Education

Create an experience at FWM

Summer art camp kids gather in front of Faith Ringgold’s “Tar Beach #2” quilt with Katie Parry, Museum Tour Manager. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.

Activities and Programs

Tour our exhibitions

Visitors explore the Process Lab in "Jayson Musson: His History of Art," on view in 2022. Jayson Musson, in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia. Photo: Carlos Avendaño.

Tour our exhibitions

FWM Museum Tour Manager will guide you through our current exhibitions, sharing stories about the collaboration process, materials and techniques, the artist’s practice, and the themes present in the artist’s work. Check out our current tour offerings below.

 


Visit our studios

FWM Artist-in-Residence Jayson Musson views works in progress for "His History of Art," 2022. Jayson Musson, in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.

Visit our studios

Get a behind-the-scenes look at FWM. Hear from our Apprentices about the process of creating a 3-color repeat pattern, visit our print production and swatch archive, and learn how we expose screens and mix pigments! Get a sneak peek at the work in progress for upcoming exhibitions and chat with our studio staff about the process of collaborating with our Artists-in-Residence to create a new body of work.


View artist boxes in our archive

FWM College/Post-grad Apprentices get a behind-the-scenes tour of the FWM archives. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.

View artist boxes in our archive

FWM has over 400 artist boxes in our archive, containing process materials, revealing the stories behind our collaborations with artists over the past 45 years! See the sketches, material tests, notes, and process photographs from your favorite artists’ projects. Request up to five artist boxes to view and receive an insider’s look at the process of storing and archiving artworks.


Participate in a hands-on screenprinting workshop

Visitors participate in a lively screenprinting workshop in the FWM Print Studio. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.

Participate in a hands-on screenprinting workshop

Learn elements of the screenprinting process, reflect on themes within our current exhibitions, and leave with your own unique artwork! Check out our current workshop offerings below.


Making a Reservation

For more information or to schedule a tour, please complete and submit our Tour and Workshop Inquiry Form. Advance registration required; booking at least two weeks in advance is appreciated. Tours and workshops can be scheduled for Tuesday through Friday between 10:00 am–6:00 pm for a minimum of 4 participants.

Before your visit, we encourage groups to learn about the history of The Fabric Workshop and Museum, our Artists-in-Residence Program, and current exhibitions on view. Engage your group in a conversation about contemporary art museums and museum etiquette. If your group is running late, please contact us as soon as possible. If your group is not present within the first 15 minutes of your scheduled time and we have not received notice, or if arrival is delayed by more than 30 minutes, tours will be cancelled without a refund. Please check our current COVID guidelines prior to your visit.

General Public Rate

Exhibition Tour: $10 per person
Exhibition Tour + Behind-the Scenes Studios Visit: $15 per person
Exhibition Tour + Hands-on Workshop: $20 per person
Print Studio Tour + Hands-on Workshop: $20 per person
Archive/Collections Tour: $15 per person
Collector’s Tour: $20 per person

Education Rate

Exhibition Tour: $5 per person
Exhibition Tour + Behind-the-Scenes Studios Visit: $10 per person
Exhibition Tour + Hands-on Workshop: $15 per person
Print Studio Tour + Hands-on Workshop: $15 per person
Archive/Collections Tour: $10 per person

Member Rate*

Exhibition Tour: $5 per member
Exhibition Tour + Behind-the-Scenes Studios Visit: $10 per member
Exhibition Tour + Hands-on Workshop: $15 per member
Print Studio Tour + Hands-on Workshop: $10 per member
Archive/Collections Tour: $10 per member

*Rate applies to each FWM member. General public rates apply to the rest of the group.

Rate for Persons/Groups ages 65+

Exhibition Tour + your choice of a Behind-the-Scenes Studio Visit or Archive Tour: $5 per person
Hands-on Screenprinting Workshop: $10 per person

Title 1 Rate/ Social Service Organization

Up to 30 Exhibition Tour + Hands-on Workshop: $5 per student

If you would like to schedule a tour or workshop but feel a visit would be prohibitive for your group, please contact kparry@fabricworkshopandmuseum.org


Current Tour Offerings

Behind-the-Scenes Studio Tour

FWM Director of Studio Operations Nami Yamamoto works on stuffed figures for "Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley: Blood Moon," 2021–2022. Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley, in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.

Behind-the-Scenes Studio Tour

Want a chance to see artists at work in our studios? There is always a wide range of creative activity happening daily at FWM. Visitors will get a sneak peek at the work our Studio team is creating for upcoming exhibitions and the repeat patterns our Apprentices our printing on our 19-yard print tables! See how we mix pigments in our pigment room, expose screens in our exposure room, and peruse our fabric archive which contains swatches from the yardage printed at FWM since 1977!


Lenore Tawney, Artist Box

Our archive of artist boxes feature materials and notes related to the many projects that take place at FWM. Lenore Tawney, in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.

Archive Tour

These special tours allow visitors a rare glimpse into our collection of over 400 artist boxes. These boxes contain process materials from an artist’s residency at FWM. The boxes reveal how art was made at this moment in history and capture a specific moment of an artist’s career. Through material tests, sketches, notes, models, and samples, the artist boxes tell the story of the challenges and discoveries that arise from these compelling collaborations.

Visitors can request to view up to five artist boxes from our collection. Selections can be made by perusing our Artist-in-Residence page. If you don’t have particular artists in mind, you can request a selection of boxes that address a theme or process curated by FWM staff. Requests must be made two weeks in advance.


Collector's Tour

"Storm at Split Rock," 2020. Digital print silk, taffeta nylon, eco down, thermochromic pigment, silkscreen ink, 50 x 70″ ; Edition size: 18 w 2 APs. Samara Golden in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.

Collector's Tour

Over the years, Artists-in-Residence have collaborated with FWM to create special editions in a range of media, creating a trove of objects and wearables for art lovers and collectors. Explore artist boxes that showcase the process of designing and producing artist editions, highlighting the work of artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Jiha Moon, Samara Golden, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Edgar Heap of Birds, and Kiki Smith. All participants receive a 10% discount in the Museum Shop!


Hands-On Workshops

*Workshops are offered virtually for any size group or onsite for groups of 4 participants or more. In the interest of maintaining the safety of our visitors and staff, we are temporarily adjusting our maximum youth tour capacity to 12 youth with two adult chaperones.

These immersive workshops engage the minds and bodies of artists at all levels. Participants begin with an interactive tour of the exhibition, followed by a hands-on workshop in the studio designed to connect to the process, materials, or concepts expressed in the artist’s work. FWM is proud to print exclusively on biodegradable, recycled, or 100% organic cotton materials.


Inspired by Decades of Pattern

Pattern Intensive

Pattern samples prepared by Museum Tour Educator Katie Parry. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.

Pattern Intensive

Explore pattern creation using the screenprinting process in this special 3-hour workshop. Begin with a tour of our swatch archive followed by a deep dive into color layering and registration techniques using multiple 10 x 10 inch designs. Participants will leave with several pattern and color studies and a half-yard of printed fabric.

Offered Monday-Friday, 10:00 am–6:00 pm

$60 per person (minimum of 4 people, maximum of 6 people)

Must register two weeks in advance.


Inspired by John Jarboe: The Rose Garden

Five cream-colored handkerchiefs with lie on a table. Each features a decorative border with a floral drawing in the center, printed in different colors.

Sample prepared by Katie Parry, Museum Tour Manager. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.

Personal Handkerchief Prints

The Rose Garden features rich symbolism including thorny roses, fertile soil, and all-seeing rabbits, which the artist likens to objective witnesses. Connect these intimate symbols to your own journey by personalizing a vintage handkerchief through screenprinting. Then, learn how to fold your handkerchief into an exquisite rose to carry close to your heart.


A picture of a folded sheet of paper revealing a print of a rabbit reflected on each side, their faces touching at the centerfold. Watercolor brushes lie nearby.

Sample prepared by Katie Parry, Museum Tour Manager. Photo credit. Carlos Avendaño.

Mirror Mono Prints

In The Rose Garden, John Jarboe uses mirrors and doubles to convey her own self-reflection. Learn how to use mirrored mylar and ink to create a reflective image of an animal that holds symbolic meaning in your own life.