Earlier this year, former Block Museum Student Associate Bobby Yalam ’24 presented new research at the 2026 Student Summit organized by the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries. His paper, “When Students Choose: The Relationship between Participatory Acquisitions and LGBTQ+ Representation in University Collections,” explores how student participation in collecting decisions can shape university art […]
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On February 25, 2026, The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University hosted artist Jonathan Castillo for a conversation about his ongoing photographic project Immigrant Owned. He spoke with Myrna García, Associate Professor of Instruction in Latinx Studies, about the stories, processes, and questions that drive his work across Chicago and beyond. “I want people […]
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On March 5, 2026, The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University hosted the online conversation “From Lagos to Bamako: Biennales and Global Conversations in African Photography.” The webinar explored the influential role of the Rencontres de Bamako (Bamako Encounters)—Africa’s longest-running photography biennale—in shaping artistic exchange, professional networks, and critical discourse surrounding contemporary photography across […]
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Artist: Jason Wesaw (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, born 1974, Kalamazoo, MI; lives in Bangor, MI) Title: Water Carries Memory (mbish) and Water Carries Memory (mnedo)Date: 2025 Medium: Oil pastels and leafing ink on watercolor paper Dimensions: Each 17.5 × 23.5 in Credit: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the artist. […]
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Reframe, an ongoing collaboration between Northwestern Department of Athletics and Recreation and The Block Museum of Art, returned this month for its third annual event, bringing student-athletes, coaches, staff, and campus partners together to engage with works from The Block’s collection through conversation and community-building. The initiative connects athletics and the arts through facilitated dialogue, […]
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Artist: Jonathan Michael Castillo (American)Title: Immigrant Owned photo seriesDate: 2022Medium: Inkjet printDimensions: 43 × 55.7 cm, eachCredit: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Art and Community Fund purchase, 2025.27 From February 4 to March 8, 2026, a number of works from this series will be on view in The Living Room at The Block Museum of Art. Chicago’s neighborhoods are […]
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The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University presents Exhausted America, a Block Cinema film series featuring rare 16mm and 35mm screenings that explore endurance, competition, and disillusionment in American life. The series runs February 19 through March 12, 2026, and includes Sydney Pollack’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969), Robert Altman’s […]
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Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawing #215 (1973) is a site-specific “location drawing” realized directly on the gallery wall through a set of written instructions. One of roughly 1,350 wall drawing instructions LeWitt produced, the work reflects his belief that the idea behind a work of art is as central as its final appearance. Because each installation […]
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The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University, announces that Kathleen Bickford Berzock will retire from her position as Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs in June 2026. The Block is immensely grateful for Berzock’s extraordinary contributions to the museum and to Northwestern. Berzock arrived at the University in January 2014, having spent eighteen years as […]
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Artist: Bruce Conner (American, 1933 – 2008)Title: #113Date: 1970Medium: Offset lithograph on paperDimensions: 20 3/16 × 14 1/4 in. Credit: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of The Conner Family Trust, San Francisco, 2025.1.6 From January 5 to February 1, 2026, a number of Bruce Conner’s works will be on view […]
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