Philadelphia arts group runs out of funds

One of Philadelphia’s art organizations is close to broke.

Philagrafika, which held a huge, citywide festival in 2010 called “The Graphic Unconscious,” has laid off its entire staff of three.

The notion of “The Graphic Unconscious” developing into a biennial is now far-fetched.

The organization will have an all-volunteer staff, returning to its original mission (as the Philadelphia Print Collaborative) of promoting regional print artists through portfolios.

“I thought it was important to carry on with that program, and develop other initiatives for Philadelphia printmakers and artists,” said incoming board chair Rick DeCoyte. “That doesn’t preclude us from doing another festival in the future, which we would like to do, but right now there isn’t the funding support.”

DeCoyte says that while Philagrafika is not carrying any debt from the 2010 festival, it also isn’t attracting new funds.