PAFA Hosts Annual Open Studio Night

Visitors and art collectors get an inside look into the creative process of tomorrow’s art stars

Philadelphia, PA (February 12, 2014) – The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) hosts its annual Open Studio Night on Friday, February 21, 5:30-8 p.m. in the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building, located at 128 North Broad Street, Philadelphia.

During Open Studio Night, students enrolled in PAFA’s Master of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Certificate, and Post-Baccalaureate programs open over 150 studios to the public, allowing visitors the rare opportunity to view the spaces where PAFA’s talented students create.  

Open Studio Night represents the beginning of the student journey to PAFA’s highly-anticipated 113th Annual Student Exhibition (ASE), on view May 9 – June 1, 2014. The culmination of the school’s academic calendar, the ASE is the largest and longest-standing exhibition of its kind, featuring over 1,000 art works by graduating BFA students, third- and fourth-year Certificate students, and graduating MFA students.

The exhibition is an academic capstone and professional debut for PAFA’s students, who are given the opportunity to curate, install, and sell their own works—many of which will be on view as works in progress during Open Studio Night. Students spend the rest of the spring semester completing their work with feedback from faculty members and critics.

The high quality and incredible diversity in the vision and voice of PAFA’s artists draws thousands of eager art collectors to ASE each year, as the exhibition provides an exclusive opportunity to view and purchase early works by the art world’s next big stars.

Visitors are encouraged to follow @PAFAcademy on Twitter and Instagram, and to share their photos of Open Studio Night using the hashtag #PAFAOpenStudio.

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Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is America's first School of Fine Arts and Museum. A recipient of the 2005 National Medal of Arts presented by the President of the United States, PAFA is a recognized leader in Fine Arts education. Nearly every major American artist has taught, studied, or exhibited at PAFA. The institution's world-class collection of American art continues to grow and provides what only a few other art institutions in the world offer: the rare combination of an outstanding Museum and an extraordinary faculty known for its commitment to students and for the stature and quality of its artistic work.