What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — taking place across the University:
Performances
"Charles Mingus Centennial Celebration" — 7:30 p.m., March 31, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis celebrate the 100th birth year of one of the jazz world's most explosive musicians.
"Blood at the Root" — March 22-April 2, Pavilion Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage will present Dominique Morisseau's play "Blood at the Root," based on the Jena Six where six Black students were initially charged with attempted murder for a school fight after being provoked with nooses hanging from a tree on campus.
"Mountain Language" — March 31-April 2, Penn State Downtown Theatre, State College, Pennsylvania. The B.A. Society in association with the Penn State School of Theatre will present Harold Pinter's 1988 play set in an anonymous country where individual liberties have been forfeited to the state and prisoners are forbidden to speak their own language. Free.
Small Island Big Song — 7:30 p.m., April 7, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The activist-musicians of Small Island Big Song will perform to raise awareness of the environmental plights and heritages of their ocean nations.
Ivyside Dance Ensemble — 7:30 p.m., April 7 and 8, Wolf Kuhn Theatre, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Penn State Altoona. The campus' Ivyside Dance Ensemble will perform with Allied Motion Dance Company to present a performance that highlights superheroes, celebrates familial bonds, explores the cycle of addiction, reflects on self-imagery and external; perception, and even work in a metaphor for predatory behavior.
Lectures
2022 Charles W. Mann Jr. Lecture in the Book Arts — 4 p.m., March 31, via Zoom. Tia Blassingame, Ben Blount and Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty, members of the Book/Print Artist/Scholar of Color Collective, will present "Book Arts Advocacy: A Conversation with Members of the Book/Print Artist/Scholar of Color Collective." Free, but registration required.
Peter Pomerantsev — 4 p.m., March 31, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Peter Pomernatsev, a senior fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, will discuss his book "This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality." Free.
"Does Dialogue Work?" — 2 p.m., April 1, via Zoom. A panel of experts organized by the Penn State Consortium for Social Movements will discuss what dialogue is and how to use it as a tool for building political change. Free.
Department of Geography Coffee Hour: Lauren McPhillips — 4 p.m., April 1, 112 Walker Building, University Park campus, and via Zoom. Lauren McPhillips, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, will discuss the effectiveness of green infrastructure solutions in New York and Pennsylvania. Free.
Oweida Lecture in Journalism Ethics: Glenn Proctor — 7 p.m., April 5, Freeman Auditorium, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Glenn Proctor, former editor/Vice President of the Richmond (Virginia) Times Dispatch, will discuss his career and doing the right thing at the right time. Free.
Behrend Speaker Series: Sarah Thomas — 7:30 p.m., April 5, McGarvey Commons, Reed Union Building, Penn State Behrend. Sarah Thomas, the first woman to work on an NFL officiating crew, will discuss her NFL career. Free.
"Climate Change: Our Response as Artists" — 3 p.m., April 6, Freeman Auditorium, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus, and via livestream. Artists from Small Island Big Song will discuss the impacts of climate change and explore how art can influence our relationship with the environment. Free.
Richard B. Lippin Lecture in Ethics: Katrina Karkazis — 6 p.m., April 7, 101 Thomas Building, University Park campus. Katyrina Karkazis, anthropologist, bioethicist and author of "Testosterone: An Unauthorized Biography," will present "Sex Itself: The Science, Politics and Ethics of Categorization." Free.
Stanley P. Mayers Endowed Lecture: Kevin Frick — 6 p.m., April 7, 117 HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Kevin Frick, a 1991 health policy and administration alumnus, will present "Purposeful Lifelong Learning: A Key to Professional Success." Free.
Events
Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: Welcome to the Wizarding World: A Taste of Magic — March 31, 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.
Upcycled Instrument Jam Session — 5 p.m., April 5, 3 Dots Downtown, 137 E. Beaver Ave., State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State students will showcase their upcycled instruments and original compositions. Free.
Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: Element: A Sensory Experience — April 6, 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.
Small Island Big Song Dance Party — 6-8 p.m., April 6, 3 Dots Downtown, 137 E. Beaver Ave., State College, Pennsylvania. This two-hour, in-person event is a continuation of the Small Island Big Song Dance Class offered virtually by the Center for Performing Arts in March. Free.
Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: The Voyage: A Sail Through the Mediterranean — April 7, 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.
Virtual exhibits
"The World According to Doyle: Editorial Cartoons from The Jerry Doyle Papers at Penn State" — This Penn State University Libraries digital exhibition examines Jerry Doyle, one of the preeminent editorial cartoonists of the 20th century. Free.
"African Brilliance and the Purpose of Art" — This interactive virtual tour accompanied the Palmer Museum of Art’s spring 2020 special exhibition "African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting" and will remain available throughout the current academic year. Explore the exhibition installation, images of selected works, videos for guided viewing and related art-making activity suggestions. Free.
"Celebrating the ADA: The Legacy and Evolution of Disability Rights and Lived Experiences at Penn State" — 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.
"Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundations" — This web-based, interactive program from the Palmer Museum of Art features guided video tours of selected exhibition artists in addition to an introductory overview by the curator. Learn about the “Global Asias” concept of personal and cultural identity in a contemporary world. Artists featured include: Jacob Hashimoto, Dinh Q. Lê, Hung Liu, Takashi Murakami, Roger Shimomura, Do Ho Suh and Rirkrit Tiranvanija. Free.
"Pandemic Spaces (1918 Edition)" — The University Libraries virtual display explores architecture related to the devastating influenza epidemic of 1918. Free.
"Who Am I? Art and Identity" — This self-directed, interactive, online tour features a selection of objects from diverse areas of the Palmer Museum of Art’s collection, related through a common exploration of personal or cultural identity. Free.
"Women in Art: Activism + Resistance" — This self-directed, interactive, Palmer Museum of Art online tour is intended for college-level courses and features a selection of objects by female artists in the museum’s collection. In celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, this tour highlights artists working in a variety of mediums during the 20th and 21st centuries who have contributed to political, social and cultural change. Free.
In-person exhibits
"The Historic Hayfield House — Creating a Legacy" — Through April 1, Friedman Art Gallery, Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Images of the Hayfield House and the Conynham family, a part of whose estate was donated to establish the Wilkes-Barre campus, are on display. Free.
Visual Arts Annual Graduate Research Exhibition — Through April 17, HUB-Robeson Center Gallery, University Park campus. The exhibition features the works of current master of fine arts candidates. Free.
"An American Place: Selections from the James and Barbara Palmer Collection" — Through April 24, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the Palmer is exhibiting its signature collection of American art. Free.
"Printmaking in the Age of Dürer" — Through May 8, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Engravings and woodcuts by Albert Dürer, Germany's most important artist of the Renaissance and the first to fully realize the possibilities of printmaking as an expressive vehicle equal to that of painting and sculpture. Free.
"Lunchbox Moments: Seek Understanding. Share Stories. Stop Hate" — Through May 15, exhibition cases, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. A multi-faceted exhibition about "lunchbox moments," formative occurrences in many Asian Americans' lives where a traditional Asian meal is eaten at school or home and the meal elicits some sort of reaction, whether it is positive or negative. Free.
"A Way Through: Abstract Art of the 1940s" — Through May 15, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibit provides the comprehensive look at midcentury abstraction in the Palmer's history. Free.
"FRESH" — Through May 17, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. "FRESH" invites viewers to look for what makes someone unique as an individual and to celebrate each person's journey, and features works by Harrison Boden, Emily Furr and Sydney Lee. Free.
"Inside the Frames" — Through May 17, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. The exhibit tackles the intricacies of body image and disordered eating, and promotes body positivity and acceptance. Free.
Zombie Ant Experience — Through May, School of Science complex, Penn State Behrend. An interactive sculpture melding art and science models the interactions between spores and ants. Free.
"Scatter Terrain" — Through July 17, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. This exhibition presents pockets of "terrain" — peculiar landscapes, architectural gestures, intimate domestic corners — as a metaphorical means of escape from the pandemic and connection to those who are far away. Free.