From next year, the venerable show, founded in 1962 as a fund-raiser for Penn Medicine, will be run by the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA).
The involvement of the art museum will bring more galleries to the show (previously associated with the traditional American decorative arts) and a wider spectrum of art represented. It is hopes the museum’s active involvement will encourage a broader range of visitors.
The event has had its difficulties in recent years - including a cancelled show in 2015. Held since 1962 at the 33rd Street Armory in the west of Philadelphia, since 2008 it has tried a number of different locations before arriving at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 2016.
At this year’s fair, running from April 20-22 at the Navy Yard, Penn Medicine and the Philadelphia Museum of Art will be joint beneficiaries with the PMA expected to assume full responsibility for running the event in 2019.
