Memory Stream
More than 80 years ago, 17 Italian American artists, writers, and musicians in Philadelphia formed the Da Vinci Art Alliance. Named after Leonardo da Vinci, it aimed to promote friendship among artists, participate in local arts, foster art appreciation, and help up-and-coming artists. Glass artist Nicola D'Ascenzo was chosen as the alliance's first president. He had immigrated to the United States in 1882 and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art.
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More than 80 years ago, 17 Italian American artists, writers, and musicians in Philadelphia formed the Da Vinci Art Alliance. Named after Leonardo da Vinci, it aimed to promote friendship among artists, participate in local arts, foster art appreciation, and help up-and-coming artists.
Glass artist Nicola D'Ascenzo was chosen as the alliance's first president. He had immigrated to the United States in 1882 and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art.
The alliance was originally open only to those of Italian descent, but after World War II, it began to welcome anyone with an interest in the arts. It ran meetings out of its artists' studios until it secured its headquarters on Catherine Street in the '60s.
In keeping with its founding notions, the nonprofit alliance continues to serve the Delaware Valley with numerous programs, lectures, exhibitions, and events.