Arts and Entertainment

Palmer Museum to celebrate Community Day on Oct. 14

Palmer Museum of Art to celebrate Community Day on October 14 with live music, hands-on activities, gallery tours, and refreshments.  Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The public is invited to join staff and volunteers of the Palmer Museum of Art from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, for the museum's annual Community Day event located on Curtin Road, University Park campus. Explore the reinstallation of the galleries and current exhibitions on view and meet Erin Coe, the museum's new director. Live music, gallery talks, hands-on activities and Berkey Creamery ice cream will be offered to all for free.

Simple Gifts, a versatile, award-winning duo that draws on an impressive variety of ethnic folk styles, will perform live on the Palmer Plaza from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m. Based in the hills of central Pennsylvania, these women play everything from lively Irish jigs and down-home American reels to hard-driving Klezmer frailachs and haunting Gypsy melodies, spicing the mix with the distinctive rhythms of Balkan dance music, the lush sounds of Scandinavian twin fiddling, and original compositions written in a traditional style. Linda Littleton and Karen Hirshon switch with ease among fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, guitjo, recorders, bowed psaltery, hammered dulcimer, baritone fiddle, guitar and percussion.

This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Palmer Museum of Art. A one-year membership to the organization will be available to purchase and all are invited to join. Along with supporting events such as Community Day, members will receive benefits such as invitations to the members-only Holiday Art and Ornament Sale preview reception and other members-only events throughout the year, and a 10 percent discount at the Museum Store.

Exhibitions on view at the Palmer Museum of Art this fall are "Asher B. Durand: To Begin Again," Sept. 5 through Dec. 10; "New Acquisitions: Minna Citron after Atelier 17," Sept. 5 through Dec. 10; and "BIG Deal: Sizeable Paintings from the Permanent Collection," Sept. 5 through Dec. 17.

The Palmer Museum of Art on the Penn State University Park campus is a free-admission arts resource for the University and surrounding communities in central Pennsylvania. With a collection of 8,300 objects representing a variety of cultures and spanning centuries of art, the Palmer is the largest art museum between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Areas of strength include its collection of American art from the late 18th century to the present, Old Master paintings, photography, ceramics and studio glass, and a growing collection of contemporary art. The museum presents 10 exhibitions each year and, with 11 galleries, a print-study room, 150-seat auditorium, and outdoor sculpture garden, the Palmer Museum of Art is the leading cultural resource for residents of and visitors to the region.

Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays and some holidays. The museum will have modified hours of noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, through Sunday, Nov. 26; and Saturday, Dec. 16, through Thursday, Dec. 21. The museum will be closed Thursday, Nov. 23; Friday, Nov. 24; and Friday, Dec. 22, through Monday, Jan. 1, 2018.

The Palmer Museum of Art receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

For more information on the museum and a calendar of other upcoming events, visit palmermuseum.psu.edu.

Last Updated October 17, 2017

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