Mt. Airy artist also a pioneering advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Paid Sponsor Partnership: Philadelphia Corporation for Aging
For artist Arleen Olshan, art imitates life. Olshan is currently working on sketching a portrait of her parents.
At age 81, she purposefully captures the memory of those she holds most dear.
"Every piece has drawing as a basis," says Arleen Olshan, a visual artist. "I'm predominantly a realist painter."
Her focus is on portraits. The walls of her home studio are filled with friends, including other activists Olshan says made an impression on her life.
"This is Rita Addessa," she says. "Who achieved passing the first gay rights bill in City Hall."
Olshan says it's a celebration of their lives.
"This is Barbara Gittings and Kay Lahusen," she says. "They really were the gay crusaders."
She works from photographs collected from memorials in what has now become an archive.
"I feel like I've found my place finally in my subject matter," she says. "So that people know who they are."
Olshan really found her footing for advocating in 1970s Philadelphia.
"This is one of the early gay pride events," she says, pointing out herself in a photograph. "There was a camaraderie. It was very exciting to connect and to talk about feminist issues, to talk about lesbian feminist issues."
She was a founding member of the Gay Community Center, now named for William Way.
"I also was co-owner of Giovanni's Room for ten years from 1976 to 1986," she says. "It's now Philly AIDS Thrift at Giovanni's Room."
She says it still features "gay and lesbian and feminist books."
She also founded the Mt. Airy Art Garage with her wife, Linda, in 2009.
"I was there until 2023," she says. "You live long enough you have a lot of lives."
She's spent her lifetime lifting others and says she hopes it continues with the next generation.
"If you give, it comes back to you tenfold," she says. "I'm very grateful for the lives I've had."
Arleen Olshan's artwork is included as part of the exhibition, "Philadelphia Stories 250: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Joy," at the Creative Philadelphia Art Gallery at City Hall.
It's on view through July 24, 2026.
For more information:
Creative Philadelphia - "Philadelphia Stories 250: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Joy"