# Philadelphia Museum of Art receives $20m for learning centre Canonical article: https://arthistory.news/news/philadelphia-museum-of-art-receives-20m-to-establish-new-education-centre By ArtHistory.News Published: 2026-10-26T07:06:01.068Z The planned north-wing project is intended to expand space for school groups, families and hands-on learning, with a design expected by summer 2027. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has announced a $20 million gift from Lois G. and Julian A. Brodsky to establish the Lois G. and Julian A. Brodsky Learning and Engagement Center in its north wing. The centre is intended to expand the museum’s capacity for school groups, families and children. Initial plans include a family learning centre, art studios, a visitor-orientation area and a multipurpose community hub, but the design has not been finalised. MGA Partners, a Philadelphia-based architecture firm, is working on the schematic design. The museum expects a design by summer 2027 and anticipates that construction will finish within a few years. Audrey Hudson, the museum’s deputy director for learning and engagement, said the project would address the need for more capacity to host school groups and provide dedicated spaces for programming and hands-on learning. The museum says it currently receives about 36,000 students annually. The announcement also places the building project alongside existing access schemes. Admission is free for visitors aged 18 and under. Guided school visits and bus transport are free for groups from the School District of Philadelphia, its preschools and Head Start programmes, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation camps, and Title I schools across the tri-state region and Delaware Valley. The museum describes the Brodsky Center as its first major capital project since the Frank Gehry Core Project, a four-year interior renovation and expansion that reopened in May 2021. It has not announced a total project cost or a fixed completion date. The Brodskys have longstanding ties to the museum. Julian Brodsky became a trustee emeritus in 2024, while Lois Brodsky serves on committees for conservation, European art, and prints, drawings and photographs. ## Illustrations Students from Philadelphia take a tour of the Asian galleries at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Photo: Mark Stehle, courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art [Image source](). ## Sources - [The Art Newspaper: The Art Newspaper]() - [Philadelphia Museum of Art: Museum Announces Transformative $20 Million Gift for a Major Expansion of Learning and Engagement Center]() Please cite the canonical article URL above. Image credits and reproduction rights remain with their respective holders.