Sajet
Margie Salvante
Carole Shanis
Susan Sherman
Nick Stuccio
Ed Tettemer
James Timberlake
Thomas Woodward
Ex-officio members
Penny Balkin Bach, Fairmount Park Art Association
Moe Brooker, Art Commission
Jane Golden, Mural Arts Program
Meryl Levitz, GPTMC
Karen Lewis, Avenue of the Arts, Inc.
Cheryl McClenney-Brooker, Philadelphia Culture Fund
Sharon Pinkenson, Greater Philadelphia Film Office
Siobhan Reardon, Free Library of Philadelphia
Vicki Sand, Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia
Mayor Nutter also announced that he has appointed Julie Hawkins, Director of Policy and Government Relations at the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund Board of Directors.