Every year The Block brings new works of art into the collection to support Northwestern University’s teaching and learning mission. Each work becomes part of an expanding resource that students, faculty, and Block audiences can engage with through classes, research visits, and exhibitions.
The works of art in this exhibition will be selected in dialogue with a student-led collecting project undertaken by the 2023-2024 Block Student Associates. The BMSAs are an interdisciplinary group of Northwestern undergraduate students who serve as tour guides, public facilitators, and peer-to-peer ambassadors for the museum on campus. As in-house student advisors for museum staff, they help shape Block programming and projects. The yearly student-led acquisition provides the BMSA’s an opportunity to learn by doing.
In Academic Year 2023-2024 the BMSAs focused their acquisition project on works by artists who employ humor as an artistic strategy in their work. Their final proposal will be on view in this exhibition.