African American Museum Philadelphia, PA

In 2015, Philadelphia museums will present a number of major exhibitions featuring the work of celebrated African-American artists, further adding to the city’s reputation as one of the world’s great art destinations.

In addition to the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s latest show, Represent: 200 Years of African American Art, which features over 75 of works from its collections, art lovers can take in special exhibitions at Brandywine Museum of Art, The African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Woodmere Art Museum.

Along with these can’t-miss exhibitions, visitors can find a phenomenal selection of African and African-American art in the permanent collections of many institutions around town.

Download our guide to African American Art in Philadelphia below and browse the the exhibits, galleries and museums worth exploring this year, below:

Represent: 200 Years of African American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Represent: 200 Years of African America Art includes over 75 works from 50 artists included in the museum’s collection. (Public Works of Art Project, on long-term loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art from the Fine Arts Collection, U.S. General Services Administration.)

With work by renowned artists such as Henry Ossawa Tanner, Horace Pippin, Jacob Lawrence, Martin Puryear and Carrie Mae Weems, Represent: 200 Years of African American Art showcases a range of subjects, styles, mediums and traditions. Since acquiring Tanner’s “The Annunciation” painting in 1899, the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection of African-American art has grown significantly — especially during the last three decades — and much of it will be on display in this exhibit.

As We See It and Badass Art Man: Original Artwork of Danny Simmons at The African American Museum in Philadelphia

AAMP presents two exciting exhibitions this year: As We See It and Badass Art Man: Original Artwork of Danny Simmons (Photo by M. Kennedy for Visit Philadelphia.)

The African American Museum in Philadelphia presents two major art exhibitions this year. Masterpieces by such luminaries as Edward Bannister, Henry Tanner and Elizabeth Catlett sit alongside works by school children who have been influenced by them during As We See It: Selected Works from the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection.

In the spring, the museum explores the artistic side of Danny Simmons, who is best known as a writer, producer and Tony winner for his Broadway version of Def Poetry Jam. The United Nations and the Smithsonian count his art in their collections. Badass Art Man: Original Artwork of Danny Simmons features Simmons’ art works and poetry, as well as items from his own collection (Beauford Delaney, James Van Der Zee, Mickalene Thomas, Sol Sax, Derrick Adams and Kara Walker).