Philadelphia: Promoting art in the City of Brotherly Love
Just days before the opening of the Barnes Foundation’s Philadelphia campus on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia yesterday launched the city’s first-ever coordinated and sustained visual arts marketing campaign called With Art Philadelphia.
According to a statement by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, the two-year, multi-million dollar campaign aims to leverage the energy of the Barnes Foundation opening in order to generate sustained attention to what the city hopes will be seen as one of the world’s great art destinations as well as spur overnight stays from visitors worldwide.
With Art encourages visitors to curate their own Philadelphia art experiences—something they can do on the campaign’s new highly interactive website, withart.visitphilly.com. The website is one of the core components of the campaign, which will also include paid advertising, social media and public relations.
“Philadelphia has always had great art – some we collect; some we make,” said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO, GPTMC. “The fact is there’s never been a better time to come to Philadelphia to see and appreciate art in all its many forms. Visitors have the opportunity to curate their own individual art experiences, and there are so many experiences to be had both inside museums and beyond their walls.”
GPTMC is coordinating the campaign in partnership with the City of Philadelphia and 14 other civic and cultural organizations. The campaign will focus on five key themes:
- Visual Arts: Philadelphia’s creative sector is rich and diverse, encompassing a wide range of experiences that With Art will promote.
- The Parkway: The Benjamin Franklin Parkway, running from City Hall to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, will be made even more magnificent with the addition of the Barnes Foundation.
- Gardens: The campaign will showcase the city’s many green assets.
- Education: The Barnes Foundation namesake, Dr. Albert C. Barnes believed in the transformative power of the arts, so the campaign will shine a light on the major art-focused colleges and arts education programs for children and adults alike.
- Philadelphia: Philadelphia’s creativity goes beyond the visual arts to include its food, its shops, its neighborhoods and its diverse people—all of which will be highlighted as part of With Art.
In 2003, GPTMC launched a gay tourism campaign that has been credited with propelling Philadelphia to one of the top destinations for LGBT travelers in the U.S.
More information on visiting gay-friendly Philadelphia is available at www.visitphilly.com/gay-friendly-philadelphia.
Travel Note: Check out Amtrak’s Ride with Pride website for convenient service and great fares to Philadelphia.
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