Exhibition lectures begin with a performance by a UNO flute student at 5:30 P.M. and are followed by a guest lecturer at 6:00 P.M. These Thursday evening lectures will be presented on a variety of topics that relate to the current exhibition Becoming a Witness: From Abstraction to Figuration. RSVP required.
February 8, 2024: Dr. Bridget Sandhoff, Associate Professor of Art History, will discuss Bak's relationship to the Etruscan city of Tarquinia, its history, and how it served as an inspiration for Bak's painting during his Italian residency.- Claire James & Christine Beard will perform a flute duo by Italian Jewish composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco whose music was banned, and the composer was forced to flee Italy due to antisemitism and racial laws imposed by the fascist regime in Italy.
- Sofia Cormack will perform a flute piece of music by Daniel Dorff chosen to abstractly tie the idea of forced migration, being uprooted from one’s home, and embarking on a journey to the unknown.
April 4, 2024: Award-winning author Rebecca Clarren will discuss her celebrated new book, The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance, delving into questions of how to face the stories we tell about our families and our nations, how to grapple with the legacy of the past through a Jewish lens, and what it means to consider history with both truth and empathy.
Rebecca Clarren will be joined by UNO Assistant Professor, Dr. Susana Geliga. The conversation will be moderated by Mikal Brotnov Eckstrom.
Ms. Clarren will be available to sign copies of her new book, The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance. Books may be pre-ordered (will not be for sale at the event) through The Bookworm and will be available for pick-up at the event.
Support for Rebecca Clarren's lecture generously sponsored by
May 2, 2024: Dr. Jeanette Gabriel, Director of the Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies, will share her research on the Eichmann Trial.
- Lily Gimse will perform a modern piece for solo piccolo by American composer Amanda Harberg entitled “Hall of Ghosts.” Though the work was originally composed during the pandemic to express the emptiness of concert halls, the work can serve as a metaphor of the courtroom (hall) being filled by the (unseen) ghosts of Eichman’s victims during the trial.
- Dr. Christine Beard on flute will be joined by Mary Perkinson on violin, Tyler Sieh on viola, and Gregory Clinton on cello to perform works by two Dutch Jewish composers, Rosy Wertheim and Reine Osorio-Swaab, who were forced into hiding during WWII.
Emerging Artists Series is a free workshop led by regional emerging artists that takes place at Samuel Bak Museum: the Learning Center. The workshop, which runs from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M., will begin with a tour of the current exhibition followed by an art-making session. RSVP required. Free to the public.
March 23, 2024 - Multi-media artist Ana Luisa González studied Visual Arts and a Master's Degree in the History of Modern and Contemporary Art in México. She is an artist who focuses her work on drawing and painting with mixed techniques that involve her interest and experience in the Conservation and Restoration of artistic work.
- González will lead a workshop on the theme of repair - Participants will explore the transformative qualities of gold leaf and how one can heal our pasts by finding brilliance in small details. (20 participants max)
April 27, 2024 – Aspen Monet Laboy is an interdisciplinary artist from Omaha, Nebraska working in poetry, glass sculpting, installation, and film photography. Exploring concepts of environmentalism, internal identity, and cultural heritage, they are influenced by nature, science, and philosophy. Their main focus is sculpting with words and fragments to express moments in time.
- Aspen M. Laboy will lead a workshop on identity and memory. Participants will explore how they form their concept of self individually and collectively through writing and the act of creation. You will explore through making mosaics the process of creating a visual memory of who you are. (20 participants max)
- Gardea’s interactive workshop will offer participants the opportunity to reconceptualize how they participate and reflect on the creative act. Through movement, writing, and drawing, participants will work on the exchange of memory and discuss their hopes for their future selves. (20 participants max)
- Linder’s workshop prompts participants to engage with historical traumas and offer alternative stories through interactive activities and discussions. Participants will explore how Robert Rauschenberg and Samuel Bak used collage and image layering, and then create their own collage to discuss collective effort of remembrance and reconciliation. (10 participants max)
- Zamorano will lead a workshop on spray paint and graffiti which will culminate with a collective act of creation that will tell the story of who the participants are. Through discussion of identity and exchange of memories, the group will choose a word that related their experience of the shared moment. (10 participants max)
Support generously provided by