Philadelphia is about to get a much bigger classroom — and it comes with masterpieces on the walls. On October 23, the Philadelphia Museum of Art announced a $20 million gift, among the largest in its history, from longtime museum friends Lois G. and Julian A. Brodsky to create the new Lois G. and Julian A. Brodsky Learning and Engagement Center.
The Brodsky Center will transform the museum’s north wing into a dedicated home for learning. Early plans include a family learning center where little ones can play their way into art, hands-on art studios, a welcoming visitor orientation area, and a multipurpose community hub open to neighbors of all ages. It is the museum’s first major capital project since Frank Gehry’s celebrated Core Project reopened in May 2021.
The timing could not be better. The museum already welcomes about 36,000 students every year, and it offers guided school visits and free bus transportation to Philadelphia public school students, Head Start programs, and Title I schools across the region. Lois Brodsky knows that world firsthand: she began volunteering at the museum in 1982 and spent more than three decades guiding visitors through its galleries.
Philadelphia-based MGA Partners is preparing the design, expected by summer 2027, with construction to follow over the next few years. Until then, the galleries at 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway are wide open — and thanks to this gift, the museum’s youngest visitors will soon have a whole new wing to call their own.
Photo: Philadelphia Museum of Art
