Museum Initiatives

“How do fields of human endeavor and creativity intersect in unexpected ways to yield entirely new ways of thinking?”

Explore our ongoing projects using art as a springboard for conversation about our world.

Block Cinema at 25: Projecting the Future

Projecting the Future: Block Cinema at 25 is a year-long celebration throughout the 2026-2027 aof Block Cinema's twenty-fifth anniversary. Through screenings, performances, conversations, research initiatives, and student-led programs, the project explores the evolving possibilities of the moving image and the enduring value of cinema as a space for discovery, learning, and shared experience.

The Living Room

The Living Room is a drop-in space at The Block Museum that invites students and visitors to gather, reflect, and connect with one artwork in the museum’s collection, rotating each month.

Collection Council

The Collection Council is a collaborative learning opportunity consistent with The Block’s educational mission. Each year the group builds consensus to propose a work of art to The Block’s Acquisitions Committee. The Council also builds The Block’s resources for acquiring art and invests in structures and processes to support care for the collection and make it accessible to broad audiences.

Athletics Partnership

In academic year 2022–23, The Block launched a multi-year pilot program with Northwestern Athletics to share the museum as an important campus resource, and, through this, to create conditions and support for student-athletes, coaches, and staff to have meaningful encounters with works of art.

Touring Exhibitions

The Block Museum creates original exhibitions grounded in curatorial research and interdisciplinary scholarship. Our nationally and internationally touring exhibitions bring this work to museums and audiences across the globe.

One Book One Northwestern

One Book One Northwestern is a community‐wide reading program that aims to engage the campus in a common conversation centered on a carefully chosen, thought-provoking book. Learn more about how The Block is using art to engage the discussion