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 through Dec. 3:
Performances
“The Democracy! Suite” – Nov. 11-18, via livestream. In partnership with the Center for Performing Arts at Penn State, Jazz at Lincoln Center will offer a themed virtual performance featuring some of the finest soloists in the jazz world. Free.
Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra – 8 p.m., Nov. 20, via livestream. Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra will perform selections from their recent CD “Jazz Party,” as well as a variety of street-brass compositions. Free.
Together, Alone: Josh Davis – 7:30 p.m., Nov. 30, via livestream. Double bass Josh Davis will perform in the Together, Alone Faculty Concert Series by the School of Music. Free.
Events
Gingerbread House Decorating Event – Penn State Auxiliary and Business Services and the Penn State Bakery are hosting their third annual event to benefit THON. Participants can order kits online and pick them up at the THON Store in the HUB-Robeson Center Nov. 16-20, or at the Penn State Bakery Dec. 14-18.
Online United Way 50/50 raffle – Penn Staters are invited to take part in an online 50/50 raffle to benefit the Centre County United Way.
Lectures
“Language Lives in Unexpected Places” – Nov. 17-18 via livestream. The Center for Humanities and Information is hosting a two-day webinar in recognition of National Native American Heritage Month. Free, but registration required.
Journalism Speakers Forum: Tom Brenner – 7 p.m., Nov. 18, via Zoom. Photojournalist Tom Brenner will discuss covering American politics in Washington, D.C. Free.
Herbert Simon Award Lecture: Anthony Bertelli – 4 p.m., Nov. 18, via livestream. Anthony Bertelli, Douglaas S. and Joyce L. Sherwin Chair in the College of the Liberal Arts Honoring Frank Whitmore and professor of public policy and political science, will present “Democracy Administered: Understanding the Role of Public Administration in Representative Government.” Free, but registration required.
“How to Be an Antiracist”: Ibram X. Kendi – 6 p.m. Nov. 18, via livestream. One of America’s foremost historians and leading antiracist voices will discuss his book. Free.
“Evidence of the Advancement of the Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice: Voices of Survival and Care Working Together for Change” – 3 p.m., Nov. 19, via livestream. Cheryl McLean, independent scholar, writer and ethnodramatist, will be featured. Free, but registration required.
EESI EarthTalks: Vernon Morris – 4 p.m., Nov. 23, via Zoom. Arizona State’s Vern Morris will present “Challenges to achieving equitable representation in geosciences: A view from within.” Free.
“Trans Care” panel discussion – 4 p.m., Dec. 1, via livestream. A panel of leading scholars on trans and queer studies will discuss the recently published book “Trans Care” by His Malatino, assistant professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies and research associate in the Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State. Free, but registration required.
2020 Climate Dynamics seminar series – 11:15 a.m., Dec. 2, via Zoom. A panel of three Penn State researchers and professionals will present “Penn State Carbon Negative (PSUCan): Accelerating the drawdown of greenhouse gas emissions at our University.” Free.
Palmer Museum Conversations: “How Exhibitions Are Made” – 4 p.m., Dec. 3, via Zoom. Joyce Robinson, assistant director at the Palmer, and Brandi Breslin, museum educator, discuss key elements of exhibition planning such as defining goals, developing checklists, creating programs and managing installations. Free.
Exhibits and virtual tours
“Earth Archives” Virtual Tour – 3 p.m., Nov. 19, via Zoom. Curators of the University Libraries’ “Earth Archives: Stories of Human Impact” will offer a virtual curated engagement experience. Free, but registration required.
“Celebrating the ADA: The Legacy and Evolution of Disability Rights & Lived Experience at Penn State” – Online. The University Libraries explores the first 100 years of national disability rights legislation and the movement’s impact on the Penn State community. Free.
“CARE. not convenience” – Through Nov. 20, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. Created entirely with salvaged plastic, this collaboration between an artist, designer and an environmental sciences researcher aspired to shed light on society’s dependence on, careless overuse and thoughtless disposal of plastic. Free.
“Hostile Terrain 94” – Through Nov. 20, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. “Hostile Terrain 94” is a participatory art exhibit occurring in nearly 150 cities around the globe that highlights the lives claimed by the U.S./Mexico border since the 1990s. Free.
“African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting” Online Catalogue – Online. A digital catalogue 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.
“Illuminating Illusions” – Online. The Penn State Museum Consortium presents this exhibition that explores facets of illusions in science, art, literature and nature. 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” – Through Jan. 31, 2021, Display Cases, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. Four artists explore the form of the human head in ceramic, neon and glass. Free.
“Border Exchange” – Through Jan. 31, 2021, Display Cases, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. The exhibition pairs two of artist Carlos Rosales-Silva’s paintings with a site-responsive wall painting. 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.
