The aPA’s work in public spaces has continuously evolved over time in response to current art making practice, and we often develop projects around specific themes or goals that advance community needs or civic issues that otherwise would not be addressed.
Over the years, the Association for Public Art (aPA) has commissioned, purchased, and placed an imposing selection of sculpture in various settings throughout Philadelphia.
These artworks parallel the history of American sculpture, ideals, and patronage and include historic masterworks by Alexander Milne Calder, Alexander Stirling Calder, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Frederic Remington, and Daniel Chester French; modern sculptures by renowned artists Paul Manship, Jacques Lipchitz, Isamu Noguchi, and Henry Moore; and contemporary works by Martin Puryear, Siah Armajani, Mark di Suvero, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Candy Coated, and Roxy Paine. Thanks to the efforts of the Association and other public art agencies, Philadelphia boasts one of the largest collections of public art of any American city.
Our work in public spaces has continuously evolved over time in response to current art making practice, and we often develop projects around specific themes or goals that advance community needs or civic issues that otherwise would not be addressed. The aPA explores new directions in public art to give broader perspectives to the public environment and greater opportunities for artists. Explore the tabs on this page to learn more about our recent commissioning programs and projects.
Below is a list of some of the recent public artworks that the Association for Public Art (aPA) has commissioned, acquired, or presented. See a more expansive list of aPA projects here.
Maja
Gerhard Marcks
Installation: March 2021
After years in storage, Gerhard Marcks’ Maja (1942) was placed in a new park on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Maja Park. The Association purchased Maja in 1949 and had been waiting for the right opportunity to reinstall the work, which once stood atop the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps.
Liberty Bell
Nancy Baker Cahill
July 2020 – July 2021
Liberty Bell is an augmented reality public art project by Nancy Baker Cahill on view in six U.S. cities, including Philadelphia. Download the free 4th Wall app and head to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to experience the animation.
Winter Fountains
Jennifer Steinkamp
December 2017 – March 2018
A centerpiece of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway centennial, four fiberglass domes glowed nightly with Jennifer Steinkamp’s dream-like animated video projections, inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s electrical research and the nearby Parkway institutions.
Cai Guo-Qiang: Fireflies
Cai Guo-Qiang
September – October 2017
Cai Guo-Qiang’s largest public art project in the US in a decade, Fireflies invited the public to ride along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway inside a fleet of 27 pedicabs, which were adorned with clusters of hundreds of illuminated, handmade Chinese lanterns.
Big Bling
Martin Puryear
June – November 2017
Rising forty feet high and eliciting many interpretations, Big Bling (2016) is Puryear’s largest temporary outdoor sculpture to date. The sculpture was brought to Philadelphia through a collaboration with New York’s Madison Square Park Conservancy, which commissioned the work.
AMOR
Robert Indiana
Installed 2015
On the occasion of the World Meeting of Families and Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S., the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Association for Public Art presented the installation of AMOR (1998) atop the Museum’s famous steps, where it overlooked the Papal Mass.
Magic Carpet
Candy Coated
July – August 2014
Magic Carpet transformed The Oval in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art into a magical environment of color, pattern, illusion, and movement, with colored sandboxes, oversized game boards, and the artist’s signature decorative motifs rendered in vinyl, among other attractions.
Symbiosis
Roxy Paine
Installed 2014
Hand-fabricated from thousands of pieces of stainless steel pipe, plate, and rods, Symbiosis (2011) suggests both ecological and anatomical branching systems. The Association for Public Art received a generous grant from the Daniel W. Dietrich II Trust, Inc. to acquire the work.
Rock Form (Porthcurno)
Barbara Hepworth
Installed 2012
Rock Form (1964) was donated to the Association for Public Art in 2011 by art patron David N. Pincus, and installed on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 2012. Hepworth was a friend of Henry Moore, whose sculpture Three Way Piece Number 1: Points is placed nearby.
OPEN AIR
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
September – October 2012
A world-premiere interactive light installation, OPEN AIR transformed Philadelphia’s night sky with 24 powerful robotic searchlights directed by participants’ voices and GPS locations. The work was inspired by the city’s rich tradition of democracy and respect for free speech.
The Labor Monument
John Kindness
Installed 2010
The Labor Monument in Philadelphia’s Elmwood Park commemorates the contributions of organized labor nationwide and Philadelphia’s working class history. Blue paving and brick detailing around the seating elements suggest the denim and stitching on workers’ clothing.
Common Ground
John H. Stone, Lonnie Graham, Lorene Cary
Installed 2009
Commissioned as part of the New•Land•Marks program and developed with the anti-homelessness organization Project H.O.M.E., Common Ground provides new dedicated meeting places for the community to gather, reflect, and celebrate the neighborhood.
Iroquois
Mark di Suvero
Installed 2007
Formed from painted steel I-beams, Mark di Suvero’s 40-foot-high Iroquois (1983-1999) has a robust energy and physical presence. The sculpture was acquired by the Association for Public Art in 2007 with the support of art patron David N. Pincus.
Manayunk Stoops
Diane Pieri
Installed 2006
Nine mosaic “stoops” serve as seating elements along the Manayunk Canal Towpath and are an interpretation of the front steps and entryways that mark the neighborhood’s architecture and street life. The artwork was commissioned as part of the New•Land•Marks program.
Embodying Thoreau
Ed Levine
Installed 2003
A series of wooden structures “between sculpture and architecture” in Pennypack Park explore different aspects of humanity’s relationship to nature. The artwork was commissioned as part of the New•Land•Marks program and developed with the Pennypack Environmental Center.
I have a story to tell you…
Pepón Osorio
Installed 2003
To realize this project, Pepón Osorio collected photographs from Philadelphia’s Latino community and sought images of shared experiences and local events that have impacted community life. Part of the New•Land•Marks program, this is Osorio’s first permanent public art commission.
New•Land•Marks
New•Land•Marks: public art, community, and the meaning of place was a program of the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art) that brought together artists and community organizations to plan and create new works throughout Philadelphia. Proposals incorporated public art into ongoing community development, urban greening, public amenities, and other revitalization initiatives. These efforts celebrated community identity, commemorated “untold” histories, and offered visionary, yet reasonable, ways to invigorate public spaces.
- The Labor Monument: Philadelphia’s Tribute to the American Worker (2010), John Kindness
- Common Ground (2009), John Stone and Lonnie Graham in collaboration with Lorene Cary
- Manayunk Stoops: Heart and Home (2006), Diane Pieri
- I have a story to tell you . . . (2003), Pepón Osorio
- Embodying Thoreau: dwelling, sitting, watching (2003), Ed Levine
Form and Function
To bridge the gap between public art and ordinary life, the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art) initiated the pioneering program Form and Function in 1980. The aPA invited artists to propose public art projects for Philadelphia that would be utilitarian, site-specific, and integral to community life – works that would be integrated into the public context through use as well as placement. Each artist was asked to give meaning or identity to a place, to probe for the genius loci, or the “spirit of the place.”
- Pavilion in the Trees (1993), Martin Puryear
- Fingerspan (1987), Jody Pinto
- Louis Kahn Lecture Room (1982), Siah Armajani
- El Gran Teatro de la Luna (1982; reinstalled 2012), Rafael Ferrer
Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial
The Association for Public Art (formerly the Fairmount Park Art Association) established and maintains the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial (1933-1961) on Kelly Drive. The Memorial is comprised of three terraces and seventeen sculptures that were commissioned over a period of thirty years. To identify the sculptors, three Sculpture International exhibitions were held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, bringing together the works of hundreds of sculptors from the United States and abroad. The sculptures in the Memorial are all emblematic of the history of America, and created by well-known artists such as J. Wallace Kelly, Helene Sardeau, and Jacques Lipchitz.
