Northwestern Learning

Middle Eastern North African Student Association recognized for their Block collaboration

The Block is excited to congratulate the Middle Eastern North African (MENA) Student Association on their Winter 2023 Wildcat Impact Award. The Wildcat Impact Awards are given quarterly by the Office of Student Affairs to honor and recognize students and student organizations who have contributed to bettering student life, campus engagement and inclusivity at Northwestern. […]

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Collection Spotlight

Collection Spotlight: The Arabic Alphabet portfolio (1973), Hussein Madi

Artist: Hussein Madi (Lebanese, born 1938)Title: The Arabic Alphabet portfolioDate: 1973Medium: 30 etchings on cotton paperDimensions:  Each 30 x 24.4 cmCredit line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Sami Khalifé, M.D. As part of his varied practice, artist Hussein Madi has explored Arabic letters, words, and calligraphy. In The Arabic Alphabet (1973), a portfolio of thirty […]

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Global Perspectives, Programs & Events

“Here is Where I am Now”: A conversation with Samia Halaby [Video]

The exhibitionTaking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s on view at The Block in Fall 2022 explores mid-20th-century abstract art from North Africa, West Asia, and the Arab diaspora—a vast geographic expanse that encompasses diverse cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious backgrounds. Comprising nearly 90 works by artists from countries including Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, […]

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Global Perspectives, Programs & Events

Opening Conversation: Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World [Video]

The Block’s Fall 2022 exhibition, Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s explores the wide range of nonfigurative art practices that flourished in the Arab world over the course of four decades. Looking critically at narratives of mid-20th-century abstraction, the exhibition rethinks art-historical canons and expands conversations around global modernisms. The exhibition keynote conversation on […]

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Exhibition Stories, Global Perspectives

New exhibition broadens view of abstract art with works from Arab world and beyond

Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s on view at The Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University September 22 – December 4, 2022 From September 22 – December 4, 2022 the Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University will present Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s.  The exhibition explores mid-20th-century abstract art […]

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