Current Exhibits
Viola Spolin : Improvisation & Intuition, April 1, 2013-September, 9, 2013
Viola Spolin was a pioneer in American Theatre. She has been called “the high-priestess of improv” and is best known as the creator of theater games, originally created as a series of exercises to aid students in the study of drama. Her games and approach to theatre inspired the creation of The Second City, other famous theatre projects, and was the fundamental impetus for Chicago’s improv theatre movement. Beyond theatre, Spolin’s games provide a way to tap into the intuitive, freeing the players to truly experience the moment and a heightened creative state.
An exhibit Northwestern University Library will celebrate the work of Viola Spolin and her tremendous contribution to the world of theatre and, at the same time, highlight the fascinating Viola Spolin Papers collection housed at the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections.
Viola Spolin: Improvisation & Intuition is free and open to the public April 1 through September 9, 2013.
The exhibit runs now through March 25, 2013 on the third floor of Deering Library, with access through the Main Library entrance at 1970 Campus Drive. It's open to the public during the Library's regular public hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m. to noon.
For more information, contact Clare Roccaforte, c-roccaforte@northwestern.edu or 847-467-5918. Read more at: www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2013/03/celebrating-viola-spolin,-high-priestess-of-improv.html
Decorative Cloth: Publishers' Trade Bindings in the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, 1820-1920
In the early nineteenth century, the development of case binding, a technique conducive to mass production, made the manufacture of books with uniform edition bindings possible. Publishers eventually began using this convenience to their further advantage, decorating the covers and spines as a form of commercial enticement and an expression of house pride. This continued throughout the nineteenth century and into the early years of the 20th century.
The Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections holds thousands of examples of these publishers’ trade bindings from throughout the 19th and early 20th century, a selection of which are currently being displayed on the 3rd floor of Deering Library. The exhibit is arranged chronologically by decade, ranging from the 1820s-1920s, and showcases some of the typical designs found during those decades.
The exhibit runs now through March 25, 2013 on the third floor of Deering Library, with access through the Main Library entrance at 1970 Campus Drive. It's open to the public during the Library's regular public hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m. to noon.
Best of Bologna: Edgiest Artists of the 2008 International Children's Book Fair
This exhibit presents a selection of artists chosen from an original pool of more than 3,000 who entered a competition to be featured at the Bologna Book Fair, the world's largest annual children's book event. The illustrations on display are extremely high-resolution copies of originals that were digitized by the Library's Digital Collections department and are also displayed online, along with a film about the Bologna Book Fair created by created by Ayami Morizumi in 2007. Their permanent installation was made possible by the Walter A. and Dawn Clark Netsch Fund.
The permanent exhibit is located on the fourth floor of Northwestern University Library and is free and open to the public daily from 8:30 am - 10 pm.
