WINTER / SPRING 2026
BELONGING
As the nation nears the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Jule’s exhibitions continue to explore ideas of belonging in American art. Feed your curiosity and revisit our galleries to consider how exhibiting artists navigate connection in the country known as The Great Experiment.
Women Artists in Ascendance
August 19, 2025 – July 2, 2026
Bill L. Harbert Gallery
Featuring works from titans such as Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner and Grace Hartigan, Women Artists in Ascendance continues the story of modern American art through objects crafted by female artists from both the Auburn University art collection and loaned from the Whitney Museum of American Art. Organized in partnership with Art Bridges.
Being and Belonging in American Art:
1946 / 2026
August 19, 2025 – July 2, 2026
Grand Gallery
Explore new object pairings from The Jule’s iconic Advancing American Art collection and contemporary artworks. Featuring objects from Cara Despain, Emma Amos and Purvis Young, Being and Belonging in American Art: 1946 / 2026, guest curated by Elizabeth S. Hawley, PhD, of the University of South Alabama, continues to ask what the concepts of “belonging” in American art look like in the past, present and future.
Radical Naturalism: Lyric Birdscapes
August 19, 2025 – July 2, 2026
Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Gallery
Acclaimed poet Nicole Sealey continues engaging faculty, students and the community as a poetin-residence at The Jule. Working with Auburn’s collection by the 19th-century naturalist John James Audubon, Sealey binds language and art through paired works from Audubon’s monumental The Birds of America and both contemporary and historical poetic responses, inviting visitors to question the symbolic and cultural meanings we ascribe to the natural world. This semester, the installation includes poems by students in the creative writing class, Poetry Writing: The Natural, the Social, and the Personal, led by Rose McLarney, Lanier Endowed Professor in the Department of English.
Joan Brown (American, 1938–1990), Noel at Table with Vegetables, 1963, oil and house paint on canvas; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Gift of Mrs. Jerome Siegel. Cara Despain (American, b. 1983), and the desert shall blossom as the rose, 2022, wood, mirror, antique Depression-Era glass and UV lights; on loan from the artist.
▶ MIDDLE PANEL: Shepard Fairey (American, b. 1970), O.G. Rips, 2019, edition 1/19, screenprint and mixed media collage on paper. ▼ BOTTOM PANEL: Charlie Lucas (American, b. 1951), Man and his Music, n.d. (before 1990), house paint on house paneling; Gift of Justice Mark Kennedy and Peggy Wallace Kennedy.
Facing the Giant — 3 Decades of Dissent: Shepard Fairey
January 20 – May 9, 2026
Noel and Kathryn Dickinson Wadsworth and Chi Omega-Hargis Galleries
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Shepard Fairey is known throughout the country for his 30 career as a “street artist” and print maker who embraced punk rock, skateboarding and DIY culture, influencing generations of graphic designers, fashion designers and contemporary artists. Facing the Giant examines these three decades through a survey of Fairey’s prints produced from 1989 through 2019, and features exhibition design concepts produced by students in the graphic design class, Image I led by Riva Nayaju, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design. Organized by the Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA, in association with OBEY GIANT ART.
Sew Their Names:
Quilting, Creativity and Activism
January 20 – July 2, 2026
Gallery C
The practice of quilting marries the worlds of craft and visual art and has long served as a vehicle for memory and transformation. Reframing the story of America through the lens of belonging, Sew Their Names features works by Mercedes Braxton, Charlie Lucas, Wini McQueen, Yvonne Wells, Bill Traylor, Noah Purifoy and the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, examining the art and activism unique to our state. Support provided by the Art Dealers Association of America Foundation.
FEATURED EVENTS · free and open to the public
For more, go to jcsm.auburn.edu
DROP-IN TOURS
Tuesdays through Saturdays | 5 p.m.
What sparks your curiosity? Make a date with student guides and staff for a closer look.
AUBURN FORUM FOR SOUTHERN ART AND CULTURE
February 7, 2026 | 9 a.m. & 2 p.m.
Explore the Sew Their Names quilting and remembrance project alongside other forms of arts activism. The Mt. Willing Quilters will host drop-in quilting sessions, followed by conversations with academic experts, Sew Their Names partners and exhibiting artists, led by The Kitchen Sisters’ Nikki Silva and Hollifield Associate Professor of Southern History, Elijah Gaddis, PhD.
ARTIST TALK: CARA DESPAIN
March 19, 2026 | 5 p.m.
Listen to exhibiting artist Cara Despain and Being and Belonging guest curator and University of South Alabama art historian Elizabeth S. Hawley, PhD, discuss “belonging” through the lens of American art.
DANA TAI SOON BURGESS DANCE CO.
April 2, 2026 | 5 p.m.
Join The Jule for a contemporary modern dance performance to celebrate the works of Helen Frankenthaler and other extraordinary artists in Women Artists in Ascendance .
STUDY AT THE JULE
April 25 – 26, 2026 | 10 a.m.
Looking for a quiet place to study for final exams? Come to The Jule! Featuring complimentary coffee and tea, Auburn's art museum offers a creative respite to rest academic minds.
More than 100 students hit the books for The Jule's first "Study Day" during finals.
PRESERVING A MASTERPIECE
A core role of Auburn’s art museum is caring for the university art collection so that generations of the Auburn Family can enjoy and learn from it for years to come. This year’s Tiger Giving Day initiative from The Jule centers around continued care for the Dale Chihuly sculpture Amber Luster , and gifts toward the museum’s goal will keep this iconic centerpiece sparkling for all. Save the date for this year’s Tiger Giving Day, March 25, and help support the arts at Auburn.
You can also give to Auburn’s art museum year-round. The Jule elevates the Auburn Experience through dynamic exhibitions and engaging programs that increase academic growth, research efforts and meaningful service to the state—all at the heart of the Auburn University mission. Gifts directly impact every museum initiative, keeping art and art education free and accessible for everyone.
Will you help us provide opportunities for students and communities across the region and state? Consider supporting our greatest need today at aub.ie/support-jule or email juledev@auburn.edu to learn more about the arts at Auburn.
901 SOUTH COLLEGE STREET
1161 WEST SAMFORD AVENUE, BUILDING 8 AUBURN, ALABAMA 36849-0001
Noah Purifoy (American, 1917–2004), Piece of the Action II (Red Frame), 1995, Museum purchase with funds provided by the Susan Phillips Endowment, the Dr. Charles M. Hendrix and Dr. Rebecca Compton Hendrix '11 Endowment, and Ten Seventy Two – A Campaign for Collecting and Conserving Art. See it now at The Jule in Sew Their Names: Quilting, Creativity and Activism through July 2, 2026.
COVER: Byron Browne (American, 1907–1961), Still Life in Red, Yellow and Green, 1945, oil on canvas; Advancing American Art Collection. BE CURIOUS. @thejulemuseum /// jcsm.auburn.edu
Open Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Auburn University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Educational Institution.