Philadelphia Regional Arts Consortium

Mission & History

Our Mission

 

The Philadelphia Regional Arts Consortium serves a membership of nonprofit professional theaters and cultural organizations by licensing, operating, maintaining, and developing the Tessitura Software suite. Tessitura, a state-of-the art database software developed by the Metropolitan Opera, provides ticketing, fundraising and patron management capabilities, that would be otherwise beyond the individual means of its member organizations to license.

The Consortium represents a collaborative effort to share networks and data in order to expand audiences and increase engagement in our artistic work. Through membership models and service arrangements open to all arts and cultural nonprofits of any size or discipline, the Consortium works to strengthen the vitality of our region’s arts community.

Wilma Theatre, Particle Falls, 2013, Created by environmental artist Andrea Polli, Photo by Conrad Erb.
Our History

 

The Consortium was founded in 2006, under the umbrella of the Theater Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, and originally included nine organizations. Tessitura, a program created by the Metropolitan Opera, was selected by Consortium members as the program best suited to the demands of these cultural organizations. The Wilma Theater served as the beta site for Tessitura; the beta period concluded in 2006, when the first organization went live. In 2012, the Theater Alliance ceased operations, and The Wilma Theater assumed administration of the Philadelphia Regional Arts Consortium. The Consortium continues to be hosted by The Wilma Theater, and is currently exploring options for the future; whether to remain a department of The Wilma Theater or to incorporate as an independent 501(c)(3) organization. The Consortium has formed a Strategic Planning Committee composed of member representatives, along with guidance from attorneys at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, to establish current and future models of operation that are both fiscally responsible and structurally sound.