Arcadia is now a university member of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). PAFA also is included in the Knight Pass provided to new students.

From now until July 31, 2012, any faculty, staff or student member of the Arcadia community can show their Arcadia ID card and gain free access to the academy. In addition, faculty may schedule complementary group tours. To arrange a tour, please contact Sarah Holloran, Tour and Docent Program Coordinator at 215-972-2069 or tours@pafa.org.

What’s new at PAFA? Paint Torch, a 51-foot sculpture by internationally renowned artist Claes Oldenburg was installed in August. Upcoming exhibitions include:

American Art Starts Here: PAFA Refreshed, Reloaded starts Sept. 10: “How do you build upon one of the great collections of American art? And how can such familiar art appear transformed and enlivened? That was the challenge undertaken this summer by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), where its curatorial team, which includes a trio of experts in eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century art, collaborated to rethink the themes and layouts of the galleries through 1950. The result is dynamic new juxtapositions, thematic groupings, recent acquisitions, and resuscitated gems that will challenge and delight visitors.” Read more.

here. runs  Oct. 22 through Dec. 31: “here. is an exhibition that considers how “place” is not simply the geographic locality where an artist lives and works but also the juice of lived experience—the subject matter, material, concepts and freedoms that this space provides. Recognizing how place influences and infiltrates each artist’s work in diverse and complicated ways, here. explores how a sense of place exists in the work of artists from six particular regions—Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, Detroit and Kansas City.” Read more.