The Block is delighted to welcome Emmanuel Ramos-Barajas as the museum’s 2026–2027 interdisciplinary graduate fellow. Emmanuel is a doctoral candidate in Screen Cultures at Northwestern University whose research examines how cultural production across Mexico and the United States has shaped understandings of national identity, placemaking, and history. At The Block, he brings this perspective to […]
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What does a major cultural landmark bring to a city, and how do the people who live around it help shape its future? On October 9, 2026, The Block Museum of Art welcomed journalist Natalie Y. Moore and historian Leslie M. Harris for a conversation about the Obama Presidential Center and its place in Chicago’s […]
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The Block Museum of Art introduces its 2026–2027 cohort of Block Museum Student Associates (BMSAs): 21 Northwestern students whose studies span more than 20 academic fields. From art history, classics, and journalism to neuroscience, data science, and environmental engineering, these students bring a wide range of interests, experiences, and approaches to looking at art. Together, […]
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The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University has received a $10,000 Creative Projects Grant from the Illinois Arts Council to commission four Chicago-area filmmakers to create new 16mm films exploring Lake Michigan. Titled Lake Effects: Shoreline Visions by Chicago Filmmakers, the project will provide artists with funding, film stock, and production services, culminating in […]
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The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University has received a $28,910 Matching Grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation to preserve two experimental animated films by artist Rowena Pattee Kryder: Metamorphosis (1962) and Passages (1982). Kryder (1935–2014) is a largely overlooked figure in postwar experimental animation. Working outside commercial studios, she created films through […]
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How do images shape the way we experience a city? On September 30, 2026, The Block Museum of Art welcomed art historian Greg Foster-Rice for the exhibition keynote for Picturing the Modern Metropolis: Prints and Photographs from The Block’s Collection. Drawing on works in the exhibition, Foster-Rice explored how artists capture urban life and influence […]
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Each fall, The Block Museum Student Associates begin their year with an invitation to spend time in the galleries and follow their curiosity. Their first assignment asks them to choose objects that catch their attention and write about what they notice, what interests them, and what questions emerge. There is just one condition: no outside […]
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The nation’s only sustained partnership between an academic art museum and an athletics program foregrounds student-athletes’ perspectives. Northwestern opened the new Ryan Field on October 2, putting its athletics program in the national spotlight. What spectators see from stadium seats or living room couches reflects years of effort and an important part of student-athletes’ identities. […]
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Meet Vicky Wang, a Northwestern University student majoring in Art History with a minor in Art Theory and Practice and pursuing the Segal Design Certificate in the McCormick School of Engineering. Originally from Taipei, Taiwan, Vicky is interested in the intersection of Japanese and Western art, as well as the relationship between fashion and social […]
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Meet Angelina Randazzo, a Northwestern University senior studying Radio/Television/Film and earning a certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications. A filmmaker from Metro Detroit, Angelina is interested in how moving-image work, photography, and documentation intersect with contemporary art. As a curatorial intern at The Block Museum of Art, she is exploring those connections within the museum’s collection, […]
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