Tagged Photography
Celebrating World Photography Day
Photography means "to draw with light." It is derived from the Greek words photos , meaning "light," and graphos , meaning "drawing." We celebrate World Photography Day every year on…
View Life Through the Lens: Photography Without Borders at the Free Library
Photography is a powerful outlet for expression and creativity in young people. Teens aged 12–18 can explore their abilities as photographers at the Kensington and Lillian Marrero branches of the Free Library this summer,…
The Free Library Seeks a Contract Event Photographer
The Free Library of Philadelphia provides educational programming to enhance and enrich the lives of residents and free access to important resources and services. The Library hosts thousands of public programs each year, including…
Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party
Over the years, the Philadelphia Commission for Women has partnered with the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Organization for Women on vital programs to elevate the voices and aspirations of…
Frank Stephens, Jr.: A Free Library Legacy
When Frank Stephens, Jr., passed away in March at the age of 89, many mourned the loss of a friend and colleague. Others were hearing about Frank for the first time. And it was an opportunity for all of us at the Free Library to learn…
Baking with Becca: Cooking Outside the Box
Baking with Becca began at Whitman Library , nestled between 2nd and 3rd Streets on Snyder Avenue in South Philly. When COVID hit, we had to take a long break. I continued to grow and learn to strengthen this class and to steel myself…
Souls Shot: Victims of Gun Violence Portrait Exhibit On Display at Logan Library
The Logan Library is proud to host the Souls Shot: Portraits of Victims of Gun Violence portrait exhibit now through December 30, Monday through Friday from 1:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. This exhibit will consist of portraits of victims of gun…
Explore Your Neighborhood Virtually with Digital Collections
With current stay-at-home orders and social distancing precautions in place, I find myself more eager to spend time outside and walk (or jog if I’m feeling really motivated) around the neighborhood. This has sparked a growing…
Diving into Digital Collections
For more than 25 years, libraries have been digitizing their collections, and the Free Library has digital collections in abundance—providing the opportunity to browse through roughly 50,000 images or to take a deep dive into the…
The Free Library's New Center for Digitization | Sharing Treasures Through Technology
" If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday" Pearl S. Buck Putting the contents of libraries and museums on the web makes wonderful, hidden art accessible. The Free Library of Philadelphia has…
McPherson Square Library Photography Exhibit Spotlights Neighborhood Strengths
Tuesday Chalmers is an Adult/Teen Librarian at McPherson Square Library , and a member of Cohort 1 of the Skills for Community-Centered Libraries training. In this post, she explains the project she worked on after attending the…
Through This Lens: African American Photographers
Through This Lens , an exhibit of library materials that illustrates and discusses the camera work of African American photographers can be viewed on the 2nd floor landing of Parkway Central Library until mid-March. Some of the…
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Reporter Vivian Shirley Climbs Philadelphia Landmarks!
The Print and Picture Collection recently added a group of photos to the Historical Images of Philadelphia Digital Collection featuring intrepid reporter Vivian Shirley climbing three Philadelphia landmarks between 1929 and…
William Rapp Collection of Historical Images of Philadelphia
The Print and Picture Collection is happy to announce the addition of over 100 photographic images by William Rapp to our Historical Images of Philadelphia digital collection. Born in 1920, William Henry Rapp, Jr.…
Fur and Feathers: A New Exhibition in the Print and Picture Collection Hallway
Cat lovers and bird lovers unite! While cats and birds have a contentious relationship in nature, images of them have been living harmoniously side-by-side in the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Print and Picture Collection . Fur…
Joel Katz and Jackie Neale Exhibition and Opening Reception
The Print and Picture Collection is pleased to announce a new exhibtion in the Print and Picture Collection Hallway Gallery. The exhibition, Joel Katz and Jackie Neale , features photographs and collage by Joel Katz and photographs…
The Artists of The Print Center
2015 marks the 100th anniversary of The Print Center , and organizations citywide, including the Free Library of Philadelphia Print and Picture Collection , are joining in the celebration. The Print Center was founded by a group of…
Celebrate Philly Photo Day 2015 with a Hands-on Photography Workshop for Adults over 50
Calling all creatives and burgeoning photographers! On Friday, October 9, 2015, the 6th Annual Philly Photo Day will celebrate photography as an art form, with the Greater Philadelphia region as the subject. In a region where the…
Exhibition Opening | Secretary to the People: Sheryl Oring Uses a Typewriter to Activate Democracy with Art on the Streets of Philly and Beyond
Join us on the evening of January 30th at the Parkway Central branch of The Free Library of Philadelphia as we launch this multimedia installation showcasing over 20 years of work by artist Sheryl Oring. With her “I Wish to…
Photo club: Featuring Jano Cohen
All photographers and photography fans are invited to drop in in on Photo Club meetings that typically take place every other month in the Art Department. Our featured local photographer this month will be Jano Cohen who will…
The Phillypino Oral History Project: Exhibition
The Phillypino Oral History Project is an intergenerational, community-based oral history and photography project capturing the rich narratives of Filipino immigrants who arrived in Philadelphia, particularly in the 1980’s, after…
Patti Smith | A Book of Days
A couple of songs and stories from a memorable evening with Patti Smith and Tony Shanahan--and a great audience--at the library.
Marc Lamont Hill and Todd Brewster | Seen and Unseen: Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice
In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award winning broadcaster and journalist The host of BET News , Black News Tonight , and UpFront , Marc Lamont Hill is the Steve Charles Chair in Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University.…
Joshua Coombes | Do Something for Nothing: Seeing Beneath the Surface of Homelessness, through the Simple Act of a Haircut
In conversation with Britt James, founder of Philly Unknown In 2015, British hairstylist Joshua Coombes hit the streets of London with a pair of scissors and an extraordinary idea—that giving free haircuts to those who are experiencing…
Caleb Azumah Nelson | Open Water
In conversation with Megha Majumdar, bestselling author of A Burning British–-Ghanaian writer Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut novel Open Water is, “an intense, elegant” ( Guardian ) tale of two young Black British artists who find love as…
Deborah Willis | The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship
Deborah Willis, Ph.D. , is the author of Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present ; Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present ; and Michelle Obama: The First Lady in…
Yaba Blay | One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race
In conversation with Imani Perry Referred to by Michael Eric Dyson as “one of the most brilliant and committed critics and advocates writing and thinking and working on behalf of Black people today,” Dr. Yaba Blay is a scholar,…
Antonio M. Johnson | You Next: Reflections in Black Barber Shops
The nephew of a beloved neighborhood barber, West Philadelphian Antonio M. Johnson is the creator of You Next , a pictorial dive into one of African American men’s most valued institutions. Part sanctuary, part cultural space, barber…
Susan Choi | Trust Exercise: A Novel with Myla Goldberg | Feast Your Eyes
Excavating the hidden corners of the human heart and acclaimed for their “nuance, psychological acuity, and pitch-perfect writing” ( Los Angeles Times ), Susan Choi ’s novels include the Asian American Literary Award-winning The Foreign…
Lynsey Addario | Of Love & War
Often focusing on armed conflict, human rights issues, and women’s roles in traditional societies, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario’s work regularly appears in The New York Times , National Geographic , and Time .…