School of Art + Design Convocation Ceremony Live Feed

• Special Event

• Event Date: Sunday, May 13, 2018
• Time: 5:30 pm (CDT)
• Location: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL

Special Note: Art + Design has reserved the Knight Auditorium to show a live feed of the 2018 School of Art + Design Convocation Ceremony to accommodate additional guests. Tickets are required to attend the ceremony which takes place in the Colwell Playhouse, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, Illinois.

The Convocation address will be given by Bernard Williams (BFA, 1988).

Bernard Williams is a native of Chicago. He holds a BFA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an MFA from Northwestern University. He also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Madison, ME. Williams has taught at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has completed numerous residencies around the United States. In 2009, a large temporary outdoor sculpture was mounted at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York. In 2013, Williams designed and installed two large temporary outdoor sculptures at the Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis.

Bernard Williams embraces a range of formats for the expression of his interests and concerns. The artist investigates the complexities of American history and culture through painting, sculpture, and installation. Within these broad arenas, the work seeks a kind of open-ended dialogue, addressing identity, flattening hierarchies, and questioning who we are collectively. Risk, adventure, conquest, personal status, privilege, and mechanical development are some of the thematic concepts which are pushed into form.

Immediately following the ceremony, a reception to honor graduates, families, and friends will be held in the Link Gallery, adjacent to the School of Art + Design. The 2018 BFA Graduate Exhibition in the Krannert Art Museum will be viewable by visitors to the reception.

Tickets are not required for the live feed. Please note: food, drinks, and flowers/plants are not allowed. For guests arriving with these items, they will be stored at the front desk (for food/drinks) or in a nearby pantry (for flowers) until they can be recovered as guests leave the building.