What makes a monument?
Through the lens of the Rocky statue, a symbol deeply tied to both the museum and the city, “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” explores how monuments are shaped and reshaped over time by artists, communities, and culture.
Spanning works from antiquity to today, the exhibition brings forward untold stories of Philadelphia and invites new conversations around memory, identity, power, and representation in public art.
Curators:
Guest Curator: Paul Farber, Director and Co-Founder of Monument Lab, with Caro Campos, Assistant Curator, Monument Lab, and Joslyn Moore, Exhibition Assistant, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Louis Marchesano, Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and Conservation
🗓️ On view through August 2
🎟️ $35; includes museum admission
Members are always free.
Two museums. One shared American story.
A Nation of Artists is now open to the public! This landmark exhibition brings together three remarkable collections—the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Middleton Family Collection—for a once-in-a-generation presentation celebrating 250 years of American creativity.
Interested in experiencing the complete exhibition at both museums? You’re in luck: all summer long through August 31, admission to one museum grants you a 50% discount on admission at the second museum you choose to explore.
Click the link in our bio to learn more.
Like any art form, boxing tells stories of struggle, triumph, and identity across generations.
Guest Curator Paul Farber (@paul_farber ) invited Rasheen Farlow (@rasheenfarlow ), Global Brand Strategy and Partnerships for the World Boxing Council, and Philadelphia-born boxer Nahir Albright (@prettyboyw00 ) to our Prints, Drawings and Photographs department to have a sneak peek of the Rising Up exhibition before it opened to the public.
Together, they reflected on how Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali brought boxing to the global stage through the “Fight of the Century,” and how the iconic green-and-gold championship belt became a wearable monument to greatness.
Since its founding in 1963, the World Boxing Council (@wbcboxing ) has championed the sport across more than 160 nations, showing up for boxing in arenas, gyms, and championship rings around the world.
🎥 @itinerant_pictures
Two nights, two belts, one historic city. ✨
In collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the WBC presented two exclusive commemorative belts during the opening weekend of “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments.”
Conceived and executed by Rasheen Farlow, Global Brand Strategy and Cultural Partnerships for the WBC, one belt was presented to Joe Frazier’s family in the city where he made history, while the second became a permanent part of the exhibition. 🏛️
📸 by @just_gwright
#wbcboxing #RisingUp #Rocky50
When Severin Roesen painted this work in 1853, people used flowers to say what they couldn’t outloud. This supernatural tabletop array is crowded with blooms from all seasons with all meanings.
Swipe to see their meanings. Which one fits you best?
See the details in “A Nation of Artists” gallery 205.
🖼️“Flower Still Life with Bird’s Nest,” 1853, Severin Roesen
Mark your calendars: Monday, May 18 is International Museum Day!
Join us for free admission all day and Art Kids Studio from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM.
From 5:30 - 6:30 PM, join us on the East Terrace for a pop-up performance by BalletX (@balletx ), Philadelphia's Premier Contemporary Ballet, as part of their 20 for 20 initiative.
Last chance to experience this extraordinary exhibition celebrating the paintings, drawings, and prints by women artists from the Keith and Jim Straw Collection. Closing in one week, "In Her View" honors the Philadelphia couple’s decades-long commitment to collecting and championing women artists.
🖼️ In Her View: Highlights from the Keith and Jim Straw Collection, on view through May 18
📍 Korman Galleries 221-223
