By Stephan Salisbury
The museum focuses on Philadelphia art, old and new, with new exhibitions and installations.
After nearly four years of maddening construction that closed off swaths of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to visitors, a date to reopen and show off 22,000 square feet of new gallery space and the rest of the transformational changes to the once-clotted building has now been set: May 7.
The new galleries — each comprising about 11,000 square feet carved from offices, restaurant, and the museum store — are done. And the museum is seeking to make a very Philadelphia-centric splash with its two exhibitions.
The modern and contemporary galleries will open with “New Grit: Art & Philly Now,” a major exhibition presenting the work of 25 Philadelphia artists, including Jane Irish and Tim Portlock.