New 'Matisse & Renoir' exhibition on display next month's Barnes on the Block

The annual event will have DJs, a beer garden and free admission to the first floor of the art institute off Ben Franklin Parkway.

Barnes of the Block, the annual party hosted by the Barnes Foundation, returns July 14. Attendees can make ceramics, decorate lanterns, watch live music and eat at food trucks. Above is a performance from last year's event.
Provided Image/Barnes Foundation

Next month's Barnes on the Block festival will highlight the works of a pair of 19th-century French artists at a new exhibition on Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse

On July 14 from noon-5 p.m., the free block party returns to the grounds of the Barnes Foundation along the Ben Franklin Parkway for its seventh year. The free block party will have food trucks, a beer garden, art making and live performances. The family-friendly event is hosted by the museum and Mural Arts Philadelphia. 


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Check out live painting by Mural Arts artists, learn about ceramics at the Clay Studio's Claymobile pop-up and get a personalized poem from Philadelphia-based writer Marshall James Kavanaugh. There will also be collaging, crafting, lantern decorating and identity symbol making with Cesar Viveros and Lemus. There will be performances by TAMEARTZ, West Powelton Steppers and Drum Squad, and Batala Philly. Ben Arsenal and DJ Giz will also host DJ sets. 

The event is free, but timed registration is required for entrance into the Barnes.  Those slots will become available July 11 at 10 a.m. on the Barnes Foundation website

The museum has two new exhibits: "Matisse & Renoir: New Encounters at the Barnes" and "Visions," which features work created by artists in the Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Guild program and inmates at the SCI Phoenix prison in Montgomery County. 


Barnes on the Block

Sunday, July 14, noon to 5 p.m. 

Free

2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia