Rebecca Fons is always excited to get a call from the Block Cinema team. Fons is Director of Programming at the Gene Siskel Film Center, and usually calls from either of Block Cinema’s co-programmers foreshadow exciting collaborations; in 2022, they anticipated Tsai Ming-liang’s visit to The Block and artist talk plus screening series at the […]
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How might one artwork be used as a point of connection for a deeper understanding of history, artmaking, collecting practices, identity, and more? The Block Museum of Art is proud to publish an interactive close looking project, the result of graduate research centered on the 1996 print Mother and Child by artist Margaret Burroughs (American, 1915 […]
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Artist: Mikki Ferrill (American, born 1937)Title: Untitled, Chicago, ILDate: ca.1965, printed before 1980Medium: Gelatin silver printCredit line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, the Irwin and Andra S. Press Collection Endowment Fund purchase, 2021.15 Image: Courtesy of the artist © Mikki Ferrill In 1960s Chicago, the Black gay and trans communities came […]
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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 […]
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Since 2011, Chicago’s Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project has brought artists, educators, and activists together with incarcerated individuals at Illinois’ Stateville Correctional Center. Through classes, workshops, and exhibitions, PNAP creates opportunities for learning across prison walls, connecting those inside with the tools and resources needed to creatively communicate their concerns to the larger Chicago community. […]
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In the heart of the South Side of Chicago, an 85-acre area abutting a railyard means different things to different people. For more than 400 African American families, it is home. For Norfolk Southern railroad company, it is space to expand its train-to-truck intermodal depot. The 2018 documentary The Area tells a story that’s well known […]
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Each week throughout Spring 2020, a member of The Block’s team has offered selections that resonate with them at this moment. Today, Michael Metzger, Pick-Laudati Curator of Media Arts, chooses the platform to draw attention to a single event with relevance to our moment “The images of police violence that have circulated over the last […]
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On October 30, 2019 the Block hosted an in-depth discussion with Chicago artists Vicko Alvarez Vega, Nicole Marroquin and Diana Solís. Convened and moderated by Sarita Hernández of the National Museum of Mexican Art the panel discussed how their practices are rooted in issues of identity and community, and how ideas and approaches from the exhibition Pop América remain relevant in our contemporary moment
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The EXPO Chicago /Dialogues series features discussions and provocative discourse with artists, curators, and professionals on the current issues that engage them. On September 28, 2018. The Block Museum was proud to take part in a dialogue that included panelists Theaster Gates (Artist | Rebuild Foundation), Corinne Granof (Curator of Academic Programs, Block Museum of Art, […]
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Each September, EXPO CHICAGO opens the fall art season at historic Navy Pier and presents artworks from 135 leading galleries representing 27 countries and 63 cities. EXPO also offers the opportunity to introduce artists and arts professionals from around the world to Chicago’s art offerings. As part of this year’s student guide to the fair […]
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