Art Programs
Artistic Expression & Creative Reawakening
Our creative art therapy sessions and curated exhibitions offer our guests space to create and connect through mindfulness. Our offerings reflect diasporic artforms and intangible cultural heritage practices: the living expressions & traditions passed down through generations over time.
Archive Programs
Collecting & Sharing Global Majority Histories
Witness wisdom from the past to reclaim knowledge, and reframe power for our present day.
We help spark critical thinking about the continuum of past, present and future through a lens of our shared humanity. Guests discover the hidden histories and rare books held in the Montgomery Collection. Our archive revitalizes public discourse & piques curiosity, essential for civics and inquiry.
Archive Programs
Collecting and Sharing Global Majority Histories:
Centered on preserving and celebrating the stories of the global majority, this initiative includes the publication of a book on the 25th anniversary of Dr. Montgomery’s Collecting and Sharing African American History (2001). Using the archive, as we work to conceptualize and author this book, we will organize matching community-centered programming, public events, and future traveling exhibitions.
Archive Digitization:
We are embarking on a large-scale digitization of the Montgomery Collection’s 10,000+ archival pieces by UTILIZING POWER Library’s PA Photos and Documents service. This effort will make our archive accessible to K–12 classrooms and library networks across Pennsylvania. After obtaining the proper funding, we can hire and train a full-time collections manager, complete metadata requirements, and preserve materials using best practices. A digital catalogue will increase public access, support educational programming, and provide the foundation for our future exhibitions and publications.
City of Festivals Community Archiving Project:
As part of our mission to collect and share the stories of the BIPOC global majority, DDSC is launching the City of Festivals Community Archiving Project to enlist the help of our neighbors in preserving these archival objects. The City of Festivals Community Archiving Project will act as a call-to-action for members of the community to donate festival-related photographs, videos, paraphernalia, ephemera, and artifacts to add to the Montgomery Collection Archive. We want to house the everyday stories and experiences of our community members, festival organizers, and any party interested or engaged in this work.
Ancestry Programs
The Ancestors Never Left You
Remember your roots and reconnect with yourself, your lifelines and your bloodline.
Tap into the power of memory via creative writing and genealogy scholar talks. Guests explore identities and intersections across diverse diasporas, echoing a sense of belonging and purpose. We honor the legacy and ingenuity of our ancestors, who illuminate our path to redefine our self regard.
Patterns of Our Diaspora Podcast
Join DiasporaDNA for a captivating podcast journey into the culture, community, and creativity of our lives via 'Patterns of Our Diasporas' podcast–a media offering centering Healing Through Heritage.
We convene creatives, leaders, founders, and everyday folks doing the work. Our conversations spark joy, curiosity, and reminiscences of memories woven into our collective consciousness. Celebrate in living color with stories, style, and scholars from across the global majority. Honor their resilience and your own lived experiences by listening to 'Patterns of Our Diasporas' podcast, hosted by DiasporaDNA 🎙️✨
Listen to ‘Patterns of Our Diasporas’ on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.
Activation Programs
Celebrate the Magic of Philly Festivals
Celebrate the heartbeat of Philadelphia through its 200+ cultural festivals—powerful lifelines of heritage, creativity, and community. City of Festivals preserves and amplifies these traditions with youth-driven storytelling, think tanks, toolkits, education opportunities and a traveling bus tour that transforms archives into experiences. By uplifting underrepresented voices and sustaining cultural producers, we ignite pride, economic growth, and global visibility for the City of Festivals.
City of Festivals Programs
Philly Festivals Network: Think Tank
Coming in 2026, the Think Tank will be a full-day convening of festival producers, corporate sponsors, funders, city officials, and cultural leaders that this Planning Session helped develop. The Media Day will follow shortly to officially announce our partners and the festivals season.
Philly Festivals Tour
Ride the streets of the City of Festivals to witness a memory lane of good times at the Philly Festivals Tour. See a diverse display of vibes, cuisine, music, dance, photos, videos, and stories from the neighbors and neighborhoods that host these special gatherings. The Tour connects you to the celebrations, concerts, block parties, parades, fairs, and festivals that make Philly famous as the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.
Website
The Philly Festivals website (www.phillyfestivals.org) is being developed and expanded by the talented team from the Information Experience Design Master’s Program at Pratt Institute. It will be a one-stop shop for all things festival-centric in Philadelphia, featuring an active calendar, event recaps, video content, tickets, tours, and more.
City of Festivals Community Archiving Initiative
This initiative focuses on capturing the vibrant, often fleeting stories and artifacts from festivals celebrating global majority cultures. The goal is to document oral histories, preserve physical and digital items, collect diverse contributions, and share them accessibly to build cultural resilience and public awareness.
Toolkit
This toolkit is for organizers, block captains, and community builders who bring people together through festivals and public gatherings. It offers principles for creating intentional, impactful, and community-centered events. Volume 2 will debut at Think Tank Day, shaped by ideas from our Planning Session.
Media Justice
The City of Festivals docuseries is a media justice storytelling project that amplifies the voices behind the city’s celebrations–from festival-goers sharing their cherished memories, to organizers revealing the artistry and labor that make these events possible. These stories will be brought to life through engaging and celebratory reels giving you an inside look at festivals citywide. City of Festivals will capture how festivals shape collective memory, belonging, and joy across Philadelphia.
