40 North

The ancient poet Sappho coined "sweetbitter" in one of her most evocative verses, still striking us to the heart nearly three millennia later. As with so many ancient figures, the poet is more legend than person today, her story told and retold even as her poetry continues to enchant and move. This exhibit will be on display through mid-August 2026.

Exhibitions include: “Another Place: Storymaking the Entangled Prairie” and “Memorias de la Mujer Lotina: Arpilleras, Women, and Coal in Chile.” The museum is open Tuesday through Friday (10–5) and Saturday (10–4) during Spring Break. Admission is always free. Parking access is easy during school breaks.

Мы будем говорить только по-русски! Conversation in Russian, beginners welcome!

Carrie Geng, PhD gives her talk entitled "Madwoman Diaries: Confessional Writing as Mad Practice" on March 25th, 2026 at 12:00 PM in the AAS Conference Room, 1208 W Nevada St.

Join Spurlock Museum, SkAI, and University of Illinois faculty in a discussion exploring the use of AI. Topics to be explored will be arts and humanities, science, and ethics.

Join us every Thursday for Snack & Study at AAS! From 1:00-4:00, the AAS building is open for student use. Pull up a seat in our cozy Reading Room and enjoy a quiet space where you can study, read, or just take a break from it all. Free hot drinks and snacks available while supplies last!

Dr. Anastassios Antonaras (Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki,) places Byzantine glass in context to a wider Mediterranean tradition where it emerges as a powerful medium of splendor, authority, and sacred presence.

Do you weave, crochet, knit, felt, or embroider? Bring your project and join us for a weaver’s circle in the galleries. All ages and experience levels are welcome! First-time knitter? A limited amount of yarn and needles will be available—and anyone wanting to learn can receive a simple knitting lesson. Free and open to everyone. *Parking nearby is free on weekends.*

Join us for a leisurely craft to harness your burst of creative energy. We will have all sorts of supplies provided for you to play around with and craft culturally iconic flowers from all over the world.

Stop by anytime between 5 PM and 8 PM to explore Spurlock’s newest exhibit, “Unfinished Revolutions: Living Stories of American Rights.” Enjoy light refreshments and listen to protest music performed by Paul Kotheimer.

Мы будем говорить только по-русски! Conversation in Russian, intermediate/advanced.

Join us every Thursday for Snack & Study at AAS! From 1:00-4:00, the AAS building is open for student use. Pull up a seat in our cozy Reading Room and enjoy a quiet space where you can study, read, or just take a break from it all. Free hot drinks and snacks available while supplies last!

This special guided tour will present how death practices are displayed across different ancient cultures and societies. Through the comparison and contrast of their different displays of death, we will examine the significance of the memorial of past societies through their individual representations. This tour will explore mainly the theme of class/status.

Three short film screenings, followed by a conversation with Maryam Kashani

Мы будем говорить только по-русски! Conversation in Russian, beginners welcome!

Join us every Thursday for Snack & Study at AAS! From 1:00-4:00, the AAS building is open for student use. Pull up a seat in our cozy Reading Room and enjoy a quiet space where you can study, read, or just take a break from it all. Free hot drinks and snacks available while supplies last!

Ouroboros, the symbol of the snake eating its tail, is both end and beginning: a death as regeneration. A 74-minute experimental narrative film that turns the destruction of Gaza into a story of heartbreak, Ouroboros asks what it means to be human when humanity has failed.

Мы будем говорить только по-русски! Conversation in Russian, intermediate/advanced.

Join us every Thursday for Snack & Study at AAS! From 1:00-4:00, the AAS building is open for student use. Pull up a seat in our cozy Reading Room and enjoy a quiet space where you can study, read, or just take a break from it all. Free hot drinks and snacks available while supplies last!

This public event will begin with a lecture by Dr. Warren C. Brown (California Institute of Technology discussing medieval textuality and materiality. A reception and open house will follow where visitors may view our recently acquired Merovingian manuscript and Greek papyrus. All are welcome, and refreshments will be served.

Мы будем говорить только по-русски! Conversation in Russian, beginners welcome!

Join us every Thursday for Snack & Study at AAS! From 1:00-4:00, the AAS building is open for student use. Pull up a seat in our cozy Reading Room and enjoy a quiet space where you can study, read, or just take a break from it all. Free hot drinks and snacks available while supplies last!

Мы будем говорить только по-русски! Conversation in Russian, intermediate/advanced.

Join us every Thursday for Snack & Study at AAS! From 1:00-4:00, the AAS building is open for student use. Pull up a seat in our cozy Reading Room and enjoy a quiet space where you can study, read, or just take a break from it all. Free hot drinks and snacks available while supplies last!

Join us every Thursday for Snack & Study at AAS! From 1:00-4:00, the AAS building is open for student use. Pull up a seat in our cozy Reading Room and enjoy a quiet space where you can study, read, or just take a break from it all. Free hot drinks and snacks available while supplies last!

Celebrate the semester’s end with RBML! We are diving into the trendy book decoration world — bring your own books and paint the edges with our supplies, then view various historical fore-edge paintings from the collection in our Reading Room.