Twelve Gates Arts

Twelve Gates Arts Twelve Gates Arts, established in 2011, is a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylv

Introducing one of the artists in A Traveler Weeps, A River Laughs - filmmaker Shehrezad Maher, born and raised in Karac...
06/03/2026

Introducing one of the artists in A Traveler Weeps, A River Laughs - filmmaker Shehrezad Maher, born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan.

Shehrezad’s work has screened at the Venice Film Festival, Visions du Réel, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and beyond. A 2023 Pew Artist Fellow, her feature script Theory of Colors was selected for the 2025 Sundance Screenwriters Intensive and awarded the Melissa Mathison Screenwriters Fund. She holds an MFA from Yale University, where she received the Blair Dickinson Memorial Prize.

We’re thrilled to have her work as part of this exhibition. Come experience it in person at Twelve Gates Arts - opening this Friday, June 5, from 5:30 to 8 PM at 106 N 2nd St, Philadelphia. The opening reception also features a live performance by Mir Masud-Elias with doozyah.

Introducing one of the artists in A Traveler Weeps, A River Laughs - interdisciplinary artist, storyteller, and dancer s...
06/02/2026

Introducing one of the artists in A Traveler Weeps, A River Laughs - interdisciplinary artist, storyteller, and dancer sāgar kāmath.

Working across painting, sculpture, installation, video, collage, public art, and dance, sāgar investigates the multiplicities of his identity as an Indian-born American through narrative building, materiality, and movement - interrogating his body, the surrounding landscape, and colonial histories through non-linear time, humor, and pop culture.

A 2023 Smithsonian Artist-in-Residence and 2024 Twelve Gates Philadelphia Resident, he was recently commissioned by Mural Arts and the Free Library of Philadelphia to design banners for the Parkway Central Branch facade, on view through December 2026.

We can’t wait for you to experience his work in the gallery. Join us this Friday, June 5, from 5:30 to 8 PM at 106 N 2nd St, Philadelphia - the opening reception also features a live performance by Mir Masud-Elias with doozyah.

Introducing one of the artists in A Traveler Weeps, A River Laughs - Philadelphia-based painter, photographer, and multi...
06/02/2026

Introducing one of the artists in A Traveler Weeps, A River Laughs - Philadelphia-based painter, photographer, and multimedia artist Alexei Mansour.

A Tyler School of Art alum, Alexei’s practice examines identity, memory, and displacement through a diasporic lens. Drawing from his Eastern cultural and religious upbringing, he creates intimate, psychologically charged environments where personal memory meets collective history.

We’re thrilled to have his work as part of this exhibition. Come see it in person at Twelve Gates Arts - opening this Friday, June 5, from 5:30 to 8 PM at 106 N 2nd St, Philadelphia. The opening reception also features a live performance by Mir Masud-Elias with doozyah.

The Poets’ Studio is excited to kick off Season 2 with Philadelphia’s Poet Laureate Raina J. León! Join us on June 9th, ...
05/31/2026

The Poets’ Studio is excited to kick off Season 2 with Philadelphia’s Poet Laureate Raina J. León!

Join us on June 9th, 2026, from 7:00pm-8:30pm Twelve Gates Arts (106 N 2nd St) for a reading and generative writing workshop led by Raina.

Curated by Sanam Sheriff, The Poets’ Studio is a monthly gathering for local poets and writers interested in writing, sharing, and connection through poetry.

This event is free and open to all who want to engage more deeply with lyric and the written word.

Like to RSVP is in our bio!

One night only. sāgar kāmath presents Myths and Dreams of Red & Blue at the Gordon Gallery, UPenn. Kathak dance, paintin...
05/28/2026

One night only.

sāgar kāmath presents Myths and Dreams of Red & Blue at the Gordon Gallery, UPenn. Kathak dance, painting, video, and sound come together in a performance exploring diasporic identity, nostalgia, and the American Dream.

Friday, June 12 | Doors 7 PM | Show 8 PM @ Gordon Gallery, 205 S 34th St, Philadelphia

Presented in partnership with ’s What Now: 2026 festival and the UPenn Weitzman School of Design.

The gallery is closed until June 5 while we install our new show. Join us for the opening of A Traveler Weeps, a River L...
05/22/2026

The gallery is closed until June 5 while we install our new show.

Join us for the opening of A Traveler Weeps, a River Laughs on Friday, June 5 at 6:30PM at 106 N 2nd St.

Traveler Weeps, A River Laughs opens Friday, June 5 from 5:30 to 8 PM, at Twelve Gates Arts.The evening includes gallery...
05/20/2026

Traveler Weeps, A River Laughs opens Friday, June 5 from 5:30 to 8 PM, at Twelve Gates Arts.

The evening includes gallery viewing, a walkthrough with the artists, and a live poetry and music performance by Mir Masud-Elias and doozyah (Sophia Pradhan). Join us for the opening reception at 106 N 2nd St, Philadelphia.

Featuring works by Alexei Mansour, Mir Masud-Elias, sāgar kāmath, and Shehrezad Maher. Presented as part of ArtPhilly 2026.

106 N 2nd St, Philadelphia | Free and open to the public

Common Ground by Mohammad Omer Khalil has officially closed at Twelve Gates Arts.We’re ending with Cynic, made in 1973, ...
05/15/2026

Common Ground by Mohammad Omer Khalil has officially closed at Twelve Gates Arts.

We’re ending with Cynic, made in 1973, over fifty years ago, and still one of the most visceral works in the show. The etching ground displayed below shows the same image reversed, the origin of the print.

Thank you to everyone who came through our doors this spring.

Cynic, 1973. 25 x 20 in. Marbled etching ground.

Before Common Ground closes, take a look at this.MOK’s artist book series in response to Season of Migration to the Nort...
05/15/2026

Before Common Ground closes, take a look at this.

MOK’s artist book series in response to Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih: original etchings, an Arabic novel on vellum paper, and a handmade wooden box engraved with the artist’s initials.

Twelve Gates is open until 5PM.

Season of Migration to the North, 2019. 16 x 15 in. Handmade box, beech wood and matte grey zinc.
Season of Migration to the North II, 2018. 29.5 x 44 in. Etching, soft ground, aquatint, spit bite, scraping.

Today is the last day to see Common Ground by Mohammad Omer Khalil at Twelve Gates Arts.These are two prints from the se...
05/15/2026

Today is the last day to see Common Ground by Mohammad Omer Khalil at Twelve Gates Arts.

These are two prints from the series that gave the exhibition its name. British stamps addressed to the USA, Washington on a 5-cent postage, a torn price tag. All fragments of transit and exchange, preserved in aquatint and soft ground.

The gallery will be open from 11-5PM.

Common Ground X, c. 1985–95. 18 x 15 in. Etching, photocopy transfer, aquatint, soft ground.
Common Ground XI, c. 1985–95. 18 x 15 in. Etching, photocopy transfer, spit bite.

Address

106 N 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA
19106

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

+12152538578

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