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Philly Arts and Culture Fair Credit: Maegan Cadet , Maegan Cadet

For some Penn students, such as Fine Arts major and College senior Allie Zuckerman, “Penn is a pre-professional, business-oriented school — not really focused on the arts.” Friday’s Philly Arts and Culture Fair aimed to shift that perception.

Intended to inform students of the available opportunities in the arts, the annual gathering of more than 20 fine arts groups dispensed information and free giveaways. Students stepped out of the rain and into the 1920 Commons basement to explore some of the fine arts programs available on and around Penn’s campus.

The fine arts representatives hoped to increase awareness of the available cultural resources, primarily among freshmen. They “want people to know about the arts happening in the city,” said College sophomore Noah Levine, a PennArts Ambassador who helped run the event.

A desire for increased visibility also motivated several groups to appear at the fair. “We are looking to find more student patrons,” Harry Slack, a company member of the nonprofit Curio Theatre in West Philadelphia, said. As part of the search, he added, the company puts on plays of works that are popular among students. “We try to appeal to material students read in college,” he explained.

Other organizations enjoyed the student presence at the fair, hoping to draw more Quakers to their events.

“This is a great program. We feel that a lot of Penn students don’t venture off campus too often,” Jill Sybesma, the Adult Programs coordinator at the Academy of Natural Sciences, said. For that reason, she “love[s] bringing out news of adult programming to Penn.”

Some students planned on pursuing the opportunity to explore their passions. “I love the arts,” College freshman Gabrielle Patterson said. “I am thinking of being a fine arts major — I wanted to see what different kinds of art there are in Philly.”

Others enjoyed the attempts to court the new students. Trinh Thach, a College freshman, said that “It’s great being a freshman — being open to everything. You get to go to free shows and get free goodies.”

Fine arts majors may see the arts fair as an opportunity to bring out Penn’s artistic side. “This is a part of bringing arts to Penn students,” said Zuckerman, who is studying the fine arts.

Student attendance exceeded 100, according to Maria Dietrich, assistant to the director of the University Life Arts Initiative. “We had a very good turnout this year, in spite of the rain,” said Sybesma.

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