The Village at Penn State retirement community in State College, PA, has much to offer its residents, but the cultural life of the community has become even richer since Pat H. moved from Los Angeles, CA, to the Village. She brings with her years of professional experience in the Museum and Art Gallery worlds, which she shares with VPS residents, community members, and artists alike, serving as Executive Director of the nearby Bellefonte Museum for Centre County.

Pat says, “One of the exciting aspects of living at The Village and also being involved with Bellefonte Museum is being able to curate exhibits that capture the stunning landscapes in this area to show on The Art Wall at The Village at Penn State. Some of the artists are quite well known, and show in galleries in New York or in other cities throughout the country, but they choose to live in this part of Pennsylvania due to the natural beauty and affordability,” asserts Pat.

She explains, “After we curate and install The Art Wall exhibits, we invite the individual artists to come to The Village to give talks about their work to residents. The residents enjoy asking questions about the artists’ inspiration, creative process, and careers which everyone seems to enjoy. The Artist talks here at The Village are so stimulating that at times they go on for two hours and end only because we all have so many other activities to pursue in a day.”

Enriching the Local Community

Some of the enchanting landscapes that artists living in the area have depicted and shown at The Village on The Art Wall have been featured in a book entitled, Landscapes of Central Pennsylvania, which Pat published in conjunction with The Bellefonte Museum, and which is currently sold out.

Not only has Pat shared a deep of appreciation of Fine Art with residents at The Village, but she has enriched the local community with dynamic programs and exhibitions at The Museum, which often dove tail with events at Penn State University. These often intersect with projects of Penn State University Faculty and students, such as the permanent exhibit on the Underground Railroad at The Museum.

“We try to create exhibitions that reflect the history, beauty, cultural diversity of the region,” Pat explains. “Some fascinating exhibits connect science, art and the community through painting, sculpture, ink drawings and other media exhibitions, focusing on the nature’s dark side of farm life, under sea odyssey  adventures, planetary exploration, pregnancy and motherhood, and an exhibit of retired art teachers’ own paintings.”

Fundraising activities allow the Museum to open for visitors on weekends in addition to weekdays for school field trips and local corporations to host events at The Museum.