The Libraries offer hands-on creative resources
: letterpress studio, jewelry making supplies, laser engraving, sewing machines, 3d scanning/printing, and consultation services for digital media tools
Fall Preview
At Penn, the arts are everywhere
In museums, galleries, and theaters… absolutely. But the arts are also in our classrooms and libraries, on Locust Walk and in The Rotunda, on residence hall walls and in the streets of Philadelphia. And there are just as many ways to experience it in the 2026-27 season.
Make
At Penn, the arts are something we do. With our hands, voices, bodies. Using 3-D printers and letterpresses. In arts studios and in student groups. On screen, canvas, and stage.
We make art to find ourselves and to create community.
Amanda Horowitz writes, directs, and devises an original play for and with students
Platt House prepares for role in the new Platt Center
Work ramps up for the Out of the Dark festival
The Penn Art Collection makes things last with Covenant conservation
Platt Center construction continues
Photo: Eric Sucar
Photo: Eric Sucar
Fine Arts classes reach maximum enrollment across all core studios
from photography, to screenprinting, to graphic design – with students from every school and at every level
Learn
At Penn, we know the arts to be integral to our lives and our cultures. In courses, we study its histories, techniques, and contexts. We explore the rich collections, performances, and exhibitions across our campus, and then we go deeper.
We learn about the arts to more fully understand what it is to be human.
Kelly Writers House presents a near daily slate of programming
Departments offer dozens of courses on art history, practice, and theory
Public Trust presents A General Assembly archival installation and research space
The Center for Experimental Ethnography hosts weekly open workshops
Penn Libraries support arts courses and research across the university
Sachs Program and PLA present Chrysalis by Pragya Gupta
Photo: Harvard University
Claire Chase’s performance and the Music in the Pavilion lineup
feature forward-thinking artists grounded in collaboration and research
Density 2036: A New Ecosystem for Contemporary Music Lecture and Performance
Image: Eric Battle
The Black Hero’s Journey exhibition
traces the evolution of Black characters and creators through the history of comic books in America
Photo: Wilmer Wilson IV
The Institute of Contemporary Art launches an inaugural R+D Artist Residency Program
with Wilmer Wilson IV, a Penn MFA alumnus
Image: John Lewis Krimmel (1786–1821), Nightlife in Philadelphia—an Oyster Barrow in front of the Chestnut Street Theater (1811–ca. 1813). Watercolor and Graphite on white laid paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
The Arthur Ross Gallery presents
At Liberty: Life in the City of Brotherly Love During the Early Republic and the 2027 Weitzman MFA Thesis Exhibition
Photo: Penn Museum
Belong
At Penn, we recognize that the arts are central to community. When the arts are the grounds we meet on, engaging meaningfully is easier. Experiencing art with others can challenge us and open us up to new ways of thinking and being.
In making art, and learning about its principles and practice, we find belonging.
Sachs Program celebrates its 10th anniversary
Simone White steps into her new role as Faculty Director of the Kelly Writers House
World Cafe turns 35 this year
Art Match brings alumni art works into undergraduate living spaces
WXPN offers up Philly Anthems – a new initiative highlighting local artists
October is ArBOOretum month at the Morris
The Rotunda hosts a Philadelphia Museum of Neighborhoods exhibit
West Philly Sanctuary uses the arts to fight social isolation
Platt House celebrates its 20th anniversary
The Arthur Ross Gallery dives deep into creative placemaking through public art, performances, lectures, and residencies
Hong-Kai Wang. Southern Clairaudience: some sound documents for a future act, 2016–2019. Photo: Jules Lister. Courtesy Nottingham Contemporary
The fall season at the Institute of Contemporary Art
explores land, solidarity, and the politics of belonging
Photo: Fine Arts & Design student work
FADBoard is incredibly active
Fine Arts Development Board is growing in size, scope, and in partnerships across campus
Photo: Penn Live Arts
Penn Live Arts season invests in Belonging
exploring how people navigate change and find acceptance in new worlds while longing for the community and traditions of home
