Ahead of Tuesday’s election, Vice President Kamala Harris held her final rally for her U.S. presidential bid in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) on Monday.
While the museum is one of the largest in the US, it is perhaps most famous for its front steps, known as the “Rocky Steps,” as they are featured prominently in the 1976 film Rocky about an underdog boxing champion—a metaphor not lost on the candidate, who would become first woman president if she wins.
To accommodate the rally, the museum was closed for safety protocols on Monday.
“The Philadelphia Museum of Art, along with the Rodin Museum is closed to both the public and PMA staff,” a museum spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “For security reasons and to accommodate the stage build, the museum has been asked to remain closed for the full day. We shared this information publicly via the PMA’s website and across the PMA’s social media channels and all groups impacted by this closure have been contacted.”
Harris concluded her brief 15-week campaign, following a sweep through the state of Pennsylvania, at the PMA with media mogul Oprah Winfrey, pop legends Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, and local hip-hop stars the Roots and DJ Jazzy Jeff, among others.
“It’s good to be back in the city of brotherly love, where the foundation of our democracy was forged, and here at these famous steps, a tribute to those who start as the underdog and climb to victory,” Harris said not long after taking the stage around 11:30 p.m.. “I want to thank all the outstanding artists and performers who are here tonight and sharing the gift they have with all of us.”
“If you give me a chance to fight on your behalf as president, there is nothing in the world that will stand in my way,” Harris continued at the rally. “I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. I’ll give them a seat at the table—that’s what real leaders do, that’s what strong leaders do.”
Harris has decades-long connections with art institutions, having served on the board of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA) from 1996 to 2011. She was also a board member of the non-profit San Francisco Jazz and was involved with the San Francisco Symphony. In 2022, she spoke at the opening gala of the “Afro-Atlantic Histories” (2018–22) exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Harris’ step-daughter Ella Emhoff is a textile artist.
Harris has also received funding through the auction and sale of artworks by more than 100 artists, which was co-organized by the online marketplace Artsy and the non-profit Artists for Kamala. Parallel billboard campaigns featuring artist-designed images encouraging voter participating in support of Harris were spearheaded by the non-profit People for the American Way through its Artists For Democracy initiative.
This afternoon and evening New York’s Gladstone Gallery will host a marathon reading, titled Remember to Dream, at its West 21st Street location in conjunction with a current showing of work by Carrie Mae Weems, who not only participated in the Artists For Democracy billboard campaign, but also recently contributed imagery to Harris’s campaign advertisements.
For his part, Trump spent his final day campaigning in Pennsylvania after visiting North Carolina on Monday. His final rally took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Each candidate needs to secure at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
