May 24

Activity

Art Cart At Large Pollinators

10AM – 12PM
THE PANORAMA, NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, DYCHE HALL, 1345 JAYHAWK BLVD

Join Spencer staff for an Art Cart at Large at KU Natural History Museum’s Discovery Day. We’ll explore pollination and pollinators in both art and science.

Sponsored By: Natural History Museum, Spencer Museum of Art

May 24

Talk

Senior Session Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World

10AM – 11AM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, SAM AND CONNIE PERKINS CENTRAL COURT, 317

Curator Stephen Goddard explores humankind’s deep connections and fascination with the plant kingdom through various works of art in the exhibition Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World. Senior Sessions are designed for senior citizens but open to everyone.

May 31

Film

Big Botany on the Big Screen Leaning into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy

6PM – 7:30PM
309 AUDITORIUM

In this 2017 documentary, director Thomas Riedelsheimer invites viewers to journey into the hillsides, wild terrains, and other outdoor spaces that sustain Andy Goldsworthy’s creative encounters with the landscape. A lushly visualized travelogue, Goldsworthy's work and Riedelsheimer's cinematography inextricably tie humankind to the natural world. Running time: 93 min. Rated PG.

June 08

Talk

Up Close Six Degrees of Separation

1PM – 2PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, JACK AND LAVON BROSSEAU CENTER FOR LEARNING, 318

The Spencer Museum Intern Class of 2017–2018 tell all about a collection of prints made by artists during visits to KU’s Department of Visual Art. This tag-team talk demystifies printmaking techniques and delves into the circumstances that led to their creation and acquisition. Up Close gallery talks reveal the personal stories behind exhibitions.

June 12

Activity

Teen Zone: Art of Pride

2PM – 4PM
LAWRENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY, 707 VERMONT ST

Join Spencer staff as we celebrate Pride Month and create a communal work of art to be displayed at the Lawrence Public Library.

Sponsored By: Lawrence Public Library, Spencer Museum of Art

June 14

Film

Big Botany on the Big Screen Day of the Triffids

6PM – 7:30PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, AUDITORIUM, 309

In this 1963 British sci-fi thriller, a spectacular meteor shower blinds much of the planet’s human population. As aggressive, carnivorous plants known as “triffidus celestus” emerge from meteor-borne spores and begin to multiply, the few sighted people remaining must seek safe haven and defeat the vicious vegetation. Running time: 93 min. Not rated.

June 23

Activity

Art Cart Fiber Family Portraits

1PM – 4PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, LARRY AND BARBARA MARSHALL FAMILY BALCONY, 404

The Art Cart is a drop-in activity station where children and grown-ups enjoy hands-on art projects together, taking inspiration from original works of art on view. Learn how quilts can honor ancestors and create a fiber portrait of someone close to you.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

June 24

Talk

Slow Art Sunday Descent from the Cross with Scenes from the Passion

2PM – 3PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, JOHN AND LINDA STEWART GALLERY, 406

Slow down at the Spencer and spend time getting to know one great work of art. Slow Art Sunday features one work for visitors to contemplate and converse about with Museum staff. In June, get to know Descent from the Cross with Scenes from the Passion by the Master of Frankfurt Workshop.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

June 28

Film

Big Botany on the Big Screen Annihilation

6PM – 8PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, AUDITORIUM, 309

After her husband disappears, biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) signs up for a dangerous expedition into “The Shimmer,” an environmental disaster zone full of mutating landscapes and creatures. In this 2018 sci-fi thriller by director Alex Garland (Ex Machina), the laws of nature don’t apply. Running time: 1 hr 55 min. Rated R.

June 29

Activity

Final Friday: Art in Motion

6PM – 9PM
WATKINS MUSEUM OF HISTORY, 1047 MASSACHUSETTS ST

Join us at the Watkins Museum of History during Final Fridays for art activities related to the opening of Rolling Revolution, an exhibition about bicycles in Lawrence history.

Sponsored By: Watkins Museum of History

July 09

Activity

Exploratorium: Unplugged Art

2PM – 3PM
LAWRENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY, 707 VERMONT ST

Enjoy a chance to slow down and create works of art inspired by music. An Exploratorium program for 7-11 year olds at the Lawrence Public Library.

Sponsored By: Lawrence Public Library, Spencer Museum of Art

July 11

Talk

An Evening with Artist Faith Ringgold

6PM – 7:30PM
309 AUDITORIUM

Renowned painter, quilt-maker, and author Faith Ringgold discusses her life in art and the continued relevance of artistic activism. Joined by her artist daughter Michele Wallace, Ringgold’s talk kicks off the city-wide, second annual National African American Quilt Convention held in Lawrence July 11–14.

Sponsored By: African American Quilt Museum and Textile Academy / Marla Quilts Inc.

July 13

Talk

Paying Homage: William Daniels and Luke Haynes

3PM – 4PM
404

Visiting artists William Daniels (New York) and Luke Haynes (Kansas City, MO) discuss their practices and work in quilts on view in the exhibition Paying Homage: Celebrating the Diversity of Men in Quilts. Both artists are also teaching workshops for the National African American Quilt Convention July 11–14.

Sponsored By: American Quilt Museum and Textile Academy / Marla Quilts Inc.

July 15

Film

Big Botany on the Big Screen Little Shop of Horrors

2PM – 3:30PM
309 AUDITORIUM

A singing plant. An unlikely hero. A demented dentist. Open wide and sing along, or simply kick back and behold nerdy florist Seymour (Rick Moranis) and how his prospects for success and romance take a series of unexpected turns when a strange plant enters his life. Enter to win a botanical door prize—if you dare—and bid Big Botany farewell with this 1986 cult classic directed by Frank Oz. Running time: 94 min. Rated PG-13.

July 18

Talk

Up Close Paying Homage: Celebrating the Diversity of Men in Quilts

5:30PM – 6:30PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, LARRY AND BARBARA MARSHALL FAMILY BALCONY, 404

Experience the exhibition "Paying Homage: Celebrating the Diversity of Men in Quilts" through the eyes of Curator Susan Earle while exploring the ancestry of contemporary story quilts. Up Close gallery talks reveal the personal stroies behind exhibitions.

July 25

Activity

Kidsapalooza: Unplugged Art

2PM – 3PM
LAWRENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY, 707 VERMONT ST

Join Spencer Museum of Art staff as we unplug and create art inspired by music and the outdoors at this Kidsapalooza program for 5- and 6-year-olds at the Lawrence Public Library.

Sponsored By: Lawrence Public Library, Spencer Museum of Art

July 28

Activity

Art Cart Abstract Assemblages

1PM – 4PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, 20/21 GALLERY, 405

The Art Cart is a drop-in activity station where children and grown-ups enjoy hands-on art projects together, taking inspiration from original works of art on view. Explore contemporary sculpture and create a three-dimensional work of art with mixed media.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

July 29

Talk

Slow Art Sunday Kotyit (Cochiti) peoples standing human figure

2PM – 3PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, JOHN AND LINDA STEWART GALLERY, 406

Slow down at the Spencer and spend time getting to know one great work of art. Slow Art Sunday features one work for visitors to contemplate and converse about with Museum staff. For July, get to know the standing human figure made by the Kotyit (Cochiti) peoples.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

August 19

Talk

Slow Art Sunday Haunted by the Ghosts of Our Own Making by Hollis Sigler

2PM – 3PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, 20/21 GALLERY, 405

Slow down at the Spencer and spend time getting to know one great work of art. Slow Art Sunday features one work for visitors to contemplate and converse about with Museum staff. For August, get to know "Haunted by the Ghosts of Our Own Making" by Hollis Sigler.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

August 25

Activity

Art Cart Kansas Prairie Collage

1PM – 4PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, SAM AND CONNIE PERKINS CENTRAL COURT, 317

The Art Cart is a drop-in activity station where children and grown-ups enjoy hands-on art projects together, taking inspiration from original works of art on view. Explore photographs of Kansas farmland and create a multimedia collage of the Kansas Prairie.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art