What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — open to the University and local community:
Performances
Other Arts Ensemble — 7:30 p.m., March 4, Woskob Family Gallery, 146 S. Allen St., State College. 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 Morris and Essex Line” – Multiple performances through March 6, Pavilion Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage presents "The Morris and Essex Line," a new musical. With music by Joshua Salzman and book and lyrics by Ryan Cunningham, the musical explores the parallel connection between a suburban mother’s midlife crisis and her child’s coming of age, and asks the question “What if you could meet the person you used to be?”
Hadestown – Multiple performances, March 2-3, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Hadestown intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone—as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Beguiling melodies and poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love.
2026 African American Music Festival — March 3, Multiple events and locations, University Park campus. Presented by the Penn State School of Music. This year's theme, "Sisters in Song: Revolutionary Works of Black Women," centers the transformative contributions of Black women composers, arrangers, songwriters, and performers whose artistry has shaped, and continues to shape, American music.
Pivot Point: Modern Jazz with a Timeless Groove — 7 p.m., March 4, Sutherland Auditorium, Abington campus. The Penn State Abington free concert series welcomes the Behn Gillece Group for a performance.
Events
Art After Hours: We Are Here – 5-8 p.m., Feb. 26, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Experience special exhibition “Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection” and reflect on the power of what it means to be present. Enjoy music and dance performances and explore how the human body acts as a vessel for social and political histories and contested identities through a collage art-making activity.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Global Goals - A Taste of the World Cup – Feb. 26, Café 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 Café Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Bridgerton Night — March 3, Café 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 Café Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Poetry Reading: James Daniels — 12:05 p.m., March 3, Titelman Study, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Daniels is a recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and two from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. His books have won multiple awards, and his work has been published in The Best American Poetry and Pushcart Prize volumes.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Jasmine Jardin - From Madrid to MarraKech — March 5, Café 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 Café Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Lectures
Beekeeping Around the World: Zimbabwe – Noon, Feb. 26, via Zoom. Penn State Extension will host a webinar series for those interested in learning about beekeeping practices and challenges in different parts of the world. Each week will feature a different location, and presenters will discuss what beekeeping is like there.
"From Research Transcripts to the Stage" — 12:05 p.m., Feb. 26, Fireside Lounge, Slep Student Center, Altoona campus. Penn State Altoona’s College Colloquium series continues with a presentation by Amir Marvasti, professor of sociology. The presentation will delve into the evolution of his “Stories of Courage” project into a staged performance piece.
Gallery Talk + Conversation: Insistent Presence – 5:30 p.m., Feb. 26, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Enjoy an interdisciplinary gallery conversation and poetry reading about special exhibition “Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection” with Gabeba Baderoon, associate professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, African Studies and Comparative Literature, and award-winning poet and visual artist Jolyn Phillips.
Ashtekar Frontiers of Science: Education – 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m., Feb. 28, 001 Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Building, University Park campus. Jennelle Malcos, associate dean for undergraduate education, and Matthew Beckman, associate research professor of statistics, will deliver lectures followed by a Q&A session.
Marker Lectures in Mathematics: Laura DeMarco — March 2-4, Multiple events, 114 McAllister Building, University Park campus. Laura DeMarco, professor of mathematics in residence at Harvard University, will present the 2026 Russell E. Marker Lectures in Mathematics. The series includes a lecture intended for a general audience, titled “The (Algebraic) Geometry of the Mandelbrot Set,” as well as more-specialized lectures: “Elliptic Curves, Periodic Points, and Bifurcations” and “From Abelian Varieties to Dynamical Rigidity: A Unifying Conjecture."
Anderson Lecture Series: Rebecca Kiger — 11:30 a.m., March 3, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. The College of Arts and Architecture’s School of Visual Arts will kick off its annual Anderson Lecture Series by welcoming documentary photographer Rebecca Kiger
Beekeeping Around the World: Korea – Noon, March 5, via Zoom. Penn State Extension will host a webinar series for those interested in learning about beekeeping practices and challenges in different parts of the world. Each week will feature a different location, and presenters will discuss what beekeeping is like there.
Curator Talk: Margaret Nagawa – 6 p.m., March 5, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Maragaret Nagawa is the curator of “Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection” and a Ph.D. candidate at Emory specializing in contemporary African art. Nagawa’s work in curating the exhibition examines how artists have reimagined the human figure to pose questions about social and political histories, contested identities, and a possible future for how we relate to one another.
Beekeeping Around the World: New Zealand– Noon, March 12, via Zoom. Penn State Extension will host a webinar series for those interested in learning about beekeeping practices and challenges in different parts of the world. Each week will feature a different location, and presenters will discuss what beekeeping is like there.
In-person exhibits
"Living Landscapes and More" – Through Feb. 27, Friedman Art Gallery, Wilkes-Barre campus. A new solo exhibition by Mountain Top artist Johar Manzar will feature a variety of artworks. Manzar is a board-certified assistant professor and physician-scientist at MD Anderson, where she works in pediatric radiation oncology. She holds a doctorate in biomedical engineering and studied medicine at the Mayo Clinic.
"My FireFlies – Creating Peacemakers in Our Region" – Through Feb. 27, Art Space, Classroom Building, Room 100, Schuylkill campus. An exhibition by Ibiyinka “Ibi” Alao, an internationally recognized artist, architect and author whose work explores themes of peace, childhood memory and renewal. He earned a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Ife in Nigeria and won first place among artists from 61 countries in the United Nations International Arts Competition. He also serves as a United Nations Arts Ambassador.
"30 x 30" — Through March 9, Henry Art Gallery, Great Valley campus. Founded in 1996 by three artist friends, the Montgomery County Guild of Professional Artists (MCGOPA) has spent three decades fostering creativity, community and public appreciation for original artwork. The “30 x 30” show commemorates this milestone with a vibrant showcase of diverse styles, mediums and artistic voices. Each piece reflects the unique perspectives of MCGOPA’s members and the dynamic range of talent that defines the guild.
"The Spirit of Chocolate" — Through March 12, Palmer Museum Administrative Wing, University Park campus. A multimedia installation seeking to capture the profound connection between cacao growers and the land, highlighting their craftsmanship and reverence for the crop and celebrating farmers’ dedication and cultural heritage through a blend of visual art, storytelling and academic insight. The installation includes interviews with researchers and farmers, a replica of a historic cacao vessel, a living cacao tree, and other interpretive materials.
“Squeeze Me In” – Through May 2, Woksob Family Gallery, downtown State College. This exhibition features artworks created by Beatrice Opokua Atencah, John M. Anderson assistant teaching professor of art in the College of Arts and Architecture’s School of Visual Arts. The exhibition explores how identity is rediscovered and transformed through clothing by combining craft processes — dyeing, sewing and beading — with spatial considerations and the complex history of corsetry as frameworks for examining acceptance and belonging.
"Like It Is" – Through May 9, Ronald K. DeLong Gallery, Lehigh Valley campus. This exhibit features the work of abstract artist Femi J. Johnson. Johnson was born in Manhattan, New York, and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania. His early talent in graphite and charcoal led to a professional career as a master draftsman and designer for companies in Pennsylvania and New York before he returned his focus to fine art.
"Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection" — Through May 10, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibition presents 40 works of sculpture, painting, ceramics, printmaking and photography by 22 living artists who have lived and worked on the African continent or in the diaspora.
"Playing Favorites: Highlights from the Special Collections Library" – Through May 13, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. For this endeavor, those who teach, catalog, research, acquire, curate and describe rare book and archival materials were invited to choose one or two items to share with a wider audience — in hopes that visitors will be enraptured with the eclectic results.
"Refugee" — Through June 5, Woskob Family Gallery, 146 S. Allen St., Downtown State College. An exhibition of large-scale paintings created by School of Visual Arts alumnus Michael Fratangelo.
“Through Different Eyes: Industrial Worlds by Women Artists” – Through December, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, University Park campus. This exhibit explores the lives of women artists in 20th-century industrial Pennsylvania through their artwork and premiers the curatorial work of undergraduate students Alexis Woodring, a public relations major, and Gabriella Heidorn, an art history major with a minor in French and Francophone studies, who both have special interests in American art.
“Hybrid Zones” – Through March 8, 2027, HUB Gallery, University Park campus. “Hybrid Zones” is an immersive exploration of the post-industrial landscape of Eastern Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal region. Through drawing, photography, and video installation, the artists trace the environmental and psychological imprint of centuries of resource extraction. In this powerful new body of work, Rachel Bacon and Meredith Davenport confront the entanglement of human and nonhuman systems, reflecting on how deeply industrial history is inscribed into the land—and into us.
"The Way I Saw It: A Photography Retrospective" – Through Aug. 1, 2027, Penn State All-Sports Museum, University Park campus. “The Way I Saw It” celebrates the work of Penn State alumnus Pat Little, who started out with the Daily Collegian and spent over three decades as a photojournalist with the Centre Daily Times, Associated Press and Reuters. Starting from a million photo negatives then narrowed down to a set of 5,000 photographs, the exhibit presents a final curated collection of 100 unique and powerful images of Penn State athletes, coaches, venues and fans, shot by Little between 1977 and 2005.
Virtual exhibits and online resources
In addition to in-person events, a number of virtual exhibits and online resources are available through University departments. The Palmer Museum of Art and Penn State University Libraries offer a rotating selection of historical and artistic collections to view via their websites, as well as other online resources.