Event Details
Date & Time:
Thu January 16, 2025
12:30 PM-1:00 PM
Location:
***Online Program***
on Zoom, register for link (see below)
Audience:
Open to the public
Details:
Join Block Museum staff for a talk considering an artwork from the Block’s collection that reflects on the complexities of oppression, tradition, solidarity, and community, themes central to the 2024–25 One Book One Northwestern selection, The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich.
Our Winter Quarter talk by Teagan Harris, Woven Being Terra Engagement Fellow, will focus on Cherokee Burden Basket: A Song for Balance (2012) by artist Shan Goshorn (Eastern Band of Cherokee). The program will be facilitated by Marisa Cruz Branco, Woven Being Terra Curatorial Fellow.
One Book One Northwestern (OBON) is a university‐wide reading program that aims to engage the campus in a common conversation centered on a carefully chosen, thought-provoking book. The Block is proud to partner annually with One Book to explore the themes of this shared text, selecting artworks from the museum collection that can broaden discussions. Explore all of The Block's 2024-25 One Book One Northwestern artwork selections, here.
Participation level – light, participants may share thoughts and questions throughout the talk via the Zoom Q&A chat box.
Registration is required to receive a Zoom link for this event.
About the Speakers
Teagan Harris (she/her, Cherokee Nation)
Through my work in Chicago museums and in academia, I have had the pleasure of engaging in numerous creative and useful decolonial projects such as creating a community archive that centers oral histories, designing a community space inside of an exhibition, and writing plenty of pages about identity and how it’s shaped by seemingly inconsequential things like movies and music. By putting my ideas into action, I hope to do my part to make the museum a welcoming place that democratizes access to information and engages with community needs in a responsive and open-hearted way. That’s what brought me to the Block Museum of Art where I serve as the Terra Foundation Engagement Fellow creating programming and media to support the exhibition Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak.
Marisa Cruz Branco (she/her, Isleta Pueblo/Portuguese) is the Terra Foundation Curatorial Fellow for Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak/Chicagoland at the Block Museum. Her curatorial practice is guided by subjectivity, empathy, and curiosity. Marisa has a BA in Art History from Pitzer College, where she focused on surrealism and post-humanist philosophy. While at Pitzer, she received a Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and spent a year working under the curator of South and Southeast Asian Art. Since moving to Chicago, Marisa has continued to work in the arts, engaging with Indigenous artists and learning from the city’s Native community. In her free time, she likes to draw comics, read, write, and cook.
The Block Museum of Art acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council.
Contact The Block Museum of Art for more information: (847) 491-4000 or email us at block-museum@northwestern.edu
