UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The College of Arts and Architecture’s Woskob Family Gallery, located at 146 S. Allen Street in downtown State College, will offer a musical performance by Other Arts Ensemble on March 4 at 7:30 p.m. and a poetry reading by Carmin Wong on March 17 at 6 p.m., both of which will explore the issues of migration, exile, immigration and the refugee experience.
The events, which are free and open to the public, are a part of the gallery’s spring 2026 theme “Finding Ground” and are a response to the current Woskob exhibits “Squeeze Me In” and “Refugee.”
On March 4 at 7:30 p.m. the newest 12-piece version of Other Arts Ensemble will play a series of new works on the themes of migration, immigration, exile and movement. The program, titled “Lines of Flight: New Music in Conversation with New Art,” includes a graphic score by interdisciplinary artists Muyassar Kurdi and four new works by members of the ensemble.
Penn State’s Other Arts Ensemble, directed by percussionist and composer Kevin Sims, is an open-instrumentation chamber group specializing in 20th and 21st-century experimental music, avant-garde repertoire and free improvisation. Other Arts Ensemble gives students an opportunity to navigate novel forms of notation, hone communicative chamber music instincts, develop free improvisation techniques and work alongside others in a collaborative creative environment.
On March 17 at 6 p.m., Borough of State College Poet Laureate Carmin Wong will host an evening of poetry featuring curated student poems exploring themes of immigration, homeland and the refugee experience.
Wong is a Guyanese-born poet, organizer, playwright and dual-title doctoral-degree candidate in English literature and African American and diaspora studies at Penn State. She was named in 2025 as the inaugural Poet Laureate of State College. Rooted in Black feminist praxis and a Caribbean diasporic sensibility, her work explores the intersections of oral and written poetries, with particular attention to Black liberation movements across the 20th century.
Classes, student organizations and university offices are encouraged to visit the Woskob Family Gallery, a unit of the College of Arts and Architecture. Inquiries can be directed to woskob@psu.edu. For more information on this and other exhibitions, visit the gallery’s website. Keep up to date with the Woskob Family Gallery by signing up for its listserv or following on Instagram @woskobfamilygallery.