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• The Schingoethe Gallery

Exhibits and Programs

Please Note: All Schingoethe Gallery events are noted below with A Schingoethe Gallery Event

Each year, the Schingoethe Center hosts a variety of events and programs designed to help inform about many aspects of Native American cultures, both in historical and contemporary contexts. Unless otherwise noted, these events and programs are free and open to the public (donations are welcome and provide a necessary element of support for our operations). Museum and Exhibit Hours vary according to the time of year, please refer to our schedule for details. If you wish to bring a group, we ask that you contact us in advance so that we may be sure of adequate seating (630-844-7843, or museum@aurora.edu).Click here for driving directions to the Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures at Aurora University.

Current Events, Exhibits, Programs 2008-2009

January 8-February 25, 2009

A Schingoethe Gallery Event

"Confrontation/Contemplation"
Featuring Mike Knierim and Carolyn Bernstein

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 15, 2009; 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Bernstein and Knierim face the world head-on in this show about issues of war, loss and humanity. Life is messy. In "Confrontation/Contemplation," the goal is not to prescribe answers but, in their belief that art can evoke empathy and thus change, to simply present in the power of the visual the opportunity to reflect. Curator, Meg Bero

Mike Knierim
Mike Knierim states, “Where you place your attention determines all.” Knierim tends to place his attention at the boundaries where things converge. Such boundaries include encounters between natural and man-made, past and present, present and future, light and dark, right and wrong, have and have-not, levity and seriousness. The list goes on…

For Knierim these things are all metaphors for the border between the conscious and subconscious aspects of ourselves. Knierim seeks to create images and experiences which mediate between these levels of consciousness and reflect the dual nature of our being. “My ultimate goal is to express myself in a manner that has the capacity to improve our lives by creating greater awareness and understanding of ourselves, our neighbors and the world at large.”

Carolyn Bernstein
The guiding features of Bernstein’s work are questions about what sparks and sustains curiosity and empathy. Her work explores ideas of transience, loss, and transformation. “I find meaning and poignancy through an artistic practice that demands the careful and sustained examination of things that our culture discards, overlooks, or chooses not to talk about.”

February 2-April 25, 2009

With a Little Help From Our Friends: Gifts and Loans from Local Collectors

Since opening its doors in 1990, the Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures has been the recipient of the generosity of collectors in the area. Families seeking a good home for their treasures have donated them to the museum. Others have loaned their collections to help the museum present a particular exhibit made possible only by the loan of materials not in the museums collection. We would like to share these artifacts and the wonderful stories of those who collected them. This is our way of saying a very large thank you!

• Opening Reception: Tuesday, February 10, 2009; Schingoethe Education Gallery

March 3-March 31, 2009

Annual High School Art Show - St. Charles East High School

• Opening Reception: Tuesday, March 3, 2009; 6:30-8:30 p.m.

March 26, 2009, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
An Evening with Edgar Heaps of Birds

In his presentation, Heap of Birds will discuss his installation, "Most Serene Republics," at the 52nd Venice Biennale.  This 2007 piece was sponsored by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. 

This is a free presentation and open to the public.

To R.S.V.P., please contact the Schingoethe Center at 630-844-7843 or museum@aurora.edu.

April 7-September 7, 2009

Ninth Annual Aurora University Student Show

• Opening Reception: Tuesday, April 7, 2009; 4:30-6:30 p.m.

"Native Peoples of Illinois: There's No Place Like Home" Open September 16, 2004 - Present Visitors to the Schingoethe Center often ask, "who lived right here" before European contact? The Center's award-winning display, "Native Peoples of Illinois" provides detailed historical information on the early inhabitants of Illinois. Now, this exhibit has been expanded to include displays devoted to understanding of the "lifeways" of the Woodland tribes in Illinois. A full-scale wigwam and campsite help bring alive daily life in earlier times. Try your hand at assembling the frame and covering of a wigwam--you'll gain a new appreciation for the skill and foresight of native peoples.
"South of the Border: A Shared Heritage" Curators: Meg Bero and Dr. Denise Hatcher Open February 2004 - February 2008 The area that is now Mexico was home to some of the largest and most complex pre-Columbian native cultures, including the Maya and the Aztecs. Yet many today do not think of this heritage as "Native American," nor see its connection to the native peoples of the area that is now the United States. This exhibit provides a dazzling insight into the rich native cultures that span the U.S.-Mexico border and helps explain many of the common cultural threads between these cultures, and in contemporary Mexican and U.S. society. "South of the Border" is a joint research and construction project involving students and faculty of both Aurora University and East Aurora High School, working with the staff of the Schingoethe Center.
"Children in Native America" Curator: Meg Bero Open from September 23, 2003 - Present How did they grow up? How did they learn? What did they wear? What did they do, and what did they play with? Artifacts and photographs tell the story, from prehistoric to modern times. Includes material on the Native American Boarding Schools, toys, clothing, historic photographs, and other artifacts.
"Skystone and Silver-- Jewelry of the Southwest"Curator: Dr. Michael Sawdey Open September 23, 2003 - Present Selections from the Center's extensive collection of Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo jewelry, together with the history of jewelry in the cultures of the Southwest tribes. Southwest jewelry has ancient roots, leading to an explosion of creative activity in the mid-nineteenth century that resulted in jewelry of breath-taking beauty and power. This exhibit is located directly outside the Nizhoni Gallery and further showcases the Schingoethe collection of art and artifacts from the Southwest culture area.
Nizhnoni Gallery and "The World of Kachina" Curator: Meg Bero The Nizhoni ("beauty" in Navajo) Southwest Gallery, located in the corner of the Main Gallery, offers an enchanting glimpse into the Native American Southwest. Timbered and plastered in a design reminiscent of the pueblo architecture of the Southwest, this new gallery showcases the Schingoethe's extensive collection of materials from the Southwest culture area. The current exhibit in the Nizhoni Gallery features a large selection of Kachina dolls, both contemporary and historic, along with displays telling the history of Kachina dolls, explaining the Hopi ceremonial cycle, and showing how we know the appearance of the many Kachinas in the Hopi tradition. Take a closer look at some of the dolls on display, and see how these Kachinas were represented by Hopi artists over a century ago. For classroom use or further study an Exhibit Companion is available for purchase at the Museum Store.

Additional On-going Exhibits on Display

• "It was only a New World to Columbus" - Stone Tools and the timeline of human history in the Americas.
• Navajo Weaving Traditions
• Plains Indian Life--including lifeways that revolved around the buffalo and the horse.
• Southwest Pottery
• "The Tarahumara of Copper Canyon" - Artifacts from a unique community in an isolated area of Northern Mexico.