The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened a new exhibition titled “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” in April 2026, which examines the cultural significance of public monuments through the lens of the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa. Curated by Paul Farber and drawing on the work of Monument Lab, the show brings the iconic Rocky Statue inside the museum, placing it alongside classical and contemporary artworks by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, as well as historical objects spanning 2,000 years.
The exhibition matters because it reframes a beloved pop-culture landmark as a serious subject for artistic and historical inquiry, at a time when debates over public monuments in the United States are increasingly contentious. By positioning the Rocky Statue—a symbol of resilience and the American dream—within a museum context, the show prompts visitors to reflect on how monuments shape collective memory, identity, and societal values, and raises questions about why a fictional character has become such an enduring civic icon.