What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — taking place at the University this weekend and next week:
Performances
Robin Spielberg — 7:30 p.m., March 18, Mukind S. Kulkarni Theatre, Penn State Harrisburg. Steinway Artist Robin Spielberg will present a live virtual concert titled "Re-Inventions" that will be performed live in theatre and streamed to audiences. Free, but registration required.
Events
Women's History Month — Through March, various campuses. Penn State celebrates Women's History Month with ongoing events throughout the month of March, including lectures, discussions, movie screenings, workshops and other events. Free.
Beeswax Wraps Workshop — 6-7:30 p.m., March 18, via Zoom. The Student Farm Club at Penn State will host a workshop for the campus and local community about beeswax wraps. Undergraduate students can receive supply kits for free by registering for the event and picking them up on campus. Free, but registration required.
Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: "Below Sea Level: Cuisine from the Continental Shelf" — March 24 and April 28, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Cafe Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Lectures
Penn State Behrend Holocaust-themed talk: Hilary Earl — 4 p.m., March 18, via Zoom. Hilary Earl, professor of history at Nipissing University, will discuss the reintegration of SS-Einsatzgruppen commander Martin Sandberger. Free.
Smith Creative Writers Reading Series: Tom Noyes — 6 p.m., March 18, via Zoom. Tom Noyes, author of three story collections and director of the creative writing program at Penn State Behrend, will be featured. Free.
Penn State Altoona Distinguished Speaker Series: Sean Astin — 7 p.m., March 18, via livestream. Actor Sean Astin of "The Lord of the Rings," "The Goonies" and "Rudy" will be featured. Free, but registration required.
Stuckeman School Virtual Lecture Series: Giorgia Lupi — 1:30 p.m., March 19, via livestream. Giorgia Lupi, information designer and partner at the design consulting firm Pentagram, will present "The Human Side of Data." Free, but registration required.
"The Wrong Complexion for Protection: How Government Response to Disaster Endangers African American Communities" — 4 p.m., March 22, via Zoom. The McCourtney Institute for Democracy and the Sustainability Institute will hold a virtual book club discussion of Robert Bullard's "The Wrong Complexion for Protection: How Government Response to Disaster Endangers African American Communities" led by Peter Buck, academic programs manager in the Sustainability Institute. Free, but registration required.
John M. Anderson Endowed Lecture Series: Linda Weintraub — 3 p.m., March 22, via livestream. Linda Weintraub, who teaches in the Nomad MFA program at the University of Hartford, will present "'I' and Eye': Creative and Sensory Innovation in Eco Material Art." Free, but registration required.
"Red Lip Theology" — 7 p.m., March 22, via livestream. Red Lip Theology founder Candice Benbow discusses the millennial woman's journey towards progressive theology, wholeness and freedom as the keynote to Penn State's Women's History Month celebration. Free, but registration required.
Expanding Empathy series: Lasana Harris — 12:30 p.m., March 23, via livestream. Lasana Harris, associate professor in experimental psychology at University College London, will present "Flexible Social Cognition as a Proactive Empathy Regulation Strategy." Free, but registration required.
Climate Dynamics seminar series: Rebecca Bird — 11:15 a.m., March 24, via Zoom. Anthropologist Rebecca Bird will present "Climate, Landscape Diversity and Food Sovereignty in Indigenous Australia." Free, but registration required.
"Meeting the Moment": Dashon Burton — 7:30 p.m., March 24, via Zoom. Vocalist Dashon Burton will join Michael Mwenso for the "Meeting the Moment" series. Free, but registration required.
Stuckeman School Virtual Lecture Series: The Black Reconstruction Collective — 6 p.m., March 24, via Zoom. The 10 architects, artists and designers whose work is currently featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s “Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America” exhibit, and who are collectively known as the Black Reconstruction Collective will present "Black Joy." Free, but registration required.
Exhibits
"Field Language: The Painting and Poetry of Warren and Jane Rohrer" — Through June 6, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. This major loan exhibition examines the art of Warren Rohrer as it evolved in conversation with poet Jane Turner Rohrer, his partner of nearly 50 years. Free.
"The Wit and Whimsy of Lucille Corcos" — Through May 9, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. A prolific painter and illustrator, Lucille Corcos depicted American life with an incomparable verve during the mid-20h century. Free.
THON logo exhibition — Online. The THON website is featuring a virtual gallery showcasing logos from previous events, as well as profiles of each student designer. Free.
"Celebrating the ADA: The Legacy and Evolution of Disability Rights and Lived Experience at Penn State" — Online. The University Libraries virtual exhibit explores the first 100 years of national disability rights legislation and the movement's impact on the Penn State community. Free.
"African Brilliance: A Diplomat's Sixty Years of Collecting" Online Catalog — Online. A digital catalog of African works collected by retired U.S. ambassador Allen C. Davis, including text entries, high-resolution 360-degree images and contextual videos at the Palmer Museum of Art. Free.
"African Brilliance" Virtual Tour — Online. Explore an interactive tour created with teachers, students and families in mind. The tour includes installation images, pictures of selected works, videos for guided viewing and related art-making activity suggestions. Free.
"Drawing on a Legacy: Highlights from the John Driscoll American Drawings Collection" — Online. High-resolution images, text selections and a photo gallery of works on paper donated by Penn State alumnus John P. Driscoll, including early landscape views and botanical sketches, animal scenes and still lives, and portraits and preparatory figure studies. The works include a number of well-known 19th-century American artists. Free.
"Photography=Abstraction" — Online. The Palmer Museum of Art's virtual pop-up exhibition is an interactive gallery with images, text and informational videos for selected works. Free, Google Chrome browser recommended.
Snowiss Gallery of American Art — Online. Tour the Palmer Museum of Art's first-floor Snowiss Gallery. Free.
"Women in Art: Activism and Resistance" virtual tour — Online. This self-directed, interactive online tour features a selection of objects by female artists in the Palmer Museum of Art's collection. In celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, this tour highlights artists working in a variety of media during the 20th and 21st centuries who have contributed to political, social and cultural change. Free.
"Human Expectations II" — Through June 20, Display Cases, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus, and online. The work of five artists embody a search for expression and experience through material. Free.
"When the Bough Breaks" — Through April 30, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. Nine different artists address the issue of climate change through a unique representation of trees. Free.
"Something Means Something Else" — Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. This three-part mural by artist Tamara Gayer focuses on the intricacies of the current moment in sexual and gender identity. Free.
"Small Planet" — Through January 2022, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. The HUB-Robeson Center has commissioned a site-specific wall painting located in the first-floor eateries by artist Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann titled "Small Planet." Free.