Partners for Sacred Places

Partners for Sacred Places is an established national, non-sectarian service organization dedicated to helping sacred communities develop robust secular communities around their sacred places. We designed and conducted a groundbreaking study “Visual and Performing Arts in Sacred Places,” funded by the Barra Foundation, and the first study in the nation looking at the cultural use of sacred space in an urban environment. The study found great complementary needs on both sides (arts organizations and sacred places) and has resulted in the development of a new match-making program to facilitate partnerships between smaller arts organizations and sacred spaces in Philadelphia, a rental subsidy program, a training program for arts organizations and sacred spaces, and a capital re-granting program for arts-related space improvements. The program, now called “Arts in Sacred Places,” is the first in the nation and has garnered to date over $500,000 in implementation support, as well as local and national attention as a model and has recently been franchised to Chicago.