Skip to content Skip to footer

Main menu

The Barnes Foundation Announces Ninth Annual Barnes on the Block with Mural Arts Philadelphia

Sunday, July 12, 2026, 10 am–5 pm

Live performances, art-making activities, craft market & beer garden
Free admission to the Barnes collection & exhibitions

Philadelphia, PA, June 11, 2026—The Barnes Foundation announces the ninth annual Barnes on the Block, in collaboration with Mural Arts Philadelphia, taking place on Sunday, July 12, 10 am–5 pm. Barnes on the Block with Mural Arts Philadelphia is presented by PNC Arts Alive.

An annual summer tradition, Barnes on the Block is a full day of outdoor festivities taking place on the grounds of the Barnes, and adjacent streets that will be closed to vehicular traffic—the Parkway between 20th and 21st Streets, and 20th Street between the Parkway and Callowhill Street. This popular event features entertainment and activities for guests of all ages, featuring music from local DJs, live performances, hands-on art making, local bites, and the Barnes on the Block Beer Garden by Constellation Culinary Group. Inside the Barnes, the Garden Restaurant will also be open for service.

New this year is a craft market, El Mercado Cultural, where guests can shop for goods by local artisans. This market is an initiative organized by Fleisher Art Memorial to encourage the Latinx/e community’s participation in commerce and the arts.

“We are thrilled to announce the lineup for the ninth annual Barnes on the Block, our popular program that has become a summer tradition here in Philly,” says James Claiborne, Fleischner Family Vice President for Engagement. “Together with our partners at Mural Arts Philadelphia, we are engaging a dynamic group of artists, musicians, and performers to present a free day filled with good music and lots of art and creative fun for the whole family.”

“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with the Barnes Foundation for another year of free, accessible art programming,” says Jane Golden, executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia. “Creativity and arts access are essential to community well-being, and each year Barnes on Block allows us to create joyful, meaningful moments that connect art to community in powerful ways.”

Throughout the day, guests can get creative with interactive art activities: contribute to a community mural led by Mural Arts Philadelphia; enjoy on-the-spot poetry by Marshall James Kavanaugh and other local poets; participate in a group sculpture and enjoy live art demonstrations by George Rodriguez and The Clay Studio’s Claymobile; watch a painting demonstration by LEMUS; explore and play with Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse; craft and create with Fleisher Art Memorial’s Colorwheels; and get a Barnes-inspired temporary tattoo by True Hand.

Guests can also enjoy live music throughout the day as local DJs and performers bring the vibrant sounds of Philadelphia to the Parkway, including TAMEARTZ, featuring DJ Mellodramatic, DJ NicoOso, and dance group Project Positive; Double Dutch with Philly Girls Jump; and performances by Batala, KyoDaiko, the Philadelphia Suns, the Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble, and Ñuuxakun. Guests can also enjoy movement activities, including family yoga with Yoga4Philly in the Annenberg Court.

Starting at 10 am, guests also enjoy free admission to the Barnes collection; the new exhibition Freedom Dreams, featuring film, video, and installation works by five contemporary artists exploring Black American history and identity; Sky Hopinka: Red Metal Dust, a new installation of meditative photographic landscapes by multidisciplinary Native American artist Sky Hopinka in the Annenberg Court; and Just Us, the Barnes’s annual restorative justice exhibition presented in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia, on view in the first-floor classroom of the Collection Gallery.

Registration is required for gallery access, and capacity is limited. Free tickets for timed admission will be available online beginning at 10 am on Thursday, July 9. Walk-ups are welcome as capacity allows. Additional information is available on the website.

The full lineup of activities is available on our website, with highlights listed below:

  • Craft Market
    Stroll through El Mercado Cultural and shop for goods by local artisans. This market is an initiative organized by Fleisher Art Memorial to encourage the Latinx/e community’s participation in commerce and the arts.

  • Barnes on the Block Beer Garden by Constellation Culinary Group
    Serving local beers, wine, cocktails, and mocktails, including seasonal brews from Philadelphia-based Victory Brewing Company, Surfside Vodka Iced Tea and Lemonade, and Two Robbers Hard Seltzers. The beer garden will be located on the Parkway between 20th and 21st streets. Beers from Victory Brewing Company will include:
    • Brotherly Love IPA
    • Summer Love
    • Peach Pier

Please note: Barnes on the Block will take place rain or shine, moving indoors in the event of inclement weather.

SPONSORS
Barnes on the Block with Mural Arts Philadelphia is presented by PNC Arts Alive.

Additional support is provided by Philadelphia City Fund’s 2026 Milestone Grant Fund, supported by PECO.

Lead support for community engagement and family programs is provided through the Comcast Center for Community Engagement at the Barnes. Generous endowment support for community engagement programs is provided by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). Additional annual support for these programs comes from David and Julia Fleischner and other generous individual, corporate, and foundation donors.

ABOUT THE BARNES FOUNDATION
The Barnes Foundation is a nonprofit cultural and educational institution that shares its unparalleled art collection with the public, organizes special exhibitions, and presents programming that fosters new ways of thinking about human creativity. The Barnes collection is displayed in ensembles that integrate art and objects from across cultures and time periods, overturning traditional hierarchies and revealing universal elements of human expression. Home to one of the world’s finest collections of impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings—including the largest groups of paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Paul Cézanne in existence—the Barnes brings together renowned canvases by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and Vincent van Gogh, alongside African, Asian, ancient, medieval, and Native American art as well as metalwork, furniture, and decorative art.

The Barnes Foundation was established by Dr. Albert C. Barnes in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture.” A visionary collector and pioneering educator, Dr. Barnes was also a fierce advocate for the civil rights of African Americans, women, and the economically marginalized. Committed to racial equality and social justice, he established a scholarship program to support young Black artists, writers, and musicians who wanted to further their education. Dr. Barnes was deeply interested in African American culture and became actively involved in the Harlem Renaissance, during which he collaborated with philosopher Alain Locke and Charles S. Johnson, the scholar and activist, to promote awareness of the artistic value of African art.

Since moving to Philadelphia in 2012, the Barnes Foundation has expanded its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and social justice, teaching visual literacy in groundbreaking ways; investing in original scholarship relating to its collection; and enhancing accessibility throughout every facet of its programs.

The Barnes Foundation is situated in Lenapehoking, the ancestral homeland of the Lenape people. Read our Land Acknowledgment.

Hours and ticket prices are listed on our website.

ABOUT MURAL ARTS PHILADELPHIA
Mural Arts Philadelphia is the nation’s largest public art program, dedicated to the belief that art ignites change. Mural Arts has united artists and communities through a collaborative and equitable process, creating over 4,000 artworks that have transformed public spaces and individual lives. Mural Arts aims to empower people, stimulate dialogue, and build bridges to mutual understanding through projects that attract artists from Philadelphia and around the world and programs that focus on youth education, restorative justice, mental health and wellness, and public art preservation. Popular mural tours offer a firsthand glimpse into the inspiring stories behind Mural Arts’ iconic and unparalleled collection, earning Philadelphia worldwide recognition as the “Mural Capital of the World.” Philadelphia was recently named the number one city for Best Street Art by USA Today. For more information, call 215.685.0750 or visit muralarts.org.

###

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Tim Spreitzer, Brian Communications
215.514.0170, tspreitzer@briancom.com

Josie Hall, Brian Communications
215.622.8814, jhall@briancom.com

Mural Arts Philadelphia
Frank Luzi, Luzi Media
215.779.7614/ frank@luzi.media

Barnes Foundation, Press Office
press@barnesfoundation.org
Online press office: barnesfoundation.org/press