Last week, the Kimmel Center hosted nine mayoral candidates for a 90-minute debate about our cultural economy. Moderators pressed the would-be mayors with questions like whether or not they'll push for the City of Philadelphia to have a dedicated funding stream for the arts (like many other cities already do), instead of scraping up an uncertain little budget year by year. Will the Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy join the cabinet? How will the candidates make sure our young people can access the arts? And what's on deck for 2026, when hundreds of thousands of visitors will descend for the World Cup, not to mention the 250th anniversary of a little document signed here in 1776?
Read our story to find out how each of them answered.
As usual, we have a wide range of reviews, including a look at the Print Center's annual international competition, Shakespeare starring Lawrence Pressman, All My Mothers Dream in Spanish from Azuka and Teatro del Sol, BalletX, and more. Thanks for spending another week with us!
Alaina Johns
BSR editor-in-chief
