What Creative Philadelphia does

Creative Philadelphia is the City of Philadelphia's municipal agency for arts, culture, and the creative economy, formerly known as the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) and rebranded in May 2025. The agency operates from City Hall Room 116 with fewer than 10 employees and functions as a free public service. It stewards over 1,000 public artworks — the oldest publicly owned public art collection in the United States — and administers the Percent for Art program, enacted in 1959 as the first such ordinance in the nation, which allocates 1% of eligible city construction budgets to public art and has produced more than 300 commissioned works to date.

The agency's core programs include Percent for Art commissions, the Arts Access Calendar, the Culture in Neighborhoods initiative, exhibitions in the City Hall gallery, and an opportunities portal connecting artists and organizations to resources and calls. Funding flows from the City of Philadelphia's municipal budget, Percent for Art capital set-asides, and competitive grants from sources such as the National Endowment for the Arts and Bloomberg Philanthropies. No fees are charged and no commercial revenue is generated; the agency is structurally non-commercial.

Recent activity has centered on programmatic expansion and identity repositioning: the May 2025 rebrand to Creative Philadelphia, the renovation and reopening of the on-site gallery, and the advancement of high-profile civic commissions including the Harriet Tubman statue (announced October 2023), the Sadie T.M. Alexander statue (announced July 2025), and the Healing Verse Germantown initiative funded by a $1 million Bloomberg Philanthropies grant (launched September 2024). Leadership comprises Chief Cultural Officer and Executive Director Val Gay and Public Art Director Marguerite Anglin. The agency is also developing Shape Philly, the city's first Arts & Culture Master Plan, and is positioned as a programming lead for 1776 Seconds: Philadelphia Illuminated, tied to the nation's 250th anniversary.

Name

Creative Philadelphia

Legal name

City of Philadelphia

Website

https://creativephl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Creative Philadelphia is the City of Philadelphia's municipal arts agency managing over 1,000 public artworks and administering the nation's first Percent for Art program, serving city residents, artists, and cultural organizations through free public programs and commissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Arts Administration

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities) (BPAIANAJ), Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Public art administration
• Cultural funding programs
• Exhibition management
• Percent for art
• Community arts programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Funded by City of Philadelphia municipal budget as a government office. Operates Percent for Art program requiring 1% of city construction budgets be devoted to public art commissions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Creative Philadelphia is a municipal government agency that provides free public programming and services to advance public access to arts and culture in Philadelphia. It administers the Percent for Art ordinance and manages over 1,000 public artworks citywide, runs exhibitions at the Creative Philadelphia Art Gallery in City Hall, hosts neighborhood cultural initiatives such as Illuminate the Arts, Philly Jazz Month, Philly Music Month, and Shape Philly, and operates an Opportunities Portal connecting artists and organizations with grant funding.

Product overview

Creative Philadelphia (formerly the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy) is a municipal government office that provides creative and economic opportunities for all Philadelphians to thrive through the arts. The organization operates a unified portfolio of programs and initiatives rather than a commercial product platform. Core offerings include the Arts Access Calendar, Culture in Neighborhoods initiatives (Illuminate the Arts, Philly Jazz Month, Philly Music Month, Weeknights Live), Exhibitions at City Hall, and the Public Art Program managing over 1,000 artworks citywide. The Percent for Art program, enacted in 1959, commissions site-specific public art through city construction projects. Additional services include the Creative Philadelphia Art Gallery at City Hall, an Opportunities Portal connecting artists with funding and employment, and special initiatives like 1776 Seconds: Philadelphia Illuminated and Shape Philly (the city's first Arts & Culture Master Plan). The organization also manages major public art commissions including statues of Harriet Tubman and Sadie T.M. Alexander.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arts Access Calendar A free public calendar of arts events and opportunities available to Philadelphia residents and visitors, maintained and promoted by Creative Philadelphia.
• Culture in Neighborhoods A portfolio of neighborhood-based cultural initiatives including Illuminate the Arts, Philly Jazz Month, Philly Music Month, Shape Philly, and Weeknights Live, designed to bring cultural programming into Philadelphia communities.
• Exhibitions at City Hall Current, past, and permanent exhibitions displayed at Philadelphia City Hall through the Art in City Hall program, open to the public free of charge.
• Public Art Program Oversees more than 1,000 sculptures, reliefs, mosaics, murals, and other public artworks throughout Philadelphia, including conservation, preservation, and new site-specific commissions.
• Creative Philadelphia Art Gallery A public art gallery located in Room 116 of Philadelphia City Hall, showcasing Philadelphia artists, open Monday-Thursday 10am-4pm and Friday 12-4pm.
• Opportunities Portal A central hub at CreativePHL.org aggregating artist opportunities, arts organization funding, and job/internship listings including grants from the Bartol Foundation, Creative Sector Flex Fund, Samuel S. Fels Fund, William Penn Foundation, and Philadelphia Cultural Fund.
• Percent for Art Program Administers the Percent for Art ordinance requiring 1% of city construction budgets to be commissioned as public art, with over 300 works completed since 1959.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 public artworks managed across Philadelphia neighborhoods
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rebuild (Philadelphia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRebuild is a historic investment program funded by the Philadelphia Beverage Tax that invests in neighborhood parks, recreation centers, and libraries. Creative Philadelphia partners with Rebuild on Percent for Art commissions at Rebuild project sites, including recreation centers and libraries being renovated through the program.
• Delaware Riverfront CorporationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on public art projects along the Delaware River waterfront including the Delaware River Trail. Collaborated on the Weaver's Knot: Sheet Bend public art installation between Cherry Street Pier and Race Street Pier.
• Philadelphia Parks & RecreationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity department collaborating on public art installations at parks and recreation centers. Partners on Percent for Art projects at sites like Fishtown Recreation Center and Smith Playground.
• Philadelphia Cultural FundminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent 501(c)(3) corporation established in 1991 to provide funds to enhance the cultural life and vitality of Philadelphia. Creative Philadelphia promotes their funding opportunities to the arts community.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• New York City Department of Cultural Affairs: Municipal cultural affairs agency for New York City. Directly comparable as a city-government office funding arts programming, managing cultural grants, and overseeing public art across a major U.S. city — same mission, similar funding model, similar policy tools.
• San Francisco Arts Commission: San Francisco's municipal arts commission managing civic public art, cultural grants, and galleries. Highly comparable because it administers a Percent for Art-style ordinance for the City and County of San Francisco.
• City of Boston Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture: Boston's municipal arts office. Comparable in scale and role: distributing cultural grants, curating public art, and convening the local arts community under a city-government mandate.
• Seattle Office of Arts & Culture: City of Seattle's arts agency. Comparable peer running Percent for Art-equivalent programs, cultural grants, and civic public-art commissions at the municipal level.
• City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA): Los Angeles's municipal cultural affairs department. Comparable as a city-level agency managing public art, cultural grants, and neighborhood arts programming in a major U.S. city.
• City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE): Chicago's municipal cultural affairs agency operating galleries, public art programs, and citywide cultural grants. Most directly comparable peer because it likewise manages a city-owned public art collection and runs events/programs across neighborhoods.

Broad incumbents

• National Endowment for the Arts (NEA): Federal arts funder. Comparable as the largest U.S. public arts grant-maker, supplying much of the funding ecosystem in which Creative Philadelphia's grantees operate — adjacent rather than competitive.
• Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA): Pennsylvania's state arts council and a Creative Philadelphia funding partner. Comparable as a public-sector arts funder operating at the state level, providing Creative Sector Flex Fund grants that Creative Philadelphia promotes to local orgs.

Emerging players

• Americans for the Arts: National nonprofit advocating for the arts and supporting local arts agencies. Comparable as a peer ecosystem player providing research, advocacy, and programming support to municipal arts offices like Creative Philadelphia.

Regional players

• Mass Cultural Council: Massachusetts state-level cultural funding and policy agency. Comparable in mission and funding-flow role to Creative Philadelphia but operating as a state entity in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/creativephl
• Facebookfacebook.com/creativephl
• Instagraminstagram.com/creativephl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Creative Philadelphia