Philadelphia Art Alliance
The Philadelphia Art Alliance at University of the Arts
In 2018, the celebrated Philadelphia Art Alliance merged with University of the Arts, uniting two century-old institutions as the Philadelphia Art Alliance at University of the Arts.
Founded by playwright Christine Wetherill Stevenson in 1915 and located in the former Wetherill Mansion on Rittenhouse Square, the Philadelphia Art Alliance is considered one of the first multidisciplinary art spaces in the U.S. Its remarkable legacy includes presenting the work of visionary writers, composers, dancers, musicians, sculptors and architects from Igor Stravinsky and Gertrude Stein to Martha Graham, Buckminster Fuller and Diego Rivera, among many other dazzling luminaries.
University of the Arts is in the midst of envisioning and developing the next chapter of the Art Alliance as a multidisciplinary, contemporary arts forum in the heart of Philadelphia. Following its incredible history, the Art Alliance will once again be animated by leading visionaries of our time and aims to serve as a lively social hub—a living room for the arts in Philadelphia.
An exciting renovation is currently underway to update and restore the intimate gallery, performance and convening spaces of the Wetherill mansion, which was originally designed by architect Charles Klauder and built in 1906.
Upcoming Events and Exhibitions
Join Supra Endura Creative Conversations host Gabrielle Mandel in a discussion with author Carmen Maria Machado about her books (Her Body and Other Parties [2017], In the Dream House: A Memoir [2019]) and working as a creative professional. This live podcast recording and event is presented by the Art Alliance Writers' Workshop.
October 21, 2019, 7:00-8:30PM
Caplan Recital Hall, 17th Floor, Terra Hall
211 S. Broad St., Philadelphia PA 19102
This event is free but space is limited. Reserve your ticket here.
- Carmen Maria Machado's debut short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties, was the winner of the Bard Fiction Prize, the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, and the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize. In 2018, the New York Times listed Her Body and Other Parties as a member of “The New Vanguard,” one of “15 remarkable books by women that are shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century.” Her essays, fiction, and criticism have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, Tin House, VQR, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, The Believer, Guernica, Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, and elsewhere.
- Gabrielle Mandel started Supra Endura in 2013. She wanted to create a unique collection of one-of-a-kind prints. She loved the idea that for every item sold she would donate a portion back to non-profits that were centered around social justice issues. In 2018 she launched her podcast: Supra Endura Creative conversations, chronicling the creative journey of entrepreneurs she knew and admired.
Presented by the University of the Arts Rosenwald Wolf Gallery, Invisible City: Philadelphia and the Vernacular Avant-garde will highlight and explore Philadelphia’s significant contributions to visual culture in the 1950s through the 1970s in an exhibition, a publication and performances. The project will invite audiences to envision Philadelphia as “a city of firsts,” which produced the first Pop Art exhibitions; innovations in architecture and urban planning; one of the country’s first rock music magazines, and a substantial postwar growth of art schools.
On view at the University of the Arts’ Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Gershman Hall, the Philadelphia Art Alliance and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Invisible City will include works by major architects, photographers, sculptors, craftspersons, painters and conceptual artists of the period, including Denise Scott Brown, Rafael Ferrer, Ray Metzker, Ree Morton, Italo Scanga, and Robert Venturi. The exhibition will be enriched by time-based ephemeral pieces such as posters, pamphlets, and films. In examining the region’s performance art history, Alex Da Corte will reinvent Allan Kaprow's important happening Chicken at the Gershman , where it was originally performed in 1962. Invisible City builds on extensive research and website documentation that was initiated by the university’s director of exhibitions, Sid Sachs, and is supported by a 2014 Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Discovery grant.
Invisible City: Philadelphia and the Vernacular Avant-garde has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
Art Alliance Writers' Workshop
The Art Alliance Writers' Workshop is for emerging writers who work in fiction, non-fiction, and/or poetry. Participants improve their writing while working with an accomplished cohort over a year of intensive courses. Upon completion of coursework, students earn a certificate in Creative Writing.
Visitor Information
During our current renovation, we are closed to the public.
For any inquiries please contact us:
251 S 18th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-545-4302
artalliance@uarts.edu