Celebrating 160 years & beyond! - Moore College of Art and Design

F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T
Changing Times
Changing Lives
Changing Art
As Philadelphia enters
a new renaissance as
an international city
with vibrant cultural and
educational resources,
Moore College ofArt &
Design is enriched by its
160-year legacy and is
poised to embrace and
shape the future and
the creative economy.
We are delighted to bring you the first of three issues of
Moore News that will mark the 160th anniversary year
at Moore College of Art & Design. You’ll see some
changes with a fresh new look and expanded content
that demonstrates the way Moore is changing with the
times, changing lives and changing art.
This is going to be an exciting year. Our 160th
celebrations include exhibitions of the work of Moore
alumna Alice Neel ’25, and the fashion and textile
collection of this year’s Visionary Woman Mary McFadden, a new lecture and film series,
a commemorative student-designed tie and scarf, a special WHYY broadcast and a newly
published pictorial history of the College.
160 years of educating women for careers in art and design is the amazing legacy of
founder Sarah Peter. I first became aware of Sarah Worthington Peter as the new President
of Moore College of Art & Design in 1999. With a background in history, education and
politics, I marvel at what Peter accomplished as a woman living in Philadelphia in 1848.
Her story and the history of the college is powerful evidence that education and art can
change lives, transforming individuals and society.
It is extraordinary that Peter’s school, the first arts school for women in the nation,
continues to thrive in the City of Philadelphia after 160 years. It is a tribute to the unique
mission of the College and to the innovations and accomplishments of its faculty, leaders
and graduates. Spanning three centuries, the College has embraced and adapted to the
changing times.
At this milestone in Moore’s history, we are in a strong position, nearing the completion
of a historic $30 million capital campaign that has doubled our studio, classroom and public
spaces and renovated all of our 60’s era buildings. A final phase of the capital campaign is
adding climate and temperature control for The Galleries and expanding the capacity of the
Archives, securing an important collection of records and original artwork documenting the
history of the College. Preserving and honoring the past while focusing on the future is the
core theme for this year: “Excellence in the Arts: 160 Years and Beyond.”
Today, the BFA program for women, the co-educational Young Artists Workshop and
adult continuing education programs prepare students to meet the highest standards in
the arts. Three new and unique co-educational graduate programs begin next summer. As
Philadelphia enters a new renaissance as an international city with vibrant cultural and
educational resources, Moore College of Art & Design is enriched by its 160-year legacy and
is poised to embrace and shape the future and the creative economy.
Happy Craven Fernandez,
President
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