Say goodbye to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and hello to … hold onto your hats … the Philadelphia Art Museum! *crickets*
On Wednesday, October 8, the historic arts institution announced a major overhaul of its brand, including a new logo with a serif typeface and a slightly slimmer name that has some nodding in approval and others scratching their heads. It’s the latest museum rebranding to cause a public stir, following controversial campaigns by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Brooklyn Museum over the past decade.
For those outside of Philly, the redesign may not seem like a significant change (after all, “Philadelphia Museum of Art” and “Philadelphia Art Museum” are both big mouthfuls). But for local residents, many of whom already knew the institution as simply “the Art Museum,” it may come as a natural step.
“When I mention to folks who aren’t engaged in the arts and culture community and I say the PMA, they have no idea what I’m talking about,” the museum’s director and chief executive officer Sasha Suda told public radio station WHYY-FM. Under its new name, the museum now takes on the George Michael-esque acronym, “PhAM” (hold the exclamation point), which has already been incorporated into the URL of its redesigned website.
Not everyone is as enthusiastic about the change. “The #phart museum? You gotta be kidding me!” quipped costume designer Rita Squitiere on X. “We had no problem calling it the Philadelphia Museum of Art … We’re smart people, we can handle words.”
While some have welcomed the rebranding, others have voiced criticism of the new design. (screenshot Maya Pontone/Hyperallergic via @philamuseum on Instagram)
For the brand redesign, the museum worked with Brooklyn-based design studio Gretel, whose clients include the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas. Its portfolio also lists the New York City Football Club as a previous customer, which will not be surprising to critics who took issue with PhAM’s new logo depicting the museum’s longstanding symbolic griffin.
“It looks like a soccer team logo,” wrote one user above a congratulatory comment from the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, on Instagram. The sentiment was echoed by art media outlet The Arts District in a post claiming that the logo resembled an athleisure ad campaign.
“It feels both oppressive and bland, not like the charming treasure trove that is PMA’s collection,” commented artist and filmmaker Lex Brown on Instagram.
Some also lambasted the museum for hiring a NYC design firm as opposed to a company rooted in Philadelphia. “For a museum filled with so much beautiful and creative art, they really approached this branding shift with the energy and thought process of a NYC design agency working with a soon-to-be-open Fishtown coffee shop,” fumed artist Rushawn Stanley on Instagram.
“It’s been rebranded as the PMA!”
“A Brooklyn design firm has rebranded it’s logo as a lion’s crest”
“We’re not your grandfather’s museum”
“We’re digital-first” pic.twitter.com/inguT0LpyS
— Michael (@phillymike223) October 8, 2025
Greg Hahn, founder of Gretel, told Hyperallergic that the company sees the public’s reactions to the museum’s redesign as “a strong response to changing things that they have grown to love.”
“Any brand (person, place, or thing) develops an audience, and if they’re lucky, a following. When that’s the case, there will always be opinions on any changes made, sometimes founded and sometimes simply reactionary,” Hahn said.
Still others opined that the brand’s new custom typeface, a font known as Fairmount Serif, appeared too dystopian. (Gretel noted in its announcement that the type pulls from the museum’s origins as the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Arts, as well as architectural details like its original seal and wall engravings.)
“The logo looks like some kind of Cold War monstrosity,” said illustrator Bonnie Watts, citing the institution’s recent disputes with its staff union. In June 2023, unionized workers accused leadership of backtracking on agreed-upon provisions for longevity pay. The allegations were made not even a year after workers held a 19-day strike in demand of wage increases, paid family leave, and more affordable healthcare.
“Do better for the people who actually make a difference at the museum,” Watts said on Instagram. “Then maybe people will actually want to visit.”
