The Arthur Ross Gallery’s Emily Zimmerman advocates for students and experimentation on the “Philly Has Heart” podcast

March 30, 2026

The Arthur Ross Gallery’s Emily Fitch Zimmerman was a featured guest on the Philly Has Heart podcast, a platform that spotlights Philadelphia’s vibrant arts community. In this episode Zimmerman discussed her Philadelphia roots, her journey to becoming an art curator, and the upcoming 2026 Weitzman School of Design’s Fine Arts MFA Exhibition, Under Scores.

Zimmerman, the Arthur Ross Gallery’s Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs, is the curator of Under Scores, featuring the work of eight graduating students. The exhibition will be on view May 1-31 at both the Arthur Ross Gallery and the new Gordon Gallery in Weitzman Hall at the University of Pennsylvania.

During the podcast Zimmerman described her childhood in an artistic family and the path to her career as a curator. She started out pursuing art history, archaeology, and photography at New York University’s Gallatin School for Individualized Study, before earning a master’s degree in curatorial studies from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. Early in her career, Zimmerman decided that she wanted to work directly with living artists, a commitment that continues to drive her curatorial vision today.

“Freedom, balanced with ethical responsibility to artists and audiences, has always been central to how I think about curatorial work. My curiosity has always pushed me towards those spaces where experimentation is possible,” she said. “University museums sit within communities where research, dialogue, and discovery are already central values, and exhibitions can function as a form of teaching through embodied experience.”

Zimmerman is the 2025-2026 Guest Curator and Visiting Critic at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design. Under Scores shares the work of eight second-year students who will graduate in May:  Ana González, Cacie Rosario Jackson, Sol Kim, Dylan Li, Jingyi Ying, Noa Mori Machover, Shay Myerson, and Ambika Trasi. The exhibition will open with a reception on Thursday, April 30.

Learn more by listening to the 30-minute podcast, available on Apple and on Spotify.