PIFA 2013 Google HangOut - Artists Preview New Works that Interpret Moments in Natural Science

Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts 2013 is hosting a series of Google HangOut virtual press conferences with selected artistic partners to preview their works. On April 16th, the HangOut will feature two groups that have chosen to explore natural sciences. Participants can use #PIFAhangout via Twitter to submit questions for the panel moderator to pass on to the partners.

April 21, 753 BCE - Rome's Birthday

Partner: Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

This year's Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts asks, "If you had a time machine..." what would you do? Penn Museum celebrates Rome's birthday (April 21, 753 BCE) by inviting guests back through time to explore Italy during the ancient Roman Empire with an afternoon of activities. Visitors can enjoy gladiatorial bouts, try on helmets and shields, and reenact battle formations, as well as enjoy music, food, and arts and crafts. Enthusiasts can also visit the Museum's permanent exhibition, Worlds Intertwined: Greeks, Romans, and Etruscans, and learn more about the history of Italy, from Etruscan to Roman civilizations, by viewing over 1,000 artifacts including marble and bronze sculptures, jewelry, gold and silver coins, metalwork, glass vessels, and more.

Sep 20, 2013 - Scientists Test a Time Machine; "Shut Your Worm Hole"

Partner: Tribe of Fools

If you had a time machine where would you go? Once you were there, could you return to the present? What if you found out that your trip to the past indirectly caused Jean-Claude Van Dam to become president? "Shut Your Wormhole" is a comic romp into the ethics and paradoxes of time travel.

Using song, dance, and slapstick, Tribe of Fools create a fast-paced, five-part serial that comically explores the paradoxes that we often overlook when we think about time travel and the ethics that inevitably come along with the technology to change history.

The HangOut will be streaming live here: http://pifa-philly.tumblr.com/hangout