Temple Contemporary’s mission is to creatively re-imagine the social function of art through questions of local relevance and international significance.
Temple Contemporary (previously known as Temple Gallery) at Tyler School of Art has an artistic lineage that stretches back to the mid 1980s. Formerly located in Philadelphia’s Old City, Temple Contemporary was closed and re-opened in 2009 as a 3,400-square-foot purpose-built gallery inside the new Tyler School of Art at Temple University’s main campus in North Philadelphia.
Temple Contemporary’s programming is determined by a 35-member advisory council representing a broad spectrum of Philadelphia. This volunteer council is composed of neighboring high school and Temple students, faculty and civic leaders representing a range of interests (economists, farmers, philosophers, artists, community activists, historians, etc.). To each of Temple Contemporary’s public Advisory Council meetings, every adviser brings one question of local relevance and international significance that they do not know the answer to. After all of the questions are discussed, the council votes for the questions that are anticipated to creatively address Philadelphia’s greatest social and cultural needs. The concept for Funeral for a Home came about from a question raised by the Advisory Council about the surplus of Philadelphia housing and the issue of housing demolition in the city. Funeral for a Home is ultimately Temple Contemporary’s response to this original question.
