Category Archives: Uncategorized

It’s almost time for the New Year’s Eve countdown, which means it’s also time for *our* countdown. Here, without further fanfare, is an illustrated list of the 11 most-viewed Arts Blog posts of 2011 (and yes, some of these originally appeared on the blog before 2011, but clearly that didn’t stop anyone from reading them this year, too):

11. Alumni create a ‘living’ art museum in N.C.

10. Dance groups join forces for annual benefit

9. Stuart Gibbs C’91 makes his fiction debut with ‘Belly Up’

8. Anna Deavere Smith performs and discusses ‘Let Me Down Easy’

7. Artist Alexandra Tyng GEd’77 creates ‘Portraits for the Arts’

6. Suggested Summer Reading: Part 2

5. Suggested summer reading from Penn alumni-authors

4. Righteous Dopefiend at the Penn Museum

3. Tom Heller C’95 has produced back-to-back Best Film nominees

2. Freddy Wexler C’10 shows the music world that “[He'll] Be There”

 
…and finally, our most-viewed post this year:

1. Arts Grant winner creates stringy situation

 
Thanks for reading, and please let us know in the comments: What would you like to see on the blog in 2012?

Did you know that the Penn Glee Club was around long before our football team, our West Philadelphia campus, and most of the University’s fraternities? This academic year marks the club’s 150th anniversary, making it the oldest performing arts group at Penn. In celebration of that milestone, we shot some video at the club’s recent fall show — a collaboration with Penn Dance in Iron Gate Theater. We then put some of the highlights together into this video:

Be sure to keep an eye out for more stories and information about the Glee Club’s last 150 years in an upcoming issue of the Gazette!

File this Dancing with the Stars-inspired competition under “Events I Wish I’d Known About Before They Happened and Don’t Plan to Miss Next Year.”

You can read the DP’s coverage of it here, watch a video, and see a slideshow. I also dug up some videos from last year’s competition, including professors discussing their reactions to being chosen for the competition and, finally, a recording of last year’s winners, Nursing professor Terri Lipman and Nadeem Almoayyed W’10, dancing the cha cha to Santana and Rob Thomas’s “Smooth.”

Arbor Day isn’t until the end of the month, but several cup-tivating trees are already in full bloom on campus. Check out this interesting form of public art/recycling, which I spotted outside College Hall the other day:

If you have any background on these unique, eco-friendly sculptures, please let me know!

Welcome to The Pennsylvania Gazette‘s new arts blog — a digital space for all things arts, culture, entertainment and Penn.

My name is Molly Petrilla (C’06), and I’ve contributed frequently to the Gazette for almost five years now. In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to write about fascinating (and arts-focused) alumni, students, University initiatives, exhibitions and events. I’ll be doing the same here, and also incorporating photos, videos, interviews and other interactive goodies.

I hope to make this a fun place where you can get your Penn arts and culture fix. With that in mind, comments, suggestions and ideas are always appreciated: molly.petrilla@gmail.com.