Past, Present, Possible: Place-Based Art at Eastern State

Julie Courtney has been an independent curator since 1991. She was founding director of The Temple Gallery from 1985–1988 and consulting curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art until 1992. In 1995 she co–curated Prison Sentences: The Prison as Site/The Prison as Subject at Eastern State Penitentiary, her first foray into commissioning site–specific projects in unusual spaces. In 1996 she curated Points of Departure: Art on the Line, a project of temporary site-specific projects in 9 train stations which was funded by the Philadelphia Exhibition Initiative. Other PEI funded projects are Pandemonium, 2005, a percussive sound installation by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller at Eastern State and The Lost Meeting, 2005, with J. Morgan Puett in an abandoned Quaker Meetinghouse in Jenkintown, PA and Mark Dion’s Travels of William Bartram Reconsidered, 2007 at Bartram’s Garden.

Dr. Kimberly McGlonn is a social entrepreneur, executive leader, and founder of Build It Boldly, a media and leadership development company equipping principled leaders to practice the work that shapes how they show up: for their lives, their teams, and the world they are responsible for. Build It Boldly offers tools that reimagine impact, influence, and leadership. This venture also guides leaders as to how to best move from intention to execution with morality, courage, care, and practice.

Previously, Kimberly founded Grant Blvd, becoming the first Black woman to lead a certified B Corp in the U.S. fashion industry, redefining what ethical entrepreneurship can look. Her leadership now extends into civic and cultural institutions: she serves as Vice President of Social Impact at the Fitler Club and Executive Director of the Fitler Foundation. As anchors of her civic service she serves on the Board of Directors of Mural Arts Philadelphia and Board of Trustees for the prestigious Philadelphia Award.

Dr. McGlonn is the award-winning author of "Build It Boldly: How Daring Business Leaders Can Gain Influence and Create Impact” and a three-time honoree among Philadelphia’s “150 Most Influential.” Her work challenges leaders to reject conformity, build with integrity, lead with morality, and remain open to what’s yet possible.

Cody Stuhltrager is an artist-in-residence at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, where he is developing a new body of work for a fall 2026 debut. Stuhltrager began his artistic career in 2013, collaborating with Mural Arts Philadelphia while incarcerated at SCI-Graterford. Over the past decade, he has contributed to dozens of Philadelphia murals and public art projects, exhibited at prominent venues including the Barnes Foundation, and dedicated himself to supporting fellow artists across disciplines in the production and installation of their work.