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Message from the Curator
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Kathleen Beaulieu
Matthew Dattilo
Marsha Goldstein
Nevin Hedlund
Virginia Hogan
Ellen Landgraf
Peter LoGiudice
Judy McCaskey
Denise Noell
Dr. Robert Roemer
Frank Novel
Adrienne Traisman
Debra Yates
Dear Members and Friends:
This spring, thousands of visitors came to LUMA to learn
about the global refugee crisis in Gregory Beals’ photography
exhibition,
They Arrived Last Night
; to experience self-taught
Milwaukee artist Della Wells’ collages, drawings, and dolls
in
Her Story, My Dreams
; and to view Chicago activist-artist
Tonika Lewis Johnson’s photographs celebrating everyday life in
Englewood. In addition to our three feature exhibitions, LUMA
also hosted
See In/Speak Out
highlighting the work of Arrupe
College students;
For[e]ward
, showcasing the senior capstone
projects of Loyola University Fine Arts majors; and
i am because
you are
, a collection of photographs and montages created by
K-12 students under the guidance of SkyArt. We were thrilled to
host notable guests for public programs including contemporary
artist Amanda Williams, scholar Wendy Pearlman, and poet
Tara Betts. This summer and fall LUMA will continue to present
work from global and local artists and aims to provide a rich
array of intellectually engaging and socially compelling public
programs.
LUMA is honored to be the first American Museum to host
Following the Box
, a multimedia art installation curated by
Alan Teller and Jerri Zbiral. When I first learned about this
exhibition I was immediately captivated by its scope, originality
and creativity.
Following the Box
embodies a journey that spans
seventy years of history, two continents, and more than a dozen
artists. Taken in India by an unknown American soldier in the
1940s, these photographs were purchased at a Chicago area
estate sale more than fifty years later. These material documents
functioned as the catalyst for a continuously evolving project
that explores the elusive nature of memory, political and
military histories, cultural identity, and epistemology. As Teller
and Zbiral traced these documentary photographs back to West
Bengal, their project transformed into a traveling exhibition
featuring painting, film, graphic illustration, and folk art, as well
as multimedia and conceptual art.