Illinois Featured Content

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.

One of the best examples of the tribes’ hide-painting tradition is an 18th-century ceremonial robe featuring an iconic image of a thunderbird, now in the collection of the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris. Image courtesy Robert Morrissey

Project reconnects Native American tribes with hide painting tradition

Nov 16, 2022 10:45 am

'A big part of this project is to help the Miami and Peoria communities continue to revitalize their cultures in a hands-on way,' Professor Robert Morrissey said. 'It’s more than an academic study of the past.'

Pianist Rochelle Sennet will join Sinfonia da Camera for the performance on Nov. 12 at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Sinfonia da Camera to perform work by Pulitzer Prize-winning Black composer

Nov 9, 2022 11:15 am

Pianist Rochelle Sennet and Sinfonia da Camera will perform a work by Pulitzer-winning composer George Walker to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. Sennet says Walker inspiried her to learn more about Black composers, record their music.

black and white image of Jimmy, shirtless, in Saigon. Courtesy of Peter McDowell

Alum's film about his brother's life, death in Vietnam screening on campus

Oct 7, 2022 9:30 am

When Peter McDowell was growing up in Champaign, the life of his older brother, a Vietnam War veteran, and his untimely death in 1972 at age 24 were a mystery. See the award winning film, 'Jimmy in Saigon', and discuss it with McDowell.

“Gladys Knight and the Pips,” by Patrick Earl Hammie.

Art about Black experiences headlines faculty exhibition at Krannert Art Museum

Sep 22, 2022 11:00 am

The 'Black on Black on Black on Black' exhibition showcases the work by Black art and design faculty. The Sept. 24 opening celebration will be a daylong event with music, food, conversation and all-ages activities.

Ludacris returns home to perform at State Farm Center

Sep 13, 2022 1:00 pm

Ludacris, a Champaign native and rapper, will perform Saturday, October 15 at 8:00pm as part of the University of Illinois Homecoming festivities.

Romeyn de Hooghe, “Arlequin sur l’Hyppogryphe a la Croisade Lojoliste.” Armée van de Heylige Ligue voor der Jesuiten Monarchy, 1689. Engraving and letterpress on paper. Museum purchase through the John N. Chester Fund. 2019-7-1. Courtesy Krannert Art Museum

Krannert Art Museum exhibition depicts Dutch prints as the original social media

Aug 17, 2022 12:15 pm

Internet memes, editorial cartoons use humor and satire to put a spin on events, fuel political divides and persuade people to believe a certain version of history. Those images have their origins in the work of 17th-century Dutch printmakers.

The Queen’s Cartoonists play music from classic and contemporary cartoons, with the animation projected on a large screen behind them. Photo by Lindsey Thoeng

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts announces 2022-23 artists

Jul 21, 2022 1:00 pm

The 2022-23 season at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts will include touring artists, rescheduled performances that were canceled due to COVID-19, and work from the dance, music and theatre departments.

cover photo of Avrutin's book, 'Racism in Modern Russia: From the Romanovs to Putin'

Professor's new book explores racism in Russia over the past 150 years

May 10, 2022 9:30 am

White militarism has flourished in Russia under Putin’s rule, making it one of the most dangerous places in the world for racial violence, writes professor Eugene Avrutin in 'Racism in Modern Russia: From the Romanovs to Putin.'

Social work professor Lissette Piedra. Photo by L. B. Stauffer

Older Latinos redefine family to include friends, neighbors, community members

Apr 29, 2022 9:15 am

Latinos view the support of friends, neighbors and other community members as so vital to their well-being in later life that they redefine these relationships as family, according to new research from U of I social work professor Lissette Piedra.

Explore the 22nd annual Ebertfest

Apr 22, 2022 10:45 am

Roger Ebert’s Film Festival is held every April and is organized in conjunction with the College of Media.

Book cover - 'Rare Stuff'. Photo by Melia Kaplan-Hartnett

Professor's novel: A mysterious disappearance, whales trying to save the planet

Apr 19, 2022 9:45 am

The themes of Jewish identity and loss in the debut novel of Professor Brett Ashley Kaplan echo her academic research interests. 'Rare Stuff' also is a work of eco-fiction and magical realism.

Kenny Ramos, a Kumeyaay actor, plays Pan, who is a Native American character in “The Neverland.” Photo by Darrell Hoemann

Theatre department premiering reimagined 'Peter Pan' centered on Indigenous identity

Apr 7, 2022 11:30 am

'The Neverland,' by playwright Madeline Sayet, takes the original escapist journey told from a colonial viewpoint and makes it a work of Indigenous futurism about building a world where all people and cultures are valued.

Virgina Theater marqee announces the visit by director Guillermo Del Toro. Photo by Fred Zwicky

Directors del Toro, Zwigoff join 'Ebertfest' slate

Mar 8, 2022 9:15 am

Roger Ebert’s Film Festival announced that director Guillermo del Toro and screenwriter Kim Morgan will attend with a black-and-white version of their movie 'Nightmare Alley.' Director Terry Zwigoff will attend with cult classic 'Ghost World.'

Visiting artist Nasrin Navab curated the exhibition, “Reckless Law, Shameless Order: An Intimate Experience of Incarceration.” Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

Art by the formerly incarcerated emphasizes shared humanity, art's power to connect

Feb 14, 2022 8:00 am

An exhibition at Krannert Art Museum, 'Reckless Law, Shameless Order: An Intimate Experience of Incarceration,' explores their shared experiences of detention and how art helped them maintain their humanity.

Sophia Pucillo plays Petra, the doctor’s daughter, with Raiya Wen (seated) as Hovstad, the editor of the town newspaper, “The People’s Messenger.” Photo by Darrell Hoemann

Adaptation of classic play examines issues of politics, greed, public trust

Feb 11, 2022 9:15 am

Illinois theatre students adapted Henrik Ibsen’s classic, 'An Enemy of the People.' The story from 1882 has many parallels to today as it considers how the truth gets told (or not told) during a public health crisis.

Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo (Hopi-Tewa, Hopi Pueblo, Arizona, United States; 1928-2019), Polychrome Bowl, mid 20th c. Ceramic. George Ogura Collection, Gift of Shozo Sato and Mrs. Alice Ogura Sato for the late Dr. George I. Ogura. 2020-8-6 © Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo Courtesy Krannert Art Museum

Exhibition of Pueblo pots reveals connections to ancestral land, community

Jan 28, 2022 9:45 am

'To Know the Fire: Pueblo Women Potters and the Shaping of History' at Krannert Art Museum features earthenware vessels made by women from renowned pottery lineages in Pueblo communities in the Southwest.

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