September 19

Performance

5PM – 7PM

Join KU students and designers Nana and King Amfo for an intimate runway show to celebrate their summer/fall collection of luxury streetwear pieces from their brand, Alpha Couture. Seating is limited and tickets are required. For more information and to reserve a ticket, please visit: https://app.plots.events/event/ags24runwayshowsensationalsummer

September 19

Talk

5:30PM – 6:45PM

Peter Sturman (University of California, Santa Barbara) discusses scholar-artist Xu Wei (1521–1593), who was jailed for murder in 1566. While in jail he created calligraphy to cope with mental illness. In reviewing this problematic artist, Sturman explores how talent was defined in Ming-dynasty China.

September 20

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

September 20

Performance

5PM – 7PM

Celebrate the opening of “Imagining Our Futures Artifact Collection” at the Lawrence Arts Center. This exhibition features “artifacts” created by local artists that represent their visions of the future. It came out of workshops led by the AfroRithm Futures Group in April 2024 that engaged members of the Lawrence and KU communities to consider a more equitable future. A performance will start at 6:00PM in the Black Box Theater.

September 21

Activity

1PM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 404 Marshall Balcony

Take inspiration from the exhibition "Inked Bodies" and create your own temporary tattoo design. This drop-in activity station rolls into the galleries each month for children and grown-ups to create hands-on art projects together, taking inspiration from original art on view.

September 24

Talk

4PM – 5:30PM

German ethnological museums have been at the center of a contentious debate about decolonization for over a decade. Glenn Penny, Henry Bruman Chair of History at UCLA, discusses how German museums are coming to terms with their colonial pasts in the context of Germany’s transcultural present.

September 25

Talk

3PM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 317 Perkins Central Court

Join artist Mona Cliff to learn more about the fabric mural she created for the “Native Fashion” exhibition.

Sponsored By: Kansas Arts Commission Arts Everywhere Grant

September 25

Talk

4PM – 5:30PM

Join Glenn Penny, Henry Bruman Chair of History at UCLA, to learn about how German-speaking Chileans negotiated multiple economic crises and opportunities, national upheavals, and geopolitical shifts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Letters reveal that families spread across Europe, Latin America, and North America were intimately intertwined, tied to each other’s lives by correspondence between daughters, grandmothers, mothers, and their children.

September 27

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

October 03

Talk

5:30PM – 6:30PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 318 Brosseau Learning Center

Join Curators Ryan Clasby and Sydney Pursel and Collection Manager Angela Watts to learn about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and Indigenous art in the Spencer’s collection. Q&A follows the presentation. This is the fourth in a series of public conversations about the Museum’s collection, exhibitions, and programs.

October 04

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

October 04

6PM – 7:30PM

Join us for the premiere of a documentary tracing the creation of Janine Antoni’s walking labyrinth “here-ing” at the KU Field Station. The screening will begin at 7pm at the Roth Trailhead, but visitors are invited to walk the “here-ing” path before the screening. Please bring blankets or camp chairs for seating. If walking the path, close-toed shoes, long pants, and bug spray are recommended. Light refreshments will be provided. In the event of inclement weather, the screening will be held at 7:00PM in the Armitage Education Center, 350 Wild Horse Rd, Lawrence, KS 66044. Please check the Spencer Museum of Art events calendar for the latest information. For directions and more information about the KU Field Station, please visit: https://biosurvey.ku.edu/field-station-trails

October 08

Activity

1PM – 3PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 409 Lee Study Center

Drop by the Lee Study Center on one Tuesday each month for a relaxed, up-close experience with textiles from our collection. In October, celebrate good fortune and prosperity with East Asian bats. Come back to see different selections each month.

October 10

Talk

5:30PM – 6:30PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 404 Marshall Balcony

Inspired by the exhibition “Inked Bodies,” join local tattoo artists as they discuss their practices, motivations, inspirations, and the changes they have observed in the tattoo world.

October 11

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

October 11

Activity

2:30PM – 3:30PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 405 Michaelis Gallery

How are you influenced by the artistic traditions of your family? Maybe a relative taught you how to knit, paint, build furniture, or garden. Join Collections Manager Angela Watts to learn about the generational influences displayed in pottery by the Nampeyo family, as well as other family ties in our collection. Then, draw on your own family influences for an art-making activity. All ages welcome! 

October 17

Talk

10:15AM – 11AM
Spencer Museum of Art, 409 Lee Study Center

Learn about Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini’s painting “Achilles Discovered with the Daughters of Lycomedes” with the Spencer’s Learning Engagement and Tours Coordinator Jenny Holdman. She will explore the story of the hero Achilles as it intersects with Greek expressions of gender, power, and mythology. Senior Sessions are designed with accommodations for older adults, but open to all.

October 18

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

October 20

Talk

2PM – 3PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 407 Kress Gallery

Spend time getting to know one great work of art through relaxed contemplation and guided conversation. In October, slow down with Claude Buck's eerie painting "The Conqueror Worm.”

October 25

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

October 26

Activity

1PM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art

Explore basket weaving techniques and create a small woven basket of your own. This drop-in activity station rolls into the galleries each month for children and grown-ups to create hands-on art projects together, taking inspiration from original art on view.

October 26

Activity

1PM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art

Join basket weavers Lisa LaRue-Baker and Lula Smith as they create traditional Cherokee baskets. Watch them work, ask questions, and touch material samples. Then, visit the Art Cart to create your own woven work of art inspired by what you learned.

October 27

2PM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 318 Brosseau Learning Center

Celebrate Halloween early with a special screening of the 1987 cult classic horror film “Hellraiser.” Explore “Native Fashion” and view Jamie Okuma's beaded backpack "Becoming," which features the movie’s iconic Pinhead character. From 2–2:30PM, graduate intern Dominique Stringer will lead a discussion of Clive Barker's novella “The Hellbound Heart,” which served as source material for the film. Pick up a free copy of the book at our Welcome Desk any time in October, while supplies last. Please note: “Hellraiser” is rated R and may not be appropriate for all audiences.

November 01

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

November 01

Talk

3PM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 404 Marshall Balcony

Don Ed Hardy is a prolific tattoo artist whose blending of Japanese and American styles has helped bring tattoo art into mainstream culture. Professor Sherry Fowler discusses Ed Hardy’s tattooing practice, including three works on display in the exhibition “Inked Bodies.”

November 08

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

November 10

Talk

2PM – 3PM
Spencer Museum of Art

Spend time getting to know one great work of art through relaxed contemplation and guided conversation. In November, slow down with two untitled sculptures by Assaf Evron in the Displacement gallery.

November 12

Activity

1PM – 3PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 409 Lee Study Center

Drop by the Lee Study Center on one Tuesday each month for a relaxed, up-close experience with textiles from our collection. In November, explore the history of liturgical vestments. Come back to see different selections each month.

November 14

Talk

10:15AM – 11AM
Spencer Museum of Art, 409 Lee Study Center

What does the sea look like in the artistic imagination? Art history professor Emily Casey examines how visual and material representations of the ocean articulate political, cultural, and environmental questions and concerns. Senior Sessions are designed with accommodations for older adults, but open to all.

November 15

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

November 16

Activity

1PM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 317 Perkins Central Court

Learn about Native American ribbonwork designs in the exhibition “Native Fashion” and create your own paper cutout patterns. This drop-in activity station rolls into the galleries each month for children and grown-ups to create hands-on art projects together, taking inspiration from original art on view.

November 16

Talk

1PM – 3PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 318 Brosseau Learning Center

Learn about the process, symbolism, and styles of ribbonwork from artists Jancita Warrington, Leona Antoine, and AJ Holder, whose work is featured in the exhibition “Native Fashion.” Following the discussion the artists will be in the galleries to answer questions and show examples of their work, including samples to touch. Visitors can also stop by the Art Cart between 1–4PM to make their own ribbonwork-inspired art.

November 17

Performance

2PM – 3PM
Spencer Museum of Art

Join musicians from the Mid-America Performing Arts Alliance for a concert in the galleries. Back-to-back duet performances feature violin and viola, and flute and saxophone.

Sponsored By: Mid-America Performing Arts Alliance

November 21

6PM – 7PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 318 Brosseau Learning Center

Join us for a special screening of "Cara Romero: Following the Light," created for PBS by Mountain Mover Media. Following the 27-minute film, artist Cara Romero and filmmaker Kaela Waldstein join us virtually for discussion and Q&A.

November 22

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

December 06

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

December 07

Activity

9AM – 11AM
Watkins Museum of History, 1047 Massachusetts St

Visit the Watkins Museum to create and celebrate holiday traditions with your family at this free annual event. Spencer staff will be there to lead a special art activity.

Sponsored By: Watkins Museum of History

December 10

Activity

1PM – 3PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 409 Lee Study Center

Drop by the Lee Study Center on one Tuesday each month for a relaxed, up-close experience with textiles from our collection. In December, explore contemporary works by Peruvian artists. Come back to see different selections each month.

December 12

Talk

10:15AM – 11AM
Spencer Museum of Art, 318 Brosseau Learning Center

Join art history graduate student Leah Marie Chizek for a discussion of three engravings by Albrecht Dürer. Chizek traces the history of their production and reception, and considers competing interpretations of these prints, which are regarded as Dürer’s most notable accomplishments. Senior Sessions are designed with accommodations for older adults, but open to all.

December 13

Activity

10AM – 4PM
Spencer Museum of Art, 305 Goddard Study Center

Your art wish is our command. Visit the Goddard Study Center on most Fridays to request works of art on paper not currently on view or share your interests and let our staff select works for you. You can also drop in to enjoy works requested by other visitors. The Goddard Study Center is open to all during gallery hours with a break from 12–1PM.

December 14

Performance

4PM – 6PM
Kansas Union Ballroom, 1301 Jayhawk Blvd

Celebrate Native fashion with the Spencer Museum as local and national Indigenous designers showcase their creations on the runway. This event is open to the public and is suitable for all ages. Free tickets are required. Visit spencerart.ku.edu closer to the event for more details.

Sponsored By: KU Office of Research, City of Lawrence, KU Student Senate, Friends of the Art Museum, the Linda Inman Bailey Exhibitions Fund, and generous donations from Patrick Musick, Kevin Boatright, and Beth Schultz