On Serendipity and Resilience
What Two Weeks in Detroit Taught Me About the Future of Philly
By Ariel Shelton
October 1, 2026, marked three months since I became the solo executive director of CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia. Those months have been challenging. They have also been joyful, as I’ve led a phenomenal team supporting roughly 90 fiscally sponsored organizations and a coworking community of more than 220 members.
Leading a team through a transition while supporting a community this large has kept me focused on a practical question: How do we build systems that help people do their work well? That question followed me to Detroit.
The cohort Tri-City Leaders Lab cohort, in front of Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Mural
Just before that anniversary, serendipity brought me home for two weeks. Through the encouragement of trusted thought partners at the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, I joined the Tri-City Leaders Lab, a program connecting arts and culture leaders across Philadelphia, Detroit, and Charlotte. Our final gathering brought us to Detroit in September, where the Philadelphia contingency included Gabi Sanchez from the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Chad Beegle from the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Sonia Mak from the Asian Arts Initiative, Rachel Zimmerman from InLiquid, and Dawn Frisby Byers from PA Humanities.
The following week, the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors (NNFS) held its annual National Gathering in Detroit, too. Former colleagues at National Arts Strategies helped me secure funding to covering travel expenses for my colleague Johnny Gerant and I, with the goal of deepening our connections with Fractured Atlas, a fellow fiscal sponsor that provides shared services to artists.
The timing gave me a chance to reconnect with colleagues across the field and, quite frankly, catch my breath after a whirlwind summer.
More than anything, the trip brought the tenacity of my hometown into focus. I saw what happens when people keep investing in one another over time, even as institutions and neighborhoods change around them. Those encounters deepened my commitment to collaboration and helped me think about what we can build together in Philadelphia.
Here are a few moments I’m carrying with me.
The right team can shape generations
While I was home, I had a chance to meet with my mentor, Damien Crutcher. He shared how the administrators and educators in the public school community I grew up in learned from and influenced one another. They were passionate experts committed to preparing a new generation of leaders.
That community helped educate leaders including Mary Sheffield, Detroit’s first woman mayor, and Kyra Harris Bolden, the first Black woman to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court. I was fortunate to come through it, too.
Our conversation reminded me that the impact of a strong team can unfold over decades. The educators who invested in us were doing the patient, daily work of teaching and mentoring, with consequences that now reach far beyond their classrooms.
At CultureWorks, I’ve been thrilled to work alongside a team of people who bring that same care and dedication to the organizations we support. In these first three months, I’ve been thinking about how we give our team the structure and systems they need to put their expertise to work. Supporting their work is part of supporting the wider community, and the story that Damien shared with me illuminated the ripple effects that care and intention bring over time.
Community belongs in the conversation about space
I’ve always loved Detroit’s architecture, and I will happily argue that it’s one of the most architecturally compelling cities in the country. Since I left roughly 20 years ago, it has been remarkable to see historic buildings take on new life.
During my first weekend, I happened upon the Shepherd, a former church transformed into a cultural arts center, where Season Fair brought together artists and galleries from Detroit and beyond.
Later, while attending the NNFS gathering, I got to know members of the Allied Media Projects team and toured the LOVE Building, a home for social justice organizations and creative community. Its development included collaboration with tenant organizations and neighborhood residents, whose input helped shape its programming, services, and commitments to the surrounding community.
These visits reminded me that caring for a city’s buildings also means caring for the people who give those places meaning. Reimagining a space takes sustained effort, and community input belongs in that process from the beginning.
That lesson feels close to home at CultureWorks. Our coworking space is part of the support we offer, and the people who use it should help shape what it becomes. Who feels welcome and supported? What do members need to do their best work together?
As Philadelphia considers the future of its own cultural spaces, I hope we keep asking those questions. When a historic building cannot be preserved, the community still deserves a voice in what comes next.
Fiscal sponsors need one another
Johnny Gerant, Bailey Harris, and I attended the NNFS gathering, where three days of learning and conversation gave us space to step outside our day-to-day responsibilities and consider the questions facing our field.
I led the Fiscal Sponsors in the Arts affinity group, bringing together peers who support individual artists and musicians, established arts organizations, and projects using art for social justice and community change. We talked candidly about funding, relationships with funders and sponsored projects, and the complexities of supporting creative work. There were plenty of knowing nods and a good amount of laughter, too.
We also connected with Philadelphia colleagues from the Urban Affairs Coalition and The Philadelphia City Fund. Being together in a national setting gave us a chance to think about what we could bring back to the artists and organizations we support at home.
For me, these conversations made the need for deeper collaboration among fiscal sponsors unmistakable. Sharing what we learn can help another sponsor work through a challenge, and comparing approaches can help all of us strengthen the services our communities depend on.
After a summer of leading a small team with a wide reach, I appreciated the reminder that our organization needs a community of peers, too. Investing in those relationships is one way we help sustain this work over time. I’m excited to see how things continue to unfold at NNFS, and with our colleagues at Social Impact Commons (an organization led by CultureWorks founder Thaddeus Squire) that continues to broaden education within the sector in deeply impactful ways.
A shared musical legacy connects Detroit and Philadelphia
On my final evening in Detroit, I heard Philadelphia’s influence in my hometown. At the Detroit Institute of Arts, saxophonist Marcus Elliot presented a reimagining of John Coltrane’s Africa/Brass in Rivera Court, surrounded by Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry murals.
The performance featured arrangements by Kris Johnson, another former student of Damien Crutcher. Also onstage was Jay Neal, with whom I once shared a bandstand while studying music business at Howard University. Seeing those connections come together in front of a packed, buzzing audience was exactly what I needed before returning to Philadelphia.
The evening brought my trip full circle. The music education Damien and his peers had helped nurture was still reaching audiences decades later, now in conversation with a legacy deeply connected to Philadelphia. It made the lasting influence of that teaching tangible.
Importantly, I live just a few blocks away from the Coltrane House now in Philadelphia. Seeing the transformation of that site from 2023 to today has been remarkably inspiring, as the work at CultureWorks has simultaneously unfolded.
There was serendipity in finding those connections on the same stage. There was also the sustained work behind them: years of practice, mentorship, and people making opportunities for one another.
What’s Next?
Since arriving in Philadelphia, I’ve watched our cultural community navigate painful changes, including the closure of the University of the Arts and the upheaval at the Kennedy Center, where I once worked. Those disruptions have real consequences for the people who depend on these institutions.
Detroit reminded me how much people can accomplish by continuing to invest in one another. It also reminded me that tenacity needs support behind it. People who keep building need sustained resources and places where they can gather and create.
I’m returning to Philly with renewed energy for strengthening the systems at CultureWorks and building deeper relationships across our field. My first three months in this role have reinforced how much care this work requires. My hometown reminded me how far that care can reach.
At the end of November, I’ll celebrate three years with CultureWorks. During this year alone, we’ve welcomed 5 new members to the team, ushered in 4 new board members, and hosted a growing coworking community. This fall, we are re-opening our doors to invite in new fiscally sponsored organizations after a brief hiatus, and deepening our strategy for 2027. I’m excited to see where this adventure takes me next, and grateful to be doing this work alongside the community in this historic city.
Thank you for being on this journey with me. And if you’ve read this far, you’re truly an MVP.
This trip was made possible with support from CultureSource, the Knight Foundation, National Arts Strategies, and Fractured Atlas.
Explore the people and ideas behind this trip
A transformative six-month leadership program facilitated by CultureSource for arts executives navigating accelerating change and digital disruption, hosted by CultureSource and funded by The Knight Foundation.
Explore the organization co-founded by Damien Crutcher and its approach to youth development through music, dance, and ongoing community support.
The Shepherd and Little Village
See how a historic church became a cultural arts center, with gallery, library, classroom, and workshop spaces.
The LOVE Building community engagement process
Read about the neighborhood advisory council and the Community Benefits Agreement that grew out of the development process.
NNFS Network Exchange with Allied Media Projects
Listen to members of the AMP team discuss their work in Detroit and the challenges facing their organization. For an introduction to the field, explore NNFS’s overview of fiscal sponsorship.
The National Network of Fiscal Sponsors Conference
An annual conference for fiscal sponsors throughout the United States and beyond, held in a different location yearly.
Follow the restoration of Coltrane’s Philadelphia home and the effort to preserve his legacy as a resource for the community.
