Sheldon offers free program exploring impact of museums, modernism

The Sheldon Museum of Art and the Lincoln chapter of the American Institute of Architects are offering a series of free programs that explore the impact of museums and modernism on our lives.

The program will feature three award-winning movies on renowned architects whose work includes museum design. The films show at 7 p.m., July 16, 23 and 30 in the Sheldon's Ethel S. Abbott Auditorium. Each screening will be followed by a discussion led by AIA members and other experts.

The film series opens today with "Philip Johnson: Diary of an Eccentric Artist." The post-film discussion will be led by Robert Ripley, architect and administrator of the Office of the Capitol Commission, and Jorge Daniel Veneciano, director of the Sheldon.

Other films are: July 23, "I. M. Pei — First Person Singular;" and July 30, "Sketches of Fran Gehry."

The screenings and discussions are free and open to the public.

The program culminates with "Modernism in Lincoln," a free walking tour of downtown Lincoln from 10 a.m. to noon on Aug. 3, beginning at the Sheldon. Led by UNL architecture professor Tom Laging, with the help of Ed Zimmer and Nate Krug, participants will assess modernism's continuing power to shape the environment as they visit buildings designed by Johnson (Sheldon), Gehry (Atrium Building), Pei (Wells Fargo Building), Gwathmey Segal (Wick Alumni Center) and Perkins+Will (Schorr Computer Science Building).