Kemper Art Museum announces fall events

Three exhibitions opening Sept. 11

Documentary photo of cathedral bombing.
The bombardment of Reims Cathedral by German forces in 1914.

Art fulfills many roles. One is to start conversation.

This fall, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis will present nearly two dozen free public events, ranging from lectures, gallery talks and panel discussions to concerts, film screenings and all-ages activities.

At 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, the museum will host an opening reception for three new exhibitions: “World War I: War of Images, Images of War,” “Rotation 2: Contemporary Art from the Peter Norton Gift” and “Relationships and Representation: Perspectives on Social Justice Work.”

The following afternoon, at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, Kemper Associate Curator Karen K. Butler and Rice University art historian Gordon Hughes will host a gallery talk about “World War I.” Sabine Eckmann, the Kemper Art Museum’s William T. Kemper Director and Chief Curator, will discuss “Rotation 2” Thursday, Sept. 17.

Other fall highlights will include Community Day (Oct. 10) and a panel discussion on “Why is Curating So Hip Today?” (Nov. 10).

At 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, the museum will host an opening reception for “The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill.” The exhibition, presented in collaboration with the National Churchill Museum at Westminster College, is the largest and most comprehensive survey of Churchill’s work in North America since 1958.

The fall semester will conclude with the museum’s World War I film series, presented at the Tivoli Theatre, 6350 Delmar Blvd. Screenings will include “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Dec. 8), “Paths of Glory” (Dec. 9) and “Went the Day Well?” (Dec. 10).

In the spring the museum will present “To See without Being Seen: Contemporary Art and Drone Warfare,” opening Jan. 29; and “Julian Rosefeldt: American Night,” opening March 4.

For a complete schedule of fall events, visit kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/calendar/events.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum

The Kemper Art Museum is located on Washington University’s Danforth Campus, near the intersection of Skinker and Forsyth boulevards. Regular hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Tuesdays and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. the first Friday of the month. The museum is closed Tuesdays.

“Rotation 2” remains on view through Oct. 19. “World War I” and “Relationships and Representation” remain on view through Jan. 4, 2016. “The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill” remains on view through Feb. 14.

For more information, call 314-935-4523; visit kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu; or follow the museum on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

A still from Alberto Cavalcanti’s “Went the Day Well? (1942), which will be screened at the Tivoli Theatre Dec. 10.