Echoes of Our Future:

250 Years of Black Artistic Legacy in Philadelphia

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.

Artists Include: 

  • Moe Brooker (1940-2022)
  • Barbara Bullock (1938–present)
  • Charles Burwell (1955–present)
  • Donald E. Camp (1940–present)
  • Rex Goreleigh (1902–1986)
  • Reginald Gammon (1921–2005)
  • Hughie Lee-Smith (1915–1999)
  • Eustace Mamba (1992–present)
  • Deryl Mackie (1949–2007)
  • Tim McFarlane (1964–present)
  • Columbus Knox (1923–1999)
  • Charles Searles (1937–2004)
  • Dox Thrash (1893–1965)
  • Ellen Powell Tiberino (1937–1992)
  • Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937)
  • Ellen Tiberino (1964–present)
  • Ron Tarver (1957–present)
  • William Villalongo (1975–present)
  • Richard Watson (1946–present)
Dox Thrash Wandering Boy 1940

The Next 250 | Community Programming & Educational Connections

As a forward-facing platform, Echoes of Our Future introduces The Next 250, a living project engaging students across the region in shaping Philadelphia’s artistic future through mentorship, workshops, and visual storytelling. The program extends into Gallery Talks, Workshops, and Community Partnerships.

Eustace Mamba | Class of 1957 Artist in Residency

Artist Gallery Talks: Philadelphia-based artist Eustace Mamba (b. 1992) will discuss his work Rations and his use of layered mixed media to explore food deserts and community resilience.

Student Workshop: Celebrating Black History and Collective Impact
Students will explore how Black history shapes our world through mixed media, symbolism, and collaborative storytelling, with their creations joining SCH’s Permanent Art Collection.

Workshop made possible thanks to the generous support of the Class of 1957 Artist in Residency.

Echoes of our Future Eustace Mamba Rations 2022
Echoes of our Future Tim McFarlane Tomorow's Conversation Print1-2020

Artist Residency with Tim McFarlane
What Is Your Mark?

Philadelphia-based artist Tim McFarlane (b. 1964) is known for his vibrant abstract paintings that explore memory, rhythm, and the layered traces we leave behind. Through repeated gestures, overlapping forms, and intuitive mark-making, McFarlane creates visual spaces where structure and improvisation meet. His work invites viewers to consider how individual marks accumulate into shared stories.
For this residency, students learned about McFarlane’s process and the role of mark-making as a form of personal expression. Each student developed a unique visual “mark” that reflects aspects of identity, movement, and creative voice. These gestures were then combined into a collaborative artwork created alongside the artist.

The final piece becomes part of SCH’s Permanent Art Collection, displayed in the Boat Room, celebrating the power of individual expression woven into a collective whole.

Martin Luther King Jr. Morning of Service | January 19, 2026

In partnership with this exhibition, the Barbara Crawford Gallery is sponsoring a food drive that extends the show’s exploration of food deserts and the realities of scarcity in local communities. All donations will support the Germantown Avenue Crisis Ministry, providing essential food to families and individuals facing food insecurity in the Philadelphia area.

Community members are encouraged to bring non-perishable items to the gallery during the event to help nourish neighbors and make a tangible impact as part of the MLK Morning of Service.

Exhibition Curator

Claudia Volpe joined the Petrucci Family Foundation in 2019 before assuming the role of director in 2021. Her main duty is to oversee the PFF Collection of African American Art, which comprises more than 500 works by Black artists in America. The Foundation aims to promote education and create opportunities for Americans from diverse backgrounds. To achieve this, PFF loans pieces from its collection to museums and campus galleries, focusing on forming partnerships that promote cultural literacy and storytelling among the younger generation. Under Volpe's guidance, the Collection has prioritized working with university faculty to offer students practical curatorial experience. This involves developing course curricula that integrate PFF's objects and culminate in a student-led exhibition. Before joining PFF, Volpe provided marketing, research, and writing support for Metris Arts Consulting, an arts and urban planning firm that examines how arts and culture can be vital tools for community development through evaluation, field building, program development, and planning. She has also served on the boards of the Easton Mural Project and the Karl Stirner Arts Trail, chairing the public programming and environmental action committees.

Claudia Volpe Echoes of our Future Curator

Explore the full view of the artwork in the exhibition

Full Artwork

PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS AND HAPPENINGS

at SCH's Barbara Crawford Gallery

POLYPHONY (FALL 2025)

SYMBIOSIS | VISIONS OF LIGHT (Winter 2025)

Visions of the Wissahickon (Fall 2024)

PERSPECTIVE ON THE PAST (Winter 2024)

The Other Life: Faculty Art Show (fall 2023)

MARK MY WORDS: Dawn Kramlich (winter 2023)

Chronic Creativity: Jessie Jane Lewis (2022-2023)

Sam Feinstein (2020-2021)


ARTS & NEW MEDIA ProgramS

Music, performing arts, visual arts, and new media—SCH provides an extensive and ever-growing list of creative opportunities throughout all divisions. Beginning with Pre-K, students are taught skills woven around artistic principles, concepts, and habits that grow in complexity from year to year. 

Learn more about
OUR Arts & New Media OFFERINGS.

 


 




 

Interested
iN A PERSONAL TOUR?

Visit SCH's Barbara Crawford Gallery with a member of the SCH Arts Department. 

The gallery is open to the public by appointment only. Note: tours will take place when school is not in session.

Questions? Email our Director of Arts, Megan Monaghan, at mmonaghan@sch.org