In the area of public engagement—a key strategic priority—KAM continues to grow new and exciting programs, as well as sustain the arts projects that have long enhanced museum visitor experiences.
The pandemic years proved both challenging and generative, as we developed virtual and hybrid programs to sustain museum engagement and meet schools where they were. We’ve carried these newer practices into the present as virtual partnerships have given way to different in-person collaborations. We also are harnessing technology to make space for expanding accessibility, centering diverse stories, and forging deeper connections.
Each year, we kick off the fall semester with KAM Fest, welcoming students to the museum with art-making activities, music, and giveaways. Our public openings offer a night to remember with live music, food trucks, and curator tours. As an example of our updated programming, the 2022 faculty exhibition Black on Black on Black on Black opened with an artist panel, a community dinner, live music, and book reading in the KAM garden. This fresh approach to public openings was made possible by collaborations with Pygmalion Festival and the School of Art and Design.
We’re so proud to continue offering interdisciplinary public programs that blend visual and performing arts. SPEAK Café continues every second Thursday of the month as an open mic space for poetry, spoken word, music, and performance. The Sudden Sound Concert Series presents leading performers in avant-garde jazz and improvised music through the Global Arts Performance Initiatives at Illinois. Rest Lab continues with pop-up spaces for rest and wellness in galleries that are “resting” between shows. Storytime at KAM welcomes children and caregivers, storytellers, and librarians to share stories that connect with gallery exhibitions.
Krannert Art Museum grounds our educational work in a long tradition of K–12 school partnerships. Beyond the multi-year collaboration with Booker T. Washington STEM Academy elementary school, KAM sustains Art Speak, an internship program with Rantoul High School, offering museum experiences for students to attend field trips, assist with public events, and create works of art inspired by KAM’s collection. Another recent highlight is KAM–BAM Senior, a day-long field trip at the museum for 75 Champaign and Urbana public high school art students followed by in-class art making at their home schools. Participating students created art in response to KAM’s collection and exhibited in the ATTACH show in the Hood Classroom.
Urbana Middle School career exploration field trips bring students to the museum to learn about installation, conservation, curation, and art education through interactive activities and team challenges. In the SPLASH afterschool program, Urbana Middle School girls created artworks exploring culture and identity that culminated in the Latinx Voces: Creaciones exhibition.
In fall 2023 we added Shozo Sato’s adult calligraphy students to our Hood Classroom lineup, as we continued to present pop-up exhibitions that invite students to explore identity, culture, community, and creative practice.
Half-day field trips and guided tours serve a wide array of teachers, K–12 students, after-school enrichment programs, and university classrooms. Guided tours are often designed in direct collaboration with teachers. Some of our favorites from recent years include a tour exploring grief and loss through art with University of Illinois Carle College of Medicine students studying care and ethics; a Department of Dance class interpreting artworks through movement; and a tour of the Black on Black on Black on Black faculty exhibition with City of Champaign staff working in equity and engagement.
Local artists are being invited more frequently and directly to engage museum audiences with live performances, installations, and exhibition opportunities. Through creative engagement at all levels, for all ages, Krannert Art Museum strives to be an art museum that celebrates diversity, builds connections, and generates transformative arts experiences for everyone.
Author: Rachel Lauren Storm, Assistant Director for Community Engagement and Learning
