Events and Exhibits

Public Dedication and Artist Talk: Native Futurism by Holly Wilson

July 11, 2026

As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, Multidisciplinary artist Holly Wilson, Delaware Nation Lenape and Descendent of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, was commissioned to transform the Penn Museum’s East Entrance lobby with a large-scale mixed-media installation themed “Native Futurism.”

Join the public dedication and hear how the new installation centers an Indigenous-led perspective, offering a layered and thought-provoking addition to the nation’s evolving story.

Following the unveiling, Wilson will share how the artwork weaves personal history and Lenape heritage and encompasses many aspects of her artistic practice: photography, painting, and metal casting.

Hosted by Penn Museum, Art Philly

Opening Celebration for At Liberty: Life in the City of Brotherly Love During the Early Republic

September 9, 2026

Step into early Philadelphia at the opening celebration of At Liberty: Life in the City of Brotherly Love During the Early Republic, featuring special guests, live a cappella, and refreshments.

At Liberty is a fascinating exhibition exploring Philadelphia during the nation’s formative years through paintings, sculptures, and works on paper drawn from major regional and national collections. Featuring portraits of notable figures alongside scenes of everyday life, the exhibition offers a vivid glimpse into the people, places, and ideas that shaped the early American republic.

Guests will enjoy special remarks from the curator and other distinguished guests, themed refreshments inspired by the era, and a live performance by the Penn Shabbatones, the University of Pennsylvania’s premier Jewish a cappella group known for their dynamic arrangements and engaging performances. Celebrate the opening of this exciting exhibition with fellow art lovers, scholars, students, and members of the community.

Image credit: (detail) Attributed to John Lewis Krimmel (1786–1821), Nightlife in Philadelphia—an Oyster Barrow in front of the Chestnut Street Theater (1811–ca. 1813). Formerly attributed to Pavel Petrovich Svinin (1787/88–1839). Watercolor and Graphite on white laid paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Hosted by Arthur Ross Gallery

Political Empathy and Religious Pluralism

September 9, 2026

Can empathy, an ability to stand in the other person’s shoes, change how we perceive those who worship and vote differently than we do? Can religious differences be bridged to help us cross political divides?

Hear groundbreaking research from Dr. Lia Howard, political scientist, Director of the Political Empathy Lab, and Fellows Director of the SNF Paideia Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Alongside her students, she will share practical strategies for improving political discourse and strengthening our democratic institutions.

This program is part of the Religious Freedom: Then & Now initiative.

Hosted by Interfaith Philadelphia

Experiencing Independence: Eyewitness Accounts of the American Revolution

October 2 - 3, 2026

Firsthand accounts of the American Revolution provide historians, museums, and historic sites with critical details for understanding what it was like to experience independence. To mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Historic Trappe, the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, and Ursinus College are partnering to convene a symposium, “Experiencing Independence: Eyewitness Accounts of the American Revolution.”

This symposium will explore the diaries, journals, letters, and material culture made or used by people in the mid-Atlantic region from 1760–1790. The panels will explore family dynamics in the midst of political upheaval, wartime experiences of soldiers and civilians, accounts from different religious perspectives, and new approaches to non-English sources on the American Revolution.

Photo description: Muhlenberg House, Trappe, PA. Photo credit: Dave Holsten.


Hosted by Historic Trappe, the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, Ursinus College

First Peoples

October 10, 2026

Honor the nation’s first inhabitants and celebrate the vibrant cultures and enduring traditions of Indigenous communities rooted in Philadelphia. Discover the Penn Museum’s new Native North America Gallery, shaped in collaboration with Indigenous curators.

First University in America: 1740

November 14, 2026

Higher learning, Philly style. The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) claimed the title of the nation’s first university. With innovation baked into its DNA, Penn launched generations of leaders. Knowledge has a home, and it’s right here! 

First Children’s Hospital in America: 1855

November 21, 2026

Philadelphia made history in 1855 by opening the nation’s first hospital devoted exclusively to children. For more than 170 years, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has combined groundbreaking research with heartfelt care both within and outside its walls — a tradition of healing that continues to inspire today.

First Weather Bureau: 1870

December 12 , 2026

Before smartphones and laptops, there was ENIAC. Born at Penn, the world’s first programmable, electronic computer crunched numbers and changed everything. From circuits to cyberspace, it all began in Philly.

December Firsts are sponsored by Fulton Bank.

At Liberty: Life in the City of Brotherly Love During the Early Republic

8/28 - 12/13, 2026 

Drawing on the holdings of the Penn Art Collection, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Winterthur Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this exhibition features historical works of art, including paintings and sculpture of notable figures, such as Benjamin Franklin, alongside watercolor drawings and prints depicting daily life in Philadelphia during the late-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Artists include Gilbert Stuart, Benjamin West, John Lewis Krimmel, members of the Peale family, and other artists active in the era of the Revolution.

Curated by Dr. Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, Inaugural Faculty Director of the Arthur Ross Gallery and the James and Nan Farquhar Professor of the History of Art.

Image credit: (detail) Attributed to John Lewis Krimmel (1786–1821), Nightlife in Philadelphia—an Oyster Barrow in front of the Chestnut Street Theater (1811–ca. 1813). Formerly attributed to Pavel Petrovich Svinin (1787/88–1839). Watercolor and Graphite on white laid paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Hosted by Arthur Ross Gallery

Native North America Gallery

Now on view

Showcasing more than 250 items from the Penn Museum’s North American collections alongside contemporary Native art pieces, this 2,000-sq.-ft. interactive exhibition will share complex histories and living relationships of Indigenous peoples to their ancestral homelands.

Hosted by the Penn Museum

Nursing the Revolution

January 22- November 20, 2026

Explore the overlooked yet essential role of nurses during the American Revolution, whose vital work helped shape early American healthcare.

Hosted by Bates Center

The Shakers: A World in the Making

January 31 - August 9, 2026

The Shakers: A World in the Making explores the design legacy of the Shakers, a religious group whose values of community, labor, and equality shaped their furniture, architecture, and everyday objects. Through works by contemporary artists influenced by the Shakers, alongside original Shaker-made pieces, the exhibition considers how their design principles remain relevant today.

By pairing historical artifacts with newly commissioned works, the exhibition invites reflection on how Shaker ideals continue to inform conversations around inclusion, gender, and intentional living in the 21st century.

This exhibition was organized by the Vitra Design Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, and the Wüstenrot Foundation in collaboration with the Shaker Museum.

The Time to Right all Wrongs: France, Haiti, and Philadelphia in a Revolutionary Age

February 26 - September 4, 2026

This exhibition surveys the revolutions that shook the Atlantic world in the 1790s, and the profound changes that resulted, from France to Haiti to Philadelphia.

Hosted by the Kislak Center

Penn Press: Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century

Now available

Informed by current scholarship and richly illustrated with full-color photographs and maps, The Greater Philadelphia Region and its companion volumes Greater Philadelphia and the Nation and Greater Philadelphia and the World bring to the public an up-to-date, diverse history of Philadelphia across its many dimensions.

Equity in Action Visiting Scholars Program

2025 - 2026

The Equity in Action Visiting Scholars program (EAV Scholars) is a new initiative by the Office of Social Equity & Community that aims to strengthen the Penn community by hosting local scholars, activists and community organizers that use the arts, lecture, and dialogue to shine a light on issues of social justice. Scholars from diverse backgrounds and disciplines will engage in research, teaching, and conversation, and are selected based on their expertise in areas such as activism, community organizing, criminal justice reform, and gun violence prevention. In keeping with Penn’s ongoing commitment to engaging with important societal issues, at the heart of this initiative is a “call to action” giving attendees an opportunity to engage the broader community in meaningful ways with a deepened articulation of opportunities for social impact.

Penn Live Arts: America Unfinished

2025 - 2026 Season

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — what do these foundational ideals mean in a 21st century context? In a range of new works and contemporary reinterpretations, the artists featured in our America Unfinished season will illuminate our ongoing struggle to fulfill the promises made by our nation's founders 250 years ago. How do these principles resonate in the America of today, and what do they reveal about our evolving democracy? Join us as an exciting collective of American artists reflect on this pivotal moment in our country’s legacy.

Hosted by Penn Live Arts

The Typography of Independence

Through 2026

As part of the Penn Libraries America 250 programming, join the Common Press for a series of monthly public events exploring the typesetting, printing, and paper-making involved in the production of the Declaration of Independence. 

Hosted by Common Press

EAS Miscellany: Call for Exhibit Reviews

Ongoing 

EAS Miscellany, the digital companion to Early American Studies, is seeking qualified reviewers at all levels (graduate students, public humanities professionals, community college instructors, tenure-track faculty, and tenured faculty) to complete online reviews of digital and physical exhibits on a wide range of topics relating to the early American studies. As sites of interpretation, scholarship, and debate, public exhibits raise important questions for our field as we approach the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence: How do curators frame contested histories and conflicting narratives? How do public and private institutions adapt and respond to funding cuts, ideological shifts, and other external constraints? In what ways do digital platforms expand, democratize, or complicate access to archives and artifacts? How do exhibits balance scholarly rigor alongside accessibility for general audiences? By publishing thoughtful reviews, we seek to create a venue where early Americanists can evaluate and reflect on the current state of the public humanities field.

Hosted by Early American Studies Miscellany

The Philly 250 - A collection of songs from, by, and about Philadelphia

May 4 - July 5, 2026

As a lead-up to America’s birthday, WXPN will air a series of short vignettes highlighting pivotal musical moments in Philadelphia's history through June. Over the July 3–5 holiday weekend, WXPN will air the full Philly 250 collection, pairing music with storytelling to mark America's birthday through the lens of Philadelphia.

Hosted by WXPN

Wharton's American Business Innovation Series

June 9 - 29, 2026

As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, faculty experts from the Wharton School will explore the American business innovations that transformed industries, reshaped markets, and changed the way the world works. From the assembly line and modern branding to the internet and artificial intelligence, this series examines the ideas and institutions that helped define American enterprise and continue to influence business today. New episodes drop each Monday in June and are available to view on the Knowledge at Wharton website.

Hosted by The Wharton School, Knowledge at Wharton

Sound of History

June 25, 2026

This incredible project looks to answer the question: What does the Revolution sound like 250 years later? Two local musicians, Laurin Talese and Zeek Burse, created new work inspired by residencies at the Museum of the American Revolution and will perform at this event.

Hosted by Black Music City, WXPN, WRTI, REC Philly, ArtPhilly, Museum of the American Revolution

Guided Tour: America’s First Peoples

June 6, 20, 27, 2026

Discover the stories, resilience, and living traditions of Native peoples through an in-depth exploration of the Penn Museum's new Native North America Gallery.

Created in collaboration with Indigenous Consulting Curators, the gallery spans 13,000 years of Native history across four U.S. regions, highlighting centuries of resilience, artistry, and tradition.

Your expert tour guide will share scholarly insights and rich interpretation beyond the object labels. This guided experience is your chance to ask questions, explore complex themes, and gain a deeper understanding of Native communities’ past, present, and future.

Hosted by Penn Museum, Art Philly: What Now 2026

Martha Graham Dance Company

June 3, 2026

Join the Penn Museum for special screening of In Pursuit: Philadelphia and the Making of America, Episode 2: Land (1700–1763) followed by a panel discussion. In Pursuit: Philadelphia and the Making of America is a ten-part documentary series that examines the history of American democracy through the lens of Philadelphia, the city where the nation’s founding ideals were first debated, tested, and contested.

Hosted by the Penn Museum, In Pursuit, Art Philly What Now: 2026

Martha Graham Dance Company

June 2, 2026

Author Emily Sneff joins us to explore how the Declaration was communicated to people in the new nation and around the Atlantic world and reveal the stories of the many people involved in the process of declaring independence, from printers to soldiers to diplomats to translators.

Hosted by Penn Libraries, Common Press, Athenaeum of Philadelphia

Martha Graham Dance Company

May 29 - 30, 2026

"One of the great companies of the world," (The New York Times) the iconic Martha Graham Dance Company celebrates a century of groundbreaking artistry with classic works, a Philadelphia premiere by Hope Boykin, and a world premiere commission by Tommie-Waheed Evans, performed with dancers from PHILADANCO.

Hosted by Hosted by Penn Live Arts

A German-Jewish Guide to the American Discourse on Race Schocken Books and its Publications on Black-Jewish Relations, 1964-1974

May 26, 2026

This lecture uncovers the history of Schocken Books, one of the mid-twentieth century's most consequential publishers, to evaluate the development of American Black-Jewish relations. It establishes how Schocken Books was shaped by its German-Jewish origins and how it developed to become an unlikely source of advice on American race relations.! 

Hosted by Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

Phil Parmet: Haitian Revolution

January 26 - May 22, 2026

See a selection of photographs by Academy Award-winning cinematographer and Penn alumnus Phil Parmet, who documented life in Haiti after the fall of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier in 1986.

Hosted by the Penn Libraries

Print the Declaration of Independence

May 20, 2026

Visit Common Press during the Summer 2026 to print a copy of the Declaration of Independence for yourself. The composition will be set in Caslon metal type and ready to print on our 1889 cast-iron handpress. This hour-long demonstration is open to all, and we welcome participants of all ages and backgrounds. Groups of up to 20 people are welcome! 

Hosted by Common Press

American Revolution – Past, Present, and Future

May 16, 2026

Join us for a timely, university-wide Alumni Weekend event conceived by Robert Gross (C’66), renowned historian and former DP editor. Explore how the ideals of 1776, the activism of 1966, and the disruptions of today intersect in a nation undergoing profound change. Bob will be joined by Penn historians Michael Zuckerman (’61) Emeritus Professor of History and Emma Hart Richard S. Dunn Director of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies for a lively discussion on America’s past, present, and future. Sponsored by Class of 1966.

You must register for Alumni Weekend to attend this event.

Hosted by Classes and Reunions.

Celebrate or Demonstrate: Philadelphia and Bicentennial Discontent

February 9 - May 15, 2026

As the nation prepares to commemorate America's 250th, this exhibit will look back on the bicentennial, sharing perspectives from the groups who raised their voices in protest and critiqued a wholly celebratory approach to American history.

The 12-Hour Declaration of Independence: Community Typesetting

May 14 - 15, 2026

The first edition of the Declaration of Independence was typeset and printed within 12 hours starting on July 4, 1776. To honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration, Common Press will host a 12 hour, two day community typesetting event during which all are invited to hand-set metal type to help create a historically-accurate replica. The final form of metal type will remain available for printing on our 19th-century hand press through September 2026.

Hosted by Common Press

On the Importance of Coalitional Feminism to American Jewish History

May 12, 2026

Lana Dee Povitz offers a revised genealogy of the American Jewish left, one that centers feminist Jews who have worked at the intersection of social justice movements. She argues for the importance of coalitional feminism in understanding some of the institutional transformations underway in contemporary American Jewish life.

Hosted byHerbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

Papermaking in Weitzman Plaza

May 1, 2026

Visit us on Weitzman Plaza where we will be pulling sheets of paper from the pulp made from the cloth collected during our community rag collection. This handmade paper will be used to print copies of the Declaration of Independence at Common Press during Summer 2026.

Hosted by Common Press

2026 PARC Aging Retreat

May 1, 2026

This conference will bring together PARC Associates and aging researchers from across Penn and will include guests from other external aging centers. The Aging Retreat aims to foster collaborations for innovative aging research, provide networking opportunities, and encourage work that advances the PARC Research Themes.

Hosted by Population Aging Research Center

Open Studio Session: Workers, Apprentices, and Unions in the Revolutionary Era

April 29, 2026

Join us for a drop-in Open Studio at Common Press to print a broadside (a single-sided print meant for public display) reflecting on important aspects of labor history during the early days of the United States of America.

Hosted by Common Press

Delbert Anderson Quartet

April 26, 2026

Trumpeter Delbert Anderson is “at the forefront of a vibrant Native American jazz scene.” (The New York Times) In his Philadelphia debut, Anderson blends Diné tradition with jazz and funk in the world premiere commissioned work, Beyond Belief, exploring Navajo history and the tribe’s relationship with America.

Hosted by Penn Live Arts

'We the People': Revolutions for Everyone

April 21, 2026

Political and cultural division is not new in American history. This conversation explores how the Declaration of Independence defined belonging by exclusion, and how communities labeled as outsiders have worked to claim rights, dignity, and opportunity. The struggle began in the Revolutionary Age itself, quickly spreading beyond the borders of the United States to the Caribbean. Participants will examine how ideas of “the people” have been challenged and reshaped over time and why those struggles still matter today in America and Haiti.

Hosted by Kislak Center

Open House: Papermaking at Historic Rittenhouse Town

April 18, 2026

See the work of Common Press during our residency at the papermill at Historic Rittenhouse Town where we will be turning the cloth collected during our community rag collection into large sheets of handmade paper.

Hosted by Common Press

Music in the Pavilion: A Song's Journey from Haiti and Back

April 17, 2026

Come hear the tale of an enduringly popular song from Haiti "Lisette quitté la plaine," interwoven with anthem parodies, folk songs, and solo-piano pieces.

Hosted by Kislak Center

“We Are the Bicentennial”: Democracy and Diversity in the 1970s

April 15, 2026

Join Marc Stein, Jamie and Phyllis Pasker Professor of History, San Franciso State University, in a lecture about his new book on the history of the nation's 200th birthday.

Hosted by Kislak Center

Americanization Politics and the Yiddish Press

April 14, 2026

This talk will explore the ways in which anxieties about American Jewish belonging in the years surrounding World War I and World War II shaped the development of the Yiddish press, as well as how that history has been remembered in retrospect.

Hosted by The Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

First Stadium in America: 1895

April 9-11, 2026

A conference on the revolutionary upheavals that shook metropolitan France and the French colonies and populations in North America, from the late eighteenth through the early nineteenth century. Held in conjunction with the exhibit The Time to Right all Wrongs: France, Haiti, and Philadelphia in A Revolutionary Age.

Hosted by Kislak Center

PAACH Mural Unveiling 2026

April 8, 2026

Join us for the PAACH Mural Unveiling 2026 as we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and America250. Enjoy a catered lunch as we showcase 250 beautifully crafted mandalas created during our community coloring events, commemorating these two special occasions.

Hosted by Pan-Asian American Community House (PAACH)

First Stadium in America: 1895

April 4, 2026

Cheer loud for history! Franklin Field was the nation’s first stadium, home to roaring crowds, thrilling games and unforgettable moments. Philly built the stage for American sports.

April Firsts are sponsored by The Bellwether District.

Open Studio Session: Ink and Flax in the Revolutionary Era

April 3, 2026

Join us for a drop-in Open Studio at Common Press to print a broadside (a single-sided print meant for public display) exploring a key ingredient used to produce ink, fabric, and paper during the Revolutionary era: flax!

Hosted by Common Press

“An inclination join’d with an ability to serve”: Realizing Franklin’s Vision for the University of Pennsylvania

March 31, 2026

This event will feature a panel discussion with undergrad and graduate student leaders about their experiences with different forms of Community Engagement Scholarship, including Academically Based Community Services, designed to realize Franklin’s founding vision for Penn. Participants will be invited to participate in small group conversations about how to achieve Franklin’s vision.

Hosted by Netter Center for Community Partnerships, Student Committee on Undergraduate Education.

First Medical School in America: 1765

March 28, 2026

In 1765, Philadelphia became home to the nation’s first medical school, setting the standard for training America’s earliest physicians. More than 250 years later, the Perelman School of Medicine continues to blend innovation and tradition, shaping the future of healthcare.

The Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty (ASEF-PSOM) Presents The American Revolution: Past, Present, and Future

March 27, 2026

The American Revolution was at once a war for independence, a war of conquest, a civil war, and a world war, fought by neighbors on American farms and between global powers an ocean or more away. It impacted millions from Vermont’s Green Mountains to the swamps of South Carolina, from Indian Country to the Iberian Peninsula. In defeating the British Empire and giving birth to a new nation, the American Revolution turned the world upside-down. Thirteen colonies on the Atlantic Coast united in rebellion, won their independence, and established a republic that still endures. -Ken Burns

Talk followed by reception in Smilow Commons.

Hosted by The Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty (ASEF-PSOM) and The Penn Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty (PASEF-PSOM).

Rennie Harris Puremovement Losing My Religion

March 19-21, 2026

Rennie Harris, “the most brilliant hip-hop choreographer in America” (The New Yorker) and our 25/26 season artist-in-residence, returns with the world premiere of Losing My Religion. Set to a chilling soundscape mixed live by a DJ, this commissioned work explores the world’s turmoil through the lens of street dance and hip hop.

Hosted by Penn Live Arts

in case of fire, speak

March 19, 2026

"in case of fire, speak" is the companion exhibition for a world premiere collaborative performance by the Martha Graham Dance Company and PHILADANCO at Penn Live Arts!

Curated by Ain Gordon and designed by Azsaneé Truss, the exhibition 'in case of fire, speak' frames the making of the collaborative performance alongside rarely seen images from foundational modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham’s 1938 work, American Document, and its enduring question, “What is an American?” Drawing on historical documents, photographs, video, and design materials, the exhibition explores Graham’s masterwork alongside Philadelphia dance company PHILADANCO!’s decades-long commitment to preserving and advancing the work of Black artists.

Hosted by Penn Live Arts & The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation

Rethinking American Jewish Liberalism Jewish Communists and Jewish Life, 1946-56

March 17, 2026

If scholars have long argued over the shape and content of Jewish liberalism, this talk will instead ask: what forms of illiberalism were central to mid-twentieth century American Jews?

Over and against the liberal embrace of illiberal anticommunist politics in the United States, it will explore how American Jewish radicals continued to envision and advocate for progressive American Jewish culture, one that would not only resist McCarthyism but also maintain space for Jewish difference in America. Focusing on the writers and scholars affiliated with the communist publication Jewish Life, it will excavate the heated intra-Jewish contestations over politics, identity, and culture at midcentury.

Papermaking Open House: Rag Beating Demonstration

March 14, 2026

Stop by Historic Rittenhouse Town to see how rags are beat into paper pulp using the Hollander beater at the studio, and see how paper pulp making has evolved over the last 250 years.

Hosted by The Studio at Historic Rittenhouse Town

Alarm Will Sound with Bora Yoon: American Stories

March 13, 2026

“One of the most vital and original ensembles on the American music scene,” (The New York Times) Alarm Will Sound is joined by Bora Yoon for American Stories, a collection of bold, contemporary works that reflect the vast, evolving landscape of our country’s identity.

Hosted by Penn Live Arts

Open Studio Session: Indigenous Space

March 6, 2026

Join us for a drop-in Open Studio at Common Press to print a broadside (a single-sided print meant for public display) about the Lenape, the original users of the land around the Historic Rittenhouse Town papermill.

Hosted by Common Press

Money and the Making of the American Revolution

March 5, 2026

What does American Jewish history look like on the 250th birthday of the United States? The history of Jews in North America predates the birth of the country, yet the academic field of study is relatively new. "America's Jewish Questions at 250 Years" interrogates the foundational questions that have defined American Jewish history, while asking how the field is changing amid today's roiling debates about liberalism, democracy, pluralism, and so much more.

Cosponsored by the Department of History, the Jewish Studies Program, and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.

Hosted by The Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

Exhibition Opening: The Time to Right all Wrongs

February 26, 2026

Please join us to mark the opening of The Time to Right All Wrongs: France, Haiti, and Philadelphia in a
Revolutionary Age, a new exhibition devoted to the revolutions of the 1790s that stretched from France to the
Caribbean and had profound impacts on Philadelphia and the United States. 

Hosted by Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

"Rachel Weeping": Painting Loss in Revolutionary America

February 26, 2026

You are invited to the McNeil Center for Early American Studies on Thursday, February 26 at 3:30pm for a seminar by Wendy Bellion entitled "Rachel Weeping: Painting Loss in Revolutionary America.” Dr. Bellion is Professor of Art History and Sewell C. Biggs Chair in American Art at the University of Delaware. She is the author of Citizen Spectator (OIEAHC and UNC Press, 2011) and Iconoclasm in New York (PSUP, 2019), and editor of several books and journals. Reception following.

Hosted by McNeil Center for Early American Studies

29th Annual Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Lecture in Judaic Studies America’s Jewish Questions at 250 Years

February 24, 2026

What does American Jewish history look like on the 250th birthday of the United States? The history of Jews in North America predates the birth of the country, yet the academic field of study is relatively new. "America's Jewish Questions at 250 Years" interrogates the foundational questions that have defined American Jewish history, while asking how the field is changing amid today's roiling debates about liberalism, democracy, pluralism, and so much more.

Cosponsored by the Department of History, the Jewish Studies Program, and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.

Hosted by The Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

We the People: Sam Maitin

October 15, 2025 - February 21, 2026

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, The Penn Art Collection, and Penn Libraries are pleased to present We the People: Sam Maitin, an exhibition of selected works by the celebrated Philadelphia artist, on view at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania, October 15, 2025 through February 21, 2026.

Hosted by Arts Lounge at the Annenberg.

Papermaking Open House: Rag Preparation

February 20, 2026

See how rags from our community cloth collection are processed in preparation for papermaking. Stop by the Common Press to participate in removing buttons, tags, and zippers and cutting the fabric into tiny pieces.

Hosted by Common Press

Nursing the Revolution: Care Work in Revolutionary America

February 18, 2026

In 2026 the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania will open its year-long exhibition, Nursing the Revolution. To help mark this event and in partnership with the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, the Bates Center invites scholars and professionals working in areas related to early American care work, nursing, medicine, and the Revolutionary War to join us for a special symposium.

Hosted by Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing at Penn Nursing

Johnny Gandelsman: This is America

February 14, 2026

“A violinist who can do anything,” (The Philadelphia Inquirer) Johnny Gandelsman, a Grammy® Award-winning member of the Silkroad Ensemble, performs This is America, featuring works by U.S. composers including the world premiere of a Penn Live Arts commission by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tyshawn Sorey.

Hosted by Penn Live Arts

Reclaiming Legacy: A Descendant's Journey at Menokin

February 12, 2026

Join us for a reflective conversation exploring what it means to reclaim legacy through the lens of a descendent of Menokin's enslaved community. SAS-OAEE's Program Coordinator, Shani Saunders will share her journey of connection, learning, and healing through the Menokin Descendant Collective and present a documentary trailer.

Hosted by School of Arts & Sciences, Office of Academic Excellence & Engagement

Constitutional Conversations

February 10, 2026

Come read the Constitution together—not as a lecture, but as a conversation. Engage with faculty experts, students, and staff in an interactive, participatory reading of the U.S. Constitution and a guided conversation about how its interpretation has evolved over time. We’ll examine how constitutional principles continue to shape and be shaped by today’s most urgent policy debates.

Reinterpreting the Declaration: A Creative Typesetting Workshop

January 30-31, 2026

Reinterpreting the Declaration: A Creative Typesetting Workshop gives participants a hands-on opportunity to work with the original text of the Declaration of Independence, choosing whether to preserve, alter, or omit the words in their assigned section. Hosted by Common Press at Penn Libraries, the workshop explores how meaning shifts through the act of typesetting and invites participants to rethink this historic document through the lens of printmaking.

Hosted by Common Press

Adventive America: Follow the Plants

January 29 - 30, 2026

Adventive America places the forthcoming 250th anniversary of the United States into a broader international context by examining plants and their agency in nation-building. This nontraditional lens explores collectors, collections, and global botanical exchanges between the United States, Indigenous nations, Britain, Spain, Japan, and China, from the early American republic to the present day. Whether shipped in transatlantic Bartram’s boxes in the eighteenth century, showcased at the 1876 Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, emergent in the weedy ballast grounds along the Delaware River, or exchanged as part of the traditional seed-saving practices of Indigenous peoples or immigrant communities, plants from around the globe serve as proxies for our own international migrations and as carriers of cultural meaning in our landscapes. “Following the plants” reveals fraught layers of transnational and ethnobotanical relations and upends false binaries of what it means to be native or alien, exotic or adventive, in the ongoing construction of nationhood.  

Hosted by the Kleinman Energy Forum, Fisher Fine Arts Library

Lecture: The Messiness of Independence

January 27, 2026

Dr. Emily Sneff, a leading expert on the history of the Declaration of Independence, will share some of the stories behind the first printings of the founding document of the United States.

Hosted by Kislak Center

Open Studio Session: Time in the Revolutionary Era

January 16, 2026

The session provides a brief, hands-on demonstration of historic printing practices, allowing participants to produce a themed broadside while engaging with material culture from the Revolutionary Era.

Hosted by Common Press

Common Sense at 250: A Panel Discussion

January 15, 2026

Penn Professors Emma Hart, Sophia Rosenfeld, and Duncan Watts address the power and impact of Thomas Paine's revolutionary pamphlet, 250 years after its publication.

Hosted by Kislak Center

Pedagogies of Presence: Archiving Philadelphia on Film

October 22 - October 23, 2025

This two-day conference highlights the visual documentary interventions of Sol Worth and Harvey Finkle in Philadelphia during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Hosted by the Kislak Center

Navigating the Past: Histories of the US Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-2025

October 10 - October 11, 2025

To coincide with the 250th anniversary of the US Navy and Marine Corps, this conference will bring together scholars from the whole sweep of US history to discuss these branches of America’s military forces in their various contexts.

Hosted by the McNeil Center for Early American Studies

Fall 2025 Teachers Institute Of Philadelphia Workshops

Applications Due October 3

This fall, TIP is collaborating with the Penn Press and Penn GSE to offer a special set of workshops on Philadelphia, in preparation for the 2026 Semiquincentennial, or 250th anniversary, of the founding of the United States. These workshops will be led by authors of the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, a resource the Penn Press is distributing free to schools in the School District of Philadelphia. Workshops with the Liberty Bell symbol are part of this series.

In all TIP workshops, teachers acquire cutting-edge knowledge from university professors and write lesson plans based on the material they have learned. Applications open May 5 and the deadline will be October 3.

Revolution at Penn?

Through Fall 2025

The exhibition Revolution at Penn? examines conflicts around the formation, structure, and mission of the university in the era of the American Revolution. 

Hosted by the Penn Libraries

Where is Early America?

May 1 - May 3, 2025

Panels and roundtables will propose new frameworks for comprehending the earliest period of European colonization in America and novel arguments for scholarly attention to this era.

Hosted by the McNeil Center for Early American Studies

Brewing a Revolution: Coffee in Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia

April 29, 2025

In conjunction with the exhibit Revolution at Penn?, learn about the significance of Philadelphia’s coffeehouses as major sites of political activity and debate in the decade leading up to the Declaration of Independence.

Hosted by the Penn Libraries

Music in the Pavilion: Tempesta di Mare Recital, Nelly's Songs

April 25, 2025

Hear songs and instrumental selections from the music room of Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis Lewis, George Washington’s step-granddaughter.

Hosted by the Penn Libraries

Walking Tour: Penn's Revolutionary Campus

March 29, 2025

Starting at the site of the University of Pennsylvania's original college campus at 4th and Arch Streets, this walking tour of Old City will bring to life stories of the places and people associated with Penn in the 18th century.

Hosted by the Penn Libraries

Walking Tour: Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia

March 5, 2025, 3:30pm - 5:00pm

In conjunction with the National Library of Medicine traveling exhibit Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton’s America, on view in the Holman Biotech Commons from February 5 to March 15, this walking tour will take visitors to various sites related to Philadelphia’s 1793 yellow fever epidemic.

Hosted by Holman Biotech Commons

Exploring Epidemics in Philadelphia: Yellow Fever and COVID 

February 25, 2025

In conjunction with the National Library of Medicine travelling exhibition Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton’s America, this panel brings historians and physicians together to explore and discuss two important epidemics in Philadelphia. 

Using the historical example of the 1793 yellow fever epidemic and the contemporary example of the COVID-19 pandemic, this program will bring together historians and physicians to examine the evidence around how epidemics unfold and who is held accountable as they do.

Hosted by the Kislak Center and Holman Biotech Commons

Revolution at Penn? Historians in Conversation

February 13, 2025

To celebrate the opening of Revolution at Penn?, exhibition curators John Pollack and J.M. Duffin will give a tour of the exhibition, followed by a panel talk exploring Philadelphia and Penn at the time of the Revolution.

Hosted by the Penn Libraries

Archives of Revolution: A Conference About How We Make the Past

June 20 - 22, 2024

A collaboration between the John Carter Brown Library on the campus of Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania’s McNeil Center for Early American Studies and Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts.

The conference is chaired jointly by Emma Hart of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, Sean Quimby of Penn Libraries, and Karin Wulf of the JCB.

Hosted by the Kislak Center

Student Perspectives on the University in the 21st Century

January 26, 2024

Undergraduates from English Professor Zita Nunes's course Community Writing: Post-COVID University will present their work as part of the America 250 at Penn series, leading up to Penn's 2026 commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Hosted by the Penn Libraries

The Local Archive and the Semiquincentennial: A Forum

March 10, 2023

This one-day forum is an opportunity for area repositories and historic institutions to learn about each other’s plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Hosted by the Penn Libraries and the McNeil Center for Early American Studies

Truth Be Told: Black Women and the Making of a Democracy

October 25, 2022

Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Rutgers University

In conversation with Dean John L. Jackson, Jr. (Annenberg School for Communication), Dunbar will discuss the central role played by Black women in the founding of the nation and their centuries’ long agitation and activism to force the nation to live up to its promises.

Hosted by the Kislak Center

The Declaration’s Journey: Thinking about the 250th Exhibition at the Museum of the American Revolution

April 13, 2022

Phillip Mead, Museum of the American Revolution

Philip Mead will discuss the initial plans for the Museum of the American Revolution’s exhibition to mark the 250th anniversary of 1776.

Teaching Independence: Bridging the Communications Gap

March 25-26, 2022; 4:00 PM

McNeil Center for Early American Studies and/or Virtual

Bringing together voices from across the educational spectrum, from K-12 teachers to university and public historians, Teaching Independence will consider the challenges of teaching the Declaration of Independence, the history of the American Revolution, and the nation's founding, in the 21st century.