Opening Address by Amy Gutmann

Amy Gutmann

Amy Gutmann

Gutmann was inaugurated as president of the University of Pennsylvania in 2004

I salute the three partners who put this wonderful exposition together: Penn’s Arthur Ross Gallery; our University Archives; and our friends at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

This exhibit enables us all to see West Philadelphia and the banks of the Schuylkill River – as I imagine David Kennedy saw them in the 19th century: with fresh eyes filled with wonder.

It gives us an ever greater appreciation of the rich multicultural heritage of our West Philadelphia community.

For me, it also puts West Philadelphia’s future in a whole new light.

Some of you may have heard me quote Joni Mitchell when describing the transformation of 24 acres of the Postal Land parking lots into beautiful Penn Park. Joni Mitchell sang: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” We at Penn are doing the reverse.

Having taken in this exhibit, I NOW realize that we truly are reclaiming and restoring some of the natural beauty that was here long before Penn crossed the river to West Philadelphia.

This exhibit accomplishes three key goals of our Arts and the City year at Penn.

First, it shines an everlasting light on the hidden cultural gems of our campus and our city. Indeed, we gather in two such gems … the Arthur Ross Gallery, and the Fisher Fine Arts Library.

Second, the exhibit – true to its title – is building stronger connections within Penn and between Penn and the rest of the city.

Penn faculty, students, administrators (like Glenn Bryan) and graduates – including Jeffrey Cohen – have contributed their scholarship, their community experience, and their technological expertise to the exhibit.

Neighbors have contributed their stories and perspectives.

This exposition vividly expresses the special relationship we have with our friends and neighbors in West Philadelphia. Penn derives much of our unique character and our competitive advantage from our location in West Philadelphia. To put it simply: The more we engage with one another, the more we prosper together.

The third goal for Arts and the City is to spark the imaginations of learners of all ages. We hope that grade schools throughout the city will bring their students into this gallery and on guided walking tours of our campus.

This exhibit fuses diverse communities into one community. It dissolves boundaries -- between the past and present; between different segments of the Penn academic community; and between Penn, West Philadelphia, and the rest of our great city.

In short, this West Philadelphia exhibit demonstrates the power of art!

Art, as John Dewey observed, has the power “to break through the crust of conventionalized and routine consciousness.” Art deepens our “emotions, perceptions, and appreciations of reality."

I am grateful to everyone involved with this exposition for doing all of this and more. There’s an old saying that you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. This exhibit shows us where we’ve been in a whole new light. It thereby aids us in imagining all the more vividly where we are heading – toward a glorious future as one vibrant community of communities. Thank you! Our Arts and the City year is off to a great start.

Amy Gutmann
President, University of Pennsylvania
Arthur Ross Gallery, West Philadelphia Exhibit
September 10, 2009