Tuesday, June 13, 2017

UIS Visual Arts Gallery presents “Walking Enos Park: Who is your neighborhood?” by Astrid Kaemmerling

The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery is pleased to present “Walking Enos Park: Who is your neighborhood?” by Enos Park artist-in-residence Astrid Kaemmerling. The gallery partnered with the Enos Park Residency for Visual Artists to fund Kaemmerling and a community-focused solo exhibition.

“Walking Enos Park: Who is your neighborhood?” will open with a reception on Wednesday, June 28 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The exhibit will run from Wednesday, June 28 through Friday, July 28. The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is open for the duration of the exhibit on Saturdays from 12 to 4 p.m. or throughout the week by appointment.

“Walking Enos Park: Who is your neighborhood?” is a visual and sound art exhibition which aims to represent the voices of local residents and community members in order to uncover the character of Enos Park. “Who” is the Enos Park Neighborhood? -- and “What” do artists in Enos Park need to grow & prosper?

As an artist in residency at Enos Park, Kaemmerling is currently hosting the “Enos Park Community Walking Laboratory,” a community-centered walking art project. The exhibition represents the research she conducted during walks with individual community members through Enos Park. The laboratory will be open throughout the time of the exhibition from June 28 to July 28, and community members are welcome to make a walking appointment with the artist.

“The exhibition will grow over time, and aims to provide insights into the social, economic and demographic situation of Enos Park as seen, told and experienced through the eyes of the community,” said Kaemmerling.

Kaemmerling is a German-born artist, scholar and educator based in San Francisco, California. Her work as an interdisciplinary artist spans the genres of visual, performance and media art and strives to connect place memories of the past, such as collected travel experiences, with a critical exploration of specific neighborhoods and selected urban places.

Kaemmerling has been exhibited internationally in Germany, Italy, Korea and the United States. Her work has won several awards and fellowships, such as at the Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto (Italy) and the Vermont Studio Center (Vermont). She is the founder of The International Community of Artist-Scholars, a community of artists who work at the intersection of art & research, as well as founder of The Walk Discourse, a Bay Area based laboratory for walking artists and walking enthusiasts to share walking art methodologies, practices and tools. The interest in interdisciplinary collaboration has led her to the School of Interdisciplinary Arts at Ohio University where she received her Ph.D. and completed a dissertation on walking art; her writing has been published in peer-reviewed journals and publications.

The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, room 201 (HSB 201). For more information on exhibition programming, please visit the UIS Visual Arts Gallery website at www.uis.edu/visualarts/gallery, or email Amanda Lazzara at alazz2@uis.edu.

Monday, June 5, 2017

UIS student brings video games to life through an interactive event at the Illinois State Military Museum

Photo Courtesy: Chris McDonald
Lizzie Roehrs of Springfield, a junior communication major at the University of Illinois Springfield, has partnered with the Illinois State Military Museum to bring her love of military history and video games to life.

Roehrs created the “War Games” event, which will be held on Saturday, June 24, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Illinois State Military Museum, located at 1301 N MacArthur Blvd. in Springfield. The event is being held in conjunction with a WWII encampment.

Visitors will be able to interact with reenactors and historical equipment that are highlighted in popular World War Two (WWII) video games, such as “Call of Duty World at War”. They will also be able to talk with historians, try on uniforms, watch reenactments and weapons demonstrations, and explore a recreated trench. Unique artifacts, which are not usually available to the public, will also be display.

“The point of the event is to teach visitors about the real-life events and equipment behind what people see in video games,” said Roehrs. “This event is an opportunity for video game lovers and history buffs alike to come experience the weapons, gear and uniforms of World War Two first-hand.”

The event originally started as a hypothetical campaign in UIS Assistant Professor of Communication Ann Strahle’s Introduction to Public Relations class. However, Roehrs decided to take it a step further by creating the actual event at the Illinois State Military Museum where she is currently interning.

“My inspiration for this event came from wanting to find a way to bring a new crowd of people into the museum,” said Roehrs. “I wanted to find a connection between entertainment and history that would appeal to people who maybe aren't usually museum goers. I also wanted to show people that play these games that there is more to the history than what they see in a video game.”

Roehrs, a self-proclaimed “history buff”, says she’s always been interested in World War Two. Her father is a historian who specializes in military and diplomatic history of WWII and her grandfather is a WWII veteran.

For more information on the event, email Lizzie Roehrs at eroeh2@uis.edu or contact the Illinois State Military Museum at 217/761-3910.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

UIS to host a free movie on the quad screening of Disney’s “Beauty & the Beast”

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield will host a free movie on the quad screening of “Beauty & the Beast” (2017), a live-action re-telling of Disney's animated classic. The screening is free and open to the public. Please bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating.

WHEN: Friday, June 9, 2017, at 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Quad near the Colonnade

DETAILS: Disney's animated classic takes on a new form, with a widened mythology and an all-star cast. A young prince, imprisoned in the form of a beast, can be freed only by true love. What may be his only opportunity arrives when he meets Belle, the only human girl to ever visit the castle since it was enchanted. The movie stars Emma Watson, Josh Gad, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Audra McDonald and Stanley Tucci.

The movie will be projected onto a large inflatable screen that will be set up on the quad. The event is made possible by UIS Student Life.

For more information, contact Mary Umbarger, UIS Student Life program assistant, at 217/206-4762 or mumbarg2@uis.edu.