Lois and Julian Brodsky give $20 million for a learning center in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's north wing

Lois G. and Julian A. Brodsky have given $20 million to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to build a learning and engagement center in its north wing, the museum announced on October 23. The museum calls it one of the largest gifts in its history.

Julian Brodsky is a founding principal of Comcast and a longtime museum trustee. Lois Brodsky has volunteered at the museum since 1982, including more than three decades as a guide. The new space will be named the Lois G. and Julian A. Brodsky Learning and Engagement Center.

What will the center include?

The museum plans a family learning center, art studios, a visitor orientation area and a multipurpose community hub. It is the museum's first major capital project since the Core Project, Frank Gehry's four-year interior renovation that reopened in May 2021, according to the announcement.

Philadelphia firm MGA Partners is working on the schematic design, which the museum expects by summer 2027. The release says construction will be complete "within a few years" and gives no budget, square footage or opening date. PhillyVoice reported the same timeline, with plans expected next summer and construction to follow.

Why does the museum want more space for schools?

The museum says it welcomes about 36,000 students a year and that the center will "significantly" increase that number by adding room for school groups. Audrey Hudson, the museum's deputy director for learning and engagement, cited a "need for expanded capacity to host school groups," PhillyVoice reported. In the museum's release, she called the center "an intentionally designed, purpose-built space."

The museum already offers free guided visits and bus transportation to students from the School District of Philadelphia, Head Start programs and Title I schools in the region, and admission is free for visitors 18 and under.

How does this gift fit the Brodskys' history with the museum?

It is the latest in a run of gifts that started two decades ago. The timeline below is our own compilation from the museum's announcement.

"It represents the capstone of their enduring commitment to the museum," said Daniel Weiss, the museum's director and CEO, in the announcement.

What other museums can learn

In our view, the gift shows how decades of volunteering and board service can build toward a capital gift. The Brodskys gave to a campaign, then endowed a curator's post through a matching challenge, then named a building project. Philadelphia donors have been active this month: David and Rhonda Cohen gave $10.5 million to the Philadelphia Orchestra. Naming gifts also come with terms worth putting in writing, as we noted in a restricted gift is a promise.