The Living Temple: The World of Moki Cherry

Ars Nova Workshop

Moki Cherry, set created for a performance of the Organic Music Society, a troupe of artists convened by Don and Moki Cherry, mid-70s, Italy. Photo courtesy of Ars Nova Workshop.

Moki Cherry, Tibetan style ceiling canopy, 1977. Photo courtesy of Galleri Nicolai Wallner.

Lisa Alvarado, Sound Talisman installation view, 2017, Bridget Donahue gallery, New York, NY. Photo by Bridget Donahue.

Recipient

Grant Year 2022

Grant Amount $231,600

Status Forthcoming

Updated July 1, 2025

A retrospective at the Fabric Workshop and Museum centers around Swedish visual artist and designer Moki Cherry (1943–2009), bringing together textiles, paintings and drawings, music, video, and other media. The exhibition explores the artist’s collaborative and multi-sensory creative practice as well as her guiding mantra—“home is stage, stage is home”—influenced by her family life with life partner, American composer and performer Don Cherry (1936–1995), and their children. In addition to works by Moki, the installation is accompanied by new works and performances created with Lisa Alvarado, an artist-in-residence at FWM, along with a robust schedule of live events organized by Ars Nova Workshop. A catalogue with essays from prominent artists and scholars complements the exhibition.

The total grant amount represents project funding plus an additional 20% in unrestricted general operating support.

Primary EventsEvents & Exhibitions

Moki Cherry, Painting About Life, 1968. Photo courtesy of Ars Nova Workshop.

The Living Temple Exhibition

Sep 25, 2025–Apr 12, 2026
The Fabric Workshop and Museum
1214 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

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Recipient

Ars Nova Workshop

Ars Nova Workshop (ANW) is an award-winning presenter that elevates the profile and expands the boundaries of jazz and contemporary music. Winner of the ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and Philadelphia Magazine’s “Best of Philly” award, ANW is an internationally recognized jazz, experimental, and new classical music presenter.

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