March 30

Talk

11AM – 12:15PM
Spencer Museum of Art, Art and Architecture Library, Room 103 and on Zoom. To join via Zoom, please contact Maya Stiller at mstiller@ku.edu for the access code.

Explore the Zen paintings and calligraphies of Hakuin Ekaku (1685–1768), the most famous Zen monk-artist of Japan’s Edo period with Yukio Lippit (Harvard University). Lippit examines Hakuin’s incorporation of different voices from Edo popular culture to communicate religious meaning, and considers Zenga’s construction as a category in the modern era.

Sponsored By: Kress Foundation Department of Art History, Spencer Museum of Art

March 31

Talk

3PM – 4PM
Kansas Union, Mallott Room, 1301 Jayhawk Blvd

The Repatriation Education Series continues with a session on repatriation from a Tribal and museums perspective. The featured speaker James Pepper Henry serves as the Vice Chairman & Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Kaw Nation and Director of the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

Sponsored By: Native American Initiatives Office, Spencer Museum of Art, Repatriation Committee, Office of DEIB

April 01

Talk

3PM – 4PM
Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St

Come learn about the Sacred Red Rock Project and receive a free activity guide with interactive prompts exploring history, monuments, reimagining and more. After the presentation, weather permitting, we will visit Robinson Park together. Snacks will be provided. Led by members of the Kaw Nation in collaboration with the City of Lawrence, University of Kansas, Spencer Museum of Art, Kanza Heritage Society and others, the project is focused on the return and relocation of In‘zhúje‘waxóbe, the 28-ton red Siouxan quartzite boulder currently located in Robinson Park, to the Kaw Nation, who have a centuries’ long relationship with the Rock and value it as a sacred item of prayer. Visit sacredredrock.com for more information.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

April 13

Talk

10:15AM – 11AM
Spencer Museum of Art, 405 Michaelis Gallery

Join KU Professor and Chair of Art History David Cateforis in exploring three major works in the Spencer collection: Elaine de Kooning’s "Arena" (1959), Louise Nevelson’s "Seventh Decade Garden IX-X" (1971), and Elizabeth Murray’s "Chaotic Lip" (1986). The discussion focuses on the artists’ distinctive uses of abstraction – a key feature of much modernist art – both as a vehicle of personal expression and to invite the viewer’s creative engagement with the artwork. Senior Sessions are designed with accommodations for older adults, but open to all.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

April 13

Talk

6PM – 7:30PM
Spencer Museum of Art

Celebrate the release of a free collaborative zine exploring disability, ableism, gender, and feminism inspired by the KU Common Work of Art by Harry Bertoia and the KU Common Book “Disability Visibility.” Contributors reflect on their pages followed by time for questions and discussion. The first 10 people will receive a free zine making kit. What’s a zine? Check out https://emilytaylorcenter.ku.edu/making-zines-doing-feminism.

Sponsored By: Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity, The Commons, Spencer Museum of Art, Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging and Faculty Staff Council on Disability Inclusion

April 20

Talk

6PM – 7PM
404 Marshall Balcony

Tour the exhibition "Dissent, Discontent, and Action: Pictures of US by Accra Shepp" with the photographer. Shepp, a New York-based artist, will share insights related to his two photographic projects, "Occupying Wall Street" and "The Covid Journals" that form this exhibition. Please note that space in the gallery will be limited and this tour will be repeated on Friday, April 21, at 10:00 am.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

April 21

Talk

10AM – 11AM
404 Marshall Balcony

Tour the exhibition "Dissent, Discontent, and Action: Pictures of US by Accra Shepp" with the photographer. Shepp, a New York-based artist, will share insights related to his two photographic projects, "Occupying Wall Street" and "The Covid Journals" that form this exhibition. Please note that space in the gallery will be limited and this tour will be offered on Thursday, April 20, at 6:00pm as well.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art

April 21

Talk

3:30PM – 5PM
318 Brosseau Learning Center

Artists of all disciplines are invited to learn how to apply for Rocket Grants—funding for innovative, artist-driven projects in surprising places. Rocket Grants administrator Kimi Kitada and Spencer staff member Adina Duke will take you step-by-step through the application process and timeline, budgeting tips, and the types of projects the program funds as well as answer your burning questions. Details about the Rocket Grants program are online at https://rocketgrants.org/apply/. Rocket Grants is a partnership between the Charlotte Street Foundation and the Spencer Museum of Art supported by funding from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Rocket Grants awards up to $6,000 to individuals or collaborative groups within an 80-mile radius of Kansas City.

April 24

Talk

7PM – 8:30PM
Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St

Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry including Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, which won the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. His first collection of essays, The Book of Delights, was released in 2019 and was a New York Times bestseller. His latest collection of essays, Inciting Joy, was released in October 2022. Free tickets are available at https://www.universe.com/RossGay. The Raven Book Store will be on site to sell books for a signing following the lecture.

Sponsored By: The Commons

May 11

Talk

10:15AM – 11AM
Spencer Museum of Art, 406 Stewart Gallery, 409 Lee Study Center

Learn how objects in the Spencer Museum’s collection intersect with the Japanese tradition of tea. Dale Slusser, who has studied and taught the Urasenke tradition of tea for nearly 40 years, provides an introduction to tea practice and shares how aesthetics, craft, and tea have interacted over time. Senior sessions are designed for older adults, but open to all. Senior Sessions are designed with accommodations for older adults, but open to all.

Sponsored By: Spencer Museum of Art