‘Making Our History’ art exhibit runs through May 11 at NIU

DeKALB – The Northern Illinois University Art Museum will host a public opening reception for the “Making Our History – Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacies” traveling exhibit next week.

The reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. April 4 at the NIU Art Museum in Altgeld Hall on NIU’s campus in DeKalb.

The reception features an informal gallery talk by the project’s coordinators, Graham A. Peck, a Wepner distinguished professor of Lincoln studies, and Brytton Bjorngaard, a University of Illinois-Springfield associate professor of graphic design.

“Making Our History – Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacies” features prints, paintings, sculptures, virtual reality, photography and conceptual and video artwork by 20 artists, according to a news release. The artwork showcases Abraham Lincoln’s many sides to inform his perception.

The exhibit also includes essays to contextualize the artwork and video interviews that offer insight into the artists’ practice, research and project.

The artists include Jordan Fein, Alexander Martin, Mark Nelson, Julie Cowan, Billie Theirde, Judith Joseph, Keenan Dailey, Lori Fuller, Nathan Peck, Lindsay Johnson, William Blake, Judith Meyer, Danny Houk, Corey Smith, David Hinds, Kelly Kristin Jones, Krista Shelton, Don Pollack, Larsen Husby, and Mathew Wilson and Adam Brooks of Industry of the Ordinary.

The “Lincoln Highway: The Main Street Across America” exhibit also will be on display in the museum’s Hall Case Gallery. The exhibit features the Lincoln Highway’s creation history, how it shaped cross-country travel and the Lincoln Highway’s DeKalb County roots.

The exhibition suite will run through May 11.

For information, visit go.niu.edu/artmuseumevents.