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Sea of Memories, Just Us, and reflections on the bicentennial
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, June 25-July 2, 2026
Kyle V. Hiller
We’re nearly at the official 250th birthday of America, and while that in itself can come charged with many conflicting emotions these days, it’s been a sight to see celebrations, observations, reflections, and conversations covering every aspect of the country’s history. This week is no different as the Mütter Museum opens a new exhibit that looks at a familiar but forgotten story from the city’s America bicentennial celebrations in 1976. Then, the Anne-Marie Mulgrew and Dancers Company celebrates 40 years, Manayunk opens up Main Street to one of the city’s largest art festivals, and sound becomes the feature at an installation at Spruce Street Harbor and at a performance in Northeast.
40th Anniversary Concert Sea of Memories
June 26-27
Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine Street, Philadelphia
Anne-Marie Mulgrew and Dancers Company celebrates 40 years with a concert that reflects on the company’s unparalleled history over the decades. A reconstruction of the company’s first major work, 1986’s Facing 9-5 and excerpts from other works.
PrismaPhonik
June 26-August 17, 2026
Spruce Street Harbor Park, 301 South Columbus Boulevard
From artists William Simard and Antony Gagnon Boisvert, this new public art installation presented by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation invites visitors to walk through a glowing labyrinth of 12 light and sound prisms that respond to movement, translating music into color in real time.
Just Us
June 26-August 24, 2026
The Barnes Foundation, 2025 Ben Franklin Parkway
This summer, the Barnes and Mural Arts Philly present this new exhibition featuring original work created by Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Rec Crew, a 24-week job readiness and life skills program for justice-impacted young adults and artists at State Correctional Institution Phoenix.
de/composition: Native Trees, Sonic Roots
Saturday, June 27, 8pm
Bennett Compost, 5650 Rising Sun Avenue
Olney Culture Lab of CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia brings Philly-based artists, environmental advocates, and residents together to address local environmental issues. The evening features a live experimental performance by sound artist June Lopez, who will create an exclusive live set using field recordings collected from the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed. Visual projections and spoken word also round out the event.
Manayunk Arts Festival
June 27-28
Main Street between Green Street and Shurs Street
Over 300 artists, exhibitions, pop-up experiences, and much more decorate the 37th annual Manayunk Arts Festival this weekend.
Creating a City of Medicine
Opening Saturday, June 27
Mütter Museum, 19 South 22nd Street
The Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia launched their exhibition The Philly Killer: Legionnaires’ Disease and the Past and Future of Infectious Disease, which explored the outbreak of an unidentified, deadly pneumonia in Philadelphia during the 1976 bicentennial celebrations. The outbreak was largely forgotten, despite its cause, legionella bacilli, still remaining the leading cause of waterborne disease outbreaks in the US. The exhibition is now getting a companion with a new exhibit, Creating a City of Medicine, which further explores 250 years of Philadelphia’s impact on health and healing in the US through education, technological innovation, and community-based healing practices. The exhibit features leaders like Benjamin Rush, John Morgan, and Thomas Story Kirkbride, as well as lesser-known figures like Alice Fisher and Black community leaders Richard Allen and Absalom Jones.
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