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Christopher Woods on his first year as director of the Penn Museum
Person standing in front of a sphinx in a museum

One year in, Penn Museum Director Christopher Woods has  continued to lead the massive transformation of the 135-year-old institution’s building while reevaluating the collection, expanding the staff, strengthening community engagement, and addressing sensitive issues through new policies.

Christopher Woods on his first year as director of the Penn Museum

Penn Museum Director Christopher Woods leads the massive transformation of the 135-year-old institution’s building while reevaluating the collection, expanding the staff and community engagement, and addressing sensitive issues through new policies.
Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka on art and culture
two people sitting in chairs on stage talking

Playwright, novelist, and poet Wole Soyinka (right), the first African to win the Nobel Prize fo Literature, was the inaugural speaker for the Distinguished Lecture in African Studies. The event at the Penn Museum included a Q&A with Wale Adebanwi (left) a professor of Africana studies in the School of Arts & Sciences.

Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka on art and culture

Wole Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, spoke as the inaugural guest for the Distinguished Lecture in African Studies.
‘Weaving is like a prayer’: Barnes Foundation shows its Native art collection for the first time
Philadelphia Inquirer

‘Weaving is like a prayer’: Barnes Foundation shows its Native art collection for the first time

The Penn Museum contributed objects to a new exhibit at the Barnes Foundation that combines older and contemporary Native artworks. Penn’s Lucy Fowler Williams said she and her fellow curator “sought out artists whose work is really substantively engaging with the community and with the historical traditions.”

From 2,800-year-old charred food lumps, a window into past civilizations
Kathy Morrison sitting at a computer in a lab, gesturing to grad student Moriah McKenna. They both wear white lab coats. In front of them is a computer screen with what looks like a large rock. Next to the computer is a large microscope with its light on.

Archaeologist Kathleen Morrison (center) and anthropology doctoral student Moriah McKenna discuss one of the charred lumps from a 2010 excavation in southern India. The image is possible thanks to a new microscope, seen here on the right, that takes and stitches together high-resolution images in incredible detail. (Image: Eric Sucar)

  • Q&A

    • From 2,800-year-old charred food lumps, a window into past civilizations

    At a site in southern India, archaeologist Kathleen Morrison and colleagues discovered the remains of two types of dough, offering insights into how the region’s dietary practices have evolved.

    Michele W. Berger

    Studying the past through a modern-day lens
    Lynn Meskell standing in front of a glass display case at the Penn Museum.

    Lynn Meskell is the Richard D. Green Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor in the Department of Anthropology in the School of Arts & Sciences, a professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning and the graduate program in Historic Preservation in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, and a curator in the Middle East and Asia sections at the Penn Museum.

    (Image: Eric Sucar)

    Studying the past through a modern-day lens

    In a Q & A, archaeologist and PIK Professor Lynn Meskell discusses her background, the subjects that interest her—from espionage to World Heritage sites—and collaborations that have organically arisen at Penn despite the pandemic and a mostly remote first year.

    Michele W. Berger

    Art from Mexico
    professor and two students looking at colorful artwork on table

    Patricia Vargas (left), a Penn Spanish language lecturer, took her class to the Penn Museum to see the yarn paintings by the Huichol people, an indigenous group in Northwest Mexico, and to discuss interpretations in Spanish. Juniors Abhi Bhandari (center) and George Adu-Agyare (right) talk about a work titled “Antes de la inundación,” or “Before the flood.” 

    Art from Mexico

    During visits to the Penn Museum this semester, nearly 200 students in intermediate Spanish classes had the chance to learn about yarn paintings by the Huichol people, an indigenous group in Northwest Mexico.
    Alumni Award of Merit and Creative Spirit Awards honor seven alumni
    Judith Bollinger, Al Filreis, Stephen Goff, Ghislain Gouraige, Mike Kowalski, Clemson Smith Muniz, Ashley Zampini Ritter, and John Vosmek.

    Top row, left to right: Judith Bollinger, Al Filreis, Stephen Goff, and Ghislain Gouraige. Bottom row, left to right: Mike Kowalski, Clemson Smith Muniz, Ashley Zampini Ritter, and John Vosmek.

    Alumni Award of Merit and Creative Spirit Awards honor seven alumni

    Stephen Goff is awarded Creative Spirit Award and Al Filreis is to receive the Faculty Award of Merit.
    Penn Libraries receives major gift of rare photographic plates by Edward S. Curtis
    image of a Native American

    “Nootka Woman Wearing Cedar-Bark Blanket”(1915). Edward S. Curtis Photography Collection, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts; University of Pennsylvania Libraries. (Photo: Chris Lippa, Penn Libraries)

    Penn Libraries receives major gift of rare photographic plates by Edward S. Curtis

    The University of Pennsylvania Libraries has received a rare collection of 151 interpositive glass plates by photographer Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952) from collector William H. Miller III. Appraised at $4.2 million, the gift to the Penn Libraries complements holdings across the University, making Penn a major center for research and work on Curtis, one of the most prolific American photographers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 
    From naked Greek athletes to Marian Anderson’s elegant velvet concert gown, new show at Penn Museum is dressed for all occasions
    Philadelphia Inquirer

    From naked Greek athletes to Marian Anderson’s elegant velvet concert gown, new show at Penn Museum is dressed for all occasions

    The Museum’s current exhibit, “The Stories We Wear,” was featured. “Our idea began with turning that on its head and showing why jewelry and clothing and footwear and anything you can think of that you can put on your body is actually important and meaningful,” said curator Lauren Ristvet.