Join us on Thursday, September 3 at 11:30 am for a virtual Alumni Artist Talk featuring Aimee Koran '13 in conversation with Chair of Creative & Critical Studies Dr. Jonathan Wallis. Together, they’ll explore Koran's artistic evolution, the role Moore played in shaping her practice and the ideas driving her exhibition, Union Hall: Maternal Order of Makers (M.O.M.), on view in the Alumni Gallery July 25 – September 12, 2026.
Presented during the 250th anniversary of the United States, this project draws upon Philadelphia's unique role as the birthplace of American democracy and organized labor. Just blocks from where the First Continental Congress convened at Carpenters' Hall—and where workers later organized some of the nation's earliest trade unions—Union Hall asks us to reconsider another foundational effort upon which every society depends: motherhood. Koran suggests, “if Philadelphia is celebrated as the birthplace of a nation, mothers are the birthplace of all of us.”
Through sculpture, installation, murals, banners, protest ephemera, union insignia, handmade objects, and participatory materials, the exhibition constructs the organizing headquarters for the Maternal Order of Makers (M.O.M.), an imagined union that advocates for the recognition of caregiving and creative labor. Visitors are invited not simply to observe the exhibition, but to enter the union hall itself and encounter the visual language of collective action.
After the program, pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and stay awhile for an informal alumni gathering. We’ll keep the Zoom room open for an additional 30 minutes to give alumni a chance to catch up and continue the conversation together.
About the Speakers
Aimee Koran '13 is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Philadelphia, PA. She holds an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania and a BFA in Fine Arts with a minor in Textile Design from Moore College of Art & Design. Koran explores the topic of motherhood, focusing on the continuously shifting and complex binaries that shape the role. Her work has been shown around the globe in venues such as the Richard Saulton Gallery, London, UK; Mutter Museum, Philadelphia, PA; The Arlington Art Center, Arlington, VA; and completed residencies at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA; The Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT; The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY and Project for Empty Space, Newark, NJ. Her solo and group exhibitions have been featured in publications like The New York Times, Vogue, Whitewall, Artslant, Artnet News and A Woman's Thing. Koran's work was recently acquired for addition to the permanent contemporary collection at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Dr. Jonathan Wallis is professor of Art History and Humanities, Chair of Creative & Critical Studies and program head for Visionary Academic Honors. He was the Penny and Bob Fox Distinguished Professor from 2015–2018 and received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching (2013). His scholarship focuses on ethics, socially engaged art and surrealism, with essays in journals including Art and the Public Sphere and Woman's Art Journal. He has written extensively on Salvador Dalí, curated contemporary art exhibitions and holds a PhD and MA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. Writing fiction as Jonathan Nevair, Wallis has published award-winning space operas and spy-fi thrillers, including Neffy Award winner "To Spy a Star" and Indie Ink Awards runner-up "Jati's Wager."
Image courtesy of the artist.
