Event Details
Date & Time:
Sun February 15, 2026
2:00 PM-3:00 PM
Location:
The Block Museum of Art
40 Arts Circle Drive
Evanston, IL 60208
Audience:
Open to the public
Details:
Join the Block Museum Student Associates in The Living Room for a close look at 10 photographs from the series Immigrant Owned by Jonathan Michael Castillo that highlight small businesses in Chicago owned or operated by Chicagoans who are immigrants. The Living Room is a drop-in space at The Block Museum that invites students and other visitors to gather, reflect, and connect with a small selection from the museum’s collection, rotating each month.
Block Museum Student Associates (BMSAs) are Northwestern undergraduates representing interdisciplinary fields of study from across the university. In the galleries, BMSAs extend welcome to our exhibitions and permanent collection and engage visitors in conversations about artworks that spark their curiosity.
Participation level – medium, participants are encouraged to respectfully share their own perspectives, thoughts, and questions throughout the Art Talk.
Programs are open to all, on a first-come first-served basis. RSVPs not required, but appreciated.
About BMSA Facilitators
Renato de Souza Elisanio
Economics and International Studies (2026)
Originally from the Brazilian Northeast, art first came alive in my mind when, as a kid, I stepped into the Museu da Gente Sergipana (Museum of the People of Sergipe) and saw my people’s history expressed in mosaic, creative, and resilient ways. Shaped by this experience, my search for spaces to explore human fragilities and beauty (through its volatile meanings) became a constant throughout my journey. This path brought me to the BMSA program as a way to expand my beliefs and sense of sonder, to challenge the comfort imposed by college, and to give voice to whispers that were trapped in my mind.
Leila Murray
Manufacturing and Design Engineering (2028)
My name is Leila Murray, and I’m a sophomore from Ft.Lauderdale, Florida studying Manufacturing and Design Engineering. I believe art allows us to connect with others’ lived experiences while also deepening our understanding of ourselves, which is what drew me to the Block and the BMSA program. One of my favorite quotes by author and poet Ocean Vuong captures this feeling: “In a world as myriad as ours, the gaze is a singular act: to look at something is to fill your whole life with it, if only briefly.”
Contact The Block Museum of Art for more information: (847) 491-4000 or email us at block-museum@northwestern.edu