Former students and faculty from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia are getting a chance to reclaim items they thought were lost after the school's sudden closure in 2024.

This weekend, Thunderbird Salvage, a thrift store in Kensington, opened a pop-up shop at their second location at 2856 Frankford Avenue. It's stocked with creative works, supplies and furniture salvaged from UArts' Anderson Hall. The building is slated to be converted into apartments.

Thunderbird Salvage owner George Mathes said he and his team have been working with a project manager to recover items floor by floor before demolition begins.

"We wanted to rescue a bunch of the artifacts before they started doing work in there," Mathes said. "It's very important to me to be able to do this, and I'm putting all my energy into this."

Amber Luning, who earned a master's degree from UArts in museum exhibition planning and design in 2017, came to the sale hoping to find presentation boards she had donated back to the school after graduating. She didn't locate her own projects but did come across work belonging to a former professor.

"There's something about being a museum person that makes you nostalgic about stuff," Luning said.

Not everything came with a price tag. Mathes said students who could identify their own artwork were able to take it home for free.

Cyrus Nasib, who had just finished his freshman year when the university closed, picked up a stool for his apartment as a way to remember his first school.

"I wanted to see what kind of furniture was here," Nasib said.

Mathes said his team is still uncovering items inside Anderson Hall and plans to host another pop-up sale next weekend.