Campus Events

A new exhibition curated by students in Penn's School of Arts & Sciences will explore the deep human history associated with the color blue. Into the Blue will span 4,000 years—displaying 20 objects from across the Penn Museum’s collections, including select artifacts from the Middle East, China, Africa, ancient Egypt, and Central America. The exhibition will examine three themes: Obtaining Blue, Making Blue, and Synthesizing Blue. On view through spring 2026. Included with Museum admission.

This exhibition continues the collaboration between ICA and New York-based textile studio Maharam, which invites artists to reimagine the windows of ICA’s façade. For the 2025-26 edition, Philadelphia-based artist Xenobia Bailey created a design that reflects her “Funktional” aesthetic and rooted in her decades-long fiber arts practice.

Visitors can view a selection of posters by Penn alumnus Sam Maitin, whose signature bold colors and playful forms created the backdrop for artistic and civic life in Philadelphia for decades. Free and open to the public.

Designed for Penn staff, the Division of Human Resources’ Compensation department will facilitate several webinars to review Penn’s job architecture and bring clarity, consistency, and opportunity to how staff understand job profiles and career paths. Penn staff can register to attend.

The Arthur Ross Gallery presents the first American exhibition of work by acclimated Basque photographer and Penn alumnus Fernando Postigo Silva, who spent over two decades chronicling the Basque separatist movement from the late 1970s through the early 2000s. Free and open to the public.

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, Arthur Ross Gallery, and Penn Live Arts present a unique opportunity to experience an installation of acclaimed contemporary artist Nina Chanel Abney’s epic painting cycle entitled I Dread to Think. This artwork comprises a 60-foot-long series of large canvases portraying wildly colorful and sometimes apocalyptic scenes from the Internet Age. Free and open to the Penn community.

This Perry World House panel will seek to explain the background of the conflict in Sudan, who the key players are and their motivations in Sudan, and what experts anticipate seeing in the short- and long-term. Speakers include Ali B. Ali-Dinar, senior lecturer at the Department of Africana Studies, and Mark Malloch-Brown, former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.

Through the rich and varied Aristotelian materials held in the Penn Libraries' collections, this exhibit explores how perceptions of Aristotle have evolved over the centuries—across cultures, disciplines, and imaginations. Free and open to the public.

Open to the public, this panel, organized by the Penn Institute for Urban Research and the Volcker Alliance, features Wharton professor Susan Wachter and Apollo's chief economist, Torsten Slok, on what is likely to be a year of immense adjustment for many U.S. states, counties, and cities amid federal cutbacks. Register to attend.

Penn students, faculty, and staff can celebrate the end of finals with free coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and snacks at Holman Biotech Commons. The table will be stationed by the bay window.

The 3rd annual Kwanzaa Celebration, hosted by the Penn Museum and co-sponsored by the Center for Africana Studies, invites all to a joyful Kwanzaa celebration that honors African heritage and community. Participants will learn about Kwanzaa principles like unity, self-determination, and creativity through hands-on workshops. The event will also feature performances from percussionist Karen Smith and violinist Owen Valentine, a marketplace with local artisans, and storytelling, music, and dance. Free and open to the public. Secure tickets in advance.

During this drop-in Open Studio at the Common Press, participants will learn to print a broadside—a single-sided print meant for public display— about how the pace of time impacted life in the Revolutionary era. Free and open to the public. Penn ID or photo ID required. Register to attend.

Penn professors Emma Hart, Sophia Rosenfeld, and Duncan Watts will address the power and impact of Thomas Paine’s revolutionary pamphlet Common Sense—250 years after its publication—including how to think about the changing meanings of “common sense” in the American political landscape. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.

Organized by the Environmental Law Project and the Weitzman School of Design, this symposium will focus on environmental justice in Philadelphia. Attendees will explore how environmental law, landscape architecture, and city and regional planning can address issues of environmental justice in Philadelphia’s urban landscapes. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.

Part of Reimagining Illumination, a series designed to interrogate and expand the concept of illumination (i.e., the use of light) in books and manuscripts, this workshop will focus on the many ways that modern artists make use of light in their book creations, including transparencies, reflections, and electric light. Open to the public.

The 25th MLK Jr. Social Justice Lecture & Award will be presented to five-time Oscar nominee Spike Lee, an iconic filmmaker who was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2015 for his lifetime achievement and contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.

Part of the One Health@Penn Research Community Work in Progress Series, this session will feature Sara Cherry, John W. Eckman Professor of Medical Science at the Perelman School of Medicine, and Carol Sobotyk, assistant professor of diagnostic parasitology at Penn Vet, discussing vectors and climate change. A Q&A will follow the presentations. Open to the public. Register to attend.

Workshop attendees will strengthen their ability to collaborate, resolve conflict, and reach durable agreements. Participants will gain practical tools they can immediately apply to important conversations, enabling them to approach complex discussions with greater clarity, empathy, and confidence. Open to the Penn community. Register by Dec. 1 to attend.

Every January, the Kelly Writers House (KWH) community welcomes everyone back to campus with “Mind of Winter,” a celebration of the season’s comforts inspired by Wallace Stevens’s poem, "The Snow Man.” Attendees can enjoy homemade soups and stews, followed by winter-themed readings selected by KWH community members. Register to attend.

Rosie Poku, a joint Ph.D. candidate in Africana Studies and comparative literature & literary theory at Penn, will present “The Performance of Translation: Journeys in Afro-Diasporic Women’s Modernisms,” exploring her research into Black women’s diasporic writings and performances of the early 20th century. Free and open to the Penn community. Register to attend.

Open to the public, this program will feature a reading by members of Suppose an Eyes, a poetry workshop sponsored by Kelly Writers House. Suppose An Eyes, founded in 1999 and one of the longest-running poetry workshops in the Philadelphia area, provides a supportive place for poets of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences to share and improve their writing.

This presentation will outline the mission and activities of The Black Space Project, an interdisciplinary research initiative starting at the University of Texas at Austin. These activities include collaboration with the National Trust, an exhibit on communal uses of the Black home, and a digital archive on non-licensed Black contributions to the built environment. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.

Originating as a time for respite from agricultural work and togetherness with loved ones, Lunar New Year is observed by various Asian communities—including those of Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Tibetan descent—involving customs such as feasts, gift exchanges, lantern lighting, and offerings to deities and ancestors. This family-friendly festival will feature various Lunar New Year traditions, such as storytelling, artmaking, live music and dance performances, and a traditional Lion Dance finale. Free with Penn ID.

The in-person STEM & Sustainability Career Fair provides an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students, Penn alumni, and postdocs to engage with employers, apply for positions, and make progress in their job searches and career exploration.

During this drop-in Open Studio at the Common Press, participants will learn to print a broadside—a single-sided print meant for public display—commemorating the important role iron played in Pennsylvanian and American history. Free and open to the public. Penn ID or photo ID required. Register to attend.

The Penn community is invited to engage with faculty experts, students, and staff in an interactive, participatory reading of the U.S. Constitution, followed by a guided conversation about how its interpretation has evolved over time. Refreshments and take-home pocket editions of the Constitution will be provided. Register to attend.

Music theorist and ethnographer Anna Yu Wang will discuss the consequential yet still underexamined political implications of Anglo-American music theory’s relatively rigorous, descriptive vocabulary. Attendees will be invited to consider how these patterns and classifications can reflect the limitations and propensities of a given music analyst’s own sociopolitical positionality. Free and open to the public.

Penn alum and media scholar Michael Serazio reveals the story of America’s obsession with ‘authenticity’ through a panoramic, behind-the-scenes tour of the professionals, strategies, and practices working to keep it "real." Free and open to the public. Register to attend.

This symposium will unite scholars of 18th-century nursing; early American healers; Indigenous, African, and European care practices; and Revolutionary War era military medicine and battlefield care, including related areas of focus, to discuss how the Revolutionary War—as a major health crisis—shaped healthcare labor in the early national United States. Free and open to the Penn community. Register to attend.

Part of the One Health@Penn Research Community Work in Progress Series, this seminar will feature Lisa Murphy, professor of toxicology at Penn Vet, and Cindy Otto, professor of working dog sciences & sports medicine, providing attendees with insight on animals and emergency preparedness. A Q&A will follow the presentations. Open to the public. Register to attend.

This interactive training for Penn students, faculty, and staff, equips participants with the skills and resources to intervene with student stress, distress, and crisis. Register to attend.

Part of SP2’s series The Politics of Well-Being, this session will explore the geography of well-being: how neighborhood infrastructure, environmental justice, urban design, and housing access shape physical and mental health. Speakers will discuss how place-based policies can foster or undermine equitable outcomes—and how communities reclaim agency over space. Open to the public. Register to attend.

Free and open to the public, the 2026 Penn Nursing Story Slam will feature nurses sharing true stories of how AI and technology have transformed care, solved a vexing problem, or led to a remarkable discovery. Stories will spotlight personal moments when clinical compassion met the rising influence of technology—revealing how empathy endures even as practice transforms. Register to attend.

Part of SP2’s series The Politics of Well-Being, this conversation will examine health as a cornerstone of well-being. Panelists representing the fields of social work and public health will explore how health policy reflects political priorities and ethical commitments, as well as assess the challenges and innovations shaping health equity today. Open to the public. Register to attend.

The 2026 CultureFest! for Holi will include traditional storytelling, colorful artmaking, dynamic live music, and captivating dance performances, culminating in a color throw symbolizing harmony and new beginnings. Participants will have opportunities to learn about this festival’s roots in Indian mythology, dance to festive music, and enjoy communal feasts with family and friends. Free with Penn ID. Secure tickets in advance.

Organized by the Penn Center for Research on Emerging Viruses and the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media, this joint symposium will focus on issues at the intersection of climate and emerging diseases, featuring speakers from across the University, a keynote discussion, and a poster-networking session. Open to the Penn community.

Sarah Marsom, a heritage resource consultant and advocate for positive change in the cultural resource field, will explore what moving past fear-based decision making can look like for the historic preservation movement. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.