University Galleries of Illinois State University

10/20/2026

Happy Homecoming, Redbirds! We're counting down to Friday when the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts will present awards at University Galleries.

Please join us on Friday at 1:30pm for this free public celebration!

Barry Blinderman (director of University Galleries from 1987-2018) will receive the Ovation Award, the highest award given by the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts to a member of the fine arts community who is not an Illinois State University alum.

This year’s Alumni Day honorees will also be recognized as recipients of college-level alumni excellence awards:

Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts Alumni Educator Award
Melissa Gustafson-Hinds ’94

Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts Alumni Innovator Award
Levia Lew, M.F.A. ’03

Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts Charles W. Bolen Pathforger Alumni Award
Jonathan Awori, M.F.A. ’01

Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts Alumni Legacy Award
David E. Mosier ’70, M.S. ’81 and Marjorie (Paul) Mosier ’69

Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts will celebrate five college alumni award recipients and induct Barry Blinderman into the college's hall of fame with an Ovation Award on Friday, October 23.

10/20/2026

Tonight at University Galleries! Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora and Department of English at Illinois State University present a reading and conversation featuring Mongane Wally Serote, South Africa's National Poet Laureate.

📍 Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Poetry Reading + Q&A
5:30–7:30pm CT
University Galleries of ISU
11 Uptown Circle 103
Normal, IL

October 19 & 20: Two in-person events with Mongane Wally Serote

📣 Join us in welcoming South Africa's National Poet Laureate Mongane Wally Serote to Normal, Illinois, for a poetry reading, conversation & book signing. These events are free and open to the public.

📍Monday, October 19, 2026
Informal Conversation + Q&A
1–3pm CT
Publications Unit, Williams Hall Annex
Illinois State University, Normal IL

📍 Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Poetry Reading + Q&A + Book Signing
5:30–7:30pm CT
University Galleries of ISU
11 Uptown Circle 103
Normal, IL

The award-winning author of numerous books of poetry and fiction, Mongane Wally Serote is a celebrated South African anti-apartheid activist and writer. He emerged as a core voice of the Black Consciousness Movement during the 1970s before spending years in exile as a military operative for the African National Congress. His honors include the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa, the Ingrid Jonker Poetry Prize, and the Chilean government’s Pablo Neruda Award. He is currently the National Poet Laureate of South Africa and will read from his book Listen (2024) and have a conversation on the Soweto Uprising of 1976.

📍 Link for details and to RSVP: bit.ly/SeroteEvent

10/14/2026

"Now"...

The Faculty Biennial opens today!

The exhibition will be open at 9:30am and the opening reception will be from 4:00 to 5:30pm. Free and open to the public. More info at link in comments.

📷: Detail of Melissa Johnson's "giving movement to the surrounding language" (from the series The book has somehow to be adapted to the body. Woolf Words & Tactile Investigations: a commonplace book), 2026. Cotton thread stitched on wool felt and typewritten text on paper. Courtesy of the artist. (Photo by Kendra Paitz.)

10/12/2026

Wrapping up some details this week. Join us at the Faculty Biennial's opening reception on Wednesday, October 14, from 4:00 to 5:30 pm! Free and open to the public.

The exhibition features new and recent work by faculty in Wonsook Kim School of Art and Design at Illinois State University and Creative Technologies at Illinois State University.

See the link in comments for full details and a list of events.

📷: Vinyl designed by student gallery assistant Dianna Miguez.

10/09/2026

Join us on Wednesday, October 14, from 4:00-5:30 p.m. for the Faculty Biennial opening reception! Free and open to the public.

Organized every two years, the Faculty Biennial presents new and recent research by faculty in the Wonsook Kim School of Art and Design at Illinois State University and Creative Technologies at Illinois State University. The artists participating in the exhibition represent the areas of art history, art teacher education, creative technologies, graphic design, and studio art.

This year’s participants are Tim Abel, Ladan Bahmani, Jason Dunda, Simone Downie, Andreas Fischer, Brian Franklin, Colby Jennings, Melissa Johnson, Katie Krcmarik, Christopher Lackey, Rose Marshack, Melissa Oresky, Morgan Price, Jason Reblando, Nathania Rubin, Tanya Scott, Archana Shekara, Sarah Smelser, Bert Stabler (with Mo Fizdale), Albion Stafford, Annie Sungkajun, Rick Valentin, and Michael Wille.

https://galleries.illinoisstate.edu/exhibitions/faculty-biennial-2026/

Image: 2024 Faculty Biennial, photo by Jade Nguyen.

10/07/2026

We are excited to share that Barry Blinderman, University Galleries' director for 31 years, will be receiving the Ovation Award from the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University. This Hall of Fame Award is the highest honor the College presents to a member of our fine arts community who is not an alum.

Save the date!
📌 Friday, October 23 at 1:30 p.m.
University Galleries (11 Uptown Circle, Suite 103, Normal)

Remarks will be followed by a reception. Free and open to the public. Five alumni will also be recognized with college-level excellence awards.

Excerpt from the announcement:
Barry Blinderman served as director of University Galleries at Illinois State University from 1987 to 2018. During his 31-year tenure, he brought countless artists to campus to share their work and engage with students and the community. Under his leadership, University Galleries became known for organizing the first large-scale solo exhibitions and producing first books for emerging and mid-career artists. He also launched University Galleries’ publication program, which today includes 58 exhibition catalogues and artist monographs, many of which are distributed internationally. Blinderman played a key role in relocating University Galleries to Uptown Normal, where the current location opened in October 2014.

“Without Blinderman’s influence, University Galleries would not have become an ambitious hub for contemporary art, publisher of internationally distributed books, or a bridge between the town and university,” said Kendra Paitz, current University Galleries director and chief curator.

More at link in comments.

10/05/2026

Thank you to artist Selina Trepp and musicians Yea Big (Stefen Robinson), Michael Carlson, and Grant Souder for such an incredible closing performance for Selina's solo exhibition! Not only did we have a third stop-motion animation by Selina on view just for this event, the musicians improvised along with it for 40 mesmerizing minutes!

This exhibition and related events were supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Lori Baum and Aaron Henkelman University Galleries Community Fund, Alice and Fannie Fell Trust, and .

Photos 1 and 4 by Aurelia Strunk, 2 and 5 by Mia Paitz. Video clip by Kendra Paitz.

10/02/2026

Closing events this weekend! All free and open to the public.

📌 Tonight (Friday) at 7:00pm
Collaborative performance and reception with artist Selina Trepp and musicians Yea Big (Stefen Robinson), Michael Carlson, and Grant Souder

📌 Tomorrow (Saturday), from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Independent Drawing Day:
Spend time looking closely at artworks and drawing at your own pace. Drop by any time between noon to 4:00. Materials provided. No registration required.

All three current exhibitions will be on view through Sunday.

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These events are supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Lori Baum and Aaron Henkelman University Galleries Community Fund, Alice and Fannie Fell Trust, and .

📷: Selina Trepp's solo exhibition at University Galleries. Photo credit: Aurelia Strunk.

10/01/2026

Friday, October 2 at 7:00pm!

We're so excited to welcome artist Selina Trepp and musicians Yea Big (Stefen Robinson), Michael Carlson, and Grant Souder for a one-night-only performance!

The musicians will improvise a collaborative performance to Trepp's stop-motion animation, "I Work with What I Have." This event is free and open to the public.

Check out Trepp's website to see a previous "I Work with What I Have" performance by Chér Jey and Dan Bitney at the Chicago Cultural Center.

I curated 3 improvised musical performances to take place inside the installation during the run of the exhibitions. These performances activated the space in yet another way, this time focusing on the musicality of the animations and giving an audience the opportunity to witness the creating of imp...

09/30/2026

Friday at 7pm!

Join us for closing events for Selina Trepp: Unprofessional Practices! Free and open to the public.

Musicians Yea Big , Michael Carlson , and Grant Souder will improvise a collaborative performance with 's 40-minute stop-motion animation, "I Work with What I Have." The performance will be followed by a reception.

Two of Trepp's stop-motion animations are on view in her current solo exhibition, but "I Work with What I Have" will only be on view during this performance. Don't miss it!

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This event is presented with Trepp's solo exhibition, Unprofessional Practices, on view through October 3. The performance is co-organized by , , and , and is supported by University Galleries' grant from . Additional support is provided by the Lori Baum and Aaron Henkelman University Galleries Community Fund, Alice and Fannie Fell Trust, and .

📷: Selina Trepp, still from "I Work with What I Have," 2019. Stop-motion animation, 40:00 minutes. Courtesy of the artist.