This morning, Mayor Nutter, Meryl Levitz and various brass from the Kimmel Center announced plans for the first-ever Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, to be held April 7 – May 1, 2011, all around the city. The Fest — PIFA for short — is the result of a grant from and accordingly programmed in the vision of longtime Philadelphia resident and philanthropist Leonore Annenberg, who passed away last year. PIFA is said to draw inspiration from Paris in the 1910s, where a symbiotic collision of the arts made the city the world’s epicenter for culture. “We chose our theme because 100 years ago, Paris was the epicenter of creativity. What happened during that time frame shaped how we defined the arts throughout the 20th century,” says PIFA executive director Ed Cambron. “Right now, Philadelphia’s creative community is poised to fuel the same spirit of ingenious creativity.”

How all of that will translate into PIFA will be a matter of over 100 events and performances, all held in just under one month next year. So who’s on board? So far, PIFA is promising the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet, performing for the first time ever, and The Roots, collaborating with “a French chanteuse.” (Charlotte Gainsbourg? Françoise Hardy? We’ll take either, thanks!) Additionally, it seems like the Kimmel Center will act as PIFA’s nerve center, with other events happening all over town. We’ll have more as this develops; in the meantime, check out PIFA’s website for more.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 12:36 pm.