A New Drop-In Space for Art, Reflection, and Connection Opens This September

This fall, The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University invites visitors to experience art a little differently—with a couch, a cup of coffee, and just one artwork at a time.

Launching September 2025 and running throughout the fall and winter quarters, The Living Room is a museum initiative created with students in mind and open to all. Designed as a comfortable, flexible drop-in space, The Living Room centers close-looking and curiosity, showcasing a single artwork each month from the museum’s collection alongside prompts and participatory activities.

In an era of fast-paced scrolling and many competing priorities, The Living Room offers a space to slow down. Visitors are encouraged to settle in, bring a friend, and spend time with the artwork with a rotating set of reflections and hands-on materials developed by The Block Museum Student Associates, a paid cohort of Northwestern undergraduates who serve as advisors and ambassadors for the museum’s work.

The gallery features two anchor experiences: a Look Close wall that encourages visual exploration through prompts and sketching to build museum-going literacy and comfort, and a See Far wall where visitors can take home activity postcards and respond to a rotating big idea question that extends the experience outside the museum walls:

How does art help you understand yourself or the world differently?

“The Living Room invites students into the museum in a way that feels personal, flexible, and low-pressure,” said Erin Northington, Susan and Stephen Wilson Associate Director, Campus and Community Education and Engagement. “By focusing on just one artwork at a time, we encourage close looking and build space for reflection and dialogue to unfold naturally.”

As part of a university art museum, The Living Room reflects the distinctive potential of academic museums to serve as laboratories for interdisciplinary learning and human connection. Academic art museums are not just places to view art—they are unique spaces to think, question, gather, and grow. By integrating artworks into the rhythms of student life, The Block affirms the museum’s role as a site of intellectual, emotional and social engagement that extends far beyond the classroom.

This student-centered initiative reflects a broader vision of the museum’s role on campus. “The Living Room embodies The Block’s vision to be a space that connects students across Northwestern,” said Lisa Corrin, Ellen Philips Katz Executive Director. “It encourages students to see the museum as a place for ideas, inquiry, and belonging—not just during class, but throughout their time at the university.”

From weekly coffee hours to quiet solo study to occasional discussion-based programming, The Living Room is a space where art becomes part of the everyday. Whether visitors are looking to take a mindful pause, meet a friend, study for a class, or see something new, they are invited to make themselves at home with one artwork at a time.

On view Fall 2025:

Sept. 8 – Oct. 5

Igshaan Adams (South African, born 1982)

Klip Gooi, Stone Throw III, 2021

Wooden, glass, gemstone and semi-precious stone beads, metal charms, metal garden fence, chain, variety of metal wires (copper or brass), polyester and nylon rope. 110.79 x 28.74 x 36.61 inches

Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of James and Anne DeNaut courtesy Vail Caldwell Projects, 2025.15.

Read Collection Spotlight

Oct. 8 – Nov. 9

Ken Fandell (American, born 1971)

The Sky Above My Home (10/7/2002–6/14/2003, Chicago, Illinois), 2003.

Photograph. 58 1/4 in x 105 in.
Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Peter Norton, 2016.4.9.

Nov. 12 – Dec. 14

Dyani White Hawk (Sičáŋǧu Lakota, born 1976)

They Gifted (Day), 2025and They Gifted (Night), 2025

Color screenprint on paper. 58 x 28 1/2 inches (each)

Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Julie and Lawrence Bernstein Family Art Acquisition Fund purchase, 2025.7.1.

Weekly Coffee Break:

Visitors are invited to join Coffee Break in The Living Room every Wednesday from 3–5 PM for a free warm drink and conversation—no RSVP required.

Location & Admission

The Living Room is located inside The Block Museum of Art at 40 Arts Circle Drive on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. Admission is always free and open to the public. To learn more about the artworks on view, upcoming rotations, or to download activity materials, visit: blockmuseum.northwestern.edu