Adult Programs
Be entertained, enlightened, and engaged by experiences that go beyond the limits of gallery viewing. Better understand and appreciate the Museum's collection and exhibitions through programs and events aimed at all adult learners, specialist and non-specialist alike.Performances
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
Trombonist Ryan Keberle, pianist Frank Woeste, cellist Erik Friedlander, and drummer Adam Cruz bridge the gap between jazz and chamber music.
In association with the French-American Cultural Exchange and Mid-Atlantic Arts FoundationMusicians fill the galleries with sound.
- Sruti
- Saturday, October 20, 2018, 1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., and 2:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Sruti, the India Music and Dance Society of Philadelphia, fills the Pillared Temple Hall with music.
- Saturday, October 20, 2018, 1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., and 2:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
- Winter Remembrances
- Saturday, December 8, 2018, 1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., and 3:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Musicians from the Curtis Institute present a program of reflection and introspection.
- Saturday, December 8, 2018, 1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., and 3:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
- Radiance & Light
- Saturday, February 16, 2019, 1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., and 3:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
The Vera Quartet, in residence at the Curtis Institute of Music, performs compositions by Maurice Ravel and Leo Brouwer.
- Saturday, February 16, 2019, 1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., and 3:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
Get prepped for All Hallow’s Eve with a hair-raising night of ghoulish fun.
Presented in conjunction with Parkway 100Meet in Gallery 277, 2nd floor
Discover who haunts our halls during an immersive ghost story experience. Wheel Throwing
6:00–7:00 p.m.
Great Stair Hall Balcony, 2nd floor
Artists from The Clay Studio channel their inner Demi Moore at the potter’s wheel. Music: Holy Ghost! 7:15 p.m. Great Stair Hall, 1st floor Have a scary good time on the dance floor with a special DJ set from Brooklyn synth-pop duo Holy Ghost!
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
This trumpeter/composer and his ensemble Color Theory present music inspired by painter Vasily Kandinsky's Compositions.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
Husband and wife team Daniel and Lauren Goans perform poetic and evocative folk music.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
This saxophonist presents Pictures at an African Exhibition, original compositions accompanied by the visual art of David Emmanuel Noel.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
The velvety tenor saxophone of Philly mainstay Larry McKenna accompanies renowned vibraphonist Tony Miceli and his ensemble.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
Our annual holiday bash, only grander and gaudier than ever before. Sip a spiked cocoa, bedazzle a sweater, and let the festive tunes start spinning as Mwenso & the Shakes take the stage.
1:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Performances at 1:30, 2:30, & 3:45 p.m.
The Pennsylvania Girlchoir, led by Ya-Jhu Yang, performs a selection of traditional carols.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
This local folk songstress performs lush and intimate songs from her second album, Trouble Anyway.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
This founding father of the jazz saxophone and his quartet perform original compositions as well as songs by Monk and Coltrane.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
Enjoy classic standards performed by this enchanting soprano as she brings today’s social issues to bear on her interpretations.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
This acoustic folk duo is rooted in the tradition of storytelling through song, combined with evocative harmonies.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
In a special Valentine’s Day performance, this celebrated jazz vocalist sings love songs ranging from early standards to 1980s pop ballads.
Talks & Tours
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Free tickets required after Museum admission$20 (Museum members and WHYY members free); includes Museum admission
Learn about a Philadelphia philanthropist and collector who played an active role in the Museum in this fascinating documentary, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.
Presented in collaboration with WHYY2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Damion Thomas, Curator of Sports at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, moderates a conversation about boxing culture and representations of the sport with photographer Larry Fink, Amira Rose Davis (assistant professor of History and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Pennsylvania State University), and Donald Hunt (sports writer for The Philadelphia Tribune).
Reception to follow Support provided by The Arnold and Augusta Newman Foundation. Offered in conjunction with the exhibition Larry Fink: The Boxing PhotographsAn artwork takes center stage during a participatory gallery conversation.
Facilitated by Museum educators and graduate students from Bryn Mawr College, Temple University, the University of Delaware, and the University of Pennsylvania- San Diego de Alcalá (Saint Didacus of Alcalá), late 17th century, artist/maker unknown
- Thursday, October 18, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, October 19, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, October 20, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Numbers, 1963, by Jasper Johns
- Thursday, October 25, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, October 26, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, October 27, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen of the Six Marks, 1864, by James Abbott McNeill Whistler
- Thursday, November 1, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, November 2, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, November 3, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Christ and the Virgin, c. 1427–32, by Robert Campin
- Thursday, November 8, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, November 9, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, November 10, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- On a Blue Ceiling, Eight Geometric Figures: Circle, Trapezoid, Parallelogram, Rectangle, Square, Triangle, Right Triangle, X (Wall Drawing No. 351), 1981, by Sol LeWitt
- Thursday, November 15, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, November 16, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, November 17, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Madame Vuillard Standing, Reading by a Window, 1893, by Édouard Vuillard
- Thursday, November 29, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, November 30, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, December 1, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Portrait of the Reverend Mother María Antonia de Rivera, c. 1757, attributed to Andrés López
- Thursday, December 6, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, December 7, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, December 8, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Heaven and Earth, c. 1900, by Kawamura Kiyoo
- Thursday, December 13, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, December 14, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, December 15, 2018, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- The Stream, 1890, by Léon Frédéric
- Thursday, January 17, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, January 18, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, January 19, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Composition with White and Red, 1936, by Piet Mondrian
- Thursday, January 31, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, February 1, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, February 2, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Portrait of Elizabeth Brown Montier and Portrait of Hiram Charles Montier, 1841, by Franklin R. Street
- Thursday, February 7, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, February 8, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, February 9, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Covered Jar, late 19th century, by Kinkozan Sobei Vi
- Thursday, February 14, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, February 15, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, February 16, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Pichincha, 1867, by Frederic Edwin Church
- Thursday, February 21, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, February 22, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, February 23, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
For over ten years, artist, writer, and curator Joanna Ebenstein has been excavating the places where death and beauty meet through her blog Morbid Anatomy. In this talk, she searches for beauty and the macabre in our collection of European art.
Reception to follow2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
How have your personal and collective memories shaped who you are today? What are the ways that memories inform your sense of past, present, and future? We'll consider these questions in conjunction with the exhibition Yael Bartana: And Europe Will Be Stunned.
Community Conversations are open discussions about socially relevant topics.6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Free tickets required after Museum admission$10 (members free); includes Perelman Building admission
Writer, filmmaker, This American Life reporter, and FOUND Magazine creator Davy Rothbart shares his favorites from the pages of his cult zine, and reflects on his forays into the lives of strangers, what it means to find something, and what it means to be found.
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Free tickets requiredFree ticket required; first-come, first-served (day-of only)
Giuseppe Penone and Carlos Basualdo, the Keith L. and Katherine Sachs Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, discuss Penone’s poetic exploration of nature and celebrate The Inner Life of Forms, a new publication on his work.
Presented in collaboration with Gagosian6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Paid tickets required$10 (includes Perelman Building admission); free for Museum & National Constitution Center members
Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates a debate about the various ways that citizenship and nationhood are defined today.
Panelists:Jaya Ramji-Nogales, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Herman Stern Research Professor, Beasley School of Law, Temple University John Eastman, Henry Salvatori Professor of Law and Community Service and Director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, Dale E. Fowler School of Law, Chapman University Ruth Wasem, Clinical Professor of Public Policy Practice, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin This program is inspired by Yael Bartana: And Europe Will Be Stunned, and realized in collaboration with the National Constitution Center.
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Join a discussion about how gender expectations inform the ways we move through life and relate to one another.
Community Conversations are open discussions about socially relevant topics.2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Seating is limited. First-come, first-served
Photographer David Lebe discusses his career and creative process with Peter Barberie, the Brodsky Curator of Photographs, Alfred Stieglitz Center.
Offered in conjunction with Long Light: Photographs by David Lebe, on view February 9–May 5, 2019Courses & Workshops
6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
See how Japanese artists in the late 1800s responded to modernity and change by exploring the gallery installation Philadelphia Collects Meiji. Afterward, transform your initials into a personalized logo inspired by the exhibition with Shushi Yoshinaga, Associate Professor of Graphic Design, Drexel University.
Drop in and draw from Rodin’s masterpieces. Materials provided.
- Saturday, November 10, 2018, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, December 8, 2018, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, January 12, 2019, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (CANCELED)
- Saturday, February 9, 2019, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, March 9, 2019, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, April 13, 2019, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., and 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, May 11, 2019, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Gather inspiration from the exhibition Fabulous Fashion: From Dior’s New Look to Now before you embark on your own adventures in crafting headwear.
Wednesday Nights
Free tickets requiredFirst come, first served; space is limited. Free tickets available Wednesdays at 5:00 p.m at any Visitor Services Desk.
Practice your poses with Dhyana Yoga. Class size varies.
Museum admission on Wednesday nights is Pay What You Wish. Paid tickets requiredOnline pricing: $20 ($18 members); Day-of pricing: $25 ($22.50 members)
Museum admission not included
Join us in transforming the Museum’s Great Stair Hall into an Oktoberfest Beer Garden. Enjoy local craft brews and specially priced flights paired with festive foods.
- Wednesday, October 17, 2018, 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 24, 2018, 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 31, 2018, 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Trick-or-treat through the galleries and get some more mileage out of your Halloween costume. Haunt the Balcony Studio to create spooky prints under Alexander Calder’s Ghost mobile, or watch pumpkin carver Betsy Coe make jack-o’-lanterns inspired by artwork in the collection.
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sip while you sketch with Philly artist Lauren Cat West. Drawing materials provided, drinks available for purchase at the bar. All levels welcome.
Play Labyrinth with friends and other visitors on Wednesday nights in November.
- Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 21, 2018, 5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 28, 2018, 5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
5:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
Museum admission is Pay What You Wish after 5:00 p.m.
Join us for festive treats and music by York Street Hustle leading up to the 6:00 p.m. countdown. Warm (and adult) beverages and a live choir continue the celebration inside.
Put last year’s coal to good use and create handmade holiday greetings for everyone on your list.
- Wednesday, November 21, 2018, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 28, 2018, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 5, 2018, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 12, 2018, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 19, 2018, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 26, 2018, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
For more information, please contact The Division of Education by phone at 215-684-7580, by fax at 215-236-4063, or by e-mail at .
