Oct 26, 2023 | NIU Art Museum, xArtMuseumNews, xFeatured
Three exhibitions featuring food-related artwork are set to open Tuesday, Nov. 14, with a public opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17 at the NIU Art Museum.
Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman, “Fruit Loops Landscape,” archival pigment print, 2022
“What is for Supper? What is a Meal?” explores aspects of nurturing, socialization, health and sustainability. Geographic, cultural and economic differences may determine what is available to eat and what would be satisfying as a meal. The importance of food shared is a linchpin of hospitality and is an integral component for social dialogue to take place. Issues that threaten our food intake also threaten our greater well-being. This exhibition is curated by the NIU Art Museum Exhibition Advisory Committee.
The artists participating in this exhibition were selected from private and public collections, a national call for entry and by invitation and include: Rein Brooks, Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman, Sue Coe, Honoré Daumier, Evelyn Davis-Walker, Andrew DeCaen, J. J. Grandville, Daniel Grych, Henry Hargreaves, Tom Huck, Andrew Ellis Johnson, Christina Kang, Marina Kuchinski, Caitlyn Lawler, Laura Letinsky, Maureen O’Leary, Janelle O’Malley, JWP, Lisa Riedl, Dana Sherwood, Susanne Slavick, Neal Slavin, So Young Song, Sophia Varcados and Andy Warhol. “Food for the Soul: Belief and Healing in Burma” is curated by Catherine Raymond from the Burma Art Collection at NIU. This exhibition features five sections that include explorations of food for well-being, merit-making, healing, spirituality and taboos. “Unsurpassed in Quality: Vintage Food Labels from the Collection of Peter B. Olson” was curated by the NIU Art Museum’s assistant director. This exhibit is in our hall case gallery and features a variety of lithographic food labels.
This exhibition suite runs Nov. 14 to Dec. 16, 2023 and Jan. 16 to Feb. 17, 2024.
NIU’s Pick Museum of Anthropology is currently exhibiting “Good Food” which explores food issues in northern Illinois, and highlights the organizations and individuals making food accessible, sustainable, equitable and nourishing for everyone in the community. This exhibition is open now through May 11, 2024.
The DeKalb County History Center in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution is opening an exhibit about food in late spring 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
Friday, Nov. 17, 2023
Public Opening Reception, 5 to 7 p.m.
Refreshments provided.
NIU Art Museum Galleries
Sunday, Nov. 19
Get-on-the-Bus Trip: Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In conjunction with our food exhibits, we will visit the exhibit, “I’ll Have What She’s Having: The Jewish Deli.” Lunch will be at Kaufman’s Deli in Skokie and then a trip to Mitsuwa Marketplace in Arlington Heights. More info here. Cost: $50 members/seniors, $60 nonmembers, $45 students under 22
Trip registration and payment deadline is Friday, Nov. 3. Call the museum at 815-753-1936 to reserve your seat on the bus.
Thursday, Nov. 30
“Enough on My Plate” Poetry/Short Story Night, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Participatory reading and recital on food memories, customs, issues or concerns.
Registration required. Call the museum at 815-753-1936 or email artmuseum@niu.edu.
Altgeld Hall 125
Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024
“Unsurpassed in Quality: Vintage Food Labels – Rich in Flavor,” 1 to 2 p.m.
Collector’s talk with Peter B. Olson
NIU Art Museum Hallway
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 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.
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.
Banner image: Colonist Litho of Victoria, BC, JH Todd & Sons, Ltd., “Todd’s Horse Shoe Brand, Fancy Sockeye Salmon,” offset lithograph, 1937
Oct 11, 2023 | NIU Art Museum, xArtMuseumNews, xCVPA, xFeatured
Cincinnati-based artist Michael Coppage will give an artist talk during the closing reception of “Dialogue” and “The Remaining, Mourn…” exhibitions at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15 in Altgeld Hall, Room 125. The closing reception of both exhibitions begins at 1 p.m. in the museum.
“Dialogue” allows for issue awareness and resolution through listening. Its goal is understanding. The artists whose work is displayed in this exhibition have worked on lens-based projects that have grown and developed organically over the years. This exhibition features selections from “Lines of Authority” by Alan Cohen, “Black Box” by Michael Coppage and “The Folded Map Project” by Tonika Lewis Johnson.
Michael Coppage has been exploring the impact of words and the negative connotations often associated with the word “black.” His Black Box project depicts frontal portraits of black men wearing black t-shirts with suggestive phrases beginning with the word Black such as “Black Sheep,” “Black Mail,” “Black Death,” etc. These photos are accompanied by podcast interviews with each of the individuals exploring the phrase and allowing the listener to begin to get to know the person depicted as an individual.
Coppage will speak about the development and evolution of the “Black Box” project in its various venue iterations.
Originally from Chicago, Coppage studied at Memphis College of Art and obtained his B.F.A. degree with an emphasis on sculpture. He has his M.F.A. degree from Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) with an emphasis in sculpture and mixed media. Coppage’s art has transitioned into a method of creating civil conversation among those who view it.
Coppage has received Artswave’s Truth and Reconciliation grant, Awesome Foundation grants in New York and Philadelphia, the Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Excellence Award, presented a TEDx Talk titled “Everybody is Racist!…and it’s okay,” and his work is exhibited nationally.
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
Sunday, Oct. 15
Closing Reception, 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Join us for the closing reception of “Dialogue” and “The Remaining, Mourn…” in the NIU Art Museum Galleries. Refreshments provided.
Michael Coppage Artist Presentation Program to follow at 2:30 p.m. in Altgeld Hall 125
Sunday, Oct. 29 (New Date/Rescheduled)
SoulCollage® Workshop: An Artistic Approach to Loss and Letting Go
Every loss and letting go alters our sense of self, our identity, who we have known ourselves to be. SoulCollage® is an expressive arts practice founded by psychotherapist Seena B. Frost and is a gentle, accessible image-based practice for the exploration of our inner selves. Participants will make several collaged cards and engage in basic ways of listening with their cards about who they are. This workshop will be led by Rev. Dr. Martha Brunell, an experienced facilitator in SoulCollage® and in grief work across the country.
Limited to 16 participants, ages 17 and up.
Free, but registration is required by Thursday, Oct. 26; call 815-753-1936.
1 to 4 p.m., Altgeld Hall 125
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 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.
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 and Wednesday
Noon to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday
Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday
And by appointment for group tours.
Exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Aug 21, 2023 | NIU Art Museum, xArtMuseumNews, xCVPA, xFeatured
Two new exhibitions will open soon at the NIU Art Museum.
Having emerged from a global pandemic and re-exploring race and social issues, the NIU Art Museum felt the need for exhibitions that ground these topics visually. Two exhibitions featuring themes of what seems needed are set to open on Tuesday, Aug. 29, with a public opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7. Informal gallery talks with curators of “The Remaining, Mourn…” Michael Chambers and Millicent Kennedy, along with artists featured in the exhibition to begin at 5:45 p.m.
“Dialogue” allows for issue awareness and resolution through listening. Its goal is understanding. The artists whose work is displayed in this exhibition have worked on lens-based projects that have grown and developed organically over the years.
This exhibition will feature selections from “Lines of Authority” by Alan Cohen, “Black Box” by Michael Coppage and “The Folded Map Project” by Tonika Lewis Johnson.
These artists have taken on big, complex tasks and concepts and attempted to deal with them simply. It is the hope that their art projects can reach beyond a single look or conversation into an ongoing dialogue from which empathy, understanding and enlightenment can grow. The concerns of these artists are the concerns of a people, a city, a nation, the world.
“The Remaining, Mourn…” is a group exhibition addressing the experience of grieving as seen through the lens of nine artists’ practices. Through tactile artworks, they address both individual and collective loss. Holding materials as one would onto someone lost, these artists use various techniques to freeze a moment, allowing themselves time to process what remains as well as what is gone. Their materials, and the memories and emotions they evoke, become the “language” the artists use to create their own rituals to navigate grief/mourning and work toward healing.
The artists featured in this exhibition include Selva Aparicio, Michael Chambers, April Dauscha, Salvador Jiménez-Flores, Millicent Kennedy, Allen Moore, Monika Plioplyte, Nirmal Raja and Anne Wilson.
Cumulatively, their works and the stories they tell remind us that we – from family to community to civilization – are united by our vulnerability.
This exhibition suite runs Aug. 29 to Oct. 14, 2023.
Please check go.niu.edu/artmuseumevents for hours, program schedule and instructions on how to join virtual talks. Have event announcements and program information delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up at go.niu.edu/artmuseumsubscribe.
Calendar of Events
Thursday, Sept. 7
Public Opening Reception, 5 to 7 p.m.
Informal gallery talks with the curators and artists of “The Remaining, Mourn…” at 5:45 p.m.
NIU Art Museum Galleries
Sunday, Sept. 10
SoulCollage® Workshop for Survivors and Mourners
SoulCollage® is an expressive arts practice where participants will create collaged cards for their personal use by gluing together found images.
Limited to 16 participants, ages 17 and up.
Free, but registration is required; call 815-753-1936.
1 to 4 p.m., Altgeld Hall 125
Thursday, Sept. 28
The Landscape of Loss – Navigating Gently and with Resilience
Program with Jen Conley, Bereavement Coordinator with Northern Illinois Hospice with time for Q&A at the end.
6 to 7 p.m., Altgeld Hall, 125
Sunday, Oct. 15
Closing Reception, 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Join us for the closing reception of “Dialogue” and “The Remaining, Mourn…” in the NIU Art Museum Galleries. Refreshments provided.
“Dialogue” Artists Presentation Program to follow in Altgeld Hall, 125
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 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.
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.
Banner photo: Alan Cohen, “Montana/Wyoming State Line at the 4th Parallel, One-Half Distance Exactly Between Equator and the North Pole at the Continental Divide,” silver gelatin photograph, 2005
Mar 23, 2023 | NIU Art Museum, xArt and Design News, xArtMuseumNews, xCVPA, xFeatured
Two exhibitions featuring the collections of objects from local residents and from the Burma Art Collection at NIU are set to open at the Northern Illinois University Art Museum on Thursday, March 30, with a public opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 29. Informal gallery talks with curators of “Local Visions II” Peter Olson and Michael Bennett, and “Americans in Burma: The Art of Collecting” curator Catherine Raymond to begin at 6 p.m.
Local Visions II postcard image featuring collectors Michael Barnes, Aleksandra Giza, Doug Jeppesen, Michael Noland, Ari Norris, Rich Rice and Christo Watson.
“Local Visions II” is a sequel to the first Local Visions exhibition at the NIU Art Museum held in 2015. It highlights the personal collections of objects and artwork that can be found in the homes of local residents. Many of these collectors started at a young age, making significant sacrifices to fuel their growing passion including paying in installments or trading either their own artwork or labor for artwork that would enrich their living environment.
“Americans in Burma: The Art of Collecting” features a diverse range of objects donated by Americans to the Burma Art Collection at NIU while it examines the critical importance of preserving the past for understanding the present and for transmitting knowledge to future generations. These objects illuminate the life of 20th century Americans in Burma as they moved abroad at the request of a new Burmese government after independence from the British in 1948 and lived there with roles as advisors, educators, scholars, diplomats, missionaries or travelers.
Including a sacred altar of Buddha images and manuscripts, musical instruments, textiles, silver, bronze, ivory and lacquerware, the artworks on view tell individual American stories and highlight their love for Burmese arts and crafts. The exhibition asks how these objects may reveal a “true” local tradition or is a response by adapting to western taste and the growing souvenir market. This exhibition suite runs March 30 to May 13, 2023.
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
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Public Opening Reception, 5 to 7 p.m.
Informal gallery talks with the curators at 6 p.m.
NIU Art Museum Galleries
Friday, April 14
Burma Studies Symposium: Americans in Burma: Collecting and Collectors
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., open to the public.
Founders Memorial Library, Room 71-N
Saturday, April 15
Meet the Collectors!
Collector talks with four of the featured collectors in “Local Visions II.” Lineup: Aleksandra Giza, Michael Noland, Rich Rice and Christo Watson.
2 p.m., NIU Art Museum South Gallery
Thursday, April 20
Objects Worth Keeping
Poetry/short story reading about collecting.
Register to read or recite by calling 815-753-1936 or email artmuseum@niu.edu.
7 to 8:30 p.m., Altgeld Hall 125
Saturday, April 29
Meet the Collectors: Part II
Collector talks with the other featured collectors in “Local Visions II.” Lineup: Michael Barnes, Doug Jeppesen and Ari Norris.
2 p.m., NIU Art Museum South Gallery
COVID-19 Visitor Information
For more information about the university’s health protocols and guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, visit niu.edu/protecting-the-pack.
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 is available in the visitor pay lot located at 200 Carroll Ave. Limited metered and accessible parking spaces are available in front of Lowden Hall with accessible aisles and route to Altgeld. Campus parking is free on weekends and after 5 p.m. weeknights in nearby lots 3 and 14.
To request disability-related accommodations for museum programs, please contact the museum at least one week in advance. Northern Illinois University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.
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.
Banner Photo: Photograph by Chloe Insley and Maeve Wallace; objects from the NIU Burma Art Collection.
Jan 24, 2023 | NIU Art Museum, University Communications, xArtMuseumNews, xCVPA, xFeatured
Ben Stone, sculptor and coordinator of 2D and 3D Foundations in NIU’s School of Art and Design, is showcasing new work in an installation in the North Gallery of the NIU Art Museum. According to Stone, “the work relates to several concurrent themes dealing with late 70s and early 80s iconography and aesthetics…the time period my adolescent identity emerged….Dark and terrible things contribute just as much to identity as [do] beauty and the good parts.” The work featured in this exhibition is low relief hand variations of past and current nail salon signage, pictogram signage of hands being washed, as well as an homage to the artist’s hometown of Chicago.
A public reception will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Art Museum. This exhibition runs through Feb. 17, 2023.
Please check the Art Museum website go.niu.edu/artmuseumevents for our hours, program schedule and instructions on how to join virtual talks. Have event announcements and program information delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up at go.niu.edu/artmuseumsubscribe .
COVID-19 Visitor Information
For more information about the university’s health protocols and guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, visit niu.edu/protecting-the-pack.
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 is available in the visitor pay lot located at 200 Carroll Ave. Limited metered and accessible parking spaces are available in front of Lowden Hall with accessible aisles and route to Altgeld. Campus parking is free on weekends and after 5 p.m. weeknights in nearby lots 3 and 14. To request disability-related accommodations for museum programs, please contact the museum at least one week in advance.
Northern Illinois University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution. 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.
Location
Altgeld Hall 116, First Floor, West End 1425 W. Lincoln Highway
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-1936
niu.edu/artmuseum
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.
