Tag: Fleisher Art Memorial

Grace Sawyer, BMC ’26

Teen and Adult Education and Documentation at Fleisher Art Memorial

Semester: Spring 2024

Praxis Course: HART B420 Museum Studies Fieldwork Seminar

Faculty Advisor: Matthew Feliz

Field Site: Fleisher Art Memorial

Field Supervisor: Suzanne Seesman

Praxis Poster: 

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Further Context:

This semester, I worked at Fleisher Art Memorial, a community art school in south Philadelphia. Fleisher is a nonprofit that aims to make arts education accessible through both free and affordable classes and workshops for children, teens, and adults. I greatly enjoyed my time there with the education department. I started my internship working solely under the manager of adult education, but one of the best parts of working in a small institution like Fleisher is that I was given flexibility to work with other members of the department on different projects. My typical day at Fleisher could involve sitting in on an education department meeting, proofing adult class listings, and finishing the day assisting in Teen Lounge, a free after-school art and community program for Philly teens. It gave me a very well-rounded sense of how arts education and nonprofits function: I worked both behind-the-scenes and hands-on.

Working with the teens was always one of the highlights of my day. Teen Lounge is unique in the autonomy it allows the teen members: they choose their own teachers and workshops, vend their work at craft festivals across the city, organize events, and use the space however they want. My work with them was very hands-off, but I was able to help facilitate small, lower-sensory environments on busier days.

I chose to focus my presentation on documentation: I did not take photos every day at Fleisher, but the times that I did were incredibly memorable and fun. I spent a few nights photographing adult evening classes. My main objective was to take photos of classes that were dynamic and showed the fun, community-building aspects of Fleisher’s classes. I never wanted my photos to look boring or overly academic, as that is not the environment I observed. This was a very fun way of both practicing my photography skills, which I haven’t used for most of college, and getting to know the students and faculty of the adult programs. I also spent a few days in Teen Lounge both taking pictures and conducting interviews for a grant application.

I am so grateful for my experience at Fleisher, and it has gotten me interested in the world of arts in communities outside of museums.

Keyla Benitez ’24

Bringing Fleisher’s Past to the Future: Digitizing their Artistic Archives!

Semester: Spring 2023

Praxis Course: HART 420 Museum Studies Fieldwork Seminar

Faculty Advisors: Matthew Feliz &  Monique Scott

Field Site: Fleisher Art Memorial

Field Supervisors: Bailey Dodds & Catherine Lee

Praxis Poster:

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Further Context:

The Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, located in South Philadelphia, has provided art education and cultural programming accessible to all since 1898. As part of their commitment to accessibility and inclusion, they have initiated a project to digitize their creative archives and bring Flesher’s past to the future. The project’s primary goal is to identify historically significant documents and methods for digitization. I worked with Bryn Mawr’s Archivist and Digital Collections and Metadata Librarian to develop digitization and outreach strategies that are effective and sustainable.

The project’s social justice lens means that the digitized archives will be accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities or background. The project also created a preservation plan for a 116-year-old scrapbook created by Samuel S. Flesher himself. The scrapbook provides unique insight into the founder’s vision for the institution, its early days, and the founder’s life. However, the scrapbook is deteriorating due to its age and delicate nature. I worked to develop a plan to protect and preserve the scrapbook for future generations.

The project serves as a reminder of the vital role that institutions like the Flesher Art Memorial play in promoting community engagement. By digitizing historical documents and making them more accessible and inclusive, Flesher is preserving its history and making it available to a broader audience. This highlights the importance of accessibility and inclusion in safeguarding cultural heritage and fostering creative spaces welcoming to everyone.

In conclusion, an important initiative is for Flesher to digitize its artistic archives and bring Flesher’s past to the future. The project’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion is crucial in preserving cultural heritage and making it available to everyone. The project also demonstrates the Flesher Art Memorial’s ongoing commitment to its mission and the people of
Philadelphia.