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
"Prince Hamlet" — Sept. 16-17, Playhouse Theatre, University Park campus. A nontraditional telling of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" will feature a gender-bent cast plus American Sign Language and translation.
Happy Valley Indian Performing Arts Festival — Sept. 23 and 25, HUB Flex Theater, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The Society. for Indian Music and Arts and Penn State Nritya will present four recitals featuring Hindustani vocal music, Bharata Natyam, carnatic vocal music and a special concert of Qawwali.
Lectures
17th annual De Jong Lecture in Social Demography — 9 a.m., Sept. 16, 233B HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus, and via livestream. Marcy Carlson, professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will present "Generational Overlap: Changing Demography and Shared Lifetimes." Free.
Shaquem Griffin — 7 p.m., Sept. 20, Perkins Student Center Auditorium, Penn State Berks. Retired NFL linebacker Shaquem Griffin will talk about how a rare condition called amniotic band syndrome left him with one hand but did not deter him in drive to play professional football. Free.
Events
National Hispanic Heritage Month — Through Oct. 31, various campuses. Penn State units across the commonwealth are holding events in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month. The unifying theme for this year's observances is "Nuestra Música (Our Music): Identity, Culture and Resistance." Free.
POW/MIA Vigil — 5-6 p.m., Sept. 16, Old Main lawn, University Park campus. The University will host its annual Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Vigil in honor of POW/MIA Recognition Day. Free.
Graphic design exhibit — 6-8 p.m., Sept. 16, Collaboration Common, Pattee and Paterno Library, University Park campus. Students from the Department of Graphic Design will showcase their work. Free.
Constitution Day 2022 — Through Sept. 22, various campuses. Campuses across the University celebrate Constitution Day with various in-person and virtual events. Free.
"The Sounds of Resistance: From Storytelling to Movement Building" — 6 p.m., Sept. 20, via livestream. Members of the alt-folk band Las Cafeteras will lead a free virtual workshop to discuss how they use songs and lyrics to highlight immigrant struggles, cultural identity and privilege. Free, but registration required.
Virtual Exhibits
"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.
"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.
In-Person Exhibits
"ARC Studio's Premiere" — Through Jan. 29, 2023, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Photos and paintings by Andrew Castañeda mirror the structure of a day in TV programming. Free.
"The Art of Remembering: A Selection of Gifts" — Through Dec. 18, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibit honors the gifts to the permanent collection of the Palmer Museum of Art and features works on paper by 19th- and 20th-century European and American artists. Free.
"Earth Archives: Stories of Human Impact" — Through Nov. 22, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. The exhibit explores the intersection of the environment, human activity, climate change and the documentary record. Free.
"Haiti: Liberation of the First Black Republic" — Through Dec. 16, Paterno Family Reading Room, Pattee Library, University Park campus. The exhibit examines the history of Haiti, the first modern Black republic resulting from its successful fight for liberation from the French. Free.
"I Am a Penn Stater: Nittany Lions in World War II" — Through June 2025, Penn State All-Sports Museum, Beaver Stadium, University Park campus. Timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the conflict, "I Am a Penn Stater" chronicles the contributions of Nittany Lion varsity lettermen and Women’s Recreation Association athletes during the conflict and follows their service from training in the United States, to fighting on battlefields around the globe, to their postwar occupations. Free.