DRAWING PUBLIC ART (FALL 2023)
with Fleisher Art Memorial
9/14/2023-10/5/2023 | 5:00-7:30PM, Thursdays
WHERE: On-Site at the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial, Kelly Drive
Learn and practice your observational skills outdoors this summer while exploring works of public art including Steel Bodies by Maren Hassinger, the Association for Public Art’s current public art exhibition at the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial on Kelly Drive. This is a tuition-free ($10 studio fee), all-levels, outdoor adult drawing workshop comprised of four sessions.
Led by artist Nancy Agati whose own practice includes painting, drawing, and site-specific installation, students will learn about the role of drawing and observation in planning and executing large scale installations and the ways artists connect to a landscape.
HISTORIC RITTENHOUSE SQUARE TOUR
Saturday, September 30, 2023, 10am-11:30am
Rittenhouse Square and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP)
Tour BEGINS at 1800 Walnut Street and ENDS at HSP at 1300 Locust Street.
Learn about the public art and historic properties in Rittenhouse Square, then see the original documents at the Historical Society of PA!
One of Philadelphia’s original public squares dating back to the founding of the city in the 1600s, Rittenhouse Square consists of stunning architecture, winding walkways, and public art. Join the education staff from the Association for Public Art and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for a walking tour to learn about the early development of the Rittenhouse Square and the prominent civic leaders and artists who played a significant role in making it an iconic public park. The tour will then continue several blocks east to the Historical Society, where guests will have the opportunity to see supporting documents and images that demonstrate the process between artists, organizations like the Association for Public Art, and private citizens. $10 Association for Public Art and HSP Members, $15 non-members / adults. Light refreshments will be offered at the end of the tour at HSP.
ARTIST TALK: MAREN HASSINGER
Friday, September 8, 2023, 6pm-7:30pm
Temple Contemporary, Tyler School of Art
Join us for an artist talk with multidisciplinary artist Maren Hassinger (b.1947) at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Hassinger will discuss her life’s work in the public space and the artist’s first outdoor sculpture exhibition in Philadelphia, Steel Bodies at the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial. For over five decades, Hassinger has explored connections between politics, communities, and the environment through dance, performance, video, and an approach to materials that transforms the industrial into the poetic.
This event is free with registration and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided. NOTE: Main entrance is on Norris Street between 12th & 13th Streets. (see map)
UPDATE: We regret that this event has been CANCELLED due to inclement weather. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please contact us at apa@associationforpublicart.org if you have any questions.
“ART IN THE FIELD” FREE KIDS WORKSHOP WITH MAREN HASSINGER (AGES 7-12)
In partnership with the Clay Studio
Saturday, September 9, 2023, 10am-11:30am
Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial, Central Terrace (see map)
Inspired by the exhibition Steel Bodies, join aPA for a free interactive workshop led by the multidisciplinary artist Maren Hassinger and the Clay Studio. Young artists will learn the fundamentals of constructing a clay pot. Designed for kids ages 7-12, this workshop will develop artistic skills, foster engagement with other young artists, and encourage self expression.
FREE, but registration is required and space is limited! All materials will be provided. Each artwork will be glazed, fired, and ready for pick up in 2-4 weeks.
WALKING TOUR: “PUBLIC ART, LANDMARKS, AND TRANSFORMATIONS ALONG THE SCHUYLKILL”
Led by aPA and Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
Sunday, August 20, 2023 | 2-4pm
The Schuylkill River received its name because of the confluence; groves of trees, sycamores, and oaks once obscured the entrance of the Schuylkill. In Dutch, Schuylkill means “hidden stream”. This 130-mile corridor over the years has shaped the lives and landscape of Philadelphia. Learn about the changes and development along the lower Schuylkill River and the industrialization that followed in historical landmarks, and public art spanning the early 18th to the mid-19th century. This tour was developed in partnership with the Preservation Alliance.
Note: Tour includes walking up a steep hill from the Fairmount Water Works to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), steps down the front of the PMA, and walking on areas of grassy terrain.
$10 aPA Members and Preservation Alliance Members, $15 non-members. Members of the ACCESS Philly Art Reach program will receive a discounted rate for tours.
Photo by Vinni Cheng for the Preservation Alliance
PRINTED VESSEL WORKSHOP
Part of Parkway at the Oval Family Programs
Saturday, August 5, 2023
11:00am-1:00pm
The Oval on Benjamin Franklin Parkway (see map)
Free drop-in workshop – no registration necessary. Materials and supplies will be provided. Join the Association for Public Art (aPA) at The Oval (across from the Philadelphia Museum of Art) for an art-making workshop for all ages led by teaching artist Peri Law. Participants will decorate vessels inspired by the sculpture exhibition Steel Bodies by artist Maren Hassinger, now on view at the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial along Kelly Drive. This drop-in style workshop will run from 11:00am-1:00pm, after which we encourage participants to go visit the nearby Steel Bodies sculptures.
Missed the workshop or want to design more? Download the Maren Hassinger vessel prints here, courtesy of the artist, Peri Law!
Parkway at the Oval is organized by the Parkway Council to bring interactive and hands-on family-friendly programs to the Oval, while highlighting the many organizations and institutions that make up the Parkway Museums District.
VESSELS IN CLAY COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
In partnership with the Clay Studio
Saturday, July 8, 2023, 10am-11:30am
Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial, Central Terrace
Participate in this outdoor, hands-on clay workshop at the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial on Kelly Drive (see map). You’ll make your own vessel inspired by the new public art exhibition at the site, Maren Hassinger’s Steel Bodies. Created in collaboration with the Clay Studio, this workshop provides an opportunity to learn from experienced ceramic artists and become familiar with both hand building and decorative techniques.
Free with registration. All skill levels are welcome and materials will be provided. Each vessel will be glazed, fired, and ready for pick up in 2-4 weeks.
aPA MEMBERS’ PREVIEW
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 | 5-6pm
Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial, Kelly Drive
In advance of its 151st Annual Meeting (see event listing below), aPA invites all members to join us for a special members-only preview of Maren Hassinger’s Steel Bodies with the artist. Space is limited and registration is required. Become a member or renew your membership here.
NOTE: To attend the Opening Reception and Annual Meeting event that follows, please see listing below to register.
Image: Maren Hassinger with “The Window” (2021), the artist’s installation at Dia Bridgehampton. Photo by Don Stahl.
“STEEL BODIES” OPENING RECEPTION AND ANNUAL MEETING
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 | 6-8pm
Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial, Kelly Drive
The Association for Public Art (aPA) will host its 151st Annual Meeting celebrating the opening of Maren Hassinger’s Steel Bodies at the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial along Kelly Drive on June 14th 6pm. The public is invited to attend this event, which will feature a special presentation by artist Maren Hassinger followed by a reception with light refreshments. This event is free with registration required.
OPPORTUNITY: The aPA is seeking “Art Ambassadors” to assist with this event. This is a paid opportunity with one orientation required. Learn more
WALKING TOUR: “PUBLIC ART, LANDMARKS, AND TRANSFORMATIONS ALONG THE SCHUYLKILL”
Led by aPA and Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
Sunday, May 28, 2023 | 2-4pm
The Schuylkill River received its name because of the confluence; groves of trees, sycamores, and oaks once obscured the entrance of the Schuylkill. In Dutch, Schuylkill means “hidden stream”. This 130-mile corridor over the years has shaped the lives and landscape of Philadelphia. Learn about the changes and development along the lower Schuylkill River and the industrialization that followed in historical landmarks, and public art spanning the early 18th to the mid-19th century. This tour was developed in partnership with the Preservation Alliance.
Note: Tour includes walking up a steep hill from the Fairmount Water Works to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), steps down the front of the PMA, and walking on areas of grassy terrain.
$10 aPA Members and Preservation Alliance Members, $15 non-members. Members of the ACCESS Philly Art Reach program will receive a discounted rate for tours.
ANNUAL MEETING: MARKING 150 YEARS
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Moore College of Art & Design
Free and open to the public! Please join us for the Association for Public Art’s 150th Annual Meeting at Moore College of Art & Design. Penny Balkin Bach, the Association’s longtime Executive Director, will share a captivating look at the organization’s contributions to the last 150 years of public art and urban design in Philadelphia. Illustrated through archival materials and photographs, this sweeping historical view will include early city planning, untold stories and projects, encounters with artists and more.
150TH EVENTS: GUEST SPEAKERS AND TOURS
Fall 2022
Virtual and In-Person
The Association for Public Art is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a series of special events this fall: a virtual speaker series that brings together thought-leaders to reflect on the challenges of stewardship, representation, race, gender and power, and walking tours of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway that explore its art, architecture, history and landscape. Speakers include Hamza Walker, Karyn Olivier, Valerie Cassel Oliver, and Tatti Art Conservation., and tours are led by Kenneth Finkel, Naomi Nelson, David Brownlee and Susan Weiler.
All events are free with registration, with limited space for in-person tours. We hope you’ll join us!
DOCOMOMO TOUR: “CALDER, CONSERVATION, CRAFT BEER AND MOORE!”
Thursday, June 2, 2022, 6:30pm-8:00pm
Led by Laura Griffith, Deputy Director of the Association for Public Art
Cret Park, 16th Street and Benjamin Franklin Pkwy
$40 | 20 max
Take an immersive stroll along Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway to experience and learn about the public sculpture installations dotting this grand boulevard including the works of three generations of Calders. The walk will begin at the corner of 16th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at Cret Park, named after Paul Cret, one of the most influential individuals in Philadelphia architecture in the early part of the 20th Century. The experience includes a conversation with Zach Tatti, one of the country’s leading art conservators, on the restoration of sculptor Henry Moore’s 1964 Three-Way Piece Number One: Points. Conclude the tour with a complimentary cold-one at one of Philadelphia’s leading craft brewers, Victory Brewing Co. And then at the end of the evening, feel free to jog up the nearby steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and take a selfie with the most iconic public sculpture of all, the Rocky statue.
PUBLIC ART BY DESIGN
DesignPhiladelphia Event
Thursday, October 14, 2021, 4pm-5pm
Free with Registration
Join us on October 14th for our virtual DesignPhiladelphia 2021 event, Public Art by Design – an exploration of the role of architects and landscape architects in assisting artists to realize their vision of creating public artworks. Moderated by Susan Myers, aPA’s Assistant Curator & Project Manager, the talk will cover permanent aPA public art projects in Philadelphia that were realized with the help of design professionals. Such projects include the recently installed Maja sculpture by Gerhard Marcks, which is the focal point of Maja Park at 22nd Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Landscape architect Julie Bush of Ground Reconsidered, the firm that designed this newest park on the Parkway, will share their process. Architect George Claflen of Claflen Associates Architects + Planners will also be joining the conversation to discuss their role in the implementation of Common Ground by Lonnie Graham, Lorene Cary, and John H. Stone.