Kimmel Center

Philadelphia is the city to watch for art and culture this summer, particularly with the monumental re-opening of The Barnes Foundation and the Rodin Museum. Whether it’s a downtown hidden gem or a world renowned institute on ‘Museum Mile’, Philadelphia’s art scene has plenty to discover…

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art is the third largest art museum in the United States, with an impressive permanent collection ranging from artefacts from Asia since the third millennium BC to iconic Modern Art.

The striking Neo-Classical building houses more than 227,000 objects and each floor is dedicated to different eras and cultures in art. Prominent collections include American Art, Indian & Himalayan Art, Costume & Textiles, European Decorate Art & Sculpture and Modern & Contemporary Art.

The steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art are immortalised in the film Rocky, as he uses the city as his training ground. Look out for Rocky impersonators – I was lucky enough to capture one in the picture below.

PAFA

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is the oldest museum and art school in the United States. The exquisite Victorian Gothic building houses an internationally renowned collection of American paintings and sculptures that span three centuries. Alongside the permanent collection are exhibitions featuring works by prominent contemporary American artists. During my visit, I saw a powerful installation by video artist Bill Viola and PAFA & Dr Barnes, in celebration of The Barnes Foundation’s new home.

Also part of PAFA is the acclaimed art school with an impressive studio and gallery space. Visit the Undergraduate and Postgraduate exhibitions to see an overwhelmingly high standard of work from America’s next big artists.

The Barnes Foundation

The re-opening of The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia has been one of the most talked about happenings in the international art world for many years. The Barnes was founded in 1922 by Dr Albert C. Barnes, a chemist who made his money by co-developing a revolutionary drug, thus selling his company to pursue his passion for art.

The Barnes is world renowned as having one of the finest collections of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modernist paintings. Dr. Barnes amassed an impressive number of paintings by the great European and American masters such as Matisse, Cézanne, Renoir, Picasso, Modigliani, Glackens and Pippin.

The Rodin Museum

The Rodin Museum re-opens this month after extensive renovations, housing the largest collection of sculptures by Auguste Rodin outside of Paris. Opened in 1929, the Rodin Museum owns nearly 130 sculptures including bronze casts of The Thinkers, The Burghers of Calais, Eternal Springtime and The Gates of Hell.

On the day of The Barnes Foundation media preview, we were treated to a sneak peek of the Rodin Museum. It’s an elegant, petite space with stunning gardens, close to The Barnes Foundation on Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Take time to linger in the gardens and enjoy the contemplative atmosphere of the museum.

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens is the spectacular mosaicked wonderland by artist Isiah Zagar on Philadelphia’s bohemian South Street. Back in the 1960s, Zagar dedicated his life to beautifying the South Street neighbourhood, buying and transforming derelict buildings into creative masterpieces with his wife Julia. In 1994, he started work on the vacant space near his studio, which became the Magic Gardens.

He constructed staircases and walkways and adorned them with emblems of his travels, evenings with friends and disused ‘scrap’ material. The Magic Gardens are most prominently decorated with bicycle wheels, coloured bottles, ceramic tiles, mirror mosaics and hand-painted inscriptions. Look closer and there are personal dedications to Julia and his sons Ezekiel and Jeremiah.

Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center is the home of the celebrated Philadelphia Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and Philadanco. The Kimmel Center was built in 2000, designed by architect Rafael Viñoly and named after philanthropist Sidney Kimmel. Located along the city’s ‘Avenue of the Arts’, the Kimmel Center is one of America’s best venues to enjoy classical music.

I had the pleasure of seeing chief conductor Charles Dutoit’s farewell concert, marking his last performance with Philadelphia Orchestra after four seasons. The Philadelphia Orchestra performed a varied programme of Glinka, Chopin and Ravel’s epic Daphnis et Chloé in the spectacular Verizon Hall. Seeing the Philadelphia Orchestra play in their hometown is a great experience and one that should not be missed!

For more Philly destination ideas, read my guides on Things to do in Philadelphia, Shopping in Philadelphia and Eating Out in Philadelphia.

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Chef Michael Schulson’s Sampan brings Asian fusion to Philadelphia’s chic Midtown Village. The restaurant has a sleek vibe with simple wood tables and striped banquettes, back-lit murals throughout the two dining rooms and a bar overlooking the kitchen.

The restaurant

I visited alone for a pre-theatre bite, before seeing the Philadelphia Orchestra at the nearby Kimmel Center. I was originally placed at the bar, but after requesting an outside seat, I got a much better table outside on the terrace, so I could people-watch in the sun. Luckily Sampan had availability just less than an hour before dining on a Saturday night, as I’d spent the day exploring and hadn’t foreseen restaurant reservations for that evening.

Cocktails

I sat in the glorious sunshine and ordered a Plum Tea – Finlandia Vodka with plum oolong tea and mint, served in a jam jar. It was refreshing, cooling and aromatic, with just the right amount of vodka.

The dishes

The menu at Sampan offers a combination of small plates, larger meat and fish dishes and sides. I unknowingly over-ordered, forgetting that ‘small plates’ in Philly don’t correspond to those in London. I asked the waitress to recommend a suitable number of dishes to order, but she must have suspected I had a voracious appetite – not so, since the week of indulgence in Philadelphia had taken its toll.

I started with the Shrimp & Lobster Dumpling with miso broth, scallion and tofu ($7). The broth was light and cloudy and the plump dumplings were intensely flavoured and full of fresh seafood and plenty of ginger.

Shortly after came the delicious Chicken Satay with sage, mustard and Togarashi ($8). The two generously-sized sticks of chicken were succulent, well-marinated and nicely chargrilled.

I enjoyed the chicken satay with a side Kim Chee Fried Rice with shrimp, shallot and Sunny Side egg ($8). The fried rice was rich, slightly sweet and filled with fresh shrimp. This side dish was more than enough for two to share.

I was beginning to feel really full when my Crispy Rock Shrimp with pickled radish, yuzu and chili aioli ($14) arrived. I was expecting perhaps three large piece of rock shrimp, but there were at least 20 chunky pieces. The batter was a little too thick and they were smothered in chili aioli, taking away some of the crispiness.

Surely the waitress could have foreseen that one person couldn’t eat a whole plate of battered rock shrimp, however she did offer to bag up all of the left-overs to take out. I’m sure the Philadelphia Orchestra wouldn’t appreciate the wafting aromas of fried rock shrimp while trying to get through Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé.

Dessert

There was no time for dessert, but I strolled back from the Kimmel Center, past Sampan and saw that Capogiro Gelato was still open. I couldn’t resist stopping by for a scoop of the most incredible Bacio and Cannella ice cream. Late night gelato is a real perk of summer in the city!

Sampan is a great place to come with a group of friends or for an intimate dinner a deux and share a few plates, so you can try a good selection of dishes. There is also a Happy Hour menu of appetisers and sides and a Chef Tasting menu ($45) for something more inventive. Sampan’s next door Graffiti Bar is the place to continue the cocktails on the open-air patio.

Chérie City dined with a gift card courtesy of PCVB.

All photos by Chérie City

Kimmel Center

The Best Arts and Culture in Philadelphia

Philadelphia Museum of Art

PAFA

The Barnes Foundation

The Rodin Museum

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

Kimmel Center

An Amazing Dinner at Sampan, Philadelphia

The restaurant

Cocktails

The dishes

Dessert