DeKALB, ILL. – The Northern Illinois University School of Art and Design offers a unique opportunity to see art exhibitions in four university gallery spaces in one evening, and attend the naming of the Student Art Gallery. The progressive art crawl begins at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, September 14 on the main campus at the NIU Art Museum located in Altgeld Hall. The crawl continues just a short walk from Altgeld Hall to two gallery spaces in Jack Arends Hall (the visual arts building), and concludes at Gallery 215, located at 215 Fourth Street in DeKalb.
At 6 p.m. a brief ceremony will be held to officially name the student gallery space in Arends Hall the Annette and Jerry Johns Student Art Gallery. Jerry Johns taught more than 6,000 students in more than 30 years as an assistant professor of reading in the NIU College of Education. Annette Johns focused her work on philosophy, education and the arts. Together the couple, who have been married for 53 years, have touched the lives of thousands of learners all over the world. In 2016, the NIU Foundation honored Annette and Jerry with the award for High Impact Philanthropy in recognition of their lifelong commitment to giving.
Art crawl times and exhibition descriptions:
5:00 – 5:30 p.m. – NIU Art Museum, Altgeld Hall
Objectifying the Photograph
A group exhibition of contemporary artists broadening our definition of photography.
The artists’ work addresses the materiality, substance and objecthood of photography—drawing attention to the production and alteration of images in our postmodern digital age.
This exhibition is co-curated by NIU School of Art and Design Assistant Professors Jessica Labatte, Photography and Mike Rea, Sculpture and includes artists: Pamela Bannos, Alex Chitty, Joshua Citarella, Jeanne Dunning, Min Kim Park, Letha Wilson and Hyounsang Yoo.
5:30 – 7:00 p.m. – Jack Arends Art Building
Construct: Contemporary Artists Exploring the Built Environment, Jack Olson Gallery
Curated by Peter Van Ael (Anthony Adcock Michelle Bosak Frankie Flood, Gerry Guthry, Ania Jaworska, Roland Kulla, Jessica Meuninck, Noritaka Minami)
6:00 p.m. – Dedication of the Annette and Jerry Johns Student Art Gallery
Behind Closed Curtains: A Selection from the NIU Student Association Art Collection
Curated by Jessica Bryant and Peter Van Ael.
6:30 – 8:00 p.m. – Gallery 215, 215 Fourth Street, DeKalb
Student Exhibit: A Community of Ideas
Curated by Jessica Bryant featuring School of Art and Design student selections and the work of the Women’s Studies Center
Student Co-op Gallery: Art Entrepreneurship and Enterprise
Northern Illinois University is a student-centered, nationally recognized public research university, with expertise that benefits its region and spans the globe in a wide variety of fields, including the sciences, humanities, arts, business, engineering, education, health and law. Through its main campus in DeKalb, Illinois, and education centers for students and working professionals in Chicago, Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Oregon and Rockford, NIU offers more than 100 courses of study while serving a diverse and international student body of about 19,000. The 17 NIU Huskie athletic teams compete in the Mid-American Conference at the highest NCAA Division I level. For more information, visit www.niu.edu.
