Philadelphia City Hall displays work from former University of the Arts students, faculty in new exhibit
A new exhibition in Philadelphia gives space to former University of the Arts faculty and students, many of whom are still seeking answers as to why the school closed.
The exhibit on the first and fifth floors of City Hall shows the collective resilience of those who attended and taught at the school, which abruptly shut down this summer.
"It's definitely a bittersweet kind of nostalgic kind of feeling," former student Michael Dipietro said.
Anh Ly, a former student, has a piece in the exhibit, which is called "Transcending Uncertainty: Art Endures at Home in Philadelphia."
"It was a dream come true that I did not actually dream. It's something that I did not think would happen due to the circumstances that brought about the exhibition," Ly said.
The exhibition runs through Jan. 25.
"We had people at graduation one week and they are closing the next week, and this can never happen again," said Rue Landau, at-large Philadelphia city councilmember.
Landau and Creative Philadelphia helped bring the exhibition to City Hall.
"The exhibit is just beautiful, and you can see and feel their voices," Landau said. "You can feel the frustration, you can feel the anger of what happened when the university closed so suddenly."
The university says financial issues caused the sudden closure.
"There's so much going on in the news today. This happened to the arts community and I don't want people to forget it because those kids, their lives were devastated," said Tu Huynh, the city's curator of exhibitions and programs.
For Ly and others, "transcending uncertainty" through their art is bittersweet, but the opportunity to share their work with others provides a sense of closure.
"I'm really thankful," Ly said.