It’s a June swoon of arts and entertainment events at the UO

Even with spring term winding down, many events are happening on campus in June. Music dominates the arts scene this month, from student concerts in Beall Hall to the Oregon Bach Festival.

Be sure to catch Club Cinéma’s final screening of “Spectacles de Gad Elmaleh,” and add these events to your must-see list: “Spring Storm,” the annual School of Art + Design senior art show, the UO dance department’s Duck Jam Hip-Hop Finals showcase, and the reopening of “Natural Athletes: Track and Field Champs of the Animal Kingdom” at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History. 

Exhibitions

Opening June 1 in the Knight Library circulation lobby is “Unceded Kindship: Land, Place, and People,” an exhibition showcasing Afro-descendant and Native artists with connections to Oregon and their respective communities. Celebrating their contributions to the movements of Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty, the exhibition explores the ongoing conversations within and across Afro-descendant and Native communities around decentering white supremacy and settler colonialism.

“Spring Storm,” the annual School of Art + Design senior show, celebrates the creative work by students completing degrees in art, art and technology, and product design. The show opens June 6 in Lawrence Hall and runs through June 13.

On display beginning June 8 at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History is “Bird Eggs and Nests,” the museum’s collection of photographs documenting the beauty and ingenuity of nature’s eggs and nests. Interrupted in 2020 by the pandemic, “Natural Athletes: Track and Field Champs of the Animal Kingdom” reopens at the museum June 8. Through a series of displays and interactive stations, learn about the animal world as well as Track Town culture and health and fitness research at the UO.

The Visual Arts Team presents “Medium Inconvenience,” an exhibition of recent work by UO advanced photography students, in the Erb Memorial Union’s Adell McMillan Gallery. The exhibition will run through June 9.

Be sure to visit the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s “Myriad Treasures” before it leaves in June. The exhibition in the Soreng Gallery features recent acquisitions as well as works spanning four millennia of Chinese history from the legacy collection of museum founder Gertrude Bass Warner.

Music

This month offers many opportunities to take in a concert, including the Oregon Bach Festival, running June 17-July 5 and featuring a comprehensive roster of musical events at venues at the UO and throughout the community.

At Beall Concert Hall: Join School of Music and Dance students June 1 for Chamber Music on Campus. On June 2, the UO Percussion Ensemble will perform with world-renowned faculty members. On June 4, the Chamber Choir, Repertoire Singers and University Singers will team up for a concert. Gather June 5 for Black gospel music performed by the UO Gospel Ensemble.

The Graduate String Quartet performs at Berwick Hall June 2. Jazz Wet Ink will perform at Aasen-Hull Hall on June 3.

Come out to the EMU Crater Lake Rooms on June 3 and listen your favorite pop, rock and alternative music performed by the UO gender-inclusive a cappella group, Mind the Gap, with an opening set from Pacific Northwest-based a cappella group Verdant.

Dance

Don’t miss “Duck Jam Spring 2022,” the UO dance department’s hip-hop finals showcase performances, June 1 at Dougherty Dance Theatre. Spring Dance Loft 2022 on June 3 will feature pieces choreographed and performed by students.

Cinema

Make new connections and expand your knowledge of francophone culture and cinema for Club Cinéma’s final screening of “Spectacles de Gad Elmaleh” June 2 at McKenzie Hall.

Lectures

Join Emily Eliza Scott, professor of environmental studies and history of art and architecture and 2021-22 Oregon Humanities Center faculty research fellow, on June 3 for her work-in-progress talk “Particulate Matters: Air, Art and Justice” June 3. She will explore art and design practices that track environmental violence as it is written into land, air and water.

On June 25, Michael Brophy will present “Landscape as Character,” a talk exploring the relationship of people in the Pacific Northwest to the natural world.

Streaming resources

Can’t get to an event in person? Google Arts & Culture is a great starting place for finding exhibits, collections, audio, video, images and more.

Explore the UO Channel for a variety of livestreamed events, Department of Art Visiting Artist Lecture Series videos, guest speakers and more.

—By Sharleen Nelson, University Communications