Features

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Four grade-schoolers, two boys and two girls, smile in a hallway and hold their instruments: a cello, violins, and clarinet.

Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth opens doors to classical music careers

Diversifying the orchestra starts with the students

The Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth is celebrating eight years of its Artists’ Initiative, a program supporting young musicians whose communities need better access and representation in classical music. Thomas Hagen visits.
Thomas Hagen

Thomas Hagen

Features 4 minute read
Weiner, a white woman with brown hair in jeans and a white tank, poses smiling on an outdoor bench overlooking a bay.

Blue Stoop continues its inclusive literary mission with the Jennifer Weiner Fellowship

A new path for debut novelists

Novelists Jennifer Weiner and Emma Copley Eisenberg talk with Emma Riverso about a new fellowship from Philly's Blue Stoop that will offer a new path into the industry for under-represented debut authors.
Emma Riverso

Emma Riverso

Features 4 minute read
A female dancer calmly sits alone on a dark stage, the warm light on her forming a floor reflection of her body.

The lighting designers for Philly dance companies are artists who paint with light

Shining a light on dance

Dance critic Camille Bacon-Smith has spent years admiring Philly’s dancers illuminated by lighting designers who rarely get the spotlight themselves. Now they share the mysteries of their artistry.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Features 6 minute read
Seated at a long table full of arts supplies next to a large window, 14 people make colorful designs while Henbo watches.

FRIEDA explores how fine art and tattoo intertwine with A Closer Look: Henbo Henning

“It’s rare that you touch another person in the world of art.”

British-born artist Matthew “Henbo” Henning straddles the worlds of tattoo and fine art. Now, his work lands in Philly with A Closer Look: Henbo Henning at FRIEDA’s Old City gallery space. Wendy Univer visits.
Wendy Univer

Wendy Univer

Features 6 minute read
Pérez-Vega, a Puerto Rican woman dancing solo in a purple leotard, poses gracefully mid-stride with her arms lifted.

UArts alums Keila Pérez-Vega and Meredith Rainey explain what the school’s closure means for Philly’s dance scene

“A loss for Philadelphia”

The fallout from the June closure of UArts continues for students, staff, faculty, and alumni, including artists who are central to Philly’s dance scene. Melissa Strong talks to Keila Pérez-Vega and Meredith Rainey about what our city has lost.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Features 4 minute read

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Sitting on a rectangular block at an angle with ankles crossed, Barnwell poses in a white tutu with arms gracefully raised

Visiting Philly’s Chocolate Ballerina Company ahead of its June Black Swan performances

“It’s new for the world to see”

An Nichols visits Philly’s Chocolate Ballerina Company, rehearsing for its second annual Black Swan production based on Swan Lake with original choreography by founder Chanel Holland-Pierre, who loves spotlighting Black and brown ballet artists.
An Nichols

An Nichols

Features 4 minute read
Photo of Riker’s Quilt. It resembles a large-scale colorful painting, multi-layered collage, or mosaic all rendered in fabric

The Philadelphia Museum of Art presents Rikers Quilt

Catching up with Jesse Krimes

Jesse Krimes, subject of the 2021 documentary Art & Krimes by Krimes and a sometime Philadelphia resident, has an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and continues to work for justice. He sits down with Stephen Silver.
Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver

Features 5 minute read
McArdle, a 61-year-old white woman with red hair, sings smiling into a mic in a fine-dining restaurant.

The popular new Broadway Cabaret at Rittenhouse Grill will return for the 2024-25 season

Cabaret is alive and well in Philly

A longtime Philly artistic director and Rittenhouse restaurant owner launched a new cabaret that has drawn Broadway stars and sold-out crowds since it debuted last December. They promise a return next season. SaraKay Smullens visits.
SaraKay Smullens

SaraKay Smullens

Features 5 minute read
Dark-haired mother kisses the shoulder of a chubby rosy-cheeked dark-haired toddler in a white shift falling off his shoulder

Philadelphia is spending summer 2024 with Mary Cassatt

Meet the iconic Impressionist with a new exhibition and public virtual class

Philadelphia will celebrate hometown artist Mary Cassatt this summer, kicking off with a major new exhibition that was years in the making at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Camille Bacon-Smith looks closer.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Features 6 minute read
10 Asian people of different ages & genders sit around a square of couches, all holding scripts in a large living room.

Philly’s AAPI playwrights are ready for the stage with PWYC readings in May and June

Meet Philly’s first dedicated cohort of AAPI playwrights

None of Philly’s regional theaters have ever staged a full production of a non-solo show by a local AAPI playwright. Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists's new playwriting cohort wants to change that. Krista Mar visits.
Krista Mar

Krista Mar

Features 6 minute read