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About Our Museum

First opened as a natural history museum in 1874, the University Museum at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has evolved into a teaching museum that represents the humanities, the sciences and the arts. While our focus is on southern Illinois, our humanities collection includes ethnographic materials that allow us to share the world with a diverse campus and a region that is isolated from urban centers. With roughly 70,000 objects in our care, the University Museum captures and illuminates the human story, opening a window on who we are and where we came from.

Museum Hours

Tuesday - Friday: 10am - 4pm
Saturday: 1pm - 4pm
Sunday & Monday: Closed

Free and open to all.

Visitors must follow COVID-19 response measures.

  • Masks are required at all times.
  • Attendance is limited to 25 persons per hall.
  • Guests must maintain social distancing (6 feet) from other visitors.

Public metered parking available across from the Student Center and beside Woody Hall.

advertisement for the women's voice exhibit; text repeats the information in the exhibt description

 

image of selected works from the parting shots exhibit

 

image of representative items from the lighting the way exhibit

 

image of representative items from the it's an honor exhibit

Exhibits

North Hall

Mitchell Gallery

  • Parting Shots: The works of Jerry Monteith and Daniel Overturf
    January 11 – May 7, 2022
    This two-person exhibition celebrates the work of Jerry Monteith, Professor Emeritus in the School of Art and Design, and Daniel Overturf, Professor of Cinema and Photography in the College of Arts and Media.

Continuum Gallery

  • Lighting the Way
    January 10 – April 2, 2022
    The University Museum collection contains many examples of historical and contemporary light fixtures, from seal oil lamps to chandeliers designed for a church. A selection of these shining gems are featured in this exhibition.

Atrium Gallery

  • Curator's Choice
    January 11 – May 7, 2022
    A presentation of artworks selected from the University Museum’s collection of fine art.
  • Forge, Form, Fabricate
    April 10 – May 7, 2022
    A nationwide juried exhibition of collegiate metal smiths. Works are selected by a combined panel of SIMS members and guest judges. This exhibition coincides with the Southern Illinois Metalsmiths annual conference.

South Hall

  • Southern Illinois Gallery
    Our Region
    Ongoing
    Our Region is an exhibition of Southern Illinois history, featuring artifacts from the University Museum and Center for Archaeological Investigations collections.

  • Lutes Gallery
    European Painting, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts
    Ongoing
    This exhibition highlights paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and furniture from Renaissance Europe selected from the collection of Carl W. Lutes.

  • Saluki Gallery
    Big Muddy Film Festival
    February 1 – March 12, 2022
    A compilation of videos from previous Big Muddy Film Festival participants paves the way for the 2022 Big Muddy Film Festival, culminating in a compilation of never before seen videos.

    Mid-century Modern
    March 22 – July 30, 2022
    A joint exhibition between the School of Art and Design and the University Museum, it features the School’s collection of mid-century modern design schematics, paired with the Museum’s collection of furniture from the period.

  • West Gallery
    Women's Voices 2 ... A Collective
    February 1 – May 7, 2022
    An annual exhibition of 24 female artists from the Southern Illinois region. Participants are selected by Guest Curator Teresa Fix.

  • Hall of Art
    Convalescent Care
    February 1 – March 26, 2022
    This exhibition joins a campus-wide STEM based initiative to address health and wellness in the African American community. In this gallery, cultural and traditional objects related to this theme have been selected from the University Museum’s collection.

  • Study Gallery
    It's an Honor
    February 1 – May 7, 2022
    University Museum donor and SIU graduate Dr. Cho-Yee To, will receive honorary degrees in May 2022. To celebrate this amazing Saluki, the University Museum presents highlights from his donations.

  • International Gallery
    Global Menagerie
    January 11 – May 7, 2022
    Selected from the University Museum’s international collections, this presentation includes objects from around the world featuring animals and wildlife.

Digital Exhibitions & Artist Talks

  • The Land That I Love
    Farming in Southern Illinois is rooted in the lives of the farmers who care for the land. The farms are more than crops and soil; they are Southern Illinois' heritage and its future.

  • Midwestern
    Drawn from his time intentionally lost on the backroads of the states he knows best, Justin Hamm’s work, visual and verbal, is equal parts inspection of the American mythos and testament against the worn-out adage that the Midwest is merely "flyover country".

  • The Art of Darkness
    Tim Atseff engaged in dual careers as an artist and as a journalist. Now, he has returned to his creative roots painting with an urgency that matches our times and time itself.

  • William H. Thielen
    An interview with the artist about his current exhibit "Double Whammy" and about his life in art

  • Conversation 2.0
    African art from the Reginald Petty African Art Collection and works of Edna Patterson-Petty

selected images from the digital exhibitions and artist talks videos