Time Is Short

The days may be growing longer, little by little, since Winter Solstice arrived early last Saturday morning. But that won’t help slow the hourglass emptying on our phenomenal WE ARE FAMILY show, which ends after Friday. 2024’s year-ending juried exhibition is the first in an occasional series of show we will be mounting in support of the still-grieving UArts/PCA community, robbed of their institution at the end of May. It has left a huge vacuum in our neighborhood and in the world of Philly arts and our region’s higher education infrastructure. Happily, these past six weeks have been all about 39 alumni and former faculty, administrators and staff and their 68 works. As summed up by this show’s tagline: Our university may be gone. But our art and our hearts stay strong.

JULIE WOODARD MA’15, S’10–24
“The Bridge”
16 x 21 framed
repurposed linen, cotton, silk, leather, merino, polyester, paper, upholstery blends, felted wool, denim, cork and sashiko thread
700.

Coming Together

November promises to be a month where unity wins out. First, we all have to stand together and VOTE tomorrow. Then, we are going to rally and reunite the alumni and former staff and faculty of UArts/PCA. Carrying out this work are the 38 individuals we proudly list above. They are the artists of WE ARE FAMILY, chosen by a UArts jury from nearly 200 entries. They are the ambassadors not of a former alma mater or employer, ignominiously stripped away, but of a singular, resilient community, stretched across generations and dedicated to the pursuit of art and art-making. CONGRATULATIONS to all of you and welcome (and welcome back) to OFF THE WALL! Art will always prevail, and together we will prove just that. Our show goes up Saturday, November 16…will immediately be open for shopping…and will have its Opening Reception Thursday, November 21, 7-10 PM. 

10 Days to Enter, One Community to Celebrate

When UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS shut down, we knew we had to be all about opening a new door. Alas, we cannot connect former students to education, alumni to an alma mater or faculty to new teaching positions. But it is well within our power to create a show that celebrates their art, boundless creativity and shared spirit — even if their school is but a memory and its buildings relegated to reuse that will probably be anything but arts education. Enter WE ARE FAMILY: our juried show for all members of the UArts/PCA (Philadelphia College of Art) community. We are extending the entry deadline a second time, through MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, to ensure as many as possible can submit work to our jury. Their decisions will be shared with entering artists by November 7 and accepted artwork needs to be delivered on Saturday, November 16. If you are not associated with UArts/PCA, no doubt you know someone who is. Share this opportunity so we can share more great art — and remember fondly the vitality that once lived right around the corner from us, at Broad and Pine.