Arts and Culture

Programs illuminate the human experience

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The arts are fundamental to our lives—and Penn champions their role at the core of the human endeavor. The arts foster problem solving and unite people through deeper understanding of history, culture, social conditions, and empathy for others.

Penn’s campus is home to a vibrant arts and culture community. It is one that celebrates artistic treasures and rare books; splendid gardens and spellbinding performances; signature homes for creative writing and provocative exhibitions, and more. Integrated into daily life at Penn’s Schools and Centers, creative expression can invigorate teaching, sharpen students’ powers of observation, and even improve patients’ ability to heal.

Guided by Vice Provost for the Arts Timothy Rommen and Penn’s strategic framework, In Principle and Practice, the University is actively exploring new ways to strengthen and integrate arts and culture across disciplines. We aim to amplify opportunities to explore Penn’s extraordinary repositories of culture and beauty, both on campus and beyond. The forthcoming Student Performing Arts Center will provide even more space and resources for the performing arts community.

The following arts and culture hubs present opportunities for ongoing support to ensure their vital programs thrive.

Explore Opportunities

Sphinx and Main Entrance with visitors

Penn Museum

The Penn Museum reveals human histories and experience—in classrooms, galleries, and interactive programs, and through ongoing field research around the globe.

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children sniffing tulips

Morris Arboretum & Gardens

As a living laboratory, the Morris offers spectacular landscapes and diverse educational programs for patrons, students, scientists, and more.

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Dancers during a performance

Penn Live Arts

Penn Live Arts is the University’s home for performing arts, advancing a thriving artistic culture across campus and throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.

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Two students converse while studying a rare document from the Penn Libraries' collection

Penn Libraries

Penn’s 19 libraries open scholarship to global audiences, expand community engagement, ensure the preservation of scholarly and cultural records in all forms.

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Two audience members, shown in silhouette, experience an immersive environment in Terence Nance's

Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA)

A resource for Penn students, the community at large, and the world, the ICA elevates important work by under-recognized artists.

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Kelly

Kelly Writers House

The Kelly Writers House is a unique center at Penn, promoting writing both as a practice and as an object of study through its many programs and projects.

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An exhibition of art at the Arthur Ross Gallery with people scattered throughout, looking at the items on display.

Arthur Ross Gallery

The Arthur Ross Gallery offers curated exhibitions from Penn’s collections and around the world, fostering interdisciplinary learning and sparking dialogue through the visual arts.

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Stories

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LJS 101 manuscript featured in the Elizabeth A.R. Brown medieval studies archive.

Building an Archive and a Legacy

A bequest from the late historian Elizabeth A.R. Brown will position Penn as a leader in the field of medieval studies

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Penn Live Arts' Zellerbach Theater offers a spacious, beautifully lit performance hall with sleek rows of seats and sweeping balcony views.

A Seat for Everyone at Penn Live Arts

Kyle Kozloff, W’90, PAR'25, has dedicated serious thought to Penn’s performing arts—and now, he’s dedicated a theater seat in honor of his graduate

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A tree-lined walkway with bare branches, pinkish-red canopies, brick borders, and lampposts extends into the distance under a purple sky.

Framing Art at Penn

A collections director, curatorial and exhibitions director, and development director talk art

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