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Happening

There’s always a lot happening at Woodmere! Beyond our exhibitions and classes, we have a wide variety of public programming, including music performances, events for the whole family, and deeper dives into art with our lectures & talks.

family programs

Looking for a way to engage your whole family in art & community programs? Explore the world of art together through hands-on activities, storytelling, and interactive special events designed to spark imagination and connection. A time for families to learn and create together!

Showing 1-3 of 52 events
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Children's Classes
Ages 4 - 12, with adult
Maguire Hall Children's Studio

Weekend Artmaking Sessions

Saturday sessions: 10:30 am - noon; 12:30 - 2 pm; 2:30 - 4pm; Sunday sessions: noon - 1:30 pm; 2 - 3:30 pm
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May 2, 2026
$5/child Woodmere Family Members (Adult members are FREE) ; $10/child Individual Level Members (Adult members are FREE) ; $10/child, Non-Members (Accompanying adult pays regular admission)
Join us at Woodmere's Children's Studio at the Frances M. Maguire Hall for Art and Education. Art projects in the studio will change on a weekly basis. Visit often to create a variety of different artworks! Registration is recommended. We are grateful to the PHLY Foundation and the MacDonald Family for their generous support of the Children's Studio.
Register
Children's Studio Class
Ages 8-17
Smith Hall Studio

K2 | Summer Community Project

10 am - 3 pm
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Jul 7, 2026
$130 Family Members | $140 Non-Members
Art becomes the common thread for building community every summer at Woodmere. Children and teens from different neighborhoods in the Philadelphia region meet at Woodmere to create a collaborative work of art. Working alongside professional artists, students design and construct an outdoor art installation that is incorporated into Woodmere’s gardens. Woodmere is grateful to the generous supporters who have helped underwrite expenses for this program.
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Children's Studio Class
Ages 7-12
Maguire Hall Studio

K5A | Create & Curate: Make a Mini-Museum

1:30 - 3:30 pm
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Jul 14, 2026
$130 Family Members | $140 Non-Members
Draw inspiration from the galleries at Maguire Hall with teacher-guided museum tours followed by making art in the MacDonald Children’s Art Studio. Students will become creators and curators by constructing their own diorama of a miniature museum. Each class will be spent developing a different section of their mini museum, including making their own original small-scale artwork. Use a range of materials to design wallpaper, install flooring and build a sculpture garden. The final day of class will include creating admission tickets and brochures, then taking a tour of classmates’ museums. All materials included. Dress for mess!
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PERFORMANCES at woodmere

Woodmere celebrates music & community in Philadelphia with Jazz and Classical performances, along with occasional choir and gospel concerts, and dance productions. With exceptional performers, an acoustically astounding space, and amazing works of art, the concert experience at the Museum is like no other.

WRTI is a partner for Music at Woodmere.
Friday Night Jazz is offered in partnership with LifeLine Music Coalition.

Sassy and Sublime: The Music of Sarah Vaughan

6:00 - 7:30 pm
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May 15, 2026
Inspired by the artistry, velvety tone, and sweeping range of Sarah Vaughan this concert moves from the intimate beauty of “Misty” and “Send in the Clowns” to the buoyant swing of favorites like “Lullaby of Birdland” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” capturing the full range, elegance, and joy that made her an enduring icon.
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Heartbeat of Rhythm: A Max Roach Tribute

6:00 - 7:30 pm
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May 29, 2026
Celebrate the revolutionary drumming and visionary spirit of Max Roach, one of jazz’s greatest innovators. His music ignites the spirit, challenges the mind, and stirs the soul with tunes like “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “Freedom Now Suite,” and more.
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The Music of James Reese Europe and The Harlem Hell Fighters

6:00 - 7:30 pm
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Jun 5, 2026
Pioneering bandleader James Reese Europe transformed the all-Black 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the legendary Harlem Hellfighters, into a groundbreaking ensemble that brought jazz to Europe and lifted Allied spirits during World War I. Experience the rhythms and historic music that made them legends, from “Castle House Rag” to “Memphis Blues.”
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Tempesta di Mare presents Revolution Tunes

5 pm
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May 9, 2026
Harpsichordist, John Walthausen plays music from the Francis Hopkinson Collection of Music, one of the most important sources of early American music and Philadelphia’s early history.
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Variant 6 presents Equinox

5 pm
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May 16, 2026
Join us for an evening celebrating the expressive power of voices and piano featuring the vocal virtuosity of Variant 6 in their program, Equinox.
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The Tonics and The Bacchus Boys A Capella in Concert

5 pm
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Jun 6, 2026
Enjoy a reception at 5 pm before the performance begins at 6 pm! The Tonics (@tonics1990) with more than 60,000 followers on social media and posted videos with over 6 million views, are a tenor-bass a cappella group founded in 1990 by alums in the Philadelphia area who sang in college. Currently 19 members strong, including Princeton Tigertones, Yale Whiffenpoofs, and alums of various other groups, the Tonics have released five albums, available on Spotify and Apple Music, and have over 130 arrangements in their repertoire. The Bacchus Boys are a collection of singers and musicians who perform a unique repertoire of folk, rock, country, rhythm and blues, and other traditions. Their broad and eclectic repertoire of both originals and covers spans many generations and styles and are performed with a unique combination of original instrument and ensemble vocal harmony.
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tuesday nights at the movies

On Tuesday nights, Woodmere’s main gallery is transformed into an intimate setting for screenings of rare and underseen films as well as classics. Tuesday Nights at the Movies is presented with the Chestnut Hill Film Group and sponsored by the Chestnut Hill Local.

Donations suggested.

See film schedule

Lectures & talks

Our lectures, talks, and panel discussions provide enriching experiences that deepen your understanding of art and culture. Engage with curators, artists, writers, and scholars  who offer insightful perspectives on exhibitions, the Museum's collection, and historical and cultural contexts that spark discussion and invite audiences of all backgrounds to explore art in meaningful ways.

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Lecture
Smith Hall

Glorious Country: How the Artist Frederic Church Brought the World to America & America to the World

6 pm
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May 14, 2026
FREE
Join historian Victoria Johnson to explore the life, art, and legacy of 19th-century American landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church, widely regarded for creating some of the most breathtaking landscape paintings in American history. Drawing on her book Glorious Country: How the Artist Frederic Edwin Church Brought America to the World and the World to America, Johnson will examine how Church came to dominate nineteenth-century American painting with expansive, awe-inspiring scenes that honor the natural world. His life is intricately woven into the story of the United States, making him an especially fitting artist to celebrate in the nation’s 250th year—coinciding with the 200th anniversary of his birth. A book signing will follow the lecture.
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Lecture
Maguire Hall

The Story of Ned Hoffman’s Aspiration Sculpture at Woodmere

6 pm
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Jun 9, 2026
FREE
Join sculptor Chris Smith for a discussion with Bill Valerio and David Hoffman about the process of fabricating Ned Hoffman’s monumental sculpture Aspiration at Maguire Hall. Ned Hoffman’s ambition was to create monumental sculpture on a grand. public scale, and this work is an enlargement of his maquette, now with the title Aspiration, made in the early 1950s. Aspiration reaches skyward, as if beseeching the heavens and asking existential, spiritual questions. The nude figure with smooth, idealized features represents the innocent beauty into which humanity is born. Hoffman had served in WWII as a young man, and his sculpture pleas to the heavens, aspiring to understand the state of man’s plight and purpose. Hoffman (1916–1992) was a Philadelphia-born sculptor who studied with Walker Hancock at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and apprenticed in Paul Manship’s studio in New York. Celebrated with numerous awards and prizes, Hoffman worked in both France and the United States and received important private and public commissions.
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school trips &
private tours

Woodmere offers tours with our docents and a variety of educational events. Explore the options today!

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Members do more

Woodmere Members enjoy discounted or free registration for all sorts of programs. Join today for special benefits like private Member tours, free access to artmaking events & discussions, and much more!

Become a member
Become a member