Facing Bench is an interdisciplinary cultural foundation in Philadelphia dedicated to the arts, learning, and independent creative exchange. We prioritize projects concerned with experimentation, aesthetics, and critical discourse.
Facing Bench's mission is to offer an evolving platform for idea exchange, social engagement, and sustainable practices, that de-centers higher-eduction institutions as the primary spaces of learning available to adult publics in Philadelphia. Our programming includes exhibitions, performances, workshops, lectures, culinary arts, thought experiments, and archives. We are committed to horizontal knowledge sharing that promotes slow looking, and close listening.
Collaborations are local, national, and international, while remaining attuned and committed to Philadelphia’s specific creative landscape.
what's in a name?
A bench is a communal piece of furniture, intended as a seat for more than one person, and often found in public spaces.
Facing Bench is inspired by the modern form of the facing bench found in The Society of Friends' (Quaker) meetinghouses. During Quaker Meeting for Worship, some members sit on a bench at the front of the room, facing the rest of the congregation. In facing each other, they communally delimit the shared space of their non-hierarchical silent worship. Different members of the community sit on the facing bench during each meeting and often conclude the meeting with a handshake.