News

Saya Woolfalk projection

New York Times | What Would Ben Franklin Say? Artists Weigh the Dream of Democracy

"It’s just a few blocks on Arch Street between the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the oldest art school and museum in the United States, and the African American Museum in Philadelphia, founded in 1976 to celebrate the achievements of African Americans from pre-colonial times to the…

In the News
graphic with arcs of red-orange, light orange, light pink, light green

Collaborative Exhibition “Rising Sun: Artists in an Uncertain America” Debuts Art From 20 Artists at Two Philadelphia Museums

Open to the public on March 23, the new exhibition hosted by the African American Museum in Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts will explore a reoccurring question in American history.
Press Release
Ellie's Art from Summer Academy

Ellie Zahorik's Journey from Pre-College Summer Academy to BFA candidate

Callie Coccia, Pre-College Coordinator and PAFA Alum (PAFA-Penn BFA ’21), sat down with Ellie Zahorik, a first year BFA student at PAFA, to talk about Ellie’s high school experience at Summer Academy in 2021 and how it impacted her path to art school. 

This interview has been lightly edited for…

Perspectives
Woman in helmet welds metal on table

International Travels and Local Connections Come From the Heart for Kelly Lawler (MFA ’23)

Kelly Lawler leads with her heart. Returning to art studies after 25 years in technology and project management, much of Kelly’s practice and output now focuses on the connections that draw us together as humans. "I stepped away from one really intense industry into something completely different…
Perspectives
Woman wearing sweatshirt and glasses kneels over large paper inside art studio

What I've Always Been Chasing: Makenna Glessner's Evolution from PreCollege to MFA Candidate

Makenna Glessner (MFA ’23) is currently at work on her master’s thesis, but has been a constant presence at PAFA since 2016 as a high school summer attendee and an undergraduate student, earning her BFA in 2021. Makenna’s self-awareness immediately emerges in her thesis work, which focuses on the…

Perspectives
marble statues on wood pallets

The Philadelphia Inquirer | PAFA closes historic building to reimagine permanent collection

On the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer today, Peter Dobrin writes 'Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts closes historic building to reimagine permanent collection.'
In the News
Graphic of gold dots and thumbnails of art

Alumni Awarded 2023 Wind Fellowships

Pafa Alumni Dara Haskins (BFA '19), Athena Scott (MFA '22), and Meg Wolensky (BFA '14) have been awarded 2023 Wind Fellowships. Join their virtual artists’ talk on February 2nd.
Alumni News
students standing and eating in open gallery area with elevators and large window behind

Rachel Saunders (MFA ’23) Creates Moments of Inspiration with Gallery 8

Rachel Saunders’s favorite space on the campus lies nestled away from the public eye on the 8th floor of the Hamilton Building, surrounding the elevators that transport her and her fellow MFA students from the streets of Philadelphia up to a haven of artist studios.
Perspectives
painting of people on a beach

Art Keeps Him Young: CBS News Interviews Alumni Philip Cohn

CBS News interviews the artist for the exhibition Philip Cohn: My Life's Work on view in the Alumni Gallery, in "99-year-old Philly artist shows how fine arts keeps him young."

"The important big deal is me getting in front of the canvas and working today, that's the big deal, not the show,"…

Alumni News
Two men in yellow shirts assist artist in assembling white sculpture molds

Zofia Chamera (MFA ’22) Writes a New Story on White Pages and Paper

For her culminating work at PAFA, Zofia Chamera (MFA ’22) created Shedding Fear, a 7-foot paper figure which debuted at the Annual Student Exhibition in the spring of 2022 and then showed in Italy two months later for the Lucca Biennale, an art, architecture, and design exhibition dedicated to paper…
Alumni News
Gallery view of portrait paintings

Broad Street Review | PAFA presents Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 1776 – 1976

A review of the major exhibition, including each of the five subject areas: portraits, history, still life, genre and landscape
In the News
abstract sculpture mounted on wall

Philadelphia Inquirer | Mixed Media: At America's first art school and museum, Black artists forged a space of their own

As part of The Philadelphia Inquirer’s series “A More Perfect Union,” which explores the roots of systemic racism in America through institutions founded in Philadelphia, Dr. Synatra Smith and Zoe Greenberg examined the legacy of Black artists at PAFA.
In the News

About PAFA

Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is America's first school and museum of fine arts. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, PAFA offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the fine arts, innovative exhibitions of historic and contemporary American art, and a world-class collection of American art. PAFA’s esteemed alumni include Mary Cassatt, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Thomas Eakins, William Glackens, Barkley L. Hendricks, Violet Oakley, Louis Kahn, David Lynch, and Henry Ossawa Tanner.