Ackland Events

Drawing for Tweens
2023-10-21 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-09-16 10:30 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
This program invites ten- to thirteen-year-olds to look at selected works in the Ackland’s collection and identify techniques that the artists used to make them. Gallery teacher Daniel Hammer demonstrates and teaches participants technical skills, which they can then apply to their own artistic creations. A mix of drawing from works on display and creating one’s own original works is offered in each session. Materials are provided.
Cost: $5; free to Ackland Members at the Household Level and above. Register below. Class sessions will be limited to 10 participants.

Art Adventures (Morning Session)
2023-10-21 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-09-16 10:30 - 12:00 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
In this art-inspired, hands-on art-making class for six- to nine-year-olds, participants will create their own masterpieces inspired by works of art at the Ackland. Classes are led by instructor Allison Tierney.
Cost: $5; Free for Ackland Members at the Household Level and above. Register below. Each session limited to ten participants.

Drawing in the Galleries
2023-10-21 10:00 - 12:00, 2023-09-16 10:00 - 12:00 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Join us for our popular Drawing in the Galleries program this month during Studio Saturday! Amanda Hughes leads participants in a creative exploration of a particular object in the Ackland’s collection. Participants all draw from one object using their own gallery-safe materials (paper/notebooks and dry media like crayons and pencils), then discuss what they’ve noticed through the process of drawing. All levels are welcome.

TOUR: A Closer Look at the Collection
2023-10-20 13:00 - 13:30 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Join Ackland educators for a lively half-hour look at two works of art. These engaging conversational tours offer a closer look at and new perspectives on works on view from the Ackland’s collection.
Free. No ticket needed!

A Closer Look at the Ackland Collection
2023-10-15 13:00 - 13:30 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Join Ackland educators for a lively half-hour look at two works of art. These engaging conversational tours offer a closer look at and new perspectives on works on view from the Ackland’s collection.

TOUR: A Closer Look at the Collection
2023-10-14 13:00 - 13:30, 2023-10-07 13:00 - 13:30, 2023-09-17 13:00 - 13:30 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States

2nd Friday ArtWalk: Acktoberfest
2023-10-13 18:00 - 21:00 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Join us for a special Friday the 13th edition of Acktoberfest, our second annual celebration of the arts and tastes of the season. Spend a lighthearted evening kicking off spooky season with friends — look for “haunting” art, take part in mini writing workshops, and sample a selection of ciders and specialty cheeses from local makers.
Food and Drinks
Cheese and art pairings from The Cheese Shop (Carrboro, NC) and ciders on tap from Bull City Ciderworks (Durham, NC), both priced a la carte.
Experimental Writing
Visiting Writer A. Kendra Greene leads three mini writing workshops exploring ideas of shadow texts and erasure at 6, 6:30, and 7 p.m. Drop in to explore ideas of invisibility and the unknown during these interactive sessions. Read an excerpt aloud — if you dare?? — at our outdoor open mic at 7:30 p.m.
Art Exploration
Explore the galleries with guided looking prompts for the spooky season and a chance to see what’s new on view at the Ackland.
Library Pop-Up
How do authors represent the invisible? Leaf through a collection of books from UNC Libraries that explore ideas of invisibility, erasure, and ephemerality.

Ackland Film Forum: "Misery" (Rob Reiner, 1990)
2023-10-10 19:30 | Varsity Theatre, 123 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Misery
Dir. Rob Reiner, 1990
Co-sponsored by Playmakers Repertory Company in connection with their stage production of Stephen King’s Misery, October 11-31 (https://playmakersrep.org/show/misery/)
Introduced by Henry Veggian, English & Comparative Literature
Adapted from Stephen King’s novel, Misery is a tongue-in-cheek psychological horror film that explores the relationship between a bestselling romance novelist (played by James Caan) and his most devoted fan (played by Kathy Bates). Not unlike The Shining, this film imparts a vivid feeling of confinement in a single, snowy, remote setting that dominates the narrative. Bates’ performance earned her Best Actress at that year’s Academy Awards. This film will frighten you but will also inspire grins and laughter. King has called it one of the best adaptations of his work, which suggests that it captures his intended tone. See the film and then be sure to catch the stage adaptation by William Goldman over at Playmakers this October!

Register for a FREE ticket below!
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This Fall’s Ackland Film Forum series, Nineties Flashback, is presented by the Ackland Art Museum and the UNC Film Studies Program, part of the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of English and Comparative Literature.
All Ackland Film Forum screenings are part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience program. Scan the QR code at the event for CLE credit.

Last Look Tour for "Reform to Restoration"
2023-10-08 15:30 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
A final look at the fabulous French drawings of the Horvitz collection, led by Reform to Restoration curator and Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art before 1950 Dana Cowen.
Space is limited; free tickets required.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Reform to Restoration: French Drawings from Louis XVI to Louis XVIII (1770-1830) presents over eighty master drawings from The Horvitz Collection, the preeminent private collection of French art in the United States, and showcases some of the most well-known artists of the period, including Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Pierre-Paul Prud’hon. Working in a time of tremendous political and social upheaval in France, artists looked to the art, architecture, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration and used stories from antique history and mythology as well as current events and contemporary theater to convey moral and civic values during a period of great uncertainty. Arranged in thematic groupings devoted to the concepts of patriotism, love, honor, conflict, and despair, the works on display demonstrate the intellectual curiosity of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century French artists as well as the expressive versatility and powerful immediacy of drawings.
Image credit: Antoine-Charles-Horace Vernet, called CARLE VERNET (1758-1836), Scene of Combat in Egypt, ND, Black chalk, stumped, and brush with brown and gray wash, heightened with white gouache on three joined sheets of off-white wove paper, 718 x 970 mm. (Framed: 48 ¼ x 37 ¼ x 1 ¾ ), L2023.6.22

Art & Literature at the Ackland
2023-10-06 15:00 - 16:30 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Join Dana Cowen (Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art before 1950, Ackland Art Museum) and Professor Ellen Welch (Romance Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill) for a tour and lively discussion of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Reveries of a Solitary Walker and the Ackland’s current exhibition Reform to Restoration. Participants will receive a copy of the book in advance of the event. Presented in collaboration with Carolina Public Humanities.
Space is limited; tickets are required. The $40 ticket includes a copy of the book and refreshments at the event. Tickets are now on sale at https://humanities.unc.edu/event/art-and-literature-at-the-ackland/.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Reform to Restoration: French Drawings from Louis XVI to Louis XVIII (1770-1830) presents over eighty master drawings from The Horvitz Collection, the preeminent private collection of French art in the United States, and showcases some of the most well-known artists of the period, including Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Pierre-Paul Prud’hon. Working in a time of tremendous political and social upheaval in France, artists looked to the art, architecture, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration and used stories from antique history and mythology as well as current events and contemporary theater to convey moral and civic values during a period of great uncertainty. Arranged in thematic groupings devoted to the concepts of patriotism, love, honor, conflict, and despair, the works on display demonstrate the intellectual curiosity of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century French artists as well as the expressive versatility and powerful immediacy of drawings.

TOUR: A Closer Look at "Reform to Restoration"
2023-10-06 13:00 - 13:30, 2023-09-29 13:00 - 13:30, 2023-09-22 13:00 - 13:30, 2023-09-15 13:00 - 13:30 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Join Ackland educators for a lively half-hour look at two works of art. These engaging conversational tours offer a closer look at and new perspectives on works on view in Reform to Restoration: French Drawings from Louis XVI to Louis XVIII (1770-1830).
Free. No ticket needed!

Ackland Film Forum: "JFK" (Oliver Stone, 1991)
2023-10-03 19:30 | Varsity Theatre, 123 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
JFK
Dir. Oliver Stone, 1991
Introduced by Prof. Michelle Robinson, American Studies
As one of the most epic conspiracy thrillers ever conceived, JFK investigates the perpetually unsolved murder of an American president. Set largely in New Orleans, this sprawling, kaleidoscopic film bombards us with all manner of facts and paranoid theories while Robert Richardson’s highly complex cinematography alternates between the past and present, between archival and newly shot material, between sumptuous 35mm images and grainy 16 or 8mm images that look like newsreel footage. Featuring many actors you will recognize (Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Joe Pesci, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Bacon, Donald Sutherland, and even John Candy!), this film will no doubt provoke conversation with your friends and leave you wanting to see it again, albeit after a long rest.
This Fall’s Ackland Film Forum series, Nineties Flashback, is presented by the Ackland Art Museum and the UNC Film Studies Program, part of the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of English and Comparative Literature.
All Ackland Film Forum screenings are part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience program. Scan the QR code at the event for CLE credit.

Ackland Film Forum: "Magnolia" (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999)
2023-09-26 19:30 | Varsity Theatre, 123 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Magnolia
Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999
Introduced by Aspect: Journal of Film & Screen Media
Everything uncannily intersects in Magnolia: the past, the present, emotional traumas, diseases, network television, crimes, false representations, family disasters, geography of the San Fernando Valley, Biblical plagues, whirling camera movements, and more. P.T. Anderson’s operatic melodrama is one of the quirkiest and most audacious entries in 1990s American cinema, with throwbacks to 1970s-era work by Sidney Lumet and Robert Altman. The star-studded ensemble cast includes Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and other faces you will recognize. Along with Eyes Wide Shut from the same year, Magnolia is one of the most curious and unsettling performances by Cruise, who, at least in 1999, embraced vulnerability and self-critique.
This Fall’s Ackland Film Forum series, Nineties Flashback, is presented by the Ackland Art Museum and the UNC Film Studies Program, part of the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of English and Comparative Literature.
Reserve your FREE TICKET below!
For UNC Students: All Ackland Film Forum screenings are part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience program. Scan the QR code at the event for CLE credit.

F.A.M. Fun in the Galleries
2023-09-24 13:00 - 17:00 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Drawing activities for the whole family inspired by the Ackland’s current exhibition Reform to Restoration.
No ticket needed; drop in all afternoon!
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Reform to Restoration: French Drawings from Louis XVI to Louis XVIII (1770-1830) presents over eighty master drawings from The Horvitz Collection, the preeminent private collection of French art in the United States, and showcases some of the most well-known artists of the period, including Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Pierre-Paul Prud’hon. Working in a time of tremendous political and social upheaval in France, artists looked to the art, architecture, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration and used stories from antique history and mythology as well as current events and contemporary theater to convey moral and civic values during a period of great uncertainty. Arranged in thematic groupings devoted to the concepts of patriotism, love, honor, conflict, and despair, the works on display demonstrate the intellectual curiosity of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century French artists as well as the expressive versatility and powerful immediacy of drawings.
Image credit: Jean-François-Pierre PEYRON (1744-1814), Standing Draped Man and Child, ND, Pen with black ink and brush with gray wash, heightened with white gouache, on blue wove paper, 380 x 275 mm. (Framed: 23 x 17 ½ x 1 ½ ), L2023.6.39

Artist Talk: Amalia Pica
2023-09-21 18:00 - 19:00 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Join us for an artist talk with Amalia Pica, internationally renowned London-based Argentinian artist whose major commissioned installation Drawn to Explain has just been completed at the Craige Parking Deck on UNC’s campus. Pica will discuss how this very large-scale, multifaceted work fits within her broader body of work, which often explores systems of communication and human understanding in a playful, engaging way.
Space is limited; please register for a free ticket below.
This talk has been made possible by a generous gift from Carol Cole Levin.
UNC Students attending this talk can receive Campus Life Experience (CLE) credit by scanning the QR code at the event.
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ABOUT DRAWN TO EXPLAIN
Drawn to Explain is a large-scale mixed media art installation at the Craige Parking Deck on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s campus. The work uses powder-coated aluminum elements and paint on concrete to reflect diagrams from different disciplines and departments across the University, conveying the sense of discovery at Carolina.

Public Celebration: Amalia Pica's "Drawn to Explain"
2023-09-20 11:00 - 12:00 | Craige Deck, Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Internationally renowned artist Amalia Pica comes to Chapel Hill to celebrate the completion of a large-scale mixed media art installation, Drawn to Explain, on the exterior of Craige Parking Deck on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s campus. The work uses powder-coated aluminum elements and paint on concrete to reflect diagrams from different disciplines and departments across the University, conveying the sense of discovery at Carolina. Pica will be the featured speaker at the event. She will also give an artist talk the following evening, Thursday, September 21, at 6 p.m.
The celebration will take place at Craige Deck, at the corner of Paul Hardin and Manning Drives. Free. No ticket needed!

Music in the Galleries: Music of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges
2023-09-17 14:00 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
This event is now SOLD OUT. To be added to a waitlist, please email acklandRSVP@unc.edu.
Join members of the UNC Baroque Ensemble, under the direction of Brent Wissick, for an intimate art-inspired concert of French classical music by Joseph Boulogne, also known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. A tour for concert-goers led by Dana Cowen, exhibition curator and Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art before 1950, will follow the performance.
This event is now SOLD OUT. To be added to a waitlist, please email acklandRSVP@unc.edu.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Reform to Restoration: French Drawings from Louis XVI to Louis XVIII (1770-1830) presents over eighty master drawings from The Horvitz Collection, the preeminent private collection of French art in the United States, and showcases some of the most well-known artists of the period, including Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Pierre-Paul Prud’hon. Working in a time of tremendous political and social upheaval in France, artists looked to the art, architecture, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration and used stories from antique history and mythology as well as current events and contemporary theater to convey moral and civic values during a period of great uncertainty. Arranged in thematic groupings devoted to the concepts of patriotism, love, honor, conflict, and despair, the works on display demonstrate the intellectual curiosity of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century French artists as well as the expressive versatility and powerful immediacy of drawings.
Image credit: Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier, called Le Barbier L’AÎNÉ (1738-1826), Minerva Presenting the the Chevalier Desilles to Henri IV in the Elysian Fields, ND, Pen with black ink and brush with brown wash on off-white laid paper, 240 x 355 mm. (Framed: 23 x 17 ½ x 1 ½ ), L2023.6.10

Art Adventures (Afternoon Session)
2023-09-16 13:00 - 14:30 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States

The 9th Annual Symposium of the Art Student Graduate Organization - “The Ways We Attach Ourselves”: Affect, Agency, and Emotion in the Visual Arts
2023-09-15 17:30 - 2023-09-16 16:00 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Please reserve your space at the event here.
The symposium will be held in-person at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on
Friday, September 15th at 5:30 – 7:30 PM and Saturday, September 16th from 9:00 AM-
4:00 PM. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A session and are open to a general audience.
Affect theory in art highlights the power of art to evoke intense emotions and bodily sensations
influenced by social, cultural, and historical factors. It recognizes that our bodies actively
participate in the affective encounter with art, generating physical responses that contribute to the
experience. This approach explores how art can transform emotions, challenge interpretations,
and provoke new perspectives, examining the aesthetic strategies artists employ to evoke
affective responses in viewers.
Drawing inspiration from the insightful work of Lauren Berlant and Sarah Ahmed, this year’s
symposium delves into the captivating realm of affect, agency, and emotion within the visual
arts. Our objective is to embrace an affective approach that illuminates the emotional and sensory
dimensions of art, showcasing the profound transformative potential inherent in encounters with
artworks. ASGO cordially invites you to immerse yourself in art on a deeply visceral and embodied
level, transcending mere intellectual analysis and embarking on an exploration of the boundless
affective possibilities offered by artistic experiences.
Please reserve your space at the event here.

Ackland Film Forum: "Thelma and Louise" (Ridley Scott, 1991)
2023-09-12 19:30 | Varsity Theatre, 123 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Thelma & Louise
Dir. Ridley Scott, 1991
Introduced by Kino Corner
This gorgeously shot film is a rarity in Hollywood: a written-by-a-woman (Callie Khouri) action thriller/road movie with richly drawn female bonding at its center. Controversial in its day for its sensational depiction of violence, Thelma & Louise has become a cult classic with a large fan base, which includes members of the LGBTQ community who, already in the 1990s, saw in this narrative a quasi-lesbian romance that takes dead aim at patriarchy. Starring Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, this is also the film that made a young Brad Pitt famous, despite his limited screen time. The closing shot is among the most famous and memorable of the decade.
This Fall’s Ackland Film Forum series, Nineties Flashback, is presented by the Ackland Art Museum and the UNC Film Studies Program, part of the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of English and Comparative Literature.
All Ackland Film Forum screenings are part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Campus Life Experience program. Scan the QR code at the event for CLE credit.

2nd Friday ArtWalk: Student Edition!
2023-09-08 17:00 - 21:00 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Curious about what your campus art museum offers? Join the Ackland for an evening highlighting the ways students at UNC-Chapel Hill can get involved at the Museum.
The Ackland will be open until 9 p.m. for tonight’s 2nd Friday ArtWalk. With information on the various resources available to students at the Ackland, an opportunity to sign up for our free student membership, a button-making station, and guided gallery tours led by the Ackland Student Guides, there are many ways to engage! Visitors are also encouraged to explore the Ackland’s special exhibition, Reform to Restoration: French Drawings from Louis XVI to Louis XVIII (1770-1830).

Take Two Tour: Two Perspectives on "Reform to Restoration"
2023-09-08 14:00 | Ackland Art Museum, 101 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Carolyn Allmendinger (Director of Education and Interpretation, Ackland Art Museum) and Max Owre (Carolina Public Humanities Executive Director and French History scholar) will tour Reform to Restoration with attendees, highlighting select pieces from their different professional points of view. There will be insights, tidbits, and possible (friendly) debate. Space is limited; free ticket required.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Reform to Restoration: French Drawings from Louis XVI to Louis XVIII (1770-1830) presents over eighty master drawings from The Horvitz Collection, the preeminent private collection of French art in the United States, and showcases some of the most well-known artists of the period, including Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Pierre-Paul Prud’hon. Working in a time of tremendous political and social upheaval in France, artists looked to the art, architecture, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration and used stories from antique history and mythology as well as current events and contemporary theater to convey moral and civic values during a period of great uncertainty. Arranged in thematic groupings devoted to the concepts of patriotism, love, honor, conflict, and despair, the works on display demonstrate the intellectual curiosity of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century French artists as well as the expressive versatility and powerful immediacy of drawings.
Image credit: Anicet-Charles-Gabriel Lemonnier (1743-1814), Seated Roman Senators in Debate, ND, Black, red, and white chalk on light tan wove heightened with white chalk on light tan wove paper, squared in graphite, 356 x 393 mm. (Framed, approx. 24 x26 x 1 ½ ), L2023.6.26
