Founded in 1931, DVAA is an intergenerational community space and art gallery with the core mission of Building Community Through Art. We foster an artist membership that both showcases individual voices and encourages collective collaboration, providing monthly exhibitions and programming, all at no cost to visitors. Throughout the year, we regularly partner with individuals, organizations, institutions, and businesses around the city to further spotlight the diverse talents held by our Philadelphia neighbors and how our interests align.
Our Mission, Vision, and Values helps guide us in our work
Mission
DVAA is an intergenerational community space and art gallery that supports and connects people through equitable opportunities and free creative programming.
Vision
Art serves a critical role in our respect and understanding of the world around us. Through creating, looking, and listening, we gain access to tools that break down systematic barriers across educational and socio-economic divides, allowing us to collectively build a better world.
Values
Being a part of a community requires commitment to principles and values that guide our efforts and the way we approach one another. Since our founding in 1931, DVAA has served as a space of creative refuge for individuals traditionally marginalized in institutions, such as immigrants, the queer community, people with disabilities, individuals with low income, and all the intersections in-between. We believe in the individual and collective power that is gained through elders and youth exchanging ideas, stories, and knowledge and develop programming that actively positions our intergenerational audience towards building community with one another. Within our work, we believe in fostering a communal culture of care, respect, and belief in one another’s truths. We recognize that we’re not always going to say or do the right things and when conflict emerges, we lean into that discomfort to actively listen, show compassion, and grow together. We do our best to create accessible programming and spaces and try to create solutions when we encounter barriers of inclusion for all audiences. Additionally, DVAA believes that Black Lives Matter and respects and honors the Lenni Lenape People originally from this land. We prioritize the needs of both communities within our work, and we ask that anyone interacting with our space do the same.
Postcard from Da Vinci Art Alliance, 1940
DVAA’s history:
Da Vinci Art Alliance (DVAA) was founded in 1931 by sixteen Italian immigrant artists and collectors at a time when immigrants were barred from major artistic, academic, and scientific institutions. DVAA was a creative refuge where members could show their works, hold meetings, engage in social activities, and offer intellectual and cultural exchanges and events. Together, they chose as their namesake the master of the Italian Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci. In 1966, DVAA permanently moved to 704 Catharine Street in South Philly, across the street from Fleisher Art Memorial, then known as the Graphic Sketch Club, a spot strategically picked due to the strong relationship between members at both institutions.
We’ve lived a lot of lives as an organization over the last 91 years, with a lot of incredible people and their art gracing our walls, floors, and ceilings. In 2022, we remain committed to ensuring equitable opportunities for creative people, specifically focusing on providing a platform for individuals traditionally marginalized in institutions, such as immigrants, the queer community, disabled people, elderly and young community members, individuals with low income, and all the intersections in-between. We do this through free public events and workshops, a fellowship and residency program, art exhibitions, STEAM workshops with youth, Memory Care art workshops, and an annual sustainability centered arts and science festival, the Everyday Futures Fest. Running through the core of everything we do at DVAA is our mission of Building Community Through Art. We utilize art making and appreciation as a tool of connection to build relationships between disparate people who continue to use DVAA as a creative refuge space.
DVAA is Supported by
