Galleries
Art Exhibitions
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
3rd Art Student Biennial
In-Person: March 6 - April 17, 2025, at the William Way LGBT Community Center
Gallery Hours: Monday - Thursday, 5:30-9PM
Closing Reception: Thursday, April 17th, 6-9PM
The 3rd Art Student Biennial, the Philadelphia region’s largest LGBTQIA+ student exhibition, returns to the William Way LGBT Community Center from March 6 – April 17, 2025, with a companion virtual exhibition on the Center’s website. This year’s Biennial is the biggest yet, featuring artwork from more colleges and universities than ever before.
At a time when LGBTQIA+ voices are being challenged, especially in higher education and cultural institutions, it is more important than ever to uplift emerging artists in our community. This exhibition provides a space for young creatives to share their perspectives and be part of a growing community here at the Center. Please join us in celebrating the next generation of LGBTQIA+ artists during our Closing Reception on Thursday, April 17th, from 6-9PM.
PAST EXHIBITIONS:
Please see this list of Past Art Exhibitions from 2020-present, including archived virtual exhibitions.
Art Gallery
Installation view of Tonight is Forever by Gabriel Martinez, 2019
About the Art Gallery
Since opening in 1976, the William Way LGBT Community Center has been committed to highlighting the work of LGBTQIA+ artists from the Philadelphia region, providing a vital platform for their creative expression. Each year, we produce at least six major exhibitions, including the Annual Juried Art Exhibition, that features approximately 50 local artists. Collaborations with our John J. Wilcox Jr. Archives offer artists a wealth of historical resources to inspire new work. Our exhibitions are enriched with supplemental programming, such as artist talks, discussions, and workshops, bringing in additional visitors and deepening engagement with the Center. Most art featured in the gallery is available for sale with 35 percent of profits donated directly to the Center. For more information, please contact arts@waygay.org.
Arts Committee
The Arts Committee is a community-based volunteer committee that encourages, supports and celebrates the artistic expression and diversity of sexuality and gender expression through visual arts exhibitions produced by and about LGBTQ communities. Supporting and encouraging arts by the LGBTQ communities of the Greater Philadelphia Region is the Arts Committee’s major focus. We have a call for new committee members annually in December.
Archives Gallery
About the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives Gallery
Special exhibitions in the Center’s Archives Gallery highlight important LGBT cultural and historical moments with photographs, documents and ephemera from William Way’s own Archives. For more information, please contact John Anderies.
On-site exhibitions for the Archives are on pause. Please see the Archives’ exhibition page for information on our digital exhibitions.
WayOut: Philly Queer Arts Newsletter
WayOut is a monthly arts email newsletter brought to you by the Arts Committee at the William Way LGBT Community Center. WayOut promotes the Center’s art exhibitions and cultural programming and fosters a community for queer artists and creatives in the greater Philadelphia region. Subscribers to our newsletter are the first to learn about upcoming exhibitions, open calls for submissions, and other LGBTQ art-related events throughout the city.
View current and past newsletters online here, and subscribe to receive our monthly email here.
Art Newsletter
Call for Artists:
Radical Americana
Radical Americana is a series of art exhibitions across Philadelphia during the Semiquincentennial, a major national event celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 2026. Artists will use the year 1776 and commemorations in 1876, 1926, and 1976 to serve as points of research in Philadelphia-area archives to produce craft-based artworks and add their voices to current dialogue about our nation’s past, present, and future.
The William Way LGBT Community Center is one of the 16 partners in this project, and will act as both a research and display site for Radical Americana. Materials from 1976, including photographs and ephemera of LGBTQ+ Philadelphians participating in Bicentennial or counter-Bicentennial events, are available for research for artists in the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives. Learn more and apply here. Submission deadline: April 14, 2025.
Philly Queer Life Drawing
The William Way LGBT Community Center invites artists who have participated in Philly Queer Life Drawing to submit their work for consideration for an exhibition to be held at the Center in May/June, 2025! This exhibition is only open to anyone who has participated in a Philly Queer Life Drawing event in the past or present. Eligible artwork includes any which was made during the life drawing sessions, or afterwards using the drawings as reference material. See more information on Philly Queer Life Drawing here, and learn more and apply here. Submission deadline: April 1, 2025