Fun Beyond the Festival

American Art Posters of the 1890s

May 22 – August 19

Art posters, many advertising periodicals to a burgeoning middle-class readership, thrived around the turn of the twentieth century. American Art Posters of the 1890s unearths more than a dozen of these works from the museum’s permanent collection. The bold designs of Edward Penfield, a leading illustrator of the era and the art director at Harper’s, will be a main feature of the exhibition.

Edward Penfield, Harper’s March, 1895, color lithograph. Gift of Jack R. Bershad, 95.109.

Framing the City: Photographs from the Permanent Collection

June 5 – August 19

Photographers have long turned their cameras on the city, often framing its architecture and residents from new vantage points and unexpected perspectives. Soaring skyscrapers, factory laborers, and serendipitous moments on busy streets serve as subject for many photographers in their quest to document the surrounding urban environment. Artists featured include Berenice Abbott, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, Lewis Hine, Bill Jacobson, Frank Paulin, Charles Sheeler, W. Eugene Smith, and Andy Warhol, among others.

Frank Paulin, Flower Messenger, Times Square, 1955, printed later, gelatin silver print. Gift of Bruce and Silke Silverstein, 2015.145. © Frank Paulin Archive, Courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York.

When the Water Rises: Recent Paintings by Julie Heffernan

Contemporary artist Julie Heffernan’s recent paintings explore imaginative scenarios and alternative habitats as her personal response to the threat of environmental disasters. Intricately wrought, her monumental canvases evoke the fantastical allegories of Hieronymus Bosch and the sublime vistas of Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt. A former professor of painting at Penn State, Heffernan spells out the dilemma of climate change, but also begins the conversation about how we might adapt to vastly different climatic conditions. Organized by the LSU Museum of Art at the Shaw Center for the Arts.

Julie Heffernan, Camp Bedlam, 2016, oil on canvas. Courtesy of Catharine Clark Gallery.

Visit the museum’s website to learn more.

Summer Reading

June 14-September 8

Summer Reading is an exhibition of works by contemporary artists who take creative approaches to text and the book. Artistic approaches represented in the exhibition range from investigating artist’s books as a structure to exploring storytelling in visual art. 

In conjunction with the exhibition, on Friday, July 13 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., artist Colette Fu will lead a pop-up bookmaking workshop. Participants will have the opportunity to create their own pop-up pieces and to create one with the artists.  The project should take about 20 minutes to complete. 

Ms. Fu will return to lead a pop-up booking demonstration on Saturday, July 14, at 11:00 a.m. She will demonstrate basic pop-up techniques and share a book in progress. The demonstration will take about 45 minutes followed by a period for questions. 

Visit the gallery’s website to learn more. 

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Stained Glass Window Tour
Corner of West Foster Avenue and Fraser Street
Friday, July 13, and Saturday, July 14; 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Facing Memorial Field, this church building, in the English Norman style was consecrated in 1928. St. Andrew’s is well known for its stained glass windows designed, produced, and installed by the famous Willet Studios of Philadelphia.

Visit the church’s website to learn more. 

Sidewalk Rain Art, Centre Region MS4 Partners

Locations on Allen Street, Fraser Street, Fairmount Avenue, and in Sidney Friedman Park.

The MS4 Partners, 5 local municipalities and Penn State, work together to manage their storm sewer networks and educate the public about the importance of clean stormwater. The artwork and stormwater messages will be revealed on the sidewalk when it rains or is wet.

Visit their website to learn more. 

Janet Runyan and Beth Aten at The Gallery Shop

The Gallery Shop invites you to meet mixed media artist Beth Aten and clay sculptor Janet Runyan from noon until 1:00 p.m., on Friday, July 13.

The Gallery Shop is located at 824 Pike Street, Lemont.  It  is open from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.  The shop is closed Sunday and Monday.

Visit its website to learn more. 

The Robeson Gallery:  Manual Labor by Kate McGraw and Jo Margolis

The work of mixed media artists Kate McGraw and Jo Margolis hangs in the Robeson Gallery in Penn State’s HUB-Robeson Center through July 29. Gallery hours are noon to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. There are extended hours during the Festival: July 11 – July 14, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; July 15, noon to 5:00 p.m.

Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania Square Show

Visit the Art Alliance Gallery Downtown, 123 S. Fraser Street, State College to check out the work of emerging, established, and student artists, all of whom have created work in a square format. Proceeds of the show will support the Art Alliance’s Downtown Gallery. A special reception will be held Wednesday July 11, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Visit its website to learn more. 

This Is Our Youth
No Refund Theatre
111 Forum Building, Penn State Campus
Thursday, July 12 – Saturday, July 14 8:00 p.m. FREE

This Is Our Youth follows forty-eight hours of three lost young souls at the dawn of the Reagan Era. It’s a coming of age story about that moment between adolescence and adulthood when many young people first go out into the world on their own, armed only with the ideas and techniques they developed as teenagers.

The play contains strong explicit language, sexual themes, alcohol references as well as the references and simulated usage of marijuana and cocaine. This Is Our Youth is not suitable for children.

Sister Act
Millbrook Playhouse
258 Country Club Lane, Mill Hall, PA 17751
(570) 748-8083
July 11 to 15, 2018
Wednesday, July 11, 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 12 – Saturday, July 15, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 15, 2:00 p.m.

Sister Act is the feel-good musical comedy smash based on the hit 1992 film that has audiences jumping to their feet! Featuring original music by Tony- and eight-time Oscar winner, Alan Menken, this uplifting musical was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Filled with powerful gospel music, outrageous dancing and a truly moving story, Sister Act will leave audiences breathless and have you dancing in the aisles! A sparkling tribute to the universal power of friendship, Sister Act is reason to rejoice!

Relevétions Liturgical Dance Group
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
250 East College Avenue
Saturday, July 14 2:00 p.m. FREE

Relevétions is a deeply spiritual, whole-body, external expression of an inward desire to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Rising up from penitence, dancers “relevé” to find perfect peace through movement. Relevétions choreography combines classical ballet, modern, lyrical, jazz, sign language, and ballroom dancing to provide an authentic, meaningful experience for the audience, steeped with meaning and symbolism.

Visit its website to learn more. 

Come to Pennsylvania!

Embark upon your own personal happiness adventure. Follow where joy leads you.

Whoever you are, no matter what you love to do, know that happiness is Pennsylvania’s keystone. It always has been. It lives in our historic treasures. Our dynamic urban spaces. Our greater-than-great outdoors.

Mix it up. Make it yours. Visit soon and build your own personal adventure from every corner of our warm and welcoming state.

You’ll be so happy you did.

Check out VisitPA.com to learn more.