Association for Public Art

06/04/2026

This Friday: Make a custom letterpress print at Cherry Street Pier with the Association for Public Art and Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Printmaking by the People. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pop-up-printmaking-workshop-at-cherry-street-pier-tickets-1988913255086

This free workshop is inspired by Paul Ramírez Jonas’s “Let Freedom Ring” artwork and what freedom means to us during the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.

Design and print your own poster reflecting your values and voice. Take it home or donate one to our archive.

First come, first served while supplies last!

Let us know you’re coming at the link ⬆️

06/02/2026

This Thursday! Come celebrate the opening of "Let Freedom Ring" by Paul Ramírez Jonas at Cherry Street Pier 🎉 Free and open to the public: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/opening-reception-for-let-freedom-ring-tickets-1984385712083

Meet the artist, ring the bell, and be among the first to experience this interactive sculpture. Enjoy food, drinks, swag, and a special performance by Play On Philly musicians.

Let us know you're coming by RSVPing at the link ☝

05/30/2026

“Let Freedom Ring” has officially landed 🎉 Presented by the Association for Public Art in Philadelphia at Cherry Street Pier, Paul Ramírez Jonas’ monumental sculpture is an interactive bell tower that asks us to reimagine our nation’s founding ideals. What do we want to be free to do? What do we want to be free from?

Installing an artwork of this size requires a whole team and days of meticulous work. Huge thanks to Atelier FAS and everyone involved.

Stay tuned for more!

__

Originally commissioned by Monument Lab for the Beyond Granite exhibition in Washington, DC, is presented in Philadelphia by the Association for Public Art in partnership with Delaware River Waterfront. Major support is provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial.

05/28/2026

Our "Material Matters" talk is THIS FRIDAY! Join us at Atelier Gallery in Brewerytown (Atelier FAS) to learn about and the installation and transportation of a 176-year-old First Nations house post – a heavy, fragile object that requires specialized care.

Featuring Atelier Material Systems Manager Evan Dawson and Association for Public Art Deputy Director Laura Griffith.

Learn about art handling and the installation and transportation of a 176-year-old First Nations house post.

05/18/2026

🎤 Free gallery talk: Head to Atelier Gallery in Brewerytown next Friday, May 29 @ 5 PM to learn about art handling and the installation and transportation of a 176-year-old First Nations carved cedar house post – a heavy, fragile object that requires specialized care. Featuring Atelier Material Systems Manager Evan Dawson and Association for Public Art (aPA) Deputy Director Laura Griffith.

🔗 Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/material-matters-art-in-transit-tickets-1986353054457

See the house post in person and find out how it will journey to British Columbia, returning to the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw people after being on display at Penn's Landing from 1978-1998 and hidden in storage for almost 30 years.

05/14/2026

📣 Announcing our 2026 Art on the Parkway commission! associationforpublicart.org/open-call-art-on-the-parkway

The Association for Public Art and Parkway Council are excited to share that “Franklin Thread” by architect and Temple University Associate Professor Jeff Richards is coming to Maja Park on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway this summer.

A massive linear “thread” will run through the park, with planted plots, a section for flax processing (“dew retting”), stenciled text along the thread, and a sculptural “flaxcrete” wall.

Inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia and the city’s early relationship to flax, “Franklin Thread” includes a plant-based material developed by Richards and his students, along with other natural materials.

The project highlights sustainability by experimenting with alternatives to energy-intensive construction, with flax acting as a catalyst for a new way of thinking about building.

“At present, we are like the separate filaments of flax before thread is formed, without strength because without connection.” – Benjamin Franklin, 1747

On view July–October as part of The Oval and Parkway to Park Festival.

Congratulations, Jeff Richards!

05/12/2026

AMOR is officially back on the Parkway and looking GREAT 😍

AMOR is back at Sister Cities Park! ❤️

One of Philadelphia's most recognizable public artworks has officially returned to the parkway following a full conservation and restoration process.

Before restoration, exposure to weather and sunlight had caused fading and surface deterioration to AMOR (1998) by Robert Indiana. To preserve the sculpture's original vibrancy, Creative Philadelphia partnered with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Heritage Conservation Collective LLC, Fine Finishes Painting Studio, and the approved painter of the Robert Indiana Foundation to carefully restore the piece.

Now reopened and reinstalled at 18th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, AMOR is once again spreading love in the heart of Philadelphia.

Location: Sister Cities Park
Photo by: Alec Rogers / Association for Public Art

05/08/2026

Our walking tours are in full swing. Big thanks to everyone who joined us for last weekend's Centennial District and Parkside tour with The Parkside Journal's Mike Burch!

If you've been meaning to join us, check out our free "Public Art Decoded" tours today: https://www.associationforpublicart.org/public-art-decoded/

Our next tour, on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, is already sold out – but we have a FEW SPOTS LEFT for our Delaware River Waterfront tour in June! Grab a spot at the link above before it's gone.

(Artwork pictured: "The Great Mother" and "The Great Doctor" (1955) by Waldemar Raemisch at School of the Future)

05/04/2026

🎤 THIS WEEKEND: Don't miss our panel discussion on the return of cultural objects and changing approaches toward the stewardship of Indigenous collections in the 21st century: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-repatriation-of-cultural-objects-a-panel-discussion-tickets-1981859572331

The Repatriation of Cultural Objects
Saturday, May 9 | 1 PM
Atelier Gallery (Philadelphia, PA)
🔗 Free with registration - see link above ↑

Panelists:
• Juanita Johnston – Executive Director, U'mista Cultural Society
• Kelly McHugh – Head of Conservation, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian
• Lavina Li – Conservator, Canadian Museum of History
• Brian Carpenter – Curator of Indigenous Materials, American Philosophical Society

Moderated by Laura Griffith, Deputy Director, Association for Public Art. This discussion is part of the Association's exhibition and repatriation of a Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw house post, which will return to British Columbia in June.

04/29/2026

THIS WEEKEND: We still have some spots left for our Public Art Decoded walking tour, "Parkside Perspectives: Public Art in the Centennial District" this Saturday, May 2 from 11 AM–1 PM.

Free with registration → https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parkside-perspectives-public-art-in-the-centennial-district-tickets-1984381697074