In Philly, all roads lead to Rocky, one way or another.
Philly’s favorite fictional son has sparked spin-offs, podcasts, bus tours, generations of fandoms and, now, a major exhibition at the city’s premier art institution.
But Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments goes beyond Sylvester Stallone’s Oscar Award-winning franchise.
Built around the iconic statue, this blockbuster showcase assembles the biggest names in art and sports — from Andy Warhol and Gwendolyn Brooks to Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier — for a journey spanning 2,000 years, 150 artifacts, 50 artists and the one-and-only Rocky Balboa.
Curated by Paul Farber, the mind behind Monument Lab and the podcast The Statue, Rising Up, taps renowned art collections from around the world, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The British Museum and three Smithsonian museums, plus unexpected sources like historic boxing gyms.
It all memorializes the real-life champions, the anonymous underdogs, the struggles and the triumphs that paved the way for Rocky.
Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the movies that started it all, Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments runs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sunday, August 2, 2026.