Krannert Art Museum

10/12/2026

Thank you for celebrating with us! Krannert Art Museum's Opening Night (Aug 27) highlighted new exhibitions including "Centering Clay: Connection and Innovation in American Studio Ceramics" (on view through Dec 23) and "Rest Lab 10: Path" (through Oct 3). We enjoyed hosting hundreds of community members to explore the galleries, meet our new director, and mark the first late night for fall. We enjoyed music by Ther'UpY during the reception and a great set by DJ KamauMau with dancing in Rest Lab. Photos by Fred Zwicky.


College of Fine & Applied Arts at Illinois School of Art and Design at Illinois University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

10/12/2026

10/11/2026

We had a wonderful time at Urbana Fall Fusion Festival 2026 today! Thanks to everyone who stopped by Krannert Art Museum's table to create fall-inspired streetside paintings inspired by artworks from the museum's collection!

A big shoutout to 40 North 88 West and the Urbana Arts and Culture Program for organizing and sponsoring this celebration of art and our community! 🍁🍂

10/11/2026

Today’s In the Studio: Thrown & Altered Clay Workshop at Unit One/Allen Hall brought participants together to experiment with ceramic forms and techniques under the guidance of artist and educator Catherine Wiesener.

In conjunction with Centering Clay: Connection and Innovation in American Studio Ceramics (on view at Krannert Art Museum through December 23rd), the workshop offered a chance to connect techniques demonstrated in works on view with creative practice.

Thank you to Catherine and everyone who joined us for a wonderful afternoon of artmaking!

10/11/2026

Thank you to curator Katie Koca Polite for leading today's special tour of In Search of a Future, the latest exhibition to open at Krannert Art Museum!

In Search of a Future "gathers a selection of work from the Krannert Art Museum’s collection to consider how artists have approached moments of distress and turmoil in both subtle and overt critiques of power structures, military interventions, human rights violations, and capitalist greed.

The title comes from George Wald, Nobel Laureate and biologist, who delivered a speech in 1969 that condemned nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War, both of which were existential threats that he found particularly detrimental to the younger generation. His words inspired artist Mary Cady Johnson (BFA ’35) to create a suite of prints featured in the exhibition. There are strong parallels between our current moment of upheaval with historical precedents, specifically economic anxiety, political polarization, and the rise in and push back against authoritarianism. While the exhibition does not offer answers, it intends to provide a contemplative space for reflection and dialogue.

The artists in this installation—Michael Ashenbrenner, Leonard Baskin, Ben Blount, Roger Brown, Vernon Fisher, Leon Golub, Mary Cady Johnson, William Kentridge, Annette Lemieux, Emmy Lingscheit, Alejandro Lugo, Guen Montgomery, Maryam Safajoo—produced critical works of art that rose to their particular moment, in hope of better, more equitable futures."

Thanks to everyone who joined us!

10/09/2026

📣 Now on view! Join us for a special tour of "In Search of a Future" with curator Kathryn Koca Polite. (10/10, 10:30 am)

"In Search of a Future" is a poetic, heartbreaking exhibition about economic, political, and racial injustice. It deeply resonates with our times. It's a lamentation for the marginalized and a call to action. This exhibition highlights works from the Krannert Art Museum collection by Michael Ashenbrenner, Leonard Baskin, Ben Blount, Roger Brown, Vernon Fisher, Leon Golub, Mary Cady Johnson, William Kentridge, Annette Lemieux, Emmy Lingscheit, Alejandro Lugo, Guen Montgomery, and Maryam Safajoo.

📍 Main Floor, Krannert Art Museum
📅 On view through May 15, 2027
🔗 kam.illinois.edu/search-future
🎟️ Free!
⏰ Tue–Fri (10–5), Sat (10–4), and Thursday until 8 pm while classes are in session

📷 Photos by Maureen Warren

College of Fine & Applied Arts at Illinois
Graphic Design at Illinois
School of Art and Design at Illinois
Illinois Alumni
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Illinois Arts Council

10/09/2026

Join us TOMORROW at the Urbana Fall Fusion Festival!

Krannert Art Museum is taking artmaking to the streets! Stop by our station near the Busey Lot to create your own fall-inspired watercolor resist painting using crayons, watercolors, and inspiration from autumn leaves and artworks in the museum’s collection.

Saturday, October 10 | 3–7 pm
Downtown Urbana

Free and fun for all ages! Come make art with us! 🍂

Flex your creative skills with a variety of hands-on art activities at Urbana Fall Fusion Festival 2026! Come to downtown Urbana on Saturday, October 10 between 3-7pm to participate in art making across a variety of mediums!

🕯️ Build your own fall-themed candle with Fire Doll Studio
☮️ Join Urbana Rotary Club for peace-themed painting activities
😀 Create a puppet with Champaign Urbana Puppet People
🖌️ Stop by Krannert Art Museum’s streetside artmaking station to create a fall-inspired watercolor resist painting
🖍️ Contribute to the fall coloring mural
🎨 Paint your own pumpkin with The Urbana Free Library (while supplies last)

Brought to you by 40 North 88 West sponsored by Urbana, Illinois - City Government

10/06/2026

📣 Excited to see this exhibition open soon in Los Angeles!

Coming to The Luckman Gallery — Millie Wilson: The Museum of Le***an Dreams. The first retrospective exhibition and publication showcasing three decades of Millie Wilson’s work. An influential yet underrecognized artist and pedagogue who taught generations of artists at the California Institute of the Arts, Wilson has deftly examined feminism, queerness, and the historical erasure of such positions from institutions of art. — On View October 24, 026 - April 10, 2027.
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Join us for the opening and artist talk Saturday, October 24 at 3:00 p.m.
RSVP at link in bio
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Originally organized by Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the exhibition brings together major loans from the artist, private collections, museums, and galleries, including 15 works from The Luckman’s Permanent Collection.

10/05/2026

What a day! Our Teen Artist Retreat brought together young artists for a full day of making, exploring, connecting, and trying something new.

From nature-inspired watercolor and textile art to time in the galleries, teens spent the day building community and making art together in this co-sponsored program by Krannert Art Museum and the Anita Purves Nature Center! We sketched among the trees in Busey Woods, hiked, and used nature as inspiration for original works of art!

Thank you to our partners for making this day possible—and, most of all, to the teen artists who brought their creativity, curiosity, and energy! 🍂

10/02/2026

🍂 October at Krannert Art Museum: We are in full swing for an exciting year—with new exhibitions and programs for all ages.

📣 What’s new?
• Rest Lab 10: Path – Through Oct 3
• Centering Clay: Connection and Innovation in American Studio Ceramics – Through Dec 23)
• In Search of a Future – Opens Oct 8

💌 Sign up for our monthly updates on free exhibitions and events! go.illinois.edu/art-mail