Feb 28, 2025 | NIU Art Museum, xArtMuseumNews, xCVPA, xFeatured
While so much has seemed unknown for so many of late, the NIU Art Museum took a stab at a mysterious suite of exhibitions. “Windows to the Subconscious” is a juried exhibition exploring the meaning of dreams. It features the work of 13 artists selected from applicants from around the country who responded to our call for entry asking for their perceptions on dreams and nightmares. The selected artists are Brandin Barón, Natalie Christensen, Marcella Hackbardt, Sandra Leonard, B. Lynch, Alejandro Mazon, Mark Pease, Mary Porterfield, Janelle Rebel, Jeffery Reinhart, Maria Robinson, Martha Wagner and Liu Yang.
“Surrealist Classics from the Museum Collection” features another 13 artists: Hans (Jean) Arp, Hans Bellmer, Salvador Dalí, Georgio de Chirico, Paul Delvaux, Max Ernst, Fernand Léger, René Magritte, Roberto Matta, André Masson, Joan Miró, Man Ray and Odilon Redon. These pieces come from a donation by Melvin and Dicky Pfaelzer that would become the foundation of the NIU Art Museum. Initially associating as a group in the 1920s, the Surrealists were deeply interested in interpreting dreams as conduits for unspoken feelings and desires.
“Phantasmagraphica: The Early Psychedelic Work of British Artist Douglas Binder” includes a selection of intriguing gouache paintings on paper and a panel from a larger triptych donated to the museum by M.A. Lipschultz of Chicago. This sampling of Binder’s work in the collection was selected by museum curator Peter B. Olson along with NIU M.A. in art history John Hosta (2024). Hosta’s project entailed accessioning the large donation of Binder’s work, interpreting the pieces, photographing and condition reporting the artwork, and conducting interviews with Douglas Binder.
“A Deb Sokolow Sampler: 20 Years of Speculative Drawing” rounds out the suite. Sokolow is a Chicago-based artist for whom observed reality becomes a point of departure for researching and imagining the unknown and the plausible.
These four shows will be on display from March 19 to May 10 with a public reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 19. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday; noon to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday; noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday; and by appointment for group tours.
Images
“Windows to the Subconscious”
Marcella Hackbardt, “Dream Kitchen,” 2022, Archival pigment print.
“Surrealist Classics from the Museum Collection”
Max Ernst, “Sign for A School for Pirates,” 1965, Lithograph. Gift of Melvin Pfaelzer, 1975.61
“Phantasmagraphica…”
Douglas Binder, “Procession,” 1970, Gouache and graphite on paper. Gift of M.A. Lipschultz, 2023.21
“A Deb Sokolow Sampler…”
Deb Sokolow: “Visualizing An Interstitial Zone of Space,” 2023, Graphite, crayon, colored pencil, pastel and collage on paper.
Parking on the Northern Illinois University main campus is administered through AIMS Mobile Pay or parking pay stations available in the visitor pay lot located at 200 Carroll Ave. and at accessible parking spaces in front of Lowden Hall with accessible aisles and route to Altgeld Hall. Campus parking is free on weekends and after 5 p.m. weeknights in nearby Lots 3 and 14.
Interested in becoming an NIU Art Museum member? Membership entitles you to priority registration and discounted fees on Get-On-The-Bus Trips, exhibition announcements, special, member-only previews, receptions and special events, a subscription to Museum Notes newsletter and a 20% discount on NIU Art Museum catalogues. Friend, or basic, annual membership rates are Individual: $25; Dual: $45; Student: $10; Senior: $15; and Dual Senior: $25. Sponsor- and patron-level annual memberships, at $100 and $250 respectively, include the option of an artist print as a premium and free NIU Art Museum-produced catalogues. Benefactor-level annual membership is $500 with the option of a private tour (several options to choose from). Payment may be made by credit card, cash or check. Students must attach a current student ID to their membership application. The NIU Art Museum can process your membership over the phone (815-753-1936).
You can apply for membership at the museum or print the online form available at https://www.niu.edu/artmuseum/join/index.shtml and mail it with your payment to the NIU Art Museum, 1425 W. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb, IL 60115.
Jan 31, 2025 | NIU Art Museum, xArtMuseumNews, xCVPA, xFeatured
The Get-On-The-Bus Trips of the NIU Art Museum are great ways to meet other art lovers, keep up with what’s happening in the art world, see innovative historical exhibits and travel without the hassle of traffic, tolls and parking. Bus trips are planned to take advantage of the best visual art offerings in the region, in correlation with the museum’s own exhibitions and by suggestion of the members of the Friends of the NIU Art Museum.
Coach USA/Van Galder buses include large, comfortable reclining seats, Wi-Fi and a restroom, and they undergo intensive cleaning and sanitation after each trip, featuring filtration of the onboard air every two minutes and a complete replacement with fresh, outside air every 10 minutes. Van Galder bus drivers participate in a Greenroad program gaining points for conscientious environmental driving practices.
The Hop-In-The-Van Trips are driven by museum staff in NIU minivans so the number of participants is very limited, hence we save these special trips for members of the Friends of the NIU Art Museum. If not a member yet, you should join!
Saturday, Feb. 22
Get-on-the-Bus Trip: A Selection of Southside Chicago Museums/Art Centers
Join us for our upcoming bus trip to the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) for their exhibition “Semilla: Cecilia Beaven, Solo Exhibition,” and their wonderful permanent collection, then break for lunch in Pilsen before heading to the Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) which is also showing the work of Cecilia Beaven in “Flickering Cocoon.” We will then drive over to the University of Chicago to explore the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art (SMA) hosting “The 50th: An Anniversary Exhibition” and then to “Theaster Gates: When Clouds Roll Away” celebrating Johnson Publishing (Ebony and Jet magazines) at the Stony Island Arts Bank (ReBuild Foundation) and dinner in Hyde Park. Much to discover on a full art day.
Payment and registration deadline: Friday, Feb. 7. Lunch costs in Pilsen and dinner in Hyde Park on your own. Several options available.
Bus begins boarding at 8:45 a.m. Departure: 9 a.m. Expected return: 9 p.m.
Cost: $55 NIU Art Museum members, $60 seniors/students, $65 nonmembers.
Friday, April 4
Get-on-the-Bus Trip: Conservation Center and West Loop Galleries
Join us for our upcoming bus trip for a special guided tour of the Conservation Center of Chicago located in a Jeanne Gang-remodeled warehouse. You will be able to get up close to see the projects the Center is working on and learn about all the different media that they refurbish and save. This day is still in the planning stage, but we will certainly venture to see the current art shows in the West Loop Gallery District.
Payment and registration deadline: Thursday, March 6. Lunch on your own by the Conservation Center after our tour.
Bus begins boarding at 8 a.m. Departure: 8:15 a.m. for our 10 a.m. guided tour. Expected return: 8 p.m.
Cost: $50 NIU Art Museum members, $55 seniors/students, $60 nonmembers.
Details about our June 25-29 South Central Iowa art, architecture and history trip to be posted soon. Mark the dates!
Thursday, July 10
Members-only Hop-In-The-Van Trip: Evanston and Des Plaines
Join us for our upcoming NIU Art Museum members-only van trip when we visit the Evanston Art Center. We will dine together for lunch in downtown Evanston before heading to the campus of Northwestern University to visit the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art and view “Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak/Chicagoland,” an exhibit that explores confluences that continue to shape Indigenous creative practices in the region and beyond. We will then drive to Des Plaines to the Oakton College campus, tour their outdoor sculpture and then join the festivities for a public opening reception for acclaimed Chicago artist Eleanor Spiess-Ferris’ “Drinking the Moon.”
Payment and registration deadline: Thursday, July 3. Lunch costs on your own. Evening snacks at the Oakton reception.
Vans begin boarding at 9:55 a.m. Departure: 10 a.m. Expected return: 10 p.m.
Cost: $50. Limited capacity.
Payment for NIU Art Museum bus trips may be made with check, cash or credit card, 815-753-1936.
The NIU Art Museum office is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and is located on the first floor, west end of Altgeld Hall (the castle at the corner of College and Castle Drives) behind stairwell C.
Payment must be made in advance to guarantee your seat on the bus. NIU Art Museum members receive discounts on our bus trips as well as access to members-only trips. Please note, dates and prices of bus trips are subject to change and trips are frequently added throughout the year, so please check our website for the most updated information.
Buses load on Carroll Avenue north of Locust Street (on the north side of the NIU parking garage) on the NIU DeKalb campus. Vans load on Locust. The city of DeKalb has closed a portion of Normal Road that runs through campus from the south end of Founders Memorial Library to the intersection with Lucinda Avenue. Those using the south end of Normal Road to reach parking areas will need to be aware of new traffic patterns in the area. Anyone using the parking garage or visitor parking lot should make sure to enter campus from Lincoln Highway (Route 38) to prevent delayed arrival. Parking (other than reserved spots) is free on campus on the weekend. During the week, parking is administered through AIMS Mobile Pay or parking pay stations available in the visitor pay lot located at 200 Carroll Ave.
Interested in becoming an NIU Art Museum member? Membership entitles you to priority registration and discounted fees on Get-On-The-Bus Trips, exhibition announcements, special, member-only previews, receptions and special events, a subscription to Museum Notes newsletter, and a 20% discount on NIU Art Museum catalogues. Friend, or basic, annual membership rates are Individual: $25; Dual: $45; Student: $10; Senior: $15; and Dual Senior: $25. Sponsor- and patron-level annual memberships, at $100 and $250 respectively, include the option of an artist print as a premium and free NIU Art Museum-produced catalogues. Benefactor-level annual membership is $500 with the option of a private tour (several options to choose from). Payment may be made by credit card, cash or check. Students must attach a current student ID to their membership application. The NIU Art Museum can process your membership over the phone (815-753-1936).
You can apply for membership at the museum or print the online form available at https://www.niu.edu/artmuseum/join/index.shtml and mail it with your payment to the NIU Art Museum, 1425 W. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb, IL 60115.
Nov 19, 2024 | NIU Art Museum, xArtMuseumNews, xCVPA, xFeatured
The Northern Illinois University Art Museum is pleased to announce the NIU College of Visual and Performing Arts 2024-2025 Faculty Biennial exhibition on display in the museum’s Altgeld Hall galleries Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, through Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. Shown every two years, this invitational exhibition will not only feature artwork and scholarship of current full-time and part-time faculty and teaching staff from the School of Art and Design, but work from the School of Music and School of Theatre and Dance as well. A public opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21.
Aleksandra Giza, “Doubt,” 2024.
The work on display represents the activity and interests of individual members in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Work includes the fields of art foundations; art history; ceramics; dance; drawing; illustration; painting; photography; printmaking; sculpture; theatre history, literature and criticism; theatre costume design and costume technology; time arts; and visual communication.
Featuring work and scholarship from: School of Art and Design: art and design education: Kryssi Staikidis and Shei-Chau Wang; art foundations: John Siblik and Ben Stone; art history: Sarah Evans and Rebecca Houze; design and media art: Riley Brown, Amy Fleming, Aleksandra Giza, Maria Grillo, Jessica Labatte, Perrin Stamatis, Amanda VanValkenburg and Jullian Young; studio art: Michael Barnes, Marisol Cervantes, Billie Giese, Cynthia Hellyer-Heinz, Jim Kearns, Millicent Kennedy, Kimberly Martens, Ari Norris, Nina Rizzo, Geoffrey Todd Smith and Frank Trankina; teaching Staff: Janelle Rae and Veronica Storc; School of Music: Lucia Matos; School of Theatre and Dance: dance: Rich Grund; design and technology: Jeremy W. Floyd; history, literature and criticism: Gibson Cima.
Please check our website go.niu.edu/artmuseumevents for our hours, program schedule and instructions on how to join virtual talks. Have our event announcements and program information delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up at go.niu.edu/artmuseumsubscribe.
Calendar of Events
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024
Public Opening Reception, 5 to 7 p.m.
Refreshments provided.
Location: NIU Art Museum Galleries
Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025
The Fairy Tale of Wholeness, 5 p.m.
Associate professor of drawing Cynthia Hellyer-Heinz will facilitate a one-hour lecture and workshop narrative project that explores a means of unraveling the internalized personal myths in our relation to the pilgrimage toward a meaningful life.
Limited to 20 participants. Call the museum at 815-753-1936 to register.
Location: Altgeld Hall 125
Monday, Jan. 27
Virtual Presentation: Making Inks for Printmaking from Plants, 7 p.m.
Join us for a virtual presentation given by printmaking instructor Millicent Kennedy.
Zoom link: https://niu-edu.zoom.us/j/85780027236?pwd=XjuZz7IXBznCJApbKmPBbFOPt6qoJg.1.
Tuesday, Jan. 28
From World’s Fair to National Park: Works in Progress, Noon
This talk by professor of art history Rebecca Houze considers the built environment of Yellowstone, Glacier, and Grand Canyon National Parks, three of the earliest to be established in the United States. These open-air museums of cultural heritage were inspired by architectural and ethnographic villages, which were constructed for the world’s fairs in Europe and North America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As unique expressions of national identity, the parks were designed into the landscape and promoted to tourists by transcontinental railroad companies with sophisticated programs of advertising and emerging corporate identity.
Location: Altgeld Hall 125
Tuesday, Feb. 4
Hope Machines – New Protest Theatre by “Born Free” South Africans, Noon
Join us for an illustrated lecture by assistant professor of theatre history, literature and criticism Gibson Cima as he discusses recent work by young South African theatre makers grappling with their country’s colonial and apartheid past.
Location: Altgeld Hall 125
Wednesday, Feb. 12
Reproduction Gone Awry: Doubled Mother and Estranged Child in the Work of Bharti Kher, 5 p.m.
Associate professor of art history Sarah Evans will talk about British (currently living in India) contemporary painting, sculpture and installation artist Bharti Kher in this illustrated lecture.
Location: Altgeld Hall 125
Thursday, Feb. 13
Maria Grillo: The Importance of Audience, 5 p.m.
Illustrated lecture by assistant professor of visual communications Maria Grillo. As a new full-time hire in the School of Art and Design, Maria is also the president, owner and creative director of Grillo Group, LLC which is a communications design collaborative based in Chicago serving business, education, healthcare, not for profit and cultural institutions.
Location: Altgeld Hall 125
About the NIU Art Museum
Millicent Kennedy, “Resting Place for Objects of Labor,” 2024.
Serving Campus and Community by Balancing Traditional and Contemporary Art to Explore the Connections Made through Visual Culture.
Part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts‘ vibrant and active arts community on campus, the Northern Illinois University Art Museum is a resource for the NIU campus, local community and beyond.
The NIU Art Museum is located on the first floor, west end of Altgeld Hall, at the corner of College Avenue and Castle Drive on the main campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.
Parking on campus is now administered through AIMS Mobile Pay or parking pay stations available in the visitor pay lot located at 200 Carroll Avenue and at accessible parking spaces in front of Lowden Hall with accessible aisles and route to Altgeld Hall. Campus parking is free on weekends and after 5 p.m. weeknights in nearby Lots 3 and 14.
The exhibitions and programs of the NIU Art Museum are sponsored in part by the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Friends of the NIU Art Museum, the NIU Arts and Culture Fee, and the College of Visual and Performing Art’s Season Presenting Sponsors Shaw Media and WNIU/WNIJ.
New Gallery Hours
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday
Noon to 6 p.m. Thursday
Noon to 6 p.m. Friday
Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday; and by appointment for group tours.
Exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Top image: Marisol Cervantes, “not a dream,” 2023.
Apr 2, 2024 | CVPA, Music News, Theatre and Dance News, xArt and Design News, xArtMuseumNews, xCVPA, xFeatured
April is the busiest month in the NIU College of Visual and Performing Arts, which means you have more opportunities to sample the great music, theater, dance and art of our very talented students.
The School of Theatre and Dance features the premiere of Alexander Perez’s Booked and Blessed…OR BUST! (April 5-7 and 11-13) and the ever-popular Spring Dance Concert (April 25-28)
In the School of Art and Design you can check out the Annual Juried Blick Art Materials Ars Nova Exhibition (April 1 – 18) and see the work of our graduating class of Bachelor of Fine Arts majors (April 19-May 6.)
And, the NIU Art Museum’s current exhibition is “Making Our History – Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacies,” (through May 11.)
In the School of Music, there are 18 concerts and more than 50 recitals this month.
Concerts feature some of our most popular ensembles. NIU Opera Theatre is presenting Die Fledermaus with the NIU Philharmonic Orchestra (April 5 and 7). The World Music Festival features five different concerts (April 8-13). The NIU Jazz Ensemble is performing April 23 and the NIU Jazz Orchestra’s concert, April 18, is a special event that marks the retirement of Reggie Thomas as director. Thomas’ farewell recital will be held two nights earlier, April 16.
The 2023-2024 season of NIU’s International Guitar Series concludes, April 5 with South Korean guitarist Bokung Byun. That concert is free of charge.
NIU’s Percussion Ensemble is debuting a piece by Russell Hartenberger, April 14, who will be in residence the week of the concert.
The NIU Chamber Choir will perform the works of Los Angeles-based Filipino composer Saunder Choi and Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, accompanied by NIU Professor Marianne Kim, April 19.
The world-famous NIU Steelband’s spring concert, April 21, features a number of special guests.
On April 28, the NIU Philharmonic will perform with the Chamber Choir and University Chorus.
The Avalon String Quartet, artists-in-residence in the School of Music will have a performance April 26. And check out performances by the NIU Wind Symphony (April 17), NIU Wind Ensemble (April 25), Banda NIU and Mariachi (April 27), and more.
View the full calendar of arts events at NIU.
Tickets for theater performances and music concerts can be purchased online at go.niu.edu/arts-tickets. Art exhibitions and many recitals are not ticketed. Check the calendar for details.
Mar 19, 2024 | NIU Art Museum, xArtMuseumNews, xCVPA, xFeatured
The NIU Art Museum will host “Making Our History – Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacies,” a traveling exhibition from the University of Illinois Springfield set to open Tuesday, March 26. There will be a public opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 4 with an informal gallery talk given by the project coordinators from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m.
“Making Our History – Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacies” was produced by University of Illinois Springfield professors Brytton Bjorngaard and Graham A. Peck. Bjorngaard and Peck worked with 20 Illinois artists in a virtual residency who created paintings, sculptures, prints, photography, virtual reality, conceptual and video artwork. The project was funded by the University of Illinois Presidential Initiative: Expanding the Impact of the Arts and Humanities and the Center for Lincoln Studies.
The artwork showcases the many sides to Abraham Lincoln that permeate our perception of the former president through each artist’s interpretation of Lincoln’s legacies: the frontier Lincoln, the family man, the politician, the military chieftain, the emancipator, the icon, the saint, the pop culture figure and cultural artifact, the Land of Lincoln and Lincoln’s still resounding political legacy.
Accompanying this exhibition are video interviews produced by Storyteller Studios of Springfield that provide insight into each artist’s practice, research and project. In addition, Professor Peck has written essays that contextualize the artists’ work in relation to Lincoln history.
Artists participating in this exhibition include William Blake, Julie Cowan, Keenan Dailey, David Hinds, Danny Houk, Larsen Husby, Jordan Fein, Lori Fuller, Industry of the Ordinary (Adam Brooks and Mathew Wilson), Lindsay Johnson, Kelly Kristin Jones, Judith Joseph, Alexander Martin, Judith Mayer, Mark Nelson, Nathan Peck, Don Pollack, Krista Shelton, Corey Smith and Billie Theide.
Also on display will be “Lincoln Highway: The Main Street Across America” in the Art Museum’s Hall Case Gallery. Curated by the NIU Art Museum’s program assistant Shelby Edelmann, this exhibition discusses the history of the creation of the Lincoln Highway, how it shaped cross-country travel in the United States and the roots of Lincoln Highway here in DeKalb County.
This exhibition suite runs March 26 to May 11, 2024.
Please check our website go.niu.edu/artmuseumevents for our hours, program schedule and instructions on how to join virtual talks. Have our event announcements and program information delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up at go.niu.edu/artmuseumsubscribe.
Calendar of Events
Thursday April 4
Public Opening Reception, 5 to 7 p.m.
Informal talk with project coordinators Brytton Bjorngaard and Graham A. Peck to begin at 5:45 p.m.
Refreshments provided.
NIU Art Museum Galleries
About the NIU Art Museum
Serving Campus and Community by Balancing Traditional and Contemporary Art to Explore the Connections Made through Visual Culture.
Part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts‘ vibrant and active arts community on campus, the Northern Illinois University Art Museum is a resource for the NIU campus, local community and beyond.
The NIU Art Museum is located on the first floor, west end of Altgeld Hall, at the corner of College Avenue and Castle Drive on the main campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.
Parking on campus is now administered through the AIMS Mobile Pay App or Parking Pay Stations available in the Visitor Pay Lot located at 200 Carroll Ave and at accessible parking spaces in front of Lowden Hall with accessible aisles and route to Altgeld Hall. Campus parking is free on weekends and after 5 p.m. weeknights in nearby Lots 3 and 14.
The exhibitions and programs of the NIU Art Museum are sponsored in part by the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Friends of the NIU Art Museum, the NIU Arts and Culture Fee, and the College of Visual and Performing Art’s Season Presenting Sponsors Shaw Media and WNIU/WNIJ.
Gallery Hours
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday
Noon to 6 p.m. Thursday
Noon to 6 p.m. Friday
Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday; and by appointment for group tours.
Exhibitions are free and open to the public.
