Illinois Featured Content

One of the painted hides. Photo courtesy of Professor Robert Morrissey

Paris research trip reconnects Native American tribes with historic painted robes

Jan 14, 2025 11:15 am

History professor Robert Morrissey traveled with members of the Miami and Peoria Nations to a Paris museum to see four ceremonial robes created more than 300 years ago by Native American tribes in Illinois.

Krannert Center top 10 patron favorites

Dec 23, 2024 1:30 pm

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts has served as a unique and vibrant home for impactful and thought-provoking performing arts events for over five decades. We asked Krannert Center patrons, what were your favorite performances?

Image of history professor Marc Hertzman beside the cover of his new book, “After Palmares: Diaspora, Inheritance, and the Afterlives of Zumbi.” Credit: Courtesy Marc Hertzman

New book looks at Brazil’s longest-lasting maroon society, its influence today

Nov 8, 2024 11:30 am

History professor Marc Hertzman examines the longest-lasting society formed by people who escaped slavery and their descendants in Brazil and how its memory shapes concepts of Black resistance and national identity today.

Join us for these International Education Week events, Nov. 18-22

Nov 14, 2024 10:30 am

International Education Week at the Illinois aims to raise awareness about the breadth of international education activities and resources available in our community.

Willem Bartsius, Netherlands, ca. 1612–in or after 1639. “Samson and Delilah,” ca. 1632. Oil on panel. Museum Purchase through the Iver J. Nelson Jr. Fund. 2024-5-1 Credit: Courtesy Krannert Art Museum

Krannert Art Museum’s new acquisitions expand collection, research and teaching opportunities

Oct 7, 2024 9:30 am

'When we are investing in purchasing works of art or taking in a large collection, we always have a sense of how the works of art can expand or change what we’re already doing,' said KAM director Jon Seydl.

Director and theatre professor Aaron Muñoz with the cast of "No Puedo, I'm Sorry." Photo by Sabrina Felinger

Theatre department’s season features theme of reconciliation

Sep 24, 2024 10:15 am

The season opener is 'No Puedo, I’m Sorry,' produced as part of the Daniel J. Sullivan Playwright-in-Residence program, which provides support for an emerging playwright to develop a work.

New book highlights accomplishments of influential Black leader in post-Civil War Illinois

Sep 4, 2024 10:00 pm

John J. Bird was appointed the first Black trustee for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1873. Illinois emeritus professor of religion Wayne Pitard wrote a new book about Bird and his advocacy.

Rachel McMillian, a professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who co-led the club with LaMar. Photo by Fred Zwicky

Death row prisoner joins high school book club to explore complexities, joys of Black life

Aug 21, 2024 10:30 am

Rachel McMillian, a professor of curriculum and instruction at U. of I., said such initiatives better prepare pre-service teachers to understand students who are affected by incarceration in some way.

Engineering graduate student Jess Mingee and music professor Bernhard Scully improvised on their French horns with the Sierra Leone National Dance Troupe in Freetown, Sierra Leone, during a 2022 visit. Photo Courtesy Bernhard Scully

Research project seeks to learn from Indigenous practices in music, engineering

Aug 5, 2024 9:15 am

'I was blown away by this experience, and it was a moment of clarity for me in how my understanding of music could influence my understanding of engineering and vice versa,' graduate student Jess Mingee said.

Professor John Paul Meyers pictured with a Victrola record player from the collection at the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, located in the Harding Band Building. Photo by Fred Zwicky

Illinois scholar’s book examines how popular music connects to the past

Jun 17, 2024 11:30 am

Popular music is associated with youth, newness and originality. Yet such music has a deep relationship with the past through sampling, covers and commemorative reissues of decades-old recordings...

Image of Professor Corey Van Landingham and the cover of her book, "I, Reader." Photo courtesy of the author

Illinois poet’s new book reflects on marriage, its constraints and its hopefulness

May 30, 2024 8:00 am

Poet and Illinois English professor Corey Van Landingham writes about new marriage, its conventions and how it can both shrink and expand one’s world in her new collection of poems, 'Reader, I.'

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts will showcase a wide variety of artists during its 2024-25 season, including internationally renowned jazz musician Charles Lloyd, a saxophonist, flute player and composer. Photo by D. Darr

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts announces 2024-25 season performances

May 17, 2024 3:00 pm

KCPA will feature a wide variety of performers for its 2024-25 season, including jazz and classical artists, Broadway and opera legends, an indie rock band, and a performance that combines genetics with a cocktail party.

'Star 80' film poster beside publicity photos of starts Eric Roberts and Mariel Hemingway

25th anniversary of Ebertfest announces ‘Star 80’ as opening night film

Feb 29, 2024 11:30 am

Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, running April 17-20, 2024, at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, will kick off with an opening night screening of Bob Fosse’s film Star 80 with stars Eric Roberts and Mariel Hemingway in attendance.

legendary long-distance competitor Ted Corbitt (center) competes in the 1952 Olympics

How Black American distance runners shaped the sport from the shadows

Mar 1, 2024 11:15 am

The world of competitive long-distance running took off in the 1970s. But stories of the sport’s Black architects and pioneers who laid its foundation have been largely untold for decades.

The University of Illinois theatre department’s production of “Airness” at Fat City Bar and Grill follows several air guitarists on the competition circuit as they try to reach the pinnacle of self-expression – “airness.” Photo collage by Fred Zwicky

Illinois theatre production of 'Airness' follows journey of air guitarists

Feb 21, 2024 4:30 pm

A group of nerds playing air guitar competes in bars across the country, seeking the pinnacle of self-expression that the competitors call 'airness.' 'This play is crammed with rock and roll. The play is fast and funny and loud. It’s so much fun.'

Left: Photo of Jen Everett by Joseph Obanubi. Right: Jen Everett, Ladies Love Jen, 2023. Digital collage. Courtesy of the artist.

Krannert Art Museum hosts first solo exhibition of artist Jen Everett

Jan 30, 2024 1:30 pm

Krannert Art Museum hosts the first solo exhibition for artist Jen Everett, whose work explores themes of Black life, family, responses to turmoil and Everett’s identity as a queer Black woman. 'Could you dim the lights?' opens Feb. 1.

Black History Month events at Illinois

Jan 31, 2024 6:15 pm

During the month of February, discover a range of events that celebrate Black History Month and give everyone in our community a chance to participate.

Illinois Public Media launching new radio station: Illinois Soul debuts February 1

Dec 15, 2023 1:00 pm

Illinois Soul will be broadcast on WILL-FM 101.1 and available to stream live at illinoissoul.org. 'We are so excited to launch Illinois Soul, bringing the best in jazz, R&B, and gospel to our listeners, with a unique focus on the Black community.'

book cover adjacent to portrait of Slavic languages and literatures professor David Cooper.

Book examines role of famous forgeries in Czech cultural revival

Dec 12, 2023 9:15 am

Two manuscripts that played a crucial role in the Czech cultural revival turned out to be forgeries. But their contributions to Czech literature and national culture were real, says Slavic literature professor David Cooper.

front of the Virginia Theater in Champaign, home to Ebertfest

Passes on sale now for 25th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival

Dec 6, 2023 4:30 pm

'Ebertfest was created for people who love movies as much as Roger loved movies,' Chaz Ebert said. 'We want audience members and special guests to feel like they are a part of a family as we reach this important milestone...'

Branford Marsalis Quartet will perform at the Krannert Center this spring

Nov 13, 2023 10:00 am

Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis will perform with his quartet at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets for the spring season went on sale online Nov. 15.

Elmina, Gold Coast (Ghana) in the late nineteenth century, depicting a Euro-African merchant’s stone house built in the early nineteenth century, wrongly dated to 1750

Research connects 18th, 19th century relics to our understanding of Atlantic Africa

Nov 8, 2023 11:00 am

'My research shifts African and African Atlantic (art) histories from their stereotypical focus on trade goods and sacred relics... toward property and real estate: specifically, the ancestral stone houses of the Gold Coast,' says researcher Hermann von Hesse

International Education Week to highlight cultural exchange and scholarship at Illinois

Oct 23, 2023 8:30 am

International Education Week (IEW) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign returns Nov. 5 with several events honoring the positive impact of international education in the community.

Professor Lisa Lucero. Photo by Fred Zwicky

Paper: Ancient Maya reservoirs offer lessons for today’s water crises

Oct 9, 2023 3:30 pm

The Maya built and maintained self-cleaning reservoirs that served urban populations over millennia. U. of I. anthropology professor Lisa Lucero writes that the water-related crises they faced hold lessons for today.

Cydnee Weber was named a Brave Heart Fellow during her senior year. She designed an eco-cultural tour of campus. (Photo provided.)

Alumna named Brave Heart Fellow for revealing Indigenous culture, influence on campus

Oct 11, 2023 11:30 am

Cydnee Weber designed an eco-cultural tour to help students appreciate nature and the influence of Indigenous communities. She also saw few opportunities for students to cultivate plants, so she offers ideas on raising greenery on campus.

The manuscript is a 14th-century copy of Walter of Henley’s work, and one of 41 surviving copies. Photo by Fred Zwicky

U of I Library’s 15-millionth volume: A 13th century manuscript on agricultural management

Oct 6, 2023 11:45 am

The 15-millionth volume in the collection of the University Library is a medieval copy of Walter of Henley’s 13th-century work 'Hosbondrye,' one of the most influential works on agriculture and land management in the Middle Ages.

(#526290: Courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum): “Buffalo Chase with Bows and Lances,” by George Catlin, 1832-1833.

History professor Rosalyn LaPier featured in Ken Burns’ ‘The American Buffalo’ documentary

Sep 25, 2023 4:30 pm

History professor Rosalyn LaPier, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana and Métis, talks about the history of the bison and their connection to Indigenous people in the new Ken Burns documentary 'The American Buffalo.'

“La Creación (The Creation).” Diego Rivera, 1922-23; Amphitheater of the National Preparatory School, former College of San Ildefonso, UNAM. Photograph: Ricardo Alvarado Tapia, 2017. AFMT, IIA, UNAM. Courtesy Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Illini Union Art Gallery exhibition featuring photos of Mexican Muralism

Sep 1, 2023 3:30 pm

Murals created on the campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The exhibition in the Illini Union Art Gallery runs from September 7 to September 29.

Watt, Marie K., Native American, Seneca (b. 1967). “Transit,” edition 7/25, 2004; lithograph; Jordan D. Schnitzer Collection. 2020.466 © Marie Watt Courtesy Krannert Art Museum

Marie Watt exhibition at Krannert Art Museum builds community through art, storytelling

Aug 28, 2023 1:15 pm

Marie Watt's work draws on pop culture, mythology and her Native American and European ancestry. It explores themes of storytelling, community building, environmental stewardship and social justice.

side-by-side images of African American studies professor Bobby J. Smith II and the cover of his new book “Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement.” Photo of Bobby J. Smith II by Michelle Hassel

The overlooked role of food in the civil rights struggle

Aug 30, 2023 10:00 am

Professor Bobby Smith tells the overlooked story of how food was used as both a weapon and a tool of resistance during the Civil Rights Movement in his new book 'Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement.'

The whaling ship Progress was exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Photo courtesy Jamie L. Jones

How whaling shaped U.S. culture even after petroleum replaced it

Aug 14, 2023 2:00 pm

U of I professor Jamie Jones examines the huge energy transition from whale oil to fossil fuels and the continuing influence of the whaling industry in her book 'Rendered Obsolete: The Afterlife of U.S. Whaling in the Petroleum Age.'

the mansion at U of I's Allerton Park near Monticello, Illinois

Unwind and learn at Illinois' first folk school

Aug 4, 2023 11:30 am

Midwest Living (Aug 3) For the past decade, the U of I's Allerton Park has offered arts and crafts programming at the estate, setting the stage for this fall's launch of 'The Farms: An Allerton Folk School.'

The anonymous and secretive artist Invader has placed more than 4,100 tile images of Space Invader characters around the world. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons.)

Space Invaders: Professor examines the symbolic influence of a secretive, playful artist

Jul 18, 2023 10:45 am

'(The artist) invades urban space with these characters, finding in mosaic tiles the perfect material to replicate the aesthetics of pixels,' Julie Gaillard said. 'These effigies are a symbol for the global upheaval brought about by digital technologies.'

Steel guitar player Roosevelt Collier will perform during the 10th installment of ELLNORA: The Guitar Festival, which opens Krannert Center’s 2023-24 season. Photo by Cezar Fernandes

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts announces lineup for 2023-24 season

Jun 6, 2023 10:15 am

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts’ 2023-24 season will begin with the 10th year of ELLNORA: The Guitar Festival, followed by women singer-songwriters, song and dance from Ghana, a Latin Grammy winner, and much more.

The Great Mosque of Cordoba. Photo By Heparina1985 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Illinois professor examines lasting legacy of al-Andalus for Arabs, Muslims today

May 30, 2023 10:45 am

The influence of al-Andalus and the image of it as a tolerant multicultural society are reflected in diverse ways in politics and art today, writes professor Eric Calderwood in his new book, 'On Earth or in Poems: The Many Lives of al-Andalus.'

Students in the Latin American Ensemble rehearse in the Music Building. Photo by Fred Zwicky

New Latin American Ensemble diversifies musical offerings at Illinois

Apr 19, 2023 11:15 am

Ensemble director Guido Sánchez-Portuguez says he started the ensemble because he wanted a group that was devoted to playing underrepresented types of Latin American music - beyond the salsa or merengue that are most familiar.

Mykelti Williamson, shown in a scene from 'Forrest Gump,' will be a guest at Ebertfest 2023

Full list of Ebertfest 2023 films, guests announced

Mar 29, 2023 11:00 am

As this year marks the 10th anniversary of Roger Ebert’s death, the program reflects his guiding principle of empathy, said Chaz Ebert. The program includes 11 films, two shorts, 20+ guests, and two musical performances:

Shozo Sato, Fury of the Pacific, 1994. Blue tone ink, standard in, and silver pigment on sized, pre-mounted paper. Courtesy of the artist.

Exhibition explores black ink, watercolor paintings by Shozo Sato

Mar 21, 2023 1:45 pm

The black ink and watercolor paintings by Shozo Sato, including landscapes of the American West, are featured at Krannert Art Museum. Contemporary work by artists using traditional Japanese aesthetics has not been well-studied by art historians, says curator Maureen Warren.

Kathryn Clancy she/her. Photo by Fred Zwicky

Book tackles myths about science of menstruation

Mar 1, 2023 11:15 am

A new book from a U of I anthropology professor takes an unflinching look at the many ways humans have struggled – and often failed – to understand one of the greatest mysteries of human biology: menstruation.

movie poster-style graphic advertising 'The Royale' shows a pair of early 20th century era boxing gloves

Alumnus Tyrone Phillips returns to campus as director of Theatre's 'The Royale'

Feb 23, 2023 8:00 am

For Tyrone Phillips, telling this story about a great boxer, based on Jack Johnson in 1905, is as much about shedding light on one of America's greatest athletes as it is an act of antiracism today.

The Burdick House at the New Philadelphia site. Image Courtesy National Park Service

Site of integrated Illinois town founded by former slave is newest national park

Jan 30, 2023 1:45 pm

The New Philadelphia National Historic Site in western Illinois commemorates the first U.S. town to be legally founded by African Americans. Several U of I professors were among those leading the effort seeking national park status.

1901 St. Louis Post-Dispatch headline and story on the 'exiling of all negroes' from towns in southwest Missouri

Mellon Foundation funds study of racial terror in US newspapers, 1863-1921

Jan 27, 2023 10:45 am

A project to study newspaper reports about anti-Black violence in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century U.S. newspapers could provide context to the spread of white supremacist ideologies in social media today.

Roberto Lugo, "Yo Soy Boricua: A DNA Study," 2019. Resin, acrylic paint, chalk and MDF. Museum purchase through the John N. Chester Fund. 2022-15-1. Photo courtesy Krannert Art Museum

Reinvented decorative arts gallery at Krannert Art Museum tells diverse stories

Dec 12, 2022 11:00 am

Krannert Art Museum has completed a transformation of its Moore Gallery of Decorative Arts that highlights several new acquisitions and the diverse stories of art-making they tell, including this attention-grabbing piece by Roberto Lugo.

1938 picture of huge brick house called Choctaw. Photo by Frances Benjamin Johnston. Courtesy Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Cultural tourism that began in Depression-era created image of Old South

Nov 30, 2022 9:00 am

During the Great Depression, women in Natchez, MS, developed one of the first cultural tourism sites in the U.S., centered around the city’s antebellum architecture. In doing so, they created an image of the Old South as grand mansions and gracious living.

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