Shop Penn

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2025! The new year brings with it plenty of new things to do and see all throughout University City. Find out about happenings around the district with the latest edition of the “Shop Penn Playlist,” a snapshot of the top events being offered by institutions, organizations, and venues on and around campus all month.

Hands-On History: Papermaking and Letterpress Printing – Penn Museum
January 11

Hands-on History is a series of free workshops for high school students. Meet professionals, gain experience in STEAM-focused workshops, and engage with resources at the Penn Museum. Before the Industrial Revolution, paper was meticulously crafted by hand from materials like rags, wood pulp, or other fibers. Once prepared, it was printed on using manually operated presses using movable type, a labor-intensive process that revolutionized communication and knowledge-sharing in its time. 

Ancient Alcohol: A Taste of Bygone Booze – Penn Museum
January 11

Drinking together has been a tradition for thousands of years. Take an unconventional (and boozy) journey back in time to discover what people of the past thought about alcohol, from how they made it to its role in society. View early drinking vessels that reveal secrets of ancient Greek drinking games and the beverage served at a feast hosted by King Midas. We’ll finish by tasting a beer with a flavor profile inspired by an ancient recipe discovered by a Penn biomolecular archaeologist.

Cracker – World Café Live
January 17

Cracker has been described as a lot of things over the years: alt-rock, Americana, insurgent-country, and have even had the terms punk and classic rock thrown at them. But more than anything Cracker are survivors. Co-founders David Lowery and Johnny Hickman have been at it for over a quarter of a century–amassing ten studio albums, multiple gold records, thousands of live performances, hit songs that are still in current radio rotation around the globe and a worldwide fan base–that despite the major sea-changes within the music industry–continues to grow each year.

After Modernism: Selections from the Neumann Family Collection – Arthur Ross Gallery
Opens January 17

After Modernism: Selections from the Neumann Family Collection is curated by Class of 1940 Bicentennial Term Professor Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, with assistance from the students in “The Art of Art Collecting,” a special SNF Paideia Program seminar, co-taught with Peter Decherney, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Professor in the Humanities. The exhibition features VR experiences of the Neumann Family Collection in New York City produced by the class in collaboration with Agora World Inc.

Opening Celebration Winter 2025 – Institute of Contemporary Art
January 17

Join ICA for an evening celebrating the opening of Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses, a retrospective exhibition of the experimental and genre-defying artist, Carl Cheng, whose six-decade career operates at the intersection of identity, technology, and ecology. Enjoy small bites from Dim Sum House and vibe to the electrifying sounds of techno, deep house, and disco music courtesy of DJ Yolo Ono.

Carl Cheng: Nature Lever Loses - Institute of Contemporary Art
Opens January 18

This exhibition is the first in-depth survey of Carl Cheng’s prescient, genre-defying work from the 1960s to the present that will transform both floors of the ICA. Cheng began his career in the experimental context of the Southern California art scene and the post-war aerospace industry, resulting in artworks that operate at the intersection of identity, technology, and ecology. Because the majority of Cheng’s oeuvre is still in his possession, the exhibition will be an exciting and rare opportunity to animate the arc of his career through a presentation of artworks that are multidisciplinary, ephemeral, material, process-based, and interactive.

Up Late with the Sphinx – Penn Museum
January 18

Calling all kids and families! Have you ever wanted to explore the museum galleries after dark? Join us during Up Late with the Sphinx for an evening filled with games and gallery activities. Drop into a hands-on workshop and make something special to take home, then finish your evening with a flashlight tour through the museum. Each ticket includes a special Penn Museum patch. This program is best suited for children ages 6-12.

Penn Basketball – The Palestra
January 18, January 25, January 31

The Quakers enter conference play in January with home games against Cornell on January 18, Columbia on January 25, and Brown on January 31. Penn is led this season by Ethtan Roberts who is averaging 16.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game through the first ten games of the season.

Sophie Truax – World Café Live
January 23

Sophie Truax is a 23-year old singer, songwriter, and child of divorce from Seattle, WA. Shortly after dropping out of Berkleye College of Music and heading back west, Sophie’s first single “Untether” landed on Spotifyʼs Fresh Finds playlist, creating a ton of industry buzz around an artist project that up to that point, felt more like a labor of love than a viable career option. Since then Sophie has continued developing her unique take on pop music and has also exploded on social media, gaining several hundred thousand followers across TikTok and IG in only a few short months thanks to her unique blend of traditional slice-of-life short form content, and her one of a kind hand-made puppets that sheʼs begun incorporating into all of her content.

Agora De La Danse – Penn Live Arts
January 24-26

Imagine yourself in the middle of the stage, completely immersed within the performance. Dancers move all around you, so close you feel the depth of emotion and see the intricacies of each movement like never before. Made possible with the magic of a virtual reality headset, plunge into the heart of three works specially adapted for this innovative experience: The Complex Simplicity of Love by Margie Gillis, Allegro Barbaro by Hélène Blackburn and 6.58 manifesto by Andrea Peña. A Philadelphia premiere, and rare opportunity to encounter something of this kind in the U.S., Koros encourages us to view contemporary dance in a whole new way.

CultureFest!: Lunar New Year – Penn Museum
January 25

Ring in the Year of the Snake at our 44th annual Lunar New Year Celebration. Bring the whole family to experience vibrant Asian traditions during a full day of festivities, including storytelling, art-making, live music and dance performances, and a traditional Lion Dance finale. Originating as a time for respite from agricultural work and togetherness with loved ones, Lunar New Year incorporates customs such as feasts, gift exchanges, lantern lighting, and offerings to deities and ancestors.

Minty Fresh Circus – Penn Live Arts
January 31-February 1

Journey through time and space to explore themes of freedom and survival in the early Black American experience. Named in tribute to Harriet Tubman (whose childhood nickname was Minty), this world premiere co-commission is a raucous, playful reimagination of circus and dance that infuses African performance rituals, ceremonies and cultural traditions. Ultimately, Minty Fresh Circus is an Afrofuturistic celebration of the healing power of Black music and movement within a contemporary circus framework.