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Month: February 2022

  • Art of the American Soldier

    The Experience

    More than 15,000 paintings and sketches created by over 1,300 American soldiers in the line of duty have been in curatorial storage in Washington, D.C. for decades. Seldom have them been made available for public viewing. Art of the American Soldier will bring these powerful works of art into the spotlight at the National Constitution Center from September 24, 2010 through January 10, 2011.

    The exhibition, featuring a never-before-seen collection, was created by the NCC in partnership with the U.S. Army Center of Military History and the National Museum of the United States Army. Following its world debut at the Center, the exhibition will begin a national tour. Tickets to the exhibition are currently available for purchase.

    The Trailer

    History

    The U.S. Army´s art program began during World War I, and continued through World War II, resulting in the creation of over 2,000 pieces of art. In 1945, the Army established its Historical Division, with responsibilities including the preservation of these works. The collection also includes artwork by artists who were sent to document the Vietnam War, as well as works from soldier-artists who are currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. For a complete history of the Army´s art program, click here.
    Tickets

    Admission to Art of the American Soldier is FREE with regular museum admission of $12 for adults, $11 for seniors ages 65 and over, and $8 for children ages 4-12. Veterans and military families will receive $2 off admission. Active military personnel, career military retirees, and children ages 3 and under are free. Group rates are also available. For ticket information, call 215.409.6700 or visit www.constitutioncenter.org.
    Buy Tickets Online In Advance

    You can buy admission tickets to the National Constitution Center online through our partners at the Independence Visitor Center. Just click the button below

  • Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts

    The Experience

    April 7 through May 1, 2011, the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) will shine a spotlight on the city´s arts and cultural scene. For three weeks, audiences will revel in an array of one-time, only-in-Philadelphia productions by some of the region´s top talents�many of whom will partner with or present international performers. PIFA will feature music, dance, fashion, fine arts, poetry, cuisine and more�all infused with the essence of Paris, circa 1910-1920.

    Inspired by the Kimmel Center, PIFA promises to be an out-of-the-box arts festival that honors the vision of longtime Philadelphia resident and philanthropist Leonore Annenberg. Before she passed away in 2009, Mrs. Annenberg provided a generous grant through the Annenberg Foundation to ensure that her lifelong dream for a citywide arts celebration would be fulfilled.

    As PIFA transforms the entire city into a giant stage, loyal fans and newcomers to the arts will have the opportunity to choose from among dozens of ticketed and free activities each day. Performances and exhibits will be held throughout Center City and beyond, many in Kimmel Center venues, as well as in theaters, performance halls and other venues, both large and small.

    With more than 100 performances planned, three events serve as examples of the serendipitous moments and surprising performances audiences can look forward to. For the first time ever, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet will perform together, collaborating on what promises to be an unforgettable presentation of the classic French ballet Pulcinella. In an innovative pairing, Philly´s signature hip-hop band The Roots will play in an anything-can-happen concert with a French chanteuse. What´s more, daring aerialists will swing from the rafters of the Kimmel Center and teach anybody who has ever wanted to join the circus how to fly the trapeze on the Avenue of the Arts.

  • First Friday

    When

    The First Friday evening of each month, rain or shine, year-round. Hours: 5 to 9 p.m.

    Where

    Most galleries can be found between Front and Third, and Market and Vine Streets.

    The Experience

    Want proof of Philadelphia´s happening art scene? Come down to Old City for First Fridays. On the first Friday evening of every month the streets fill with art lovers of all kinds who wander among the neighborhood´s 40-plus galleries, most of them open from 5 until 9 p.m.

    A casual atmosphere encourages art and people watching, eating at Old City´s many restaurants and just plain mingling. There´s diversity both in the crowd and among the galleries, adding flavor to the experience. Most galleries can be found between Front and Third, and Market and Vine Streets.

    History

    Started in 1991 by a group of galleries as a collaborative open house evening, First Fridays grew quickly into one of Philly´s most vital, signature cultural events. Old City´s historic commercial buildings have fostered a SoHo-like cultural ambience with the densest network of galleries in the city.

    Some of the arts organizations you can visit on First Fridays include the Clay Studio; the Temple Gallery; the cooperative galleries Nexus, Highwire, Muse and Third Street Gallery; and collaborative Space 1026.

  • Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt

    The Experience

    The world of Cleopatra, which has been lost to the sea and sand for nearly 2,000 years, will surface in a new exhibition, Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt, making its world premiere in June 2010 at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, from June 5, 2010 � January 2, 2011. The exhibition will feature roughly 140 artifacts while taking visitors inside the present-day search for Cleopatra, which extends from the sands of Egypt to the depths of the Bay of Aboukir near Alexandria.
    Cleopatra VIP Hotel Package

    Cleopatra visitors looking to make it an overnight stay can book the Cleopatra VIP Hotel Package. Available at 11 hotels, the package includes overnight accommodations for two and two VIP (untimed, bypass-the-line) tickets to the exhibition. (VIP tickets are available only by purchasing a hotel package and are valued at up to $59.)

    Click here to check rates and book the package.

    The Search For Cleopatra

    Cleopatra, the last great pharaoh of Egypt before it succumbed to Roman opposition, lived from 69 � 30 B.C., and her rule was marked with political intrigue and challenges to her throne. She captivated two of the most powerful men of her day, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as she attempted to restore Egypt to its former superpower status. Later, her Roman conquerors tried to rewrite her history and destroy all traces of her existence. Although her body has never been found, her story survives.

    Visitors to the exhibition will be treated to an inside view of the search for Cleopatra through two ongoing expeditions by modern explorers Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt´s pre-eminent archaeologist and Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Franck Goddio, French underwater archaeologist and director of IEASM. Goddio´s search has resulted in one of the most ambitious underwater expeditions ever undertaken, which has uncovered Cleopatra´s royal palace and two ancient cities that had been lost beneath the sea for centuries after a series of earthquakes and tidal waves.

    The artifacts in the exhibition � from the smallest gold pieces and coins to colossal statues more than 15-feet tall � provide a window into Cleopatra´s story as well as the daily lives of her contemporaries, both powerful and humble. Artifacts on display will include magnificent black granite statues of a queen of Egypt dating from the Ptolemaic era in which Cleopatra ruled, which Goddio´s team pulled from the sea.