Philadelphia Museum of Art receives $20 million for education centre

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has received a $20 million gift from Philadelphia philanthropists Lois G. and Julian A. Brodsky to establish an education centre for students, children and families, The Art Newspaper reports.

The centre is the museum’s first major building project since its $233 million renovation and expansion, completed in 2021. It will occupy around 19,000 square feet in the north wing, with art studios and multipurpose spaces.

Learning spaces for students and families

The museum already welcomes around 36,000 students each year from Philadelphia schools and schools in neighbouring cities and states. Admission is free for visitors aged 18 and under. The planned centre aims to connect younger visitors and their families, particularly people from underserved communities, with a collection of approximately 245,000 works of art.

Museum director Daniel Weiss describes expanded capacity for creative learning as a design goal. He hopes the centre’s open design will help overcome barriers to participation and provide room for student visits, community discussions, teenage programmes and activities involving different generations.

Weiss says the museum will listen to visitors to identify which neighbourhoods and people it is not reaching. An opening date and a numerical target for additional capacity remain unspecified.

Philadelphia architecture firm MGA Partners is due to unveil the centre’s design in 2027. The firm previously led the redesign of the museum’s auditorium in 2017.