Behind the scenes preview of The Please Touch Museum
May 8, 2008
 The Please Touch Museum will open in October at its new site... Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park. Construction and renovation work is continuing toward the opening date. From WHYY's Arts and Culture Desk, Alex Schmidt took a hard-hat tour.
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Cinco de Mayo less important among city's Mexican immigrant community
May 5, 2008
While South Street may have been hopping with Cinco de Mayor parties, that probably wasn't the case in much of Mexico or in Philadelphia's Mexian immigrant community. From WHYY's Arts and Culture Desk, Alex Schmidt reports. Listen to the mp3 »
More info: Wikipedia: State of Puebla
City of Puebla
Cinco de Mayo
Mexican Independence Day
Preservation underway of history-making ship at Penn's Landing
May 1, 2008
 Some long-needed preservation work is underway at the Independence Seaport Museum on Penn's Landing. WHYY's Alex Schmidt went down into the depths to check out underwater restoration work on the Spanish-American war vessel - The Olympia.
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More info: Independence Seaport Museum website: Cruiser Olympia
Take a virtual tour of the Olympia
Pennsylvania's Swedish Roots Celebrated with Valborg
April 30, 2008
Spring is here and a museum in South Philadelphia is honoring the season in its own ancient way. WHYY's Alex Schmidt reports. Listen to the mp3 »
More info: Wikipedia: Swedish festival of Valborg
Art Auction to help AIDS Counseling Site
April 26, 2008
One of Philadelphia's chief gay and lesbian community centers and AIDS health counseling sites gets a hand from a former patient. WHYY's Alex Schmidt reports on an art auction benefitting the Mazzoni Center. Listen to the mp3 »
Playwright Explores Apartheid through Ancient Greek Play
April 25, 2008
An adaptation of the classic Greek play Agamemnon by a South African playwright makes its U.S. debut at Penn's Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The peformance explores the theme of apartheid. WHYY's Alex Schmidt went to check out Molora. Listen to the mp3 Part I »
Listen to the mp3 Part II »
Art Museum Completes Trade to Secure The Gross Clinic
April 24, 2008
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has announced how it's going to pay for its share of Thomas Eakins' painting, The Gross Clinic. WHYY's Alex Schmidt reports. Listen to the mp3 »
Kimmel Center Clear of Debt - with a little Help from its Friends
April 23, 2008
The Kimmel Center opened to the public in 2001 with $30 million in construction debt. Now it has wiped the slate clean - and then some. WHYY's Alex Schmidt reports. Listen to the mp3 »
Arts Get a Little Play in the Presidential Race
April 15, 2008
Top issues on the campaign trail are often the economy, abortion and the military. The arts don't usually get to share much of the spotlight. WHYY's Alex Schmidt reports that this year is different. Listen to the mp3 »
 Remembering Richie Ashburn
April 11, 2008
Richie Ashburn became a Philadelphia sports icon with his brazing speed rounding the bases wearing number one and snaring fly balls in center field as a Whiz Kid. Many of us remember "Whitey" best as the "color man" paired with Phils broadcaster Harry Kalas from 1971 until Ashburn's untimely death in September 1997. Phillies longtime videographer Dan Stephenson, known as "Video Dan" has chronicled Ashburn's rise with the Phillies in "Richie Ashburn: A Baseball Life." He talked with WHYY Morning Edition's Brenda Jorett.
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Local Artist Featured at Philly Film Fest
April 6, 2008
The documentary "In A Dream" screened at the Philadelphia Film Festival over the weekend. It tells the story of a family of artists who are notorious - at least in Philadelphia. WHYY's Alex Schmidt spoke with the director. Listen to the mp3 »
Right to Spring
March 27, 2008
Still in its first season, contemporary dance company Ballet X debuted their original spring performance last night. WHYY's Alex Schmidt went to check out "Right to Spring."
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Philly Ghosts
March 5, 2008
The season four premiere of Ghost Hunters airs tonight on the SciFi channel. The paranormal investigators make it their mission to debunk haunting myths. Tonight, they're coming to Philadelphia's own backyard. WHYY's Alex Schmidt reports.
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Philly Mexicans on the Cultural Grid
February 20, 2008
The Frida Khalo exhibit opens today at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Khalo was a Mexican loyalist, and staunchly proud of her indigenous roots. Here in Philly, a growing Mexican population is gaining its own cultural visibility. WHYY's Alex Schmidt reports.
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Digs Darklighter:
The Fine Line of Philly Hip-Hop
February 13, 2008
Philadelphia has a rich hip-hop tradition. Some artists try and help the youth through music. Others promote vices that can lead kids down a crooked path. WHYY's Alex Schmidt talked an artist who does a little of both.
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Dedicated to Delius
January 25, 2008
You've really got to love a composer to head up a small, nonprofit society dedicated to that person. Philadelphia is the headquarters of a group of folks who are focused on the works of one composer. His birthday is on January 29th, and in the world of classical music societies, birthdays are a big deal. WHYY's Alex Schmidt reports.
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Remembering the March on Washington
January 21, 2008
We might forget, on Martin Luther King day, that there are still those among us who lived through the civil rights movement, who experienced segregation and, in certain cases, heard Dr. King speak. Some of those folks gathered at the West Philadelphia Senior Community Center, and WHYY's Alex Schmidt went to hear what they had to say.
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Old is New
December 14, 2007
Typically, art students choose old warehouses and other abandoned spaces to display their work. But this weekend, 24 Tyler School of Art students take their trade out to the suburbs. WHYY's Alex Schmidt reports.
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Delaware Valley Opera Company
October 17, 2007
A Philadelphia opera company that's been housed in a historic building in Fairmount Park since the 1970's is looking for a new home following a rocky relationship with its landlord. WHYY's Shai Ben-Yaacov explains.
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Walton Finds Art, Controversy on Campus
September 26, 2007
Fisk University in Nashville has agreed to share its renowned Stieglitz Collection with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The deal announced yesterday is the latest coup for Crystal Bridges founder Alice Walton. Last year, Walton tried and failed to purchase "The Gross Clinic" by Thomas Eakins, which remains in Philadelphia. That hasn't stopped the Wal-Mart heiress from pursuing other artistic treasures on college campuses... or stirring up controversy in the process. WHYY's Joel Rose reports.
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One Marine's Mission: "Make Art"
July 18, 2007
Click to enlarge.
Images by Warrant Officer 1 Michael D. Fay, USMCR
Images courtesy of the Art Collection, National Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle, VA
As Americans everywhere debate the nation's future in Iraq and Afghanistan, one thing is clear: the wars there have already left an indelible imprint on the hearts and minds of thousands of soldiers. Their experience is the subject of a new show at the James Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. WHYY's Bill Hangley has more.
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"The Gross Clinic" at PAFA
March 13, 2007
Thomas Eakins's painting "The Gross Clinic" goes on display tomorrow at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. When the Academy and the Philadelphia Museum of Art announced plans to buy the painting last year, they did not mention that the Academy would have to sell a major work from its collection to pay for it. Now it appears the art museum will also have to sell one or more paintings from its collection. That has prompted some critics to wonder if the deal is really a net win for the city. WHYY's Joel Rose reports.
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  Public Gardens
March 9, 2007
Click images to enlarge
The Philadelphia region is rich with public gardens. Gardening expert and author Adam Levine and photographer Rob Cardillo have put together, "The Guide to the Great Gardens of the Philadelphia Region." WHYY Morning Edition's Brenda Jorett talked with Adam Levine. (March 9, 2007) There's more information at http://www.phillygardenguide.co
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