An interactive exhibition presenting video games as sites of resistance and collaboration, featuring independent and artist-designed games with retro and cutting-edge technologies.
Escape->Control->Play: The Art of the Video Game is open at the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery through December 12, with the show running from October 13. It's an interactive exhibition that treats video games as sites of resistance, spaces to imagine alternative worlds, and opportunities for collaboration. Artists, designers, and historians from around the world use play as a means of cultural disruption and critical reflection, and they've brought together retro, whimsical, and cutting-edge gaming technologies to do it.
The show is organized into three thematic sections: Resistance, Queer Games >> Histories + Futures, and Collaboration->Community. Across those, it pulls together contemporary art, independent game design, experimental interfaces, and videogame history. The gallery itself is framed as a space that transforms the conventional white cube through forms of play that require participation rather than detached observation—you're meant to play through the work, not just look at it from across the room.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Philadelphia and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
It was supported by a $90,000 grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. The gallery is located in Drexel University's URBN Annex at 3401 Filbert Street in Philadelphia. Admission is free. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 12 PM to 5 PM and Saturday from 12 PM to 6 PM.
Date
16 October – 12 December
12:00
Price
Free
Recommended Age
+14 years
