PHILADELPHIA, PA — More than half a century after Philadelphia artist and architect Roberta Dickinson turned the canvas on herself to document her gender transition, a major exhibition will bring together her art, activism and personal history for a new generation.
The William Way LGBT Community Center and its John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives are developing Roberta Dickinson: Designing a Life, the first major exhibition devoted to Dickinson’s life, work and legacy. Opening in June 2027 at Icebox Project Space in the Crane Arts Building, the exhibition will feature more than 50 artworks alongside archival materials illuminating the relationships, beliefs and experiences that shaped her creative life.
Dickinson, who lived from 1916 to 1982, was an architect, Quaker and anti-war activist as well as an artist. The exhibition will remain on view through August 2027 and is being developed with support from a two-year, $323,950 Arts and Culture Program Grant from the William Penn Foundation. The funding will also support public programming and a comprehensive catalog.
“We’ve dreamed of making this exhibition a reality for a while now,” John Anderies, director of the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives, stated. “With this grant, it can be comprehensive and multifaceted, allowing us to dig deep into Roberta’s story and to provide the kind of recognition she never received during her lifetime.”
At the center of the exhibition will be Dickinson’s series of self-portraits documenting her transition during an era when transgender self-representation in art was exceedingly rare.
“This show is biographical,” Dickinson once wrote in an artist statement. “As a painter, I am recording the changes in my body from male to female.”
But the curators intend to reach well beyond those self-portraits. Designing a Life will examine Dickinson’s architecture, religious life, political engagement and anti-war work to present a fuller portrait of the artist and the Philadelphia world in which she lived.
The exhibition is being co-curated by Anderies and interdisciplinary artist, writer and citizen historian Zach Ozma. Jake Foster, William Way’s art exhibitions manager, will lead exhibition design and installation with Metcalfe Architecture & Design and Icebox Project Space. Clancey Schoenig will oversee associated programming, while architects M.C. Overholt and Adrienne Economos-Miller are serving as advisers.
One of the project’s most unusual elements will revisit artwork that disappeared decades ago.
In the early 1970s, Dickinson created sculptures responding to the Vietnam War and U.S. involvement in the conflict. The original pieces no longer exist, but photographs and written descriptions preserve evidence of the works.
Through a companion project, The Un-lost Sculptures of Roberta Dickinson, three contemporary trans artists will be commissioned to create new sculptures responding to those archival records. The project, which connects Dickinson’s work with contemporary artists rather than attempting simply to reproduce the missing pieces, is also supported by an Art and Change Grant awarded to Ozma by the Leeway Foundation.
Public programming is expected to make Dickinson’s story accessible beyond the gallery walls. Plans include opening and closing receptions with lectures by nationally known trans historians, a roundtable discussion, talks with commissioned artists and curator-led tours. Organizers are also considering figure- and architectural-drawing workshops, a self-guided “Roberta’s Philadelphia” walking tour and opportunities for the local trans community to use the exhibition space.
A companion publication will preserve that research after the exhibition closes. In addition to essays exploring Dickinson’s life and practice, the catalog is planned as a catalogue raisonné documenting all of her known works for researchers, artists and art historians.
Event Details
- What: Roberta Dickinson: Designing a Life, featuring more than 50 artworks and archival materials exploring the Philadelphia artist and architect’s life and legacy
- When: June through August 2027; exact opening date and hours will be announced
- Where: Icebox Project Space, Crane Arts Building, 1400 N. American St., Philadelphia, PA
- Cost/Tickets: Admission and ticket information have not yet been announced
- More Info: https://waygay.org
Additional exhibition dates, participating artists, programs and related events will be released closer to the opening.
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