Nearly 150 years of historical archives from the former University of the Arts will live on at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
About 600 containers of materials, including administration records, student portfolios, architectural drawings and other documents, have been acquired by the historical society. A portion of them will be on display during a special event on Saturday, Nov. 8.
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"HSP is proud and humbled to accept responsibility for preserving the records of the University of the Arts," Librarian and CEO David Brigham said. "Despite the tragic loss of this hub of creativity and arts education across the performing and visual arts, HSP is committed to preserving and making accessible the institutional records and examples of the artistic productions of students, faculty, and alumni for the benefit of current and future artists, historians and students in perpetuity."
The collection includes meeting minutes and accreditation files, exhibition programming, slides, photographs, negatives, cassettes, VHS tapes, CDs, admissions catalogs and annual reports from the school. There also are creative works from students, staff and visiting artists, including notable alum Laura Jean Allen and Philadelphia Dance Academy founder Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck.
The materials date from 1876 to 2024. They do not include student records or personal belongings.
Following UArts' closure in June 2024, HSP said it contacted the university's leadership about collecting the materials and worked over the following months to safely transfer them to its building at 1300 Locust St. The collection is now the historical society's largest.
Nearly 150 years worth of artifacts from the now-closed University of the Arts has been transferred to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Above, a look at some of the collection.
The historical society estimates it needs $500,000 to catalogue, conserve and digitize the UArts records. It already has secured a $50,000 donation.
Former students and faculty, alumni and members of the public can see some of the artifacts at the Nov. 8 event, which runs from noon to 4 p.m. The event also includes a look into the preservation process and a discussion on preserving the school's legacy.
The 148-year-old university closed June 7, 2024 due to financial hardships that stemmed from declining enrollment, failing revenues and increasing operating costs. More than 600 staffers were laid off, and students were forced to complete their education elsewhere. Groups of students, faculty and alumni expressed outrage and grief in the weeks after the closure.
In February, development firm Scout purchased two of the school's buildings. It plans to convert them into studios and subsidized artist housing.