Monday, May 9, 2011

The Knight Arts Challenge (in Philadelphia)


Earlier today the Knight Foundation announced their 2011 Knight Arts Challenge winners at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The program hosted only in Philadelphia (this year) is a three-year, $9 million initiative to draw the best and most innovative ideas out of local organizations and individuals seeking to transform the community through the arts. Great ideas can indeed start anywhere, so the challenge was open to anyone.

There were three simple rules:
  1. The project must be about the arts
  2. It bust take place or benefit Philadelphia
  3. Find other funding to match the Knight Foundation <-- The tricky part.
With $2.7 million in funding and only 36 project winners, the competition was enormous. There were over 17,000 entries since the launch of the program. The sole Latino organization to win the challenge, Taller Puertorriqueño. Although there were many organizations that had Latino influence and "new audiences" involved in the program, Taller PR's "Cafe under the Stars: Spotlighting Arts in the Barrio" is an obvious Latino cultivated project.

"Cafe under the Stars" will create personal cultural experiences that connect audiences across cultures by producing a series of monthly outdoor performances in the heart of Latino Philadelphia. See you in 2012 mi gente :).

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