Dorrance Galleries
Main Building
This exhibition features 28 Black and African diasporic contemporary artists who use figurative painting, drawing and sculpture to illuminate and celebrate the nuance and richness of Black contemporary life.
Curated by British writer and curator Ekow Eshun, The Time Is Always Now takes its title from an essay on desegregation by American writer and social rights activist James Baldwin. It highlights a sense of urgency around contemporary artistic expression, while acting as a reminder that Black artists exist within an always-evolving artistic lineage.
The more than 60 contemporary works featured in this exhibition unfold around three core themes: Double Consciousness, Past and Presence and Our Aliveness. Double Consciousness, a theory first introduced in 1897 by the African American sociologist W.E.B Du Bois, explores concepts of being, belonging and Blackness as a psychological state. Past and Presence explores the absence of Black figures in many mainstream narratives and shows how artists have responded. Our Aliveness features assertions and celebrations of Black assembly and gathering.
Traveling to the Philadelphia Museum of Art from the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Black and African diasporic artists in this exhibition work in the U.S. and the U.K. They include Michael Armitage, Claudette Johnson, Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola, and Amy Sherald. For the show’s U.S. premiere, additional artists working in Philadelphia, London, and New York have been added, including Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Roberto Lugo, Danielle Mckinney, Deborah Roberts, and Arthur Timothy.
Free Audio Tour
Enhance your experience of The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure by taking the audio tour during your visit. Hear from organizing curator Ekow Eshun and several featured artists about the stories behind the artworks.
Please make sure to bring your headphones to listen to the tour on your own mobile device. For the best experience, download the free Smartify app on your iOS or Android mobile device.
Tickets & Access
The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure is a separately ticketed exhibition. Tickets are for entry to the exhibition queue; entry wait times may be extended during higher volume moments, which include the first hour that the exhibition is open and weekends.
Virtual Queue
We are using a virtual queue system to manage the high demand for access to the exhibition space. To avoid visitors standing in a long physical queue, this virtual system allows guests to join a digital queue through their smartphone when they first arrive at the museum. Here are the steps:
- When you arrive at the museum, use your smartphone to scan the QR code at our welcome desks or on signs in the Great Stair Hall to join the virtual queue.
- The virtual queue will ask to you activate your place for the exhibition for you and any additional guests. You will need to register your email and include a password.
- A timer on your smartphone will begin to count down as you explore other galleries at the museum.
- When the timer reaches zero, you can report back to the exhibition’s entrance in the Great Stair Hall.
- When you arrive at the exhibition we will scan your timer, then our Visitor Services team will check your exhibition ticket to be admitted into the Dorrance Gallery.
- Once inside, we hope you enjoy the exhibition!
If you don’t have a smartphone, no problem! Connect with one of our Visitor Services staff members and we can set you up with a time to return for entry.
Member Benefits
Members receive unlimited access to The Time Is Always Now with their membership card, no tickets required. Member guest tickets must be booked in advance.
