Slought
Slought was a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) cultural non-profit (2002-2022) that ran free exhibitions, dialogue programs, and international partnerships with the University of Pennsylvania, funded by donations and foundation grants, and now exists as an online archive continued by Public Trust.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersPhiladelphia, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Slought does
Slought was a 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural and educational organization headquartered at 4017 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, operating from 2002 to 2022 in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania. Its core offering was a portfolio of cultural programs, exhibitions, film screenings, publications, and dialogue-based initiatives, including the Perpetual Peace Project (a multi-institutional international partnership with EUNIC, the International Peace Institute, the United Nations University, and Syracuse University), the Health Ecologies Lab (with Penn Social Policy and Practice and Penn Medicine's Center for Digital Health), the Mixplace Studio urban education model, and the Fairytale Project (an archive of 1001 Chinese participants in Ai Weiwei's 2007 Kassel project, 童话项目 | Märchen-Projekt). The organization maintained a website and online archive as a knowledge resource, a bookshop/publications platform, and physical gallery spaces (Front and Main Galleries, Mediatheque, John Cage Room, Social Justice Hub) housed in a historic 1924 Deco/Beaux-Arts bank building on the edge of the University of Pennsylvania campus.
Its business model was donation- and grant-funded rather than revenue-generating: Slought offered free admission to all galleries and programs (open Tuesday-Friday, 12-5pm), relied on contributions from individuals and a diversified set of institutional funders (Andy Warhol Foundation, Surdna Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Independence Public Media Foundation, Korea Arts Management Service, Trust for Mutual Understanding), and was supported by a distributed network of volunteers and a board/advisory committee drawn from Princeton, Temple, Haverford, and Ben-Gurion University. Aaron Levy served as Executive Director and Chief Curator for the organization's full twenty-year tenure. Following the cessation of active operations around 2022, the website was maintained as an archive of the twenty-year history and the spirit of the organization continued as Public Trust.
Slought firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Slought
- Legal name
- Slought
- Website
- https://slought.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Slought was a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) cultural non-profit (2002-2022) that ran free exhibitions, dialogue programs, and international partnerships with the University of Pennsylvania, funded by donations and foundation grants, and now exists as an online archive continued by Public Trust.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Slought is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Philadelphia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Slought business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Slought relied on donations and contributions from individuals and organizations who shared their values.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Free | Free admission to all galleries and programs |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Slought product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Slought was a 501(c)(3) cultural and educational organization that delivered free public programming including exhibitions, film screenings, publications, and dialogue sessions. It operated physical gallery spaces in West Philadelphia and maintained an online archive of its twenty-year program history, with initiatives spanning urban education, public health, international peace, and contemporary art.
Product overview
Slought was a cultural and educational organization (501(c)(3) non-profit) that operated from approximately 2002-2022 in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania. Rather than a technology product company, Slought offered a portfolio of cultural programs, archival resources, and publication services. The core offering was the Slought website and online archive documenting twenty years of cultural programs, supplemented by a bookshop/publications platform, and various initiatives including the Perpetual Peace Project, Health Ecologies Lab, Mixplace Studio, and Fairytale Project. These programs were presented through physical gallery spaces and the online archive.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Slought Website and Online Archive A web platform serving as an active archive of Slought's twenty-year history of cultural and educational programs, featuring exhibitions, publications, resources, and documentation of dialogue initiatives. Offered to the general public and academic community as a knowledge resource.
- Bookshop and Publications A publication platform offering books and materials produced through Slought's programs, including works like Encounters with Soun-Gui Kim, Jackson Mac Low: Between Writing and Performance, and The Pronouns. Targeted at readers interested in contemporary art, modernism, and cultural criticism.
- Perpetual Peace Project A curatorial intervention exploring 21st century prospects for international peace through symposia, exhibitions, lectures, and films organized around Immanuel Kant's foundational essay Perpetual Peace (1795). Served international academic and policy audiences in partnership with EUNIC, IPI, UN University, and Syracuse University.
- Health Ecologies Lab A research lab focused on diverse social and environmental factors affecting health and well-being. Collaborated with Penn Social Policy and Practice and Penn Medicine's Center for Digital Health. Targeted at researchers, students, and policy practitioners in public health.
- Mixplace Studio An urban education model responding to the crisis in community participation and political representation by circulating different ways of thinking and making. Developed through collaboration with community partners including the People's Emergency Center, Estudio Teddy Cruz, and PennDesign. Targeted at community members and urban studies researchers.
- Fairytale Project (童话项目 | Märchen-Projekt) A research initiative and archive documenting the experiences of 1001 Chinese participants who traveled to Kassel, Germany for Ai Weiwei's Fairytale project (2007). Served researchers, students, and the public interested in contemporary art and cross-cultural exchange.
- Exhibition Galleries and Spaces Physical gallery spaces including Front and Main Galleries, Mediatheque (screening room), Seminar Room, John Cage Room, and Social Justice Hub, located in a historic Deco/Beaux-Arts bank building. Open to the general public Tuesday to Friday, 12-5pm with free admission and no reservation required.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 60 volunteers around the world involved in processing, translating and uploading thousands of documents and photos for the Fairytale Project
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Slought
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Slought technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Slought partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.
- Penn Social Policy and PracticecoreOrganizing institution for the Health Ecologies Lab, focusing on diverse social and environmental factors affecting health and well-being.
- Center for Digital Health, Penn MedicineminorContributing institution to the Health Ecologies Lab at Slought.
- Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (Rwanda)minorPartner for Perpetual Peace Project installation in Rwanda. Approximately 50 architecture students participated.
- Haverford CollegemajorPartner for Perpetual Peace Project. Haverford's Center for Peace and Global Citizenship and Hurford Humanities Center facilitated programs.
- Casa Familiar (San Ysidro)minorSocial services organization at US-Mexico border. Partner for Perpetual Peace Project workshops exploring peace in border communities.
- Chinese University of Hong KongminorPartner for Perpetual Peace Project workshops exploring meaning of peace in Hong Kong's cultural and political landscape.
- New Museum of Contemporary ArtmajorHosted Perpetual Peace Project installation as part of The Last Newspaper exhibition. New Museum is a preeminent contemporary art museum in New York.
- European Union National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC)corePartnership between European Union National Institutes of Culture, International Peace Institute, United Nations University, Syracuse University, and Slought Foundation for the Perpetual Peace Project exploring 21st century prospects for international peace.
- International Peace Institute (IPI)corePartnership for the Perpetual Peace Project. IPI is dedicated to the prevention and settlement of conflicts between and within states by strengthening peace and security institutions.
- United Nations UniversitycorePartnership for the Perpetual Peace Project exploring global problems facing the United Nations, its Peoples and Member States.
- Syracuse University Humanities CentercoreInterdisciplinary center for research, events, and exhibitions in the arts and humanities. Partner for Perpetual Peace Project.
- Beaconhouse National University (Pakistan)minorPartner for Perpetual Peace Project workshops in Lahore, Pakistan. Organized by David Chalmers Alesworth.
- University of PennsylvaniacoreSlought was offered in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania. A Faculty Liaison facilitated relationships with faculty and students. Programs were developed in dialogue with academic communities.
- Ai WeiweimajorArtist whose Fairytale Project was the basis for Slought's Fairytale Project, documenting 1001 Chinese participants who traveled to Kassel, Germany.
- People's Emergency Center (PEC)minorPartner in Mixplace Studio project responding to crisis in public education and community participation.
- Estudio Teddy CruzminorPartner in Mixplace Studio project focused on urban and architectural research.
- PennDesignminorPartner in Mixplace Studio project for urban education model.
- Austrian Cultural ForumminorPartner in Perpetual Peace Project discussions about peace in times of war.
- Public TrustcoreThe spirit of Slought continues as Public Trust. Slought website is being maintained as an archive of twenty-year history.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Slought competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Creative Time: NYC non-profit commissioning public art projects that intersect with social and political issues. Directly comparable to Slought's model of polycentric, partnership-based cultural interventions.
- More Art: NYC non-profit commissioning socially engaged public art projects. Comparable focus on community engagement and partnership-driven programming around cultural change.
- Fabric Workshop and Museum: Philadelphia-based non-profit combining artist residencies, exhibitions, and publications. Closest geographic and structural analog to Slought as a small, partnership-driven cultural institution with an active publication and exhibition program.
- Asian Arts Initiative: Philadelphia community-based arts non-profit with free programming, exhibitions, and dialogue-driven social advocacy. Mirrors Slought's horizontal, community-led engagement model in the same city.
- Performa: NYC non-profit dedicated to experimental performance across visual art, music, and dance. Comparable as a discursive, curator-led organization producing publications and live programming.
- The Kitchen: NYC non-profit presenting experimental work across visual art, performance, and discourse. Comparable as a small, mission-driven cultural institution emphasizing dialogue and discursive programming.
- Vox Populi: Philadelphia artist-run, volunteer-driven gallery collective with rotating exhibitions and publications. Comparable in scale, ethos, and grassroots governance to Slought's small distributed model.
- A Blade of Grass: Non-profit supporting socially engaged art through funding, fellowships, and public programming. Strong parallel to Slought's emphasis on art as a vehicle for socio-political dialogue.
Broad incumbents
- New Museum: Preeminent NYC contemporary art museum that hosted Slought's Perpetual Peace Project installation. A larger institutional incumbent that has partnered with Slought and shares the focus on contemporary, socially engaged art.
- Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania: Philadelphia-based contemporary art institution on the Penn campus and a direct neighbor of Slought. Shares the university partnership and free-admission model but operates at a larger institutional scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Slought social profiles
Digital presenceSlought financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Slought leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Slought funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Slought M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Slought
What does Slought do?
Slought was a 501(c)(3) cultural and educational organization that delivered free public programming including exhibitions, film screenings, publications, and dialogue sessions. It operated physical gallery spaces in West Philadelphia and maintained an online archive of its twenty-year program history, with initiatives spanning urban education, public health, international peace, and contemporary art.
Is Slought a public or private company?
Slought is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently closed.
When was Slought founded?
Slought was founded in 2002. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Slought based?
Slought is headquartered in Philadelphia, United States, in the North America region.
How does Slought make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Contributions.
Who are Slought's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Creative Time, More Art, Fabric Workshop and Museum, Asian Arts Initiative, Performa, The Kitchen, Vox Populi and A Blade of Grass. Broad incumbents are New Museum and Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania.
Does Slought have an API?
No public API is recorded for Slought.