Fox Valley art group to visit National Hellenic Museum

Submitted by Fox Valley Community Associates

The October program of the Fox Valley Community Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago will be a day trip to the Art Institute and National Hellenic Museum Wednesday, Oct. 9. The program will be “Of Gods and Glamour: Greek, Roman and Byzantine Art.”

The speaker is David Stark, director of adult programs, administration and interpretive media at the Art Institute of Chicago. He will survey the museum's reinstallation of Greek, Roman and Byzantine art.

Through special funding, the space devoted to antiquities has expanded dramatically for a more detailed presentation of Classical art's development.

The ancient objects range from pottery and sculpture to wall painting, mosaics, glass and silver. Byzantine objects from the Eastern Roman Empire centered in Constantinople herald the introduction of Christianity in the arts.

After the lecture, participants tour the galleries to view key objects and look at Launchpad, the information-rich multimedia program available on iPads throughout the installation.

At 12:30 p.m., the group will depart for lunch at the Athena Restaurant, where you may explore the history of Athens through their display of traditional Greek objects. After lunch, the group will depart for the National Hellenic Museum. At 3 p.m., the group will depart for the Pan-Hellenic Pastry shop on the way back to the Fox Valley.

The deadline for reservations is Wednesday, Oct. 2. The cost for members is $72 and $87 for nonmembers, which includes bus, lecture and lunch. The bus will depart the designated location in Batavia at 9 a.m.

For reservations, call Korki at (630) 387-1020.