Robert Indiana’s much-photographed LOVE statue (1976) in John F. Kennedy Plaza, close to Philadelphia’s towering City Hall, captures the passion of one of the country’s most vibrant arts and cultural scenes.
Fittingly for a destination defined by American firsts and originals, discoveries include rare institutions such as the Walnut Street Theatre, which was built in 1809 and is the oldest theater in the U.S., and the Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which opened in 1863 and features a standout exhibition of anatomical and pathological materials. This ecletic canvas extends to neighboring Montgomery County and historic Valley Forge, where groups can experience of number of memorable artistic and cultural awakenings.
Home to other treasures such as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, which was built in 1805 and is the country’s first art museum and school of fine arts, Philadelphia’s curatorial credentials are truly world-class, while designated districts including Avenue of the Arts, Museum Mile, Art Museum/Fairmount and Mural Mile create a city-wide cultural milieu.
“From the 3,500 murals gracing our city’s walls, to the expansive collections of Impressionist art housed along Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia is a modern renaissance city that celebrates the creative spirit,” says Jack Ferguson, president and CEO of the Philadelphia CVB. “Our vast selection of cultural attractions provides the perfect backdrop for hosting group events and ensures that meeting attendees enjoy a truly immersive experience.”
Groups will find much to LOVE with these eight inspiring, often jubilant experiences of the region.
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
www.philamuseum.org
If museum-lined Benjamin Franklin Parkway is Philadelphia’s Champs-Elysees, then this hilltop temple is its Parthenon, commanding its own Acropolis at the parkway’s far end. Providing panoramic Center City views from its sweeping flight of steps and outdoor plaza, the museum, boasting more than 227,000 works of art, offers several sumptuous event spaces.
In the main building, the Cloisters-St. Laurent gallery and the Great Stair Hall are available for dinners and receptions of between 70 and 1,200 guests, while the East Terrace, offering dramatic cityscape views, can seat 1,000 for dinner or 4,500 for receptions.
Across the street, the Perelman Building can host up to 350 guests under a skylit atrium, while the newly renovated Rodin Museum, administered by PMA and featuring the largest collection of Auguste Rodin’s sculptures outside of Paris, is ideal for smaller gatherings.
“The Philadelphia Museum of Art customizes each event by pairing the artistic journey of the client’s choice with an exclusive culinary experience by Stephen STARR Events,” says Camille Focarino, the museum’s director of special events. “Guests may also take a private docent-led tour to engage in a selection from one of our 200 galleries.” PageBreak
BARNES FOUNDATION, Philadelphia
www.barnesfoundation.org
Following the highly publicized $150 million relocation from its longtime home in suburban Merion, Pa., this world-renowned institution became the first addition to Museum Mile in six decades when it opened in May 2012.
As Philadelphia’s latest cultural landmark, the striking new venue houses the star-studded collection of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early Modern works assembled by native Philadelphian Dr. Albert Barnes between 1912 and 1951. Also including African sculpture, Pennsylvania German furniture, ceramics and metalwork, the Barnes is a tour de force Parisian art experience without the jet lag.
With over 15,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, the new campus also comes with flexible rental options. With complimentary private tours of the collection, gardens and special exhibitions included in event services, spaces include the elegant court and its adjoining terrace, which overlooks the gardens of the neighboring Rodin Museum. Seating 150 people, the lower-level auditorium is available for daytime and evening events, with simulcast capabilities to the multipurpose seminar room.
MURAL ARTS TOURS, philadelphia
www.muralarts.org
In 1984, then Mayor Wilson Goode organized the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network to combat the city’s graffiti crisis. Hired to help street artists re-channel their talent and energy, muralist Jane Golden laid the foundation for what would become the city’s Mural Arts Program, created in 1996 and now the largest public art program in the U.S.
Her visionary efforts, which included founding a nonprofit organization to support the program, have since produced 3,500 murals, earning Philadelphia international recognition as the “City of Murals.”
Offering regularly scheduled trolley, walking, bicycle and public transit tours of the murals, Mural Arts also offers custom programs for groups, such as tours of healthcare-related murals for medical industry delegates and “Paint the Town,” a unique interactive experience in which guests help create an actual mural.
“Taking visitors off the beaten path to areas not often frequented by out-of-towners, our tours add a unique dimension to getting to know Philadelphia,” Golden says. “Telling stories about communities, these tours, taken by nearly 18,000 people each year, show how art brings people together, transforming neighborhoods and transforming lives.”
PHILADELPHIA’S MAGIC GARDENS
www.phillymagicgardens.org
Philadelphia native Isaiah Zagar is another visionary artist whose magic touch has transformed the city’s landscape. Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Zagar returned home in 1968 and embarked on beautifying his then neglected South Street neighborhood with his signature mosaic murals.
Since then, the award-winning artist has decorated several walls throughout the city and around the world, including his centerpiece attraction, the aptly named Magic Gardens.
Commencing work in 1994, Zagar transformed the vacant lot adjacent to his South Street studio into a magical labyrinth of walls, tunnels and grottos, all mosaicked with glass, tile, bicycle wheels, folk art, figurines and other found items from around the globe. Extending inside to his galleries and the block’s exterior walls, his imaginative work is a joy to behold.
Open daily, the venue offers programs including private and self-guided site and neighborhood tours, and monthly mosaic workshops with Zagar himself. Both the indoor galleries and outdoor garden are available for magical events, weddings and other gatherings.
“There’s no need to worry about decorations; the space is already spectacularly adorned for you,” says Ellen Owens, executive director of the Magic Gardens. “In a recent survey, our visitors reported leaving the garden feeling more creative—a wonderful take-home from your event.” PageBreak
KIMMEL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, philadelphia
www.kimmelcenter.org
Composed of three major venues and hosting eight resident companies, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Kimmel is one of the city’s leading cultural stages.
A fixture of the Avenue of the Arts on South Broad Street, the facility is also among Philadelphia’s most engaging civic spaces, with its event-capable Common Wealth Plaza centered under a soaring, 150-foot vaulted glass roof.
The Kimmel incorporates the 2,500-seat concert venue Verizon Hall, the 650-seat Perelman Theater and Innovation Studio black box theater, all available for rental. Dating to 1918, the adjacent Merriam Theater seats 1,841 people, while its neighbor, the 2,900-seat Academy of Music, is the nation’s oldest grand opera house still in use. Opened in 1857, “the Grand Old Lady of Locust Street” features a recently upgraded backstage to accommodate large-scale Broadway shows.
The Kimmel also features the newly renovated Hamilton Rooftop Garden.
“Already heralded as one of Philadelphia’s top 10 event venues, the garden offers unparalleled views of the cityscape and our architecturally stunning dome,” says Anne Ewers, the Kimmel Center’s president and CEO.
AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM
IN PHILADELPHIA
www.aampmuseum.org
Located one block from Independence National Historic Park and an easy five-block walk from the Pennsylvania Convention Center, this premier Smithsonian-affiliated venue, established in 1976, engages visitors and groups with exhibitions and a range of community-focused activities.
“These are exciting times at the African American Museum in Philadelphia,” says Patricia Wilson Aden, the museum’s interim president and CEO. “From our newest exhibition on the music and glamour of the Supremes to our presentations on the rich cultural heritage of African American people in Philadelphia and the African Diaspora, we are thrilled to share these stories with all those who come through our doors.”
Offering its four multilevel galleries and multipurpose room/auditorium for group rental, the museum is ideal for corporate events, seminars, organizational meetings, weddings and other gatherings. Group programs, meanwhile, include workshops in music, dance and other forms, and guided tours of African American murals around the city, in partnership with the Mural Arts Program.PageBreak
JOHN James AUDuBON CENTER AT MILL GROVE, AUDUBON, PA
http://pa.audubon.org
Located just minutes from Valley Forge National Historical Park in the village of Audubon, Mill Grove was the first American home of SaintDomingue-born (present day Haiti) ornithologist, naturalist and painter John James Audubon.
Now a museum listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the stone house contains complete editions of Audubon’s major work, including his incomparable Birds of America, printed and hand-colored from copper plate engravings produced in London between 1827 and 1839.
Over 175 species of birds and over 400 species of plants enliven the grounds of this natural sanctuary, which features five miles of walking trails along with an outdoor pavilion and historic barn for events. With tours of the museum’s Aubudon collection included, groups can also stage tented events on the property.
Now in the final planning stages, a new event center is slated for completion by late 2015 or early 2016.
“Currently hosting some 50 weddings and a number of corporate events each year, the new facility will give us more space and year-round hosting capability,” says Jean Bochnowski, the center’s director.
ABINGTON ART CENTER, JENKINTOWN, PA
www.abingtonartcenter.org
Situated on a historic 27-acre campus just 10 miles from Center City Philadelphia, this local treasure was founded in 1939 by a group of visionary women who believed in the “benefit of cultural enrichment for individual and community life to be derived from creative artistic expression.”
Originally known as the Old York Road Art Guild, the facility was incorporated as the nonprofit Abington Art Center in 1965. Four years later the organization began moving operations into historic Alverthorpe Manor, gifted to the Township of Abington as a cultural and recreational gathering place for the community.
Expansions through the decades included the creation in 1990 of an outdoor sculpture park, now nationally recognized and one of several engaging draws at the center, which offers a wide range of hands-on programs for visitors and groups. Facility rentals for private events and corporate retreats (membership required, starting at $50) include all four galleries and an open-air pavilion. Additional venues include the Little Abington Meetinghouse, built in 1836, and sculpture park’s Susquehanna Bank Stage. Art-themed team exercises and private tours are also available.
Regular Meetings Focus East contributor Jeff Heilman is looking forward to the opening of Isaiah Zagar’s latest project, the 10,000-square-foot Watkins Street Warehouse in South Philadelphia, where his mosaic magic is growing in new and dazzling ways.
