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Teach, Learn, and Connect through Art

April 19-August 22, 2021

Behold, Be Held

Behold, Be Held uses the facades of The Block, the neighboring Ethel M. Barber Theater, and the building of our community partner Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.) as an outdoor gallery.

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April 19 - August 22, 2021Behold, Be Held

Our 2020-21 Student Docent Team

Learn more about our extraordinary group of Block guides, educators, ambassadors, facilitators, and leaders.

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Our 2020-21 Student Docent Team

Thinking about History with The Block's Collection – Our 40th Anniversary Initiative

2020 marks the 40th anniversary of The Block Museum of Art. Join as for projects, programs, and stories that use the museum's collection as as springboard for thinking about history.

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Thinking about History with The Block's Collection – Our 40th Anniversary Initiative

May 6-June 21, 2021

A Bruising Gaze on a Faltering Landscape: 2021 Art Theory and Practice MFA Thesis Exhibition

A Bruising Gaze on a Faltering Landscape is the culminating thesis work of Shabtai Pinchevsky and Katherine Simóne Reynolds, candidates of the 2021 MFA degree program in Art, Theory and Practice, Northwestern University.

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May 6 - June 21, 2021A Bruising Gaze on a Faltering Landscape: 2021 Art Theory and Practice MFA Thesis Exhibition

Upcoming Programs

Free and Open to All, Online

Cinema

The Impasse of Blackness: Interrogating the Possibility of Resolution

Bringing together feature-length and short films from the 1980s to the present, this program questions the possibility of resolution as it relates to the violence of anti-Blackness. Through their work, filmmakers Ngozi Onwurah, Ebun Sodipo, and the collective Languid Hands (Imani Robinson and Rabz Lansiquot) reckon with the afterlives of Trans-Atlantic slavery and colonialism

“A museum is not a neutral space. Every exhibition we organize, every work of art we acquire, every program we host—requires choices and each is an opportunity to present with intent. The power of this moment includes a heightened awareness of the privilege to choose and what is at stake when we do it. ”

– Lisa Corrin, The Block Museum Ellen Philips Katz Director

Stories from The Block

Collection Reflections - Our Picks

Block Museum staff reflect on the current moment by offering selections from our collections and archive. Check out these thoughtful weekly picks.

Exploring Chicago’s art history from an Indigenous perspective

The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University is the recipient of a $105,000 grant from the Terra Foundation of American Art in support of research and development for an exhibition that approaches the art history of the Chicago region from Indigenous perspectives.

Partnership Spotlight: Mapping identity with The Leadership Project

In Fall 2020, the Block’s Engagement Department was proud to continue its years-long history of collaboration with Evanston’s Y.O.U. (Youth & Opportunity United)

‘Caravans of Gold’ app reaches global audience by going small

What crosses continents, can travel 13 centuries into the past, and takes up just 10 MB on a smartphone? The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University has released a free mobile web app designed to share the groundbreaking touring exhibition Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time with international audiences.

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