Stay in the Loop
BSR publishes on a weekly schedule, with an email newsletter every Wednesday and Thursday morning. There’s no paywall, and subscribing is always free.
Join the party in June at the PVLA Arts Affair!
The BSR Podcast, season 7, episode 7: PVLA celebrates 45 years of pro bono legal services
Alaina Johns
“When I say my attorney, the conversation changes.”
That’s what Shekhinah B., the founder and executive director of the Women’s Coalition for Empowerment, says of the value of proper legal representation for artists and independent contractors. Today on the BSR Podcast, Darnelle Radford talks with Shekhinah and Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (PVLA) executive director Ken Metzner, along with lawyer and board member Sekou Campbell.
Meet PVLA
Every artist in the region should tune into this conversation, which touches on copyright and ownership, streaming and AI concerns, financial planning, contracts, and how artists can safeguard their intellectual property and career. PVLA helps low to middle-income artists and nonprofits with all of this and more.
PVLA provides free legal services to low-income artists and small-budget arts organizations thanks to a network of hundreds of local lawyers and law firms. With hundreds of requests for service each year, PVLA’s volunteer lawyers provide more than $1 million of free legal services annually. As the only organization of its kind in the region, PVLA plays a key role in the success and sustainability of our creative sector.
Ken says that artists often don’t realize their own power, but lawyers can help them find it. He also explains why lawyers’ work is its own kind of art, and why both sides benefit when artists network with lawyers.
Join the party
Our listeners have a chance to get in on that connection: BSR
is proud to be the media partner for PVLA’s Arts Affair Gala, celebrating 45 years of pro bono legal services to the Philly-area cultural community. It’s coming up on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, from 6-9pm at Dorrance Hamilton Hall at University of the Arts.
The Arts Affair includes delicious food and drink, plus visual art and live performances by Philly drag queen Iris Spectre, Visionary the Poet, world-champion break-dancer Ben “BoxWon” Barnes, cell/guitar/vocal duo Ajibola Rivers and Moustapha Noumbissi, and lots more.
General admission tickets are $125 (or two for $200), and there’s a special $45 rate for artists, students, and nonprofit and public interest employees. (Friends of BSR donors get a discount code, as well!) That’s a pretty amazing price for dinner, an open bar, and a night of great entertainment and networking. The BSR team will be there. Get your tickets now.
Listen above, visit the BSR Podcast episode page, or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Sign up for our newsletter
All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.
