Event – Detail

Did you enjoy The Athenaeum's Salon in past seasons? Or was it always sold out?

Join us in May for its new iteration, with an in-depth discussion about the role(s) of public space in Philadelphia.

Held in the Busch Room, Philly Unfiltered is a moderated, "off the record" discussion among local experts and leaders for Athenaeum members and their guests. Attendees are welcome to continue the conversation afterward over light refreshments. A committee of Athenaeum members organizes Philly Unfiltered to showcase civic debates and developments that keep Philadelphia vibrant in a changing world.

Dr. Matthew Jordan-Miller Kenyatta (or "Dr. Matt") is an award-winning artist, author, and advocate who advances place, taste, and urban transformation by curating spaces of joy, justice, and genius. He currently serves as Director of Temple Contemporary at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, where he curates programs helping North Philadelphia become a beacon for art, architecture, and community imagination such as the Pyramid Club 1937-2035 exhibition. Previously at Penn's Weitzman School of Design, his collaborative leadership created the Justice and Belonging Fund, the Black Planners Society, and community innovations like the New Freedom District Cultural Plan. Dr. Matt's research on placemaking and Black culture appears in MIT Press, the American Planning Association, and Urban Geography. His forthcoming book Black Urbanism: Palms Growing in Concrete (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2027) explores how Black artists and entrepreneurs have created cultural meccas in cities—coining critical terms like "Blacklighting" and "placesteading." He has served as a 21st Century Historic Preservation Leaders Fellow with the U.S. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and as Philadelphia's youngest Art Commissioner since 2021. He was named the 2025 recipient of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Rights Social Justice in Arts and Culture Award. Affectionately known as "The First Gentleman of North Philadelphia," he lives in North Central with his husband, State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, and their dog Cleopatra. He holds degrees from Stanford, MIT, and USC Price School of Public Policy.

Shawn McCaney leads the William Penn Foundation, the largest regional foundation in the Greater Philadelphia area, making $150M per year in grants in support of the healthy development and academic success of young children; helping Philadelphians to access and keep better paying jobs; protecting and improving natural areas and community spaces; expanding access to diverse, inclusive, and high-quality arts and culture experiences; and enabling more people to participate in democratic processes and finding collaborative ways for funders to accelerate regional improvement. Under his leadership, the Foundation has also helped to initiate major citywide initiatives, such as $600M Rebuild Initiative; Civic Vision for the Central Delaware, including the $300M/I-95 CAP project; and Civic Coalition to Save Lives, which is focused on reducing gun violence in Philadelphia. Prior to joining WPF Shawn was an associate principal at a Center City architecture, planning, and historic preservation firm. Shawn is a member of the Board of Visitors of Temple University College of Liberal Arts and serves on the Boards of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation. Shawn serves as Chair of the Haddonfield Borough Planning Board and he is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, an International Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners, and he is licensed Professional Planner in New Jersey. Shawn is graduate of Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania.

If you are bringing a guest, please register as two members.

All event sales are final.