Phila. Cultural Fund has a new leader

Barbara Silzle, a veteran of many Philadelphia arts and nonprofit organizations, has been named executive director of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, officials announced Monday.

She succeeds June O'Neill, who headed the fund for a dozen years before she left in March for personal reasons. Silzle, 60, who will take the post Monday, said she was thrilled with the possibilities inherent in the job.

"I feel it's the perfect place for me," she said. "It involves the arts, community, and grant-making - a great combination given my different experiences in Philadelphia, the arts, and government."

"We are so excited to have Barbara on board, with her depth of experience in the arts, nonprofit, and political worlds," said Ken Metzner, incoming president of the fund's board of trustees. Metzner, executive director of Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, said in a statement that he expected Silzle to extend the fund's reach throughout the city.

"She will help drive the cultural fund's mission to positively impact Philadelphia's neighborhoods through its support of the arts," he said.

Apart from funds that go directly to such city institutions as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia History Museum, and the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the only cultural funding from the city is distributed via the fund. Last year, it gave away nearly all its $3.14 million - in completely unrestricted grants - to about 285 groups all over the city.

In 2011, in the aftermath of the 2008 fiscal crisis and subsequent recession, the fund was cut to $1.84 million. It has still not returned to its 2010 high of $3.2 million.

Silzle believes that making fund activities increasingly visible, particularly in neighborhoods, will build popular support for maintaining and increasing fund allocations.

"A lot of stakeholders need to be engaged so that funding can be continued," she said. "More people will understand the importance and the impact of the cultural fund."

Silzle has been involved in a number of positions in the area's nonprofit realm. Most recently, she piloted Dress for Success Philadelphia, which promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women.

She served on the Lansdowne Borough Council, steered the Leeway Foundation as executive director, and was a senior associate with Valerie M. Jones Associates, a consulting firm. She also has worked for the University of the Arts, the Philadelphia Drama Guild, the Prince Music Theater, and Freedom Theatre.

Now Silzle wants to bring "greater visibility" to the cultural fund "so people feel they can intersect with the arts . . . and feel they have a place."

215-854-5594@SPSalisbury