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 this weekend and next week:
Performances
"The Voice of PSU" — 7-9 p.m., Oct. 23, Heritage Hall, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The Chinese Undergraduate Student Association hosts the semifinals of its annual "The Voice of PSU" singing competition. Free.
Christian Sands — 7:30 p.m., Oct. 27, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Jazz pianist Christian Sands returns to Penn State to perform a live concert.
Lectures
Research Unplugged: Natalie Boyle — 1:30 p.m., Oct. 21, Pasto Agricultural Museum, Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs, Pennsylvania. Natalie Boyle, assistant research professor in entomology, will present "Thank a bee! The importance of pollination in Pennsylvania." Free.
Smith Creative Writers Reading Series — 6 p.m., Oct. 21, via livestream. Caroline Chavatel and Audrey Gradzewicz, contributing writers for Lake Effect, Behrend's international literary journal, will be the final guests for the fall reading series.
Dickson Lecture Series: ShiPu Wang — 6 p.m., Oct. 21, via Zoom. ShiPu Wang, Coats Endowed Chair in the Arts and professor of art history at the University of California, Merced, will present "'Other' as Method: Rediscovering Transracial and Transcultural Alliances in American Modernism." Free, but registration required.
"From Baltimore to Broadway — An Evening with Bryan Terrell Clark" — 7 p.m., Oct. 21, Mukind S. Kulkarni Theatre, Penn State Harrisburg, and via livestream. Singer-songwriter, philanthropist and actor Bryan Terrell Clark, who starred as George Washington in "Hamilton," will be featured. Free, but registration required.
Department of Geography Coffee Hour: Christopher Scott — 4 p.m., Oct. 22, 112 Walker Building, University Park campus. Christopher Scott, Maurice K. Goddard Chair of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, will present "Transboundary water governance: Possibilities and pitfalls at the nexus with energy and food security." Free.
"Opening Knowledge Equitably in an Inequitable System" — Noon, Oct. 26, via Zoom. Natalia Norori, an expert in global health and open access, will discuss the challenges faced by early career researchers who are traditionally excluded from research due to cultural, ideological and practical barriers. Free, but registration required.
"A Conversation with Tim Livingston" — 7 p.m., Oct. 26, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Tim Livingston, the journalist who created the popular "Whistleblower" podcast that focused on a disgraced NBA referee and large-scale betting scandal, will be featured. Free.
Foster-Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers lectures — Oct. 27 and 28, various locations, University Park campus. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Jim Schaefer of the Detroit Free Press and Stephanie Saul of the New York Times will present sessions on Oct. 27 and 28, respectively. Free.
Department of Geosciences fall 2021 colloquium series — 4:30 p.m., Oct. 28, 220 Hammond Building, University Park campus, and via Zoom. Barbara Sherwood Lollar, University Professor in Earth Sciences and Dr. Norman Keevil Chair in Ore Deposits Geology at the University of Toronto, will talk about her work in subsurface environments and subsurface processes and how they apply to our understanding of planetary evolution in her presentation "Imaging Habitable Worlds — Lessons from the Deep Biosphere and Hydrogeosphere." Free.
School of Labor and Employment Relations Outstanding Alumni Lecture: Beth Albright — 7:30 p.m., Oct. 28, 104 Keller Building, University Park campus. Beth Albright, a 1989 labor and employment relations graduate and a Fortune 500 C-suite executive and independent board director, will present "Enough Already?!? Making a Change." Free.
Events
Homecoming 2021 — Oct. 17-23, various locations, University Park campus. Students and alumni celebrate homecoming with a variety of events throughout the week, including a free ice cream social, concerts, the annual parade, guarding the Lion Shrine and the football game versus Illinois. Most events free, and some require tickets and/or registration.
Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: "When in Rome: That's Amore" — Oct. 21 and Nov. 18, 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.
Penn State Horticulture Show — Oct. 23-24, Snider Agricultural Arena, University Park campus. The annual student Horticulture Club show's theme is "Halloween," featuring tombstones, fog, spider webs and a corn maze. Free.
WPSU Eventapalooza — 1-4 p.m., Oct. 24, 100 Innovation Blvd., State College. WPSU's annual PBS KIDS event will feature activities and giveaways, including experiments, crafts, take-and-make kits, grab-and-go bags and PBS KIDS character standees. Free, but registration required.
Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: "Dinner at Tiffany's: A Soiree in the City" — Oct. 27 and Dec. 1, 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.
Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: "Greenhouse Harvest: A Taste of the Season" — Oct. 28 and Dec. 2, 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
"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
"Wind Spirits" — Through Nov. 20, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. “Wind Spirits” is an exhibition of artists Tatiana Arocha, Deirdre Murphy and Rachel Sydlowski, considering the power and delicacy of Earth’s avian creatures and the larger implications that duality poses for human roles in the natural world. Free.
"Ukiyo-e: Images of the Floating World, Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Permanent Collection" — Through Dec. 5, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The art of ukiyo-e flourished in Japan during the Edo period (1615-1867). Period artists specializing in genre scenes, portraits of actors and courtesans, and later, landscape, in a manner that reflected the most contemporary fashions and attitudes, their work became known as ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world.” Free.
"Blackout Poetry" — Through Dec. 10, campus library, Penn State Fayette. “Blackout Poetry” is a creative way to bring new meaning to any written text and make it your own. Redact words in order to create a one-of-a-kind piece. All entries will be displayed in the campus library. Free.
"Patchwork Voices Community Collection" — Through Dec. 10, Coal and Coke Heritage Center, campus library, Penn State Fayette. The Patchwork Voices Community Collection is one of the Coal and Coke Heritage Center's unprocessed collections. Unprocessed means that a traditional finding aid has not been created for researchers to access materials. The collection consists of smaller, family collections. Visitors will find materials such as photographs, letters, recipes, mining certificates, newspapers, magazines, Union materials, clothing and mining tools. Free.
"Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and World War II" — Through Dec. 10, campus library, Penn State Fayette. The exhibit examines the complicated history and impact of Executive Order 9066 that led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Free.
"Celebration of Trees" — Through Dec. 12, Henry Gallery, Penn State Great Valley. The presentation hosts photographs, prints, paintings and mixed media works. All of the artists are inspired by the architecture of trees themselves, formative memories, the experience of being in nature, and environmentalism. To support improved environmental policies and draw attention to climate change, they manifest a connection to the earth and an understanding of the importance of forests. Free.
"Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation" — Through Dec. 12, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. This web-based, interactive program 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. Free.
"Place to Place: Recent Gifts of American Drawings and Watercolors, 1900-1950" — Through Dec. 12, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. "Place to Place" offers a jaunt around America in the first half of the 20th century. From New York to New Mexico to New Orleans, a range of sites in several different media are gathered to explore notions of place. International locales represented include Belgium, England, France, Germany and Morocco. Free.
"Documenting the Moment: A Visual Journal" — Through Dec. 31, Ronald K. DeLong Gallery, Penn State Lehigh Valley. The exhibit features a collection of artist Jason Travers’ ink and graphite drawings that capture what he’s seeing in real time at a particular moment. The gallery also is showcasing student works depicting significant moments shown from various perspectives. Free.
"Lost Bird Project" — Through Jan. 26, 2022, exhibition cases, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. The "Lost Bird Project" consists of five sculptural monuments to extinct bird species. Conceived by artist Todd McGrain, the "Lost Bird Project" recognizes the tragedy of modern extinction by immortalizing the five most recently extinct North American birds. Free.
"Why Biodiversity Matters" — Through Jan. 26, 2022, exhibition cases, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. "Why Biodiversity Matters" includes avian research and educational materials from Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center and Penn State’s Wildlife and Fisheries program. Free.
"Altar" — Through Jan. 30, 2022, exhibition cases, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. Kiana Honarmand’s installation in the exhibition cases utilizes text from the poem “Gift” by Iranian feminist poet Forough Farrokhzad to pay homage to the history of hiding critical commentary in Persian poetry and visual arts.