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Spring into Art: Free Events at the Bak Museum! 

This spring, delve deeper into the thought-provoking War Games exhibition at Samuel Bak Museum: The Learning Center via hands-on workshops, insightful lectures, moving musical performances, and family-friendly chess sessions inspired by Samuel Bak's work. All events are free, but preregistration is required – find the full schedule below and RSVP today!

May Programs

Exhibition Lecture and Musical Performance – Saturday, May 10 2:00 PM

Music of Lullabies, Nightmares, and Child's Play

UNO's Professor of Flute, Dr. Christine Beard, joined by talented students, alumni, and faculty from the UNO School of Music, will present a deeply moving concert featuring powerful compositions crafted to offer comfort, spotlight the harrowing impact of war on children, and give a voice to the voiceless. Experience music that serves as a beacon of hope, illuminating the path toward a brighter tomorrow. This is a FREE event, but preregistration is required.

Emerging Artist Series with Chelsea Kavich - Saturday, May 24, 2:00 PM

This workshop will take place after a screening of the documentary film Fragments. The film explores the archive as a site of geography, specifically in the aftermath of war. What does our own personal, bodily geography look like in a world increasingly shaped by global culture & war? Artist Chelsea Kavich will focus on conversation, writing, and reflection, to look beyond the traditional linear nature of autobiography. We will explore our history through a discussion of personal recollections. As part of this workshop, participants will tour our current exhibition. This is a FREE event, but preregistration is required.

June Programs

Exhibition Lecture – Saturday, June 14 2:00 PM

An Afternoon with Samuel Bak

Samuel Bak will join Chief Curator Alexandra Cardon via a live Zoom conversation to discuss the Museum’s current exhibition War Games, including Bak's 2024 series Tools of the Trade. This in-person program will include an in-depth look at how Bak’s works represent his fears for children whose lives and futures are destroyed by war while providing hope through his unending belief in humanity’s ability to mend and bring peace. After the 50-minute conversation, there will be a Q& A session. This is a FREE event, but preregistration is required.

Bak to Basics: Chess for All Ages - Sunday, June 15 1:00 PM

Join us for a family friendly introductory chess program. This youth program is for ages 10 and above to learn about chess and magical realism in Samuel Bak’s paintings. Participants will engage in a brief history of chess followed by a lesson on how to play chess. This program is designed for beginning players and seasoned chess players who enjoy helping others learn. Please RSVP in pairs; youth participants must have an adult present.

Bak to Basics: Chess for All Ages - Sunday, June 29 1:00 PM

Join us for a family friendly introductory chess program. This youth program is for ages 10 and above to learn about chess and magical realism in Samuel Bak’s paintings. Participants will engage in a brief history of chess followed by a lesson on how to play chess. This program is designed for beginning players and seasoned chess players who enjoy helping others learn. Please RSVP in pairs; youth participants must have an adult present.

All SBMLC programming is FREE and open to the public, but preregistration is required. RSVP Today!

War Games explores how Samuel Bak relates his childhood experiences - from his direct renderings of the Holocaust in his watercolors from 1945 to 1948 - to a selection of his contemporary paintings and drawings. Through the presentation of toys and game pieces, Bak draws our attention to the realities of childhoods spent in zones of conflict and how children are pawns used by warring parties. The exhibition has one gallery room dedicated to historic and contemporary instances of children human rights violations. The final room of the exhibition showcases Mr. Bak’s 2024 series Tools of Trade. These works represent his fears for children whose lives and futures are destroyed by war and the escalation of violence in the Middle East. As much as he mourns this age of destruction, he also depicts his unending belief in humanity’s ability to mend and his hope that somehow peace and reason will triumph.

Exhibition funding generously sponsored by:

Samuel Bak Museum education and operational support provided by:

Museum Team Spotlight

Meet Emilia Dona-Munoz – SBMLC Student Worker

I am a sophomore double majoring in Theatre and English with concentrations in Acting and Creative Nonfiction respectfully, while also pursuing a minor in Screenwriting. My favorite part about working at SBMLC is the extra research projects we are given throughout the academic year. The faculty at the museum always try to make sure they are tailored to our interests and skill sets, allowing us to learn about new things regarding Bak and his style of painting. Through my work at the museum, I have been able to research Samuel Bak’s costume and scenic designs as well as his use of magical realism in his works. Some more facts about me, I have been Type One Diabetic since I was eleven years old, I work regularly on and off stage at the UNO Theatre Department particularly in acting and stage management, and my parents are from Chile and Colombia, so I speak both English and Spanish fluently!

Favorite Piece: My favorite piece is Romeo and Juliet (B) – Stage Design X (1956). When talking to Samuel Bak about his B series of designs for a scrapped production of Romeo and Juliet, he explained how the concept would have characterized the Capulets as Muslim and the Montagues as Catholic as a way to explain the feud between the families. I especially love how the style of the scenic designs in this series as very similar to the styles of Edward Gordon Craig and Adolphe Appia, leaning more toward abstract, rectangular structures instead of typical, realistic set pieces.

Free Audio Tour

The Museum offers a free audio tour available for visitors in English, Spanish, and French. Please bring your headphones and a smart device to scan a QR code at each stop.

Guided Tour Requests

Would you like a Private Guided Tour? Complete the Guided Tour Request Form for more information.

Meeting Reservation Requests

Interested in reserving the SBMLC Classroom for your next meeting? Read our Reservation Agreement to see if your group is eligible. Complete the Reservation Request Form to get the conversation started. Additional information can be found on the Museum's Meeting and Event Spaces website page.

Featured Events

Omaha Art Fair – June 6 - 8

Samuel Bak Museum: The Learning Center is a participating sponsor in the Omaha Art Fair in Aksarben Village. Visit our tent right outside the Museum at 2289 South 67th Street for free hand-on art making activities for kids or cool down with us inside the museum!

The Museum will be open extended hours during the festival:

Friday, June 7 from 10 am to 6 pm

Saturday, June 8 from 10 am to 6 pm

Sunday, June 9 from 10 am to 4 pm