For many, London is an imaginary landscape, a composite of images that circulate in art, literature, and popular culture. On November 12, 2020 Block Cinema explored this landscape with Unreal City: Film Essays on London by Ayo Akingbade and Reece Auguiste a program of experimental essay films from the UK. The screening was followed by a […]
Partnership Spotlight: Talking “Just Mercy” with the Center for Aphasia Research & Treatment
Earlier this month Block Museum staff had the pleasure of connecting with the Book Club of the Center for Aphasia Research & Treatment at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Like us, this group has been reading the One Book One Northwestern selection Just Mercy. The club talked with Block staff about works in the museum collection that resonate with the text. […]
“We all do come from a place”: A conversation with filmmaker Fox Maxy [Video]
On November 5, 2020 Block Cinema welcomed California-based artist Fox Maxy (Ipai Kumeyaay and Payómkawichum) for a screening and conversation of his work. The works in the program, California Girls (2018), Maat Means Land (2020), and San Diego (2020), offered a prismatic and timely vision of the artist’s home state, viewed through the lens of […]
The Block receives gift of posters by Argentinean Pop Artist Edgardo Giménez
The Block Museum proudly announces a gift of mid-twentieth century posters that significantly expands its holdings of Latin American art, graphic design, and Pop Art. In recognition of the presentation of the exhibition Pop América, 1965–1975 (fall 2019), The Block has received a donation of 18 archival posters by Edgardo Giménez (Argentinean, born 1942). A […]
“It has the shape of recollections”: Joe Proulx on Paul Chan and work with the Iraq Peace Team [Audio]
In 2002, artist Paul Chan was working as a member of the Iraq Peace Team, formed by the Chicago-based activist group Voices in the Wilderness (now Voices for Creative Nonviolence), which was on the ground in Bagdad to protest the imminent Iraqi war. Chan captured the calm before the storm in his “ambient video essay,” […]
“Reconsidering who we serve, how we serve”: Museum directors talk responsibility and action [Video]
What is the role of art museums in this moment nationally and globally as we navigate a pandemic, manage economic upheaval, and grapple with racial injustice? How can museums best activate their public platforms, collections, and programs and strengthen community connections to become new spaces for dialogue, reflection, action, and impact that extend beyond their […]
Now Available: Teaching “Just Mercy” Through the Block’s Collection [PDF]
Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is the One Book One Northwestern reading selection for the 2020-2021 school year. Just Mercy follows Stevenson through the beginning of his career as a lawyer devoted to seeking justice for those who have already been treated unfairly by the judicial system. In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson calls on each […]
“The intersection of politics and media…”: Collection Picks for Election Day
Each week a member of The Block’s team offers selections that resonate with them at this moment. [View our archive of selections]. In the days before the 2020 election Kathleen Bickford Berzock, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs, shares three works in the Block Collection she has been thinking about. Tuesday, November 3 is Election Day. […]
Meet our 2020-2021 Intern: Bailey Pekar
The Block Museum is proud to continue its paid internship program by welcoming Bailey Pekar for the FY20-21 year. As part of the Block Museum of Art internship program, our students are conducting directed research on works of art in the permanent collection, assisting with curatorial research, and working with our new collection database. All Block interns take […]
Walls Turned Sideways: Artists Confront the Justice System [Audio]
In October 2018, the Block Museum hosted a panel discussion with Chicago artists committed to prison reform and to using art as a mechanism for change. In recognition of the 2020-2021 One Book One Northwestern reading selection Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption we are happy to make audio and transcript of this […]