October 01

Activity

Truth Booth at KU

12PM – 6PM
DAISY HILL COMMONS, 1620 ENGEL RD

The Truth Booth is a giant inflatable sculpture in the shape of a cartoon speech bubble with the word “Truth” printed on the side. You’re invited to sit inside the sculpture and complete the sentence, “The truth is…” while being videotaped. Come and share your truth!

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art, Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity, Daisy Hill Commons

October 06

Social

Student Preview Party

7PM – 10PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART

Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to take over the Museum at this student-only preview party. Get to know the Museum, our Student Advisory Board, and other students. Enjoy live music by CS Luxem, gallery games, body painting, refreshments, and prize drawings. Support generously provided by KU Student Senate.

Sponsored By: Spencer Student Advisory Board

October 07

Talk

Coffee @ The Commons Explorations of Surveillance

10AM – 11AM
THE COMMONS, SPOONER HALL, 1340 JAYHAWK BLVD

Coffee @ The Commons is a forum for conversation between a visiting expert and the community. Photographer and writer Tomas Van Houtryve opens with a brief introduction to his work on issues of electronic surveillance as it intersects with contemporary warfare and every day life. The audience is then charged with carrying the conversation. Attendees are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the artist’s work in advance by visiting http://tomasvh.com.

Sponsored By: KU Department of Design, the Photography Society at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Hallmark Corporate Foundation, The Commons

October 08

Activity

Art Cart The Art of Gesture

1PM – 4PM
THEATRE LAWRENCE, 4660 BAUER FARM DR

The Art Cart is a drop-in activity station designed for families and other groups to enjoy hands-on art projects together, taking inspiration from original artworks in our Classroom Collection. Discover the appeal of gesture in the visual and theater arts and create 3-D wire figures.

Sponsored By: Theatre Lawrence, Spencer Museum of Art

October 13

Talk

Senior Session The Art of Chinese Calligraphy

10AM – 11AM
OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE, ST. ANDREWS OFFICE FACILITY, 1515 ST. ANDREWS DR

KU Professor of Chinese Art Amy McNair discusses works of calligraphy by 94-year-old Suzhou master Li Heyun and how to appreciate this ancient artform.

Sponsored By: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Spencer Museum of Art

October 14

Talk

Red Hot Research Graduate Edition

4PM – 5:30PM
THE COMMONS, SPOONER HALL, 1340 JAYHAWK BLVD

Five graduate students from a variety of disciplines deliver flash presentations introducing current research questions and challenges. Red Hot Research brings together researchers to introduce them to the work of their colleagues; to address questions through the perspectives of many disciplines; and to develop collaborative research teams as a result of overlapping interest and expertise.

Sponsored By: The Commons

October 15

Activity

Reopening Weekend

10AM – 7PM

We are throwing open our doors for all to see the Museum in a new light. Join us on our grand reopening day and explore our renovated spaces, discover newly reinstalled galleries, and take part in festivities that bring the building and works of art to life. • 10–10:30AM Drumroll, please! The African Drum Ensemble at KU - ADEKU kicks off the festivities and a ribbon cutting ceremony created by the KU Textiles Studio heralds the beginning of a new era in the Museum’s history. • 10AM–1PM Visit Pop Up Charlie's Drawing Exchange for a surprise sketch • 11AM–1PM Enjoy free culinary creations while supplies last. • 1–2PM Watch the KU Department of Dance demonstrate our new sprung floor with a site-specific improvisation. • 1–4PM Take inspiration from works of art on view and create your own work of art to take home at the Art Cart. • 2–4PM Be transformed into a work of art by Sister Act Face Painting. • 2–4PM Let your imagination fly and make your own kite with artist Minh DuPha. • 4–7PM Participate in Resonant Vessels, a cross-campus progressive concert commissioned by the Museum and performed by the KU Choirs that kicks off our new Integrated Arts Research Initiative. Details and tickets online at http://bit.ly/2bWoZlf. THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND: • Join one of our informal renovation or gallery tours offered each hour. • Make your mark on Wonder Fair's "Lawrence Treasures Map." • Discover what it’s like to put a museum back together and create your own paper masterpiece with artist Juniper Tangpuz's "Museum Master-pieces." • Visit our new Study Center, the Museum’s portal to thousands of works not currently on view. • Explore the anatomy of the building at our Renovation Station. • Time travel through 99 years of Museum history with 99 artifacts from the Museum Archives. • Enter to win a free Museum membership and other prizes. FREE PARKING in Lot 91 behind the Museum and other lots on campus because it's the weekend!

October 15

Activity

Art Cart Showcase

1PM – 4PM

New to the Art Cart? Visit the Spencer Museum during our grand reopening for a showcase of past and current Art Cart activities.

October 15

Performance

Resonant Vessels

4PM – 7PM
BEGINS AT CAPITOL FEDERAL HALL, 1654 NAISMITH DR. AND CULMINATES AT SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART

In celebration of the Spencer Museum of Art's grand reopening, experience the premiere of "Resonant Vessels", a new work of architectural-choral fusion by composer Forrest Pierce and commissioned by the Spencer Museum in conjunction with the Integrated Arts Research Initiative. "Resonant Vessels" is a celebration of academic architecture and builds on the 1,000 year history of western music and its interaction with great spaces. Performed by the KU Choirs under the leadership of Paul Tucker and Mariana Farah, the progressive concert and walking tour of campus begins at 4PM at Capitol Federal Hall, continues at the DeBruce Center, Wescoe Hall, Strong Hall, the Campanile and Spencer Research Library, and Marvin Grove, and culminates in the Spencer Museum’s Central Court at 7PM. Limited tickets are available and must be reserved in advance at http://bit.ly/2bWoZlf. Seating is available at some sites. Traveling with the choir across campus is part of the experience. Transportation between sites is available with advance notice for those who require transportation assistance. To request transportation assistance, contact Amy Duke at aduke@ku.edu or 785.864.0126.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art and the KU School of Music with additional support from the KU School of Business, DeBruce Center, and Spencer Research Library.

October 16

Activity

Reopening Weekend

12PM – 4PM

Flip over the Museum's renovated galleries as reopening festivities continue with a free pancake brunch in the Museum’s Central Court and activities throughout the afternoon. • Noon–2PM Chris Cakes free pancake brunch while supplies last. • 1–4PM Visit Pop Up Charlie’s Drawing Exchange for a surprise sketch. • 2–3PM Watch Card Table Theatre bring works of art to life in their "1,000 Words" performance. THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND: • Join one of our informal renovation or gallery tours offered each hour. • Make your mark on Wonder Fair's "Lawrence Treasures Map." • Discover what it’s like to put a museum back together and create your own paper masterpiece with artist Juniper Tangpuz's "Museum Master-pieces." • Visit our new Study Center, the Museum’s portal to thousands of works not currently on view. • Explore the anatomy of the building at our Renovation Station. • Time travel through 99 years of Museum history with 99 artifacts from the Museum Archives. • Enter to win a free Museum membership and other prizes. FREE PARKING in Lot 91 behind the Museum and other lots on campus because it's the weekend!

October 18

Talk

Artifacts and Allegiances: How Museums Put the Nation and the World on Display

7PM – 8:30PM
309 AUDITORIUM

According to the World Bank, one out of every seven people in the world today is an international or internal migrant. Our cities are increasingly diverse—people from over 184 countries call London home. So how do we learn to get along? Museums have always played a leading role in creating national citizens. In today’s global world do they also create global citizens who engage actively with diversity next door and across the world? Chair and Professor of Sociology at Wellesley College and Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Peggy Levitt explores how today's museums are making sense of immigration and globalization. Based on firsthand conversations with museum directors, curators, and policymakers; descriptions of current and future exhibitions; and the inside stories about the famous paintings and iconic objects that define collections, Dr. Levitt provides a close-up view of how different kinds of institutions balance nationalism and cosmopolitanism. Comparing museums in Europe, the United States, Asia, and the Middle East reveals a fascinating story about the sea change underway in the museum world at large. Dr. Levitt's talk launches the Spencer’s new Integrated Arts Research Initiative (IARI) supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Sponsored By: KU Center for Migration Research, Spencer Museum of Art

October 19

Talk

Up Close Museum Renovation Under the Microscope

6PM – 7PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART

From bold visions to fine details, Museum Director Saralyn Reece Hardy, Exhibition Designer Richard Klocke, and Associate Architect Laurel Schwaab discuss the Spencer’s renovated spaces and how the changes support the Museum’s work. Intimate and informal, Up Close gallery talks reveal the personal stories behind projects and exhibitions.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

October 20

Talk

The Scholarship of Social Engagement

12AM – 12AM
THE COMMONS, SPOONER HALL, 1340 JAYHAWK BLVD

This symposium of internationally recognized thought leaders on the subject of critical engagement aims to establish a framework for the critical inquiry and review of the public impact of socially engaged discourse and design. Visit The Commons website for a complete schedule and to register: http://thecommons.ku.edu/programs_events.shtml.

Sponsored By: The Commons

October 24

Activity

Shadow Walker

8PM – 9PM
LIED CENTER OF KANSAS, 1600 STEWART DR

Take part in a communal celestial and auditory experience with artist-in-residnece Rohini Devasher and Spencer Curator Kris Ercums. Bring a mat, blanket, smart phone, and headphones to the Stephens Courtyard outside the Lied Center and recline beneath the stars while listening to Devasher’s audio vignette of seven umbraphiles—those who follow eclipses to walk in the shadow of the moon—talking about a total solar eclipse. The 16-minute audio vignette is followed by a conversation with the artist and curator.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

October 27

Talk

Senior Session Photography Now: Why it Matters

10AM – 11AM
OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE, ST. ANDREWS OFFICE FACILITY, 1515 ST. ANDREWS DR

Retired lawyer and art historian Don Sloan presents work by leading contemporary photographers and discusses how it differs from photography of eras gone by.

Sponsored By: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Spencer Museum of Art

October 30

Talk

Up Close Inventing Childhood

2PM – 3PM
GALLERY 404

Join curator Cassandra Mesick for a discussion about notions of childhood and how they differ through time and across cultural boundaries as interpreted in the exhibition Inventing Childhood. Intimate and informal, Up Close gallery talks reveal the personal stories behind exhibitions and projects.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

November 04

Talk

Red Hot Research New Applications of Network Science

4PM – 5:30PM
THE COMMONS, SPOONER HALL, 1340 JAYHAWK BLVD

Red Hot Research brings together researchers to introduce them to the work of their colleagues; to address questions through the perspectives of many disciplines; and to develop collaborative research teams as a result of overlapping interest and expertise. The program features five faculty members, speaking for six minutes each about an aspect of their current work.

Sponsored By: The Commons

November 05

Activity

Art Cart Temporal Turn

1PM – 4PM
GALLERY 317 CENTRAL COURT

The Art Cart is a drop-in activity station designed for families and groups to enjoy hands-on art projects together, taking inspiration from original works of art. Artists-in-residence Rohini Devasher leads this special program based on the work she is creating for the exhibition Temporal Turn.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

November 10

Talk

Senior Session Theatrical Scenic Design: An Historical Perspective

10AM – 11AM
OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE, ST. ANDREWS OFFICE FACILITY, 1515 ST. ANDREWS DR

KU Professor of Theatre and head of the scenography program Mark Reaney traces the origins and evolution of theatrical scenic design.

Sponsored By: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Spencer Museum of Art

November 10

Social

Temporal Turn Opening

6PM – 8PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART

Immerse yourself in the Museum’s new exhibition Temporal Turn: Art and Speculation in Contemporary Asia, featuring work by 22 artists from eight countries across Asia, including major site-specific commissions by four international artists-in-residence. Temporal Turn explores a rich mosaic of ideas about time and history from a generation of artists embedded in what has been dubbed “the Asian century.” Curator Kris Ercums kicks off the festivities with remarks at 6PM. Explore the exhibition, meet the artists, and enjoy music by the Kansas City Electronic Music and Arts Alliance.

Sponsored By: Friends of the Art Museum

November 11

Talk

Temporal Turn Artists-in-Residence In Conversation

2PM – 4PM
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART

Join international artists-in-residence Rohini Devasher, Park Jaeyoung, Konoike Tomoko, and Sahej Rahal with Curator Kris Ercums for a discussion about their ideas and experiences bringing new works to life for the exhibition Temporal Turn.

November 13

Talk

Slow Art Sunday Slow Art Sunday

2PM – 3:30PM
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. Coffee and tea will follow. In November, get to know untitled (scenes of life) by Clementine Hunter.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

November 16

Film

Blade Runner (The Final Cut)

5:30PM – 7:30PM
309 AUDITORIUM

In conjunction with Temporal Turn, the Spencer screens Ridley Scott’s final cut version of the sci-fi classic Blade Runner. In a future of high-tech possibility soured by urban and social decay, bounty hunter Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) hunts for fugitive, murderous replicants, and is drawn to a mystery woman whose secrets may undermine his soul.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

November 30

Talk

Up Close Temporal Turn: Art and Speculation in Contemporary Asia

6PM – 7PM
GALLERY 317 CENTRAL COURT

Delve into the exhibiton Temporal Turn with Spencer Curator Kris Ercums and discuss time and varied projections about our future world. Intimate and informal, Up Close gallery talks reveal the personal stories behind exhibitions and programs.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

December 02

Talk

Red Hot Research Improvisation

4PM – 5:30PM
THE COMMONS, SPOONER HALL, 1340 JAYHAWK BLVD

Red Hot Research brings together researchers to introduce them to the work of their colleagues; to address questions through the perspectives of many disciplines; and to develop collaborative research teams as a result of overlapping interest and expertise. The program features five faculty members, speaking for six minutes each about an aspect of their current work.

Sponsored By: The Commons

December 03

Activity

Tails & Traditions

10AM – 2PM
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. The Spencer Museum will be on hand to lead art a special art activity.

Sponsored By: Watkins Community Museum of History, Spencer Museum of Art

December 04

Talk

Slow Art Sunday Slow Art Sunday

2PM – 3:30PM
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 SMA staff. Coffee and tea will follow. In December, get to know Nocturnal Passage by Harvey Dinnerstein.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

December 08

Talk

Senior Session German Artistic Identity During and After World War II

10AM – 11AM
OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE, ST. ANDREWS OFFICE FACILITY, 1515 ST. ANDREWS DR

Spencer Museum Collections Intern Shannon Sweeney examines how German and Austrian artists were forced to abandon their work or flee their homes during WWII and also how artists emerging after the war responded to a fractured Germany.

Sponsored By: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Spencer Museum of Art

December 17

Activity

Art Cart It’s a Balancing Act

1PM – 4PM
GALLERY 405

The Art Cart is a drop-in activity station designed for families and other groups to enjoy hands-on art projects together, taking inspiration from original works of art. Learn about balance and motion in art, then work together to create a mobile inspired by artist Alexander Calder.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

December 30

Talk

Home for the Holidays Tour: From Jewel to Portal—The New Spencer Museum

1PM – 3PM
GALLERY 317 CENTRAL COURT

Every year, Spencer Museum Director Saralyn Reece Hardy spends an afternoon in the galleries welcoming visitors and leading informal tours to celebrate the holiday season. Tours begin every hour at 1, 2, and 3 PM. Join us and make this Spencer Museum tradition your own.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art