Valerie Gay discussed Philadelphia’s newest office, Creative Philadelphia, overseeing the city’s arts and culture and its creative economy.

She discussed how it will offer opportunities for all Philadelphians to thrive through the arts. Known before as the Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, their goals are to increase public access to arts and culture, partner with local creative communities and highlight to us and to the world the city’s vast cultural assets.  Ms Gay points out the arts don’t just enrich us, they help create a safer, cleaner, and greener city where creatives can thrive both socially and economically.  

We spoke about the upcoming influx of tourists for 2026, and the need for Philadelphia itself to recognize its amazing cultural holdings.

We discussed some of the city’s better known assets, the City Hall rotating gallery, the outdoor art supported by the mandatory developers % for arts and the Mural Arts programs, and then local neighborhood projects and programs that don’t get the attention. She described community installations such as Healing Verse Germantown and the Paschalville Library Mushroom Seating.
For artists, she talked about the Percent for Art Call for Artists looking for submissions for projects such as the Constitution Health Plaza: Public Health Lab.   Finally, we talked about the master plan they are preparing to release this coming May, defining assets and outlining the infrastructures for the future for the office and the creative communities.   Learn more at creativephl.org.