The Block Museum is excited to announce the purchase of three works for its permanent collection, acquired through its newly formed Collection Council. These acquisitions—which include two works by photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier and one work by photographer An-My Lê—represent the museum’s commitment to acquiring works that activate teaching, learning, and research using The Block’s […]
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The Block Museum of Art partners with colleague institutions nationally and internationally to loan works from its collection for select exhibition projects. The Block’s Academic Curator, Corinne Granof spotlights a recent visit to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to view works on loan to the museum. Earlier this year, two works in The […]
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The Block Museum of Art and the 2022-23 cohort of Block Museum Student Associates (BMSA) are pleased to announce the selection of four works by artist Derrick Woods-Morrow as the annual student-led museum acquisition. The works, recommended by the Student Associates after a ten-week research and decision process include: Her Name was Saartjie | Not […]
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In The Block Museum’s Eloise W. Martin Study Center – a multifaceted space that offers patrons and classes a setting for up-close study of artwork in the museum’s collection – visiting paper conservator Kim Nichols carefully inspects a piece from The Block’s permanent collection. Because of the clay pigments used in its making, protective tissue […]
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Artist’s multichannel video installation, THE GIVERNY SUITE, will be jointly owned by the three institutions, allowing national access to the powerful artwork The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL; the Hammer Museum at UCLA; and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, will jointly acquire the multichannel video installation The Giverny […]
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Following a ten-week long decision process, The Block Museum of Art and the 2021-2022 Block Museum Student Associates (BMSA) cohort are pleased to announce the acquisition of Blue DNA#1205L – #1201R (2021), Worlds #0318 (2020), and The Beast Diagnosis #8942 (2019) by Illinois-based interdisciplinary artist Michael Koerner. Koerner’s work explores his family history and genetics through […]
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In this online tour Block Museum curators Essi Rönkkö and Kate Hadley Toftness discuss the work of two artists whose works seek to reframe the narratives of history. The discussion focuses on the work of Shan Goshorn and Rosalie Favell, two contemporary artists presenting art as a critical intervention in the histories of harm and […]
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What stands out to you? What do you wonder? The Block Museum Student Associates spent Fall 2021 considering works in the museum’s collection that were on view as part of the exhibition Who Says, Who Shows, What Counts: Thinking about History with The Block’s Collection. While their own work this season involved tours, research, and […]
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Throughout 2020-21 The Block Museum is reflecting on artworks from the collection that explore ideas of excess, consumption, and the environment, and offer an interdisciplinary perspective on the climate crisis. Our project is inspired by The Story of More by Hope Jahren, Northwestern University’s 2021-2022 One Book One Northwestern (OBON) selection. This online talk by […]
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The Block is proud to announce that its undergraduate Student Docent team has made the formal recommendation to Block Museum director Lisa Corrin for the acquisition of Quarantine Blues (2020), a photograph by Chicago-based artist Leonard Suryajaya from his series of the same name. The recommendation comes after an intensive 7-week selection process by the […]
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