If you saw yesterday’s comprehensiveEd Sozanski article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, you know that Curator Amy Schlegel is out and there’s a bunch of other changes at the Philadelphia Art Alliance as well.
We’re sorry to hear of these changes. Schlegel brought a curatorial vision to what has often been a dreary and vision-free institution. She showed immigrant and displacement work (see image by Polish-emigre artist Wlodzimierz Ksiazek featured in two Schlegel-curated exhibits), feminist work, AIDS related work, and she showed local artists off the beaten track as well. She seemed like a new curatorial voice in the community, and we hope someone else local snaps her up fast.
We wonder, what’s the point of having just another neighborhood art center, where the programming seems to be dictated by the rush for grant money for children’s programs? (We have nothing against children’s programs. However, there seem to be plenty of excellent ones out there that meet the needs of the area the Art Alliance serves–try Fleisher or Moore College, UArts, or the Art Museum, to name just a few.)
