“Over the past few years, the Kimmel Center has changed its physical campus to reflect a revamping of its original mission,” writes Peter Dobrin in Monday’s (7/21) Philadelphia Inquirer. “Rather than developing its prime public spaces … the Kimmel has turned them over to paying patrons…. The Hamilton Garden perch atop the Perelman Theater … is doing a brisk business in weddings and corporate events. The ground-floor gift shop is now Volvér, Jose Garces’ restaurant…. Although the Kimmel gets only a small cut of the restaurant receipts, his presence attracts rental business, which in turn brings in more revenue for the Kimmel.… Reorganizations in 2010 and 2012 … eliminated … visits from orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic and recitalists such as Hilary Hahn and Renée Fleming—all costly to book.… The more money it earns, the lower the rent for the Kimmel’s resident companies … which include the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Opera Philadelphia, and Philadanco…. But the Kimmel has not dropped its presenting or curatorial function, [Kimmel president Anne] Ewers said,” including the biennial Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts and co-presentations with ensembles such as the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.
Posted July 21, 2014
Photo of Kimmel Center by Matthew Hall
