Past Events
- Support PMG with our 2012 Annual Giving Campaign
Within the past few years, PMG’s status has shifted from that of a local treasure to a nationally-recognized arts and culture center. Our guests have traveled from as far away as Japan and Australia to experience the Gardens, while the main audience for PMG’s core programs remains Philly residents.
As PMG grows and matures, each donated dollar significantly impacts the continuation of Zagar’s work, vision, and spirit. Now is the perfect time to become a member.
PMG Memberships are affordable, offer numerous benefits, and provide a unique way to engage with Zagar's iconic Philadelphia artwork. There are also several donation and sponsorship options, as well as ways to become a part of PMG by volunteering. The 2013 year will offer new and exciting membership benefits, so it's a terrific time to become more involved!
Any way you contribute, PMG appreciates your support!
- Introducing: Mosaic Musings Gallery Talks
Ever wondered who Clarence Schmidt is or why there’s a whole toilet in the Gardens? Don't have time for a full guided tour but want to get more of an inside scoop on PMG? Do you like casual learning situations that are short enough to keep your attention?
Join us for Mosaic Musings! These informal 10-15 minute conversations led by our trained staff interpreters tell the stories behind some of our most asked about objects and ideas.
Each talk focuses on a different object in the labyrinth. Topics include personal stories about PMG creator Isaiah Zagar, his artistic influences, the origins of different tiles, and much more. And of course, feel free to ask your own questions to your friendly Garden Guide following the talk.
Mosaic Musings are FREE with admission and held at the following times:
- Fridays at 2:00PM and 4:00PM
- Saturdays at 2:00PM
- Sundays at 2:00PM
- Mondays at 2:00PM
- NEW! Twilight in the Gardens series!
Join PMG for our new Twilight in the Gardens multisensory series! On these special evenings, hang out with friends, enjoy unique and enthralling performances, explore your own creativity with artistic activities, and drink a beverage of your choice during evenings in our beautiful mosaicked labyrinth.Taking place on the fourth Friday of the month from April-October, each Twilight in the Gardens will feature a unique array of arts experiences paired with a live musical performance. You might participate in an art-making activity to the sounds of a toy pianist, or witness a fire dancer spinning flames after hearing a steel drum band! These one-of-a-kind events also give visitors the chance to learn more about PMG through fun, casual mini-tours of the space and view the temporary exhibitions hanging in our galleries. All Twilight in the Gardens evenings are BYOB, but wine will be available with drink tickets in case you forget your bottle!Bring a drink, a friend, and some curiosity and let PMG help you unwind after work with Twilight in the Gardens! Tickets are $10/adults, $8/students, seniors and members. Members also get a free drink ticket!APRIL 26, 2013 TWILIGHT IN THE GARDENS
Twilight in the Gardens starts the spring season with a middle-east meets the rocking-west twist. Our musical guest, Rit Mo Collective, will feature jazz improvisations, funk-influenced grooves, electronic sound loops, and eastern beats. Front man, Chris Farrell will wow the crowd with striking sounds of the oud, a middle-eastern string instrument. Our featured artist, Rebecca Tennenbaum, will teach guests about the history of mandalas and allow them to make their own personal mandala through creating simple linoleum prints that participants can take home with them.
*All guests must be 21 years old to drink. - Kun-Yang Lin Dancers at the Mandell Theater
Photograph by Matthew WrightA very special offer is available to supporters of PMG to attend the upcoming home season shows of an internationally acclaimed, contemporary dance company -- $4 off every regular-priced ticket ($27 to $35).
Philadelphia's Kun-Yang Lin Dancers presents the world premiere of One: Gifts from Afar, a dynamic meditation on the journey from external division to internal oneness. One is paired with the company's acclaimed Mandala Project, a "masterwork of art, spirituality and stagecraft" (Philadelphia Inquirer). Kun-Yang Lin Dancers offers contemporary Zen-inspired works of poetic sensibility that "create and inhabit worlds of their own." (New York Times).
Following four straight years of sold-out performances and rave reviews at the Painted Bride Art Center, Kun-Yang Lin Dancers will grace the stage of the Mandell Theater of Drexel University, at 33rd and Chestnut streets for three shows: Friday, March 22 at 8:00PM; Saturday March 23 at 3:00PM and 8:00PM. Make your reservations now!PMG has had a relationship with Philadelphia's Kun-Yang Lin Dancers since Isaiah Zagar mosaicked the outside of their studio nearly five years ago. Isaiah's sister has been a part of this amazing dance company for year, and Olive Prince, a previous PMG collaborator, is also a part of the company.
Patrons of Philadelphia's Magic Gardens will receive a $4 discount off of regular priced tickets by entering PMG1 in the coupon box at check-out.
Visit kunyanglin.org/one or email tickets@kunyanglin.org - Outsider Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
In addition to the Beyond Boundaries: Works from Oasis Art Center (RHD) and PDDC's Cultural Arts Center at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens,there's more great alternative art to view!
The power of self-taught artistic talent, the drive of the human spirit to create, and the wonders of highly original inner worlds revealed. Discover the visual strength and original beauty of these works by twenty-seven untrained American artists, each with a moving personal story, many from disadvantaged, rural backgrounds far removed from the mainstream art world.
We are thrilled to report the Philadelphia Museum of Art is showcasing outsider art in a fantastic new exhibition! Great and Mighty Things: Outsider Art from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection surprises and challenges museum goers, forces examination of the conventional definition of the word "artist,” and shows that good art is good art regardless of the maker’s résumé. These are just a few of the reasons why the Philadelphia Museum of Art is proud to debut the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection, a promised gift to the Museum of more than two hundred works by self-taught artists.
Make sure to view this exciting exhibition! - SSHD Spring Festival May 4
On Saturday, May 4, come on down to South Street between 2nd and 8th Streets to enjoy South Street Headhouse District's Spring Festival! From NOON to 8:00PM the streets will be full of local music, food vendors, art, and shopping, as well as a kids zone for the young ones and plenty of cocktails, beer and wine for the older crowd! Philadelphia's Magic Gardens will have their own table and activity at the festival, so be sure to stop by! - Mummers Masks for the New Year
January 1, 2013
12:00pm
Ring in 2013 at the Magic Gardens with a Philadelphia New Year’s tradition. Join us between 12:00 and 5:00 to make mosaic Mummer’s masks. We’ll have everything you need to make your own creation inspired by the glitz of our own mosaicked walls. You’ll be ready to join a fancy brigade and do the Mummer’s strut! FREE with admission.
- PMG Closing at 4PM on January 17
- PMG Snow Procedures
- PMG Snow Procedures
Due to the slippery conditions caused by the snow and sleet, PMG's outdoor labyrinth will be closed on Monday, January 28. In order to allow visitors to still view that space, we will be leading several informational mini tours that will provide limited access to the outside, as well as our basement space. These tours are FREE with admission and will take place at 11:30AM, 12:30PM, 1:30PM, 2:30PM, and 3:30PM.We hope to reopen the outdoor space on Tuesday, January 29, weather permitting.Please call 215-733-0390 with any questions!
