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PAFA’s Statement Against Hate

The social and racial unrest that erupted across the nation in 2020 has been a wake-up call. We still mourn the loss of Black and Brown lives due to police violence and the racial attacks on the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community that has escalated since the beginning of the COVID…

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Philadelphia’s National Historic Landmarks Celebrate International Day for Monuments 2021

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is excited to celebrate International Day for Monuments and Sites on April 18th. Global Philadelphia Association is partnering with twenty-one historic sites and museums to present "Reopen House Day" and encourage in-person and virtual exploration of…

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PAFA Fall 2021 College Plans

The 2020-21 school year has been an extraordinary time, and PAFA students, faculty and staff have faced it with creativity and resilience. Thanks to the efforts of everyone on campus, the PAFA community has remained safe and strong.

As we near the end of the spring term we are planning for the…

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PAFA Announces New Additions to the Permanent Collection

PAFA announces the latest acquisitions of a wide range of artworks to its renowned American art collection. Ranging in date from 1869 to 2020, the museum acquired 168 works of art through purchase and gift.
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Press Release
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NPR | In One Art Exhibition, Women Are 'Taking Space' They've Long Deserved

NPR's Susan Stamberg recently sat down with PAFA Museum Director Brooke Davis Anderson and "Taking Space" exhibition curators Jodi Throckmorton and Dr. Brittany Webb to discuss the ways women are taking up space in our galleries and more. Our curators discuss the work of Elizabeth Colomba, Judy…
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National Endowment for the Arts Awards PAFA $40k Grant for Retrospective Exhibition

PAFA is the recipient of a $40,000 Grant for Arts Project award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This grant will support the museum’s upcoming exhibition "Joan Semmel: Skin in the Game," opening October 28, 2021 and remain on view through April 3, 2022.
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Press Release
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Visit Philly | Celebrate Black History Month

Visit Philly's 2021 guide to celebrating Black History Month includes a wide array of ways to engage and connect, and highlights PAFA's current exhibition, "'Awakened in You': The Collection of Dr. Constance E. Clayton".
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WHYY | Women Take Up Space in New Feminist Exhibition

"The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts has reopened in a big way, with big art on big walls that take your breath away with their sheer size," reports WHYY's Peter Crimmins of Taking Space: Contemporary Women Artists and the Politics of Scale.
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Expanding Creative Horizons Through Liberal Arts Courses

This past fall, PAFA’s Pre-College program introduced liberal arts classes, offering high school students the opportunity to explore, analyze and interpret big questions in college-style seminars.
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Perspectives
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WHYY | PAFA Debuts 3 New Exhibits

WHYY's Tonya Pendleton previews the reopening of PAFA's museum and its current exhibition lineup.
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Museum Reopening and Updated Exhibition Schedule Announced

PHILADELPHIA (January 21, 2020) -- The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) announces the Museum reopening on January 21, 2020 and an updated exhibition schedule and Museum hours of operation for Winter/Spring 2021. For the second time, PAFA was closed to the public in mid-November in…

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Chadds Ford Live | New Virtual and Live Shows

Constance McBride rounds up the latest arts and culture events for Chadds Ford Live, highlighting PAFA's "Taking Space: Contemporary Women Artists and the Politics of Scale" exhibition.
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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.