Nature vivante

Echoes of Our Future: 250 Years of Black Artistic Legacy in Philadelphia honors the powerful and enduring legacy of Black artists whose lives and works intersect with the city of Philadelphia. As the birthplace of American democracy commemorates its 250th anniversary, this exhibition reframes the historical arc of the city through the lens of Black artistic excellence, cultural stewardship, and radical imagination.

Philadelphia’s rich artistic lineage is not just told through its institutions but through its classrooms, sidewalks, living rooms, churches, and community centers. Many of the featured artists were not only creatives but mentors, educators, and activists rooted in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. Some were born here. Others came to teach, study, or organize and in doing so, became integral to the city’s evolving cultural identity.

As a forward-facing platform, Echoes of Our Future also initiates The Next 250, a living educational project that empowers students across the region to define Philadelphia’s artistic future through workshops, mentorship, and visual storytelling.

On View: January 15 – March 12, 2026

Opening Reception: January 15, 5:00-6:30 PM

Made possible through a generous loan from the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art.

In music, polyphony refers to the simultaneous combination of multiple melodic lines, derived from the Greek word for “many sounds.” This exhibition will highlight the rich diversity and artistic expression within our staff and faculty community. Curated by Upper School Art Faculty member Paper Buck, the exhibition opened September 4.

Exhibition Dates: September 4 — December 5, 2025

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 4, 5:00-6:30 PM

Community Hours

The public is welcome to join us at SCH's Barbara Crawford Galley on the following dates:

Thursday, Sept 4 | 5:00-6:30 PM (Exhibition Opening Reception)
Saturday, Oct 18 | 12:00-2:00 PM
Saturday, Nov 15 | 12:00-2:00 PM

Location: The Crawford Gallery (#16 on the campus map) is located steps from the historic Wissahickon Inn courtyard at 500 W. Willow Grove Avenue. You may find street parking on Willow Grove or park in the nearby Stadium Lot. 

Symbiosis | Visions of Light is a multisensory exploration that invites viewers to engage in a deep philosophical inquiry into the interconnectedness of the natural world and human civilization. Through a diverse range of media—including acrylic painting, digital montage, original music composition, animated film, mixed-media collage, and assemblage—Artist, Jon Krasner, blends themes of mathematics in nature, spiritual healing, and the complexities of human-made environments. This thought-provoking exhibition serves as both an aesthetic and intellectual invitation to reflect on the profound connections that shape our existence in the world around us.

Exhibition Dates:  January 16-March 13, 2025

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 16, 5:00-6:00 PM

“There are few, if any, things more powerful and political than language,” says local artist Dawn Kramlich. We are pleased to announce the Barbara Crawford Gallery spring Art Show: Mark My Words, which features Kramlich’s work using various 2-D and 3-D media, including encaustic paintings (a technique in which pigments are mixed with hot liquid wax), and laser-cut matboard installations. 

What happens when artwork is both a painting and a poem? Or, when a poem is also an occupant of three-dimensional space? Kramlich, fascinated with the text+image relationship, centers her work on these questions due to “our existence in a society that barrages individuals with memes, ads, and digital conversations.” As a member of the millennial generation, she is keenly aware of—and influenced by—societal interpersonal shifts due to computer-mediated communication, and through her lens as a LGBTQ+ American woman, she often uses common phrases in her work to challenge or analyze power dynamics in society.

On View at SCH: February 9 - March 24, 2023

Jessie Jane Lewis (1947 - 2011) was an artist and disability rights activist who graduated from Springside School in 1965. Growing up she loved surfing, skateboarding, and adventure. After receiving degrees from the former Philadelphia College of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts she worked in painting, printmaking, and performance art.  She created profound video work focusing on artists with disabilities, the challenges they live with, and how they persevere to maintain their practice. She was a member of the board of trustees at the Woodmere Art Museum and worked as an art therapist for more than 20 years. She’s most well known for her work as an activist for people with disabilities. In the late 1990s, Ms. Lewis created the Voter Accessibility Reform Initiative. After many years of work, she convinced the city to honor the rights of disabled Philadelphians to vote at accessible polling places on machines that can accommodate those in wheelchairs, people who are blind or with low vision, and people who are deaf or hearing impaired.

On View at SCH: October 13, 2022 - January 26, 2023

Run Dates: 2020-2021

Sam Feinstein: The Early Years was an exhibition at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy that was on display from September 26, 2020 to Spring 2021 in conjunction with Group ’55, Midcentury Abstraction in Philadelphia, and Sam Feinstein: Immersive Abstraction at the Woodmere Art Museum. 

Painter, illustrator, filmmaker, and writer, Sam Feinstein was the Director of the Arts and taught at Chestnut Hill Academy from 1938-1942. The exhibition will feature his watercolors, oil paintings, and illustrations from the 1930s until the mid-1950s, showing his journey towards abstract expressionism—including the movie, Hans Hofmann, where Sam clearly explains Hofmann's artistic philosophy by capturing the artist immersed in the act of painting The Window, 1950. Weekend art classes and opportunities to view both exhibits will be available.

This exhibition was made possible through the Samuel L. Feinstein Trust.