CultureFest will celebrate African and diasporic cultures at Penn Museum

CultureFest will celebrate African and diasporic cultures at the Penn Museum

FOX 29's Thomas Drayton gets a sneak peak of the Penn Museum's CultureFest!

PHILADELPHIA - As FOX 29 continues to celebrate Black History Month, Thomas Drayton visited the Penn Museum for a sneak peak of their upcoming CultureFest!

CultureFest! is a day-long celebration that will highlight contemporary and traditional cultural practices across the African continent.

Different galleries will host all kinds of family-friendly experiences including art-making, mask-making, live performances, musical demonstrations, a storytelling circle, workshops, and even an African-inspired marketplace.

“In this particular case, we talk about inscribing spiritual meaning,” Dr. Tukufu Zuberi explained on Good Day. “So we start with sculptures from Angola and we conclude with a Meroitic script. Now, that Meroitic script hasn’t even been translated, yet!”

(Penn Museum)

Dr. Zuberi excitedly remarked that “there is a breadth of things to learn from Africa” as he invited visitors to participate in CultureFest.

Beyond historical pieces, there will also be contemporary and modern pieces of works on display to represent the “conversation between Africa and the African diaspora”.

The public is invited to attend the event, which takes place on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

(Penn Museum)

If you cannot make the event but are still interested in immersing in African culture, Penn Museum has one of the largest collections of African objects in the entire nation.

The African Collection showcases artifacts from West Africa, Central Africa, and North Africa with some objects dating back to the 17th century. Most of the collection is interactive.

To learn more about CultureFest! an African and Diasporic Cultures Celebration at the Penn Museum, you can find more information on the event’s website.