On February 21, over 100 Northwestern University student-athletes, coaches, staff, and community partners gathered in Walter Athletics Center for an evening of lively conversation.

The evening’s subject–not upcoming games or strategy–but art.

The Block Museum of Art and Northwestern Athletics were proud to host the special event, which was called “Reframe” in acknowledgment of the framing role art can offer in supporting education, reflection, dialogue, and self-expression.

The event was offered in celebration of Black History Month and as an important moment in The Block’s multi-year partnership with NU Athletics. The partnership, led by visual artist and former Wildcat student-athlete Dwight White II, seeks to share the museum as a campus resource and create conditions for student-athletes, coaches, and staff to have meaningful encounters with works of art.

“For a long time, I’ve been excited about the idea of what the intersection of art and sport looks like and why it’s meaningful,” said Dwight White II, former Northwestern student-athlete turned artist and designer, in remarks at the event. 

The evening reflected the ongoing work that has developed through an intentional collaboration between Northwestern Athletics’ JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) group, The Block Museum, and White that leverages the powerful intersection of art and athletics to build community.

“”It has been a joy to see this program come to life,” said Erin Northington, Susan and Stephen Wilson Associate Director, Campus and Community Education and Engagement, at The Block. “Through this partnership, we want all NU student-athletes to know that The Block’s collection is a resource to spark new ways of seeing, and support conversations that matter. The museum is a place for you, during your time on campus and beyond.”  

The Reframe Project also included trainings for Northwestern Athletics staff and student-athletes on how to use art to facilitate conversations about issues relevant to the student-athlete experience as well as the development of a print resource framing art selections that open reflection on identity, belonging, and empathy.

As part of the evening’s program White, whose athletic career ended unexpectedly after a severe injury, shared the story of how turning to art helped him heal emotionally. From his injury and recovery emerged his love for art. 

“I spent a lot of time literally in a basement – which might sound depressing, but in that basement, I found myself,” White said. “In that basement, I started creating,” he shared with the assembled athletes.

At Reframe, White debuted a new piece of original art rich with connections to The Block’s collection. Through his collaboration with the museum’s engagement team, he explored the museum’s holdings and channeled the ways it spoke to him into new work. 

“I thought about all of those works and I thought about the rich conversation and dialogue that we were having at The Block Museum,” he said. “And I thought about ways that I could use symbols and imagery and typography to represent that on campus, to hopefully spark an interest or an emotion or anything for you in the room today.” 

Alongside work of his own, White also selected a pair of pieces from The Block’s collection, which were displayed on digital screens at the event: Deborah Roberts’ collage She’s Mighty Mighty and Omar Victor Diop’s photograph Juan de Paraja, from the series Project Diaspora.

“On the digital screens throughout the room, you’ll see two images of works from the museum’s collection that Dwight has selected specifically for the ways that they may connect with the student-athlete experience,” Northington said. “And we invite you to take a look and to see what you think.” 

As food from local Black-owned businesses Soul & Smoke and C&W Ice Cream was served and attendees entered through a purple carpet-adorned hallway lit with the purple glow of colored lights, they had the opportunity to reflect on the selected artworks’ themes of identity and strength.

Of the event’s title, Northington said it was a nod to art’s capacity to help us rethink ourselves. 

“Reframe, in our thinking, is a nod to how artists and their art help us to reframe how we see ourselves, each other, and the communities we want to build,” she said. “We see and feel the power of this every day in our work at The Block.” 

She added that she hoped the event – and the connections it aimed to foster between The Block and Northwestern Athletics – inspired attendees to spend time in The Block’s galleries learning and reflecting through art. 

The partnership that led to Reframe began two years ago, when Northwestern Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Dr. Derrick Gragg invited Northington to one of his department’s all-staff meetings.  

“That became the start of this beautiful thing that we’ve developed from a collaboration and why we are all here today,” said Maria Sanchez, Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.  

From that initial convening of unlikely partners came years of work building meaningful relationships and cross-disciplinary engagements to bridge the distance between north and south campus, and more significantly, any preconceived notions about who art is and isn’t for.  

“Being able to walk around the room and witness everyone engaging with the artwork in a meaningful manner was truly a culmination,” said DJ Huff, JEDI Fellow, Northwestern University. “The themes evoked by pieces can be challenging, but the community dove in headfirst with the help of our amazing staff and student-athlete facilitators. I am truly happy that our community got to explore the intersection that art has with not only athletics, but also the intersection it has with all the identities we hold.”