I invite you to support the remarkable work of Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (PVLA), an organization I have been involved with as a board member and volunteer for over three decades. PVLA’s mission is to empower artists in our region by providing free legal services, resources, and education to low-income artists and small arts organizations.

This year, PVLA’s annual fundraising event, The Arts Affair, will be held on the evening of June 5, 2024 at Hamilton Hall, University of the Arts on South Broad Street. This party will feature incredible live performances, visual art, interactive artistic experiences, and the chance to network.

Here are the various opportunities to show your support:

  • Purchase event tickets: 1 for $125, 2 for $200. A special rate of $45 is available for artists, students, nonprofit, and public interest individuals.
  • Sponsor artists: 4 Artists for $180, 2 Artists for $90, or 1 Artist for $45.
  • Event sponsorship: various tiers and incentives are available, or we can tailor a package to suit your preferences.
  • Make a donation online or by sending a check to 100 Juniper Street, Philadelphia 19107.

Thank you for considering making a contribution to PVLA and supporting this year’s Arts Affair

Natural disasters, such as the recent earthquakes in southern Turkey and northern Syria, can be just as destructive of cultural heritage sites, if not more so, than the ravages caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the long-running civil war in Syria.  In addition to the still climbing death toll, the recent earthquakes heavily damaged a number of heritage sites and structures, including, for example, Gaziantep Castle in Turkey. More information and photographs are available in this article in The Art Newspaper.  The devastation in Syria only adds to the burdens caused by years of civil war.

For an update on the extensive scope of the Russian looting of Ukraine’s cultural heritage, including artworks, religious icons and historical artifacts, see Ukraine Accuses Russia Of Looting Thousands Of Artworks From Museums In Occupied Regions.  The fate of artworks taken from the Kherson Regional Art Museum by the Russians before they withdrew from Kherson is recounted in Special investigation: Serious concerns over fate of Ukraine’s museum works taken by Russians.

Cultural Heritage Update: Ukraine, Turkey and Syria

Preserving Ukraine's Cultural Heritage

Cultural Heritage. The international effort to save Ukraine’s digital information about its cultural heritage, threatened by Russia’s invasion, continues apace.  As described by Heather Stephenson in Preserving Ukraine’s Cultural Heritage Online, Tufts Now, “a global network of volunteers has mobilized to preserve Ukrainian cultural heritage online. Using digital tools, they have saved data from more than 2,200 cultural websites and other sources on servers outside the country, providing a critical backup plan in case of loss or damage during the war.”  The network, Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO), consists of 1,300 volunteers, using open source tools and Slack.  The efforts and the volunteers are described in more detail in Meet the 1,300 librarians racing to back up Ukraine’s digital archives, by Pranshu Verma of The Washington Post (April 8, 2022).

Meanwhile, as reported by the Archeology Newsroom, on April 7, 2022, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee identified 53 cultural sites in Ukraine that have been damaged in the war as of early April. Seven world heritage sites (six are cultural; one is natural) are located in Ukraine.

Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (PVLA)

Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (PVLA).  PVLA has issued its Winter Newsletter, which shares some of what PVLA has done over the last year, and what PVLA is looking forward to as we near the end of the first quarter of 2022.  PVLA remains dedicated to continuing to empower the artists whose work inspires, motivates, and touches us all.  Check out PVLA’s website to learn more about what PVLA, what its volunteer lawyers do, and how to seek help from the organization.

In good news for Philadelphia’s creative sector, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) recently approved PVLA to receive an American Rescue Plan grant from the NEA to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. PVLA will receive $100,000 in operational support to allow it to prioritize the growth of PVLA’s programming and development efforts to enhance the organization’s capacity to meet the increased demand for pro bono legal services among the independent arts community within the Greater Philadelphia region.  

For more detail about the NEA’s grants, including the grants to fourteen Philadelphia arts organizations under the American Rescue Plan, read here.  The NEA’s announcement of the grants, totaling $57,750,000 to 567 arts organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC, explains how the grants will help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic, one of the nation’s sectors hit hardest by the pandemic.  

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