ART IS A VITAL COMPONENT OF ANY PHILADELPHIA VISIT. WALK EASILY FROM HOTELS AND PASS THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS TO SEE MAGNIFICENT PUB LIC ARTWORKS ON THE WAY TO SOME OF THE NATION’S FINEST ART INSTITUTIONS. Free Art… Philadelphia began integrating art into public spaces as early as the 1700s, when the city served as the nation’s first capital. In 1872, Philadelphia became the first U.S. city to establish a private nonprofit citizen’s organization — Association for Public Art (aPA) — to make art accessible to all. Philadelphia continues to pioneer groundbreaking models for art accessibility that have been replicated in other cities across the country. FROM GARDEN OF DELIGHT MURAL ©S. Weinik SPRING ARTS MURAL ©K. Huff Philadelphia was named the 2023 Best City in the U.S. for Street Art by USA Today 10Best. Philadelphia is known as “ The Mural Capital of the World ,” boasting over 4,000 works of community-based public art. The Swann Memorial Fountain by Alexander Stirling Calder in Logan Square is an example of an aPA work of art. SWANN MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN ©M. Slusarczyk 24
Philadelphia Official Visitors Guide Spring/Summer 2024: Page 24
