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Upcoming Events: Kislak Center

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Jan 29
  • Workshop
Open to the Public

Coffee with a Codex: Statutes of Vigliano d'Asti

On January 29, curator Dot Porter will bring out Ms. Codex 55, a 15th century copy of the Statutes of Vigliano d'Asti.

  • January 29, 2026
  • 12:00pm - 12:30pm
  • Online
Feb 05
  • Workshop
Open to the Public

Coffee with a Codex: Book of Hours Fragments

On February 5, curator Dot Porter will bring out a variety of fragments and leaves from books of hours, from the 15th and 16th centuries and written in France, the Netherlands, and England.

  • February 5, 2026
  • 12:00pm - 12:30pm
  • Online
Feb 05
  • Workshop
Open to Penn Students, Faculty, and Staff

Sun Ra/Afro-Futurism/Jazz: A Music of the Spirit

Ahmed Abdullah, jazz trumpeter, adjunct professor at The New School, and former member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, leads a workshop on Sun Ra and the history of jazz.

  • February 5, 2026
  • 4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, sixth floor
A pamphlet reads "Sun Ra Research" in bold red and black, with a photograph of Sun Ra beneath it: a black man wearing a cape and an intricate hat, and holding a large round metallic object.
Feb 05
  • Book Talk
Open to the Public

Ahmed Abdullah: A Strange Celestial Road

Ahmed Abdullah, jazz trumpeter, adjunct professor at The New School, and former member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, presents a talk on his memoir A Strange Celestial Road.

  • February 5, 2026
  • 6:00pm - 7:00pm
  • Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, sixth floor
Cover of the book A Strange Celestial Road featuring a performer onstage wearing a brightly colored, rainbow-hued cape and matching headpiece, standing with arms outstretched beneath stage lights.
Feb 10
  • Workshop
Open to the Public

Demonstration: 3D Scanning of Bindings

On February 10, join us as Fine Arts Librarian Kathryn Reuter 3D scans bindings from the Kislak collections.

  • February 10, 2026
  • 2:00pm - 4:00pm
  • Kislak Center Vitale II, Rm 623, 6th Floor
Photo of a 3D scan of an embroidered binding, displayed on a large monitor
Feb 12
  • Workshop
Open to the Public

Coffee with a Codex: Avicenna's medical encyclopedia

On February 12, curator Dot Porter will bring out LJS 426, a 14th century copy of the first book of Avicenna's medical encyclopedia in Arabic.

  • February 12, 2026
  • 12:00pm - 12:30pm
  • Online
photo of a manuscript page in Arabic, with extensive marginal notes
Feb 12
  • Lecture
Open to the Public

The Fabrication of Borders: Tailoring and Cartography in Early Modern Europe

Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies and the Center for Italian Studies Fellow's Lecture in Italian Manuscript Studies

  • Thursday, February 12, 2026, 5:15 - 6:30 pm EST
  • 5:15pm - 6:30pm
  • Hybrid: Online and Kislak Center, Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 6th Floor
Detail of a manuscript with an illustration of two men, on right, in medieval costume gesture toward red, yellow, blue, and grey cloth. Above them is a yardstick and pair of scissors.
Feb 13
  • Lecture
Open to the Public

The Colker Hebrew Fragments: Description and Significance 

This talk will demonstrate some of the important and unusual aspects of a collection of mostly medieval Judaic manuscripts, acquired from the private collection of manuscript bibliographer Marvin Colker.

  • February 13, 2026
  • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
  • Virtual (link will be sent to registrants)
Colker Hebrew Fragments from the Kislak Collection

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