<html><head></head><body><figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417846/lniiqlhjihk3zebshrat.jpg"><figcaption>Artists Run Chicago 2.0 installation view including miniature exhibition curated by Julius Caesar. &nbsp;Photography courtesy of Tran Tran.</figcaption></figure>Via PR<a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/">Hyde Park Art Center</a>, the renowned non-profit hub for contemporary art located on Chicago’s South Side, will re-open its doors for limited exhibition hours starting September 1, 2020, with the launch of the <a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/exhibition-archive/artists-run-chicago-2-0/">Artists Run Chicago 2.0</a> exhibition, celebrating the work of 50 artist-run spaces and organizations that fuel Chicago’s independent art scene.&nbsp; Artists Run Chicago 2.0 highlights the incredible work artists around the city are doing in their apartments, storefronts, on the streets of Chicago, and even a barn, challenging the conventional expectations of exhibition, discourse, and community.&nbsp; Works from each of the spaces will be represented in this exhibition encompassing six galleries, the entire Hyde Park Art Center footprint.“Following the COVID-19-related closure of the Art Center in mid-March, we are delighted to welcome the community back with this massive exhibition, showcasing the incredible diversity and sheer force of independent art galleries operating in Chicago now,” said Kate Lorenz, Hyde Park Art Center Executive Director. “We will be proceeding with care and the utmost caution to ensure the safety of our staff, community, and visitors. While the experience of visiting the Art Center may be slightly altered for the near future, we are excited to celebrate the work of so many creative artist-run spaces and share it with the public. We are confident that visitors and students will encounter the same sense of creativity, curiosity, and community for which Hyde Park Art Center is known.”To mark the ten-year anniversary of the original Art Center exhibition, Artists Run Chicago (2009), Artists Run Chicago 2.0 examines the core motivations, trajectories, and philosophies that have made the past decade generative for new models of artist-run initiatives to exist throughout the city and suburbs. As they did in 2009, artists-run spaces have continued to transform storefronts, apartments, warehouses, garages, and nomadic existences into environments in which art can be experienced at its most experimental and intuitive stage.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417847/xryhnp05ttjdptcvlec8.png"><figcaption>Installation of Summer Skin w/ Zoe Avery Nelson and Judy Ledgerwood @ PRACTISE (2017), Courtesy of Practise</figcaption></figure>However, the artist-run model has also found a heightened criticality during this time as well. Despite taking on a multitude of forms and models, these spaces have come to represent a merge between artistic practice and social engagement, in which their small, independent, and hyperlocal status can be constantly modified and tailored to serve the communities they call home, whether through online forums to discuss art or engaging with community activists in support of social justice. In a time in which institutions are reevaluating their missions and relevance in a rapidly changing social landscape, artist-run initiatives have found themselves at the forefront of new conversations around art, challenging conventional expectations of exhibition, discourse, and community, while injecting new models, ideas, and faces into our understanding of what experiencing art can be.Art spaces represented in Artists Run Chicago 2.0 hail from a wide range of Chicago neighborhoods, from Beverly to Rogers Park, Englewood to Oak Park; here is the complete list: 062,&nbsp;4th Ward Project Space,&nbsp;65Grand,&nbsp;ACRE Projects,&nbsp;Adds Donna,&nbsp;AMFM,&nbsp;Annas,&nbsp;Apparatus Projects,&nbsp;Bad At Sports,&nbsp;Blanc Gallery, boundary,&nbsp;Chicago Art Department,&nbsp;Chuquimarca,&nbsp;Clutch,&nbsp;Co-Prosperity Sphere,&nbsp;Comfort Station,&nbsp;Compound Yellow,&nbsp;D Gallery,&nbsp;Devening Projects, Document,&nbsp;Experimental Sound Studio,&nbsp;F4F,&nbsp;The Franklin,&nbsp;Heaven Gallery,&nbsp;Iceberg Projects,&nbsp;Ignition Project Space,&nbsp;Julius Caesar,&nbsp;Lawrence and Clark, LVL3,&nbsp;Mujeres Mutantes,&nbsp;Night Light Studios &amp; Gallery, Ohklahomo, Nightingale,&nbsp;Practise,&nbsp;Prairie,&nbsp;Roman Susan,&nbsp;Roots &amp; Culture,&nbsp;Rootwork Gallery,&nbsp;The Silver Room,&nbsp;Slow,&nbsp;The Suburban,&nbsp;Sweet Water Foundation,&nbsp;table,&nbsp;Terrain Exhibitions,&nbsp;Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Trunk Show, TRQPITECA,&nbsp;VGA Gallery,&nbsp;Wedge Projects, and&nbsp;Western Pole. Artists Run Chicago 2.0&nbsp;is organized by Noah Hanna and Allison Peters Quinn with contributions from Max Guy and Andi Crist.Free online public programming accompanies this exhibition, including monthly performances, workshops, and artist and curator-led Art Center tours.&nbsp; Hyde Park Art Center has partnered with Public Media Institute&nbsp;and&nbsp;Sixty Inches from Center to produce a special Artists Run Chicago 2.0 edition of Lumpen magazine for its 136th volume, distributed for free at Hyde Park Art Center and Buddy, located in the first floor galleries of the Chicago Cultural Center.About Artists Run Chicago (2009):Chicago has long been known for cultivating a strong entrepreneurial/Do-It-Yourself spirit in business and the arts. Art organizations like Randolph Street Gallery, N.A.M.E., and the Uncomfortable Spaces in the 1980s and 1990s provided respected role models for independent art initiatives that followed. The 38 artist-run venues that participated in Hyde Park Art Center’s 2009 exhibition were responsible for transforming storefronts, sheds, apartments, lofts, industrial warehouses, garages and roving spaces into contemporary art galleries testing the notion of “exhibition” while complicating the definition of art. Coinciding with the Hyde Park Art Center’s 70th anniversary, Artists Run Chicago reconnected the Art Center to its beginnings as an artist-run space through collaborations with spaces that demonstrated a similar dedication to fostering new projects by new artists.Now a decade later, only six of the spaces in the original exhibition survive: 65 Grand, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Devening Projects, Julius Caesar, Roots &amp; Culture, and The Suburban (relocated to Milwaukee, WI). Several of the spaces included in Artist Run Chicago 2.0 are celebrating a 10-year anniversary and cite the attention around the early 2000s as impetus for their existence.Artists Run Chicago 2.0 runs from September 1-November 1, 2020.&nbsp; The exhibition will be available for viewing Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 12-6pm; Thursdays from 1-7pm; and Fridays from 10am-4pm. There is no admission charge but, to comply with social distance standards, advance reservations are encouraged for 90-minute visits and can be made by visiting <a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/">https://www.hydeparkart.org/</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;Fall Class SessionIn addition, the Art Center is currently piloting a limited number of artmaking classes for adults in a hybrid model of online instruction coupled with on-site studio access. These include Ceramics and Printmaking Independent Study courses incorporating virtual group class time and on-site independent studio time.&nbsp; Additionally, the Art Center is offering a limited Ceramics “Work from Home” option that will include guidance on how to safely use ceramics in a home studio followed by limited studio access to fire and glaze.&nbsp; For more information on current offerings, including the incredible range of ongoing virtual courses for all ages, and expanded in-person options for fall. For updated offerings and information about fall registration please visit <a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/education/">https://www.hydeparkart.org/education/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For more information, please visit&nbsp; <a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/">https://www.hydeparkart.org/</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

Hyde Park Art Center Re-opening To Showcase 50 Independent Artist-Run Spaces

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417999/c6wb95sr2dtnlwgaccfu.png"></figure>&nbsp;Via PRCHICAGO, IL — Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events&nbsp;(DCASE)&nbsp;are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020&nbsp;CityArts&nbsp;Program grants. Each year, the&nbsp;CityArts Program&nbsp;encourages Chicago-based, arts and culture-focused&nbsp;organizations&nbsp;of all sizes&nbsp;to attain artistic&nbsp;excellence and financial stability&nbsp;by making general operating&nbsp;grants across all artistic disciplines.&nbsp;This year,&nbsp;the Program is awarding&nbsp;general operating grants&nbsp;between&nbsp;$2,000 to $30,000&nbsp;–&nbsp;and special project grants ranging from $2,500 to $56,200&nbsp;–&nbsp;to 191&nbsp;nonprofit organizations&nbsp;for a total of $2 million.&nbsp;The project grants are&nbsp;being awarded&nbsp;in alignment with the Year of Chicago Music, now continuing through 2021.“The COVID-19 outbreak is devastating the creative sector, and the need is tremendous,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “In these very challenging times, the City of Chicago is supporting its local arts organizations through the CityArts Program, other cultural grant programs and the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund. Still,&nbsp;we hope that other public and private sources of funding step up to&nbsp;ensure the sector’s immediate and long-term viability.”DCASE has more than doubled its&nbsp;grants in&nbsp;general operating expenses&nbsp;–&nbsp;unrestricted funds that may be used however the grantee wishes –&nbsp;over the last four years, in recognition that&nbsp;these&nbsp;are&nbsp;increasingly critical for nonprofit organizations to carry out their missions.&nbsp;&nbsp;Further,&nbsp;to make more impactful grants to arts organizations&nbsp;during&nbsp;this time of need, the number of general operating grants made through this program has increased by 25% over 2019 and the average general operating grant amount has increased by 20%.&nbsp;These increases&nbsp;were&nbsp;made possible in part by&nbsp;a&nbsp;$250,000&nbsp;award from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This grant contributes funds to the CityArts Program for distribution to local nonprofit arts and cultural organizations.The 2020 CityArts Program project grants are awarded in alignment with the City’s Year of Chicago Music&nbsp;to&nbsp;strengthen&nbsp;Chicago’s&nbsp;music landscape – one of the most influential music communities on&nbsp;the globe&nbsp;– to highlight its legacy, expand its audience and&nbsp;grow its capacity.&nbsp;Funded projects include audience development and marketing strategies for Chicago musicians and music organizations; initiatives that are documenting, celebrating and preserving Chicago’s unique musical&nbsp;legacy; and innovative programs that could serve as replicable models for the industry.&nbsp;Examples of the organizations supported through project grants include Arts &amp; Business Council of Chicago in partnership with Chicago Reader (Chicago Music Website),&nbsp;Arts Alliance Illinois in partnership with 2112 and CCE&nbsp;(Chicago License Local Initiative), Asian&nbsp;Improv&nbsp;aRts&nbsp;Midwest (Archiving Chicago's Asian American&nbsp;Jazz&nbsp;&amp; Creative Music Collaborations) and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Black Ensemble Theater (Black Ensemble Intercultural Music Festival).&nbsp;Mayor Lightfoot is committed to supporting&nbsp;Chicago’s rich&nbsp;arts and culture community&nbsp;and last fall&nbsp;announced a&nbsp;$1&nbsp;million&nbsp;increase in City funding for&nbsp;the DCASE Cultural Grants Program, bringing the total budget to $2.7&nbsp;million.&nbsp;This increased budget fulfills&nbsp;a commitment to prioritize equitable grantmaking and microfinancing to individual artists, organizations and arts corridors throughout&nbsp;Chicago, particularly&nbsp;in communities of need.&nbsp;Earlier this year, the City of Chicago and DCASE&nbsp;also&nbsp;announced&nbsp;158 project-based Individual Artists&nbsp;Program grants&nbsp;ranging from&nbsp;$850 to $5,000&nbsp;—&nbsp;to resident Chicago artists across all artistic disciplines including film &amp; media arts, literary arts, performing arts (theatre/dance), music and visual arts/design.&nbsp;Additionally, 13 high-qualified artists received the Esteemed Artist Award, a special new $10,000 grant for expenses associated with an artist’s practice, such as studio rental, supplies, travel and equipment.The City of Chicago&nbsp;has&nbsp;also partnered&nbsp;with&nbsp;the State of Illinois, Arts Alliance Illinois&nbsp;and the broader philanthropic community to provide financial relief to workers and organizations in the creative industries impacted by COVID-19.&nbsp;Since its launch&nbsp;in April&nbsp;2020, the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund has awarded&nbsp;well over $5 million&nbsp;to 1,460 artists and 233 organizations across&nbsp;the state.&nbsp;The&nbsp;fund is administered by Arts Alliance Illinois in partnership with 3Arts and Arts Work Fund, long-standing and trusted service organizations and&nbsp;grantmakers.In addition to this&nbsp;important&nbsp;relief&nbsp;fund,&nbsp;Arts Alliance Illinois’s&nbsp;COVID Relief Policy Agenda for the Arts&nbsp;is demanding stronger federal support for nonprofits and small businesses, especially in communities of color; continuation of expanded unemployment benefits; increased incentives for charitable giving; and federal assistance in offsetting state and local revenue shortfalls.&nbsp;For details, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=Fx6ZlfogyykExOP4a2vWQ7Y-2FGFTBAzql5MZiufKbHE8CFGrVcuZjILFnKXPR4jDqBxfF_BYLPtpUivDHORxxkVXshLCRT3wjV7CgXbLJWP9J5MP9LJ6jv7-2Bb0c97UF1yE1XeiKasl3Q0KHAlfCn9N7XONZksYe5OIXa5kf5eLUqZODuRSP9aq4SJ-2B49W0jH0wJ361M0DLw-2FLrEVI6E6-2FTD59WIsY4V59Qpnpsa7HT4Bi-2BLcrPVYytFq-2FWShLsqFP9j4TZwfPljDpXurpSKvjupFQJxvZJ15d0J74Q79KbkjRMaSifv55g0Wo5sWh19lqTui1P9t-2FlmgSW-2FIF5Yu5amsqZ6pTE5mDttYYp6CDHvoPfbPPhnqGjJOPF6fprosZgmJHRtWmjLTHCImmUToVWKg7FJsNzhez7cGmFJeIOZ6uPX7HZIhTQ-2Fz2xYeRtr-2BzOWG81Rezpcr-2F-2Fm6BDPLJ2caagjjF47GLZqAXDvlXvqeZwF-2B4-3D">bit.ly/ArtsReliefAgenda</a>.Since 1984, the Cultural Grants Program has served as a catalyst to foster a robust, healthy arts community where artists, non-profit arts and culture and creative industries thrive. For more information, please visit <a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=Fx6ZlfogyykExOP4a2vWQ-2FOfdVALjpYZsEGm6zCd-2Bgd4qbfTXA6h20a3N6YR0-2FVRZKhA_BYLPtpUivDHORxxkVXshLCRT3wjV7CgXbLJWP9J5MP9LJ6jv7-2Bb0c97UF1yE1XeiKasl3Q0KHAlfCn9N7XONZksYe5OIXa5kf5eLUqZODuRSP9aq4SJ-2B49W0jH0wJ361M0DLw-2FLrEVI6E6-2FTD59WIsY4V59Qpnpsa7HT4Bi-2BLcrPVYytFq-2FWShLsqFP9j4TZwfPljDpXurpSKvjupFQJxvZJ15d0J74Q79KbkjRMaShCOAk0BDoLTSXLc9rgUuP6MIaepIAm0f1MCObWd9OHubrAiwd1G4a26i6KMn3BxT7c9Ati4I8DwPfHhQJW3xtXMnGzz3dnW3go7UHQm1rE2lFPQ68zYugNU5sE6bPS-2BDuMBS4HsA8IvexVBJALnsF-2BBLWisVffd-2FCTmSMqcDj1jK1fbwVbWCUnHO-2BUi1-2BJy9Q-3D">chicagoculturalgrants.org</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</body></html>

City of Chicago Awards $2 Million In City Arts Program Grants to the Arts

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417993/b8fpgxhubsntqlrpqrm3.jpg"><figcaption>Unity Temple in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. Photo by Andrew Pielage courtesy of the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation.</figcaption></figure>By GINNY VAN ALYEAAs fall draws near – hard to believe in the middle of the time warp in which we now all live – the calendar, or the version of planned time we used to know – is taking shape. One event many have become accustomed to enjoying is the Chicago Architecture Center's annual fall <a href="https://openhousechicago.org">Open House Chicago</a>. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the event. While it's a relief that the event is happening, changes to its format are inevitable.&nbsp;For the past nine years, OHC has inspired countless institutions to open their doors and welcome in the public to experience behind-the-scenes access to buildings across Chicago. Participants have included arts centers, religious buildings, distilleries, corporate offices, schools, artist studios, and more.&nbsp;Hosted by the&nbsp;Chicago Architecture Center (CAC)—formerly the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the Center is a gateway for visitors, as well as locals, to explore the city through docent-led tours, exciting programs and imaginative exhibits at its own center at 111 E. Wacker Dr. as well as in hundreds of spaces and neighborhoods in the city and suburbs.&nbsp;2019 counted over 350 spaces and engaged 109,000 individuals who made 370,000 total site visits to 352 sites in 39 Chicago neighborhoods, plus the near suburbs of Evanston and Oak Park. This all took place over the course of a single busy, and crowded weekend.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417994/mxqfcmgbn10qkircf38s.jpg"><figcaption>The Overton Business and Technology Incubator in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. Photo by Eric Allix Rogers.</figcaption></figure>In 2020, the event will now span 10 days (October 16−25). In support of public health and with sensitivity to the unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CAC has reconfigured OHC for outdoor and online attendance. This reimagined OHC framework—designed for individuals, families and small groups that have isolated together—will highlight and promote visitation of specific areas, encouraging foot traffic and participants to patronize local businesses while learning more about the unique histories and stories of these featured areas.&nbsp;More than 20 Chicago neighborhoods and two suburbs will be highlighted during OHC 2020, with an intentional focus on, and engagement with, areas and corridors prioritized by the City of Chicago’s INVEST South/West initiative including Auburn Gresham, Austin, Back of the Yards, Bronzeville, Englewood, Humboldt Park,North Lawndale, Pullman, Roseland and South Shore. Fourteen additional focus areas confirmed to date are Chicago’s Loop, Near North Side and Near West Side plus Beverly, Chinatown, Evanston, Hyde Park, Lincoln Park, Logan Square, Oak Park, Pilsen, Rogers Park, Wicker Park and Woodlawn.<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417995/oi9z6xhjjppx48vxcqut.jpg"><figcaption>Nichols Tower, formerly the “Old Sears Tower,” in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Photo by Eric Allix Rogers.</figcaption></figure>Visitors to each OHC 2020 area will be supported in their self-guided exploration by free resources available online at openhousechicago.org, as well as through an application for mobile devices. Using these free resources, OHC 2020 attendees will be able to explore and select routes on a variety of themes, learn more about buildings and sites of interest in each neighborhood, browse and register for related OHC online programs and more. CAC walking tours continue throughout the festival, some highlighting OHC neighborhoods. Building upon the success of more than 50 remotely accessible CAC Live programs offered continuously by the CAC since April 4, 2020, OHC will include a variety of online events aligned with its 2020 neighborhoods and themes. Featuring guest presenters and representatives from numerous Chicago organizations, these online events may include classes, discussions and lectures, music and performance presentations, virtual tours and other offerings designed to bring the expressions, flavors and voices of OHC 2020 neighborhoods into the homes of people across and far beyond Chicago. To further embed OHC 2020 into the neighborhoods it spotlights, the CAC will again engage multiple community-based organizations for advice and mutual support in communications and engagement, route creation, site selection, the development of program content and more.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417997/fvefe5gd559hkazynnds.jpg"><figcaption>The Oak Park Art League in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. Photo by Eric Allix Rogers. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Advance registration for most free and paid online events will be required, through the OHC mobile app, at <a href="architecture.org">architecture.org</a> or <a href="openhousechicago.org">openhousechicago.org</a>. Current CAC members will receive exclusive benefits and discounts throughout OHC 2020.2020's realities have meant changes at every level of culture and engagement, but as we are finding, there are opportunities in many places. For this 10th year of Open House Chicago, the changes are another example of what is not cancelled and instead what is indeed open to all.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417998/m9xlsstqeywssbvxiruu.jpg"><figcaption>Austin Town Hall in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Photo by Eric Allix Rogers.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;</body></html>

Chicago Architecture Center Unveils Changes to Open House Chicago 2020

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417974/zhivsidueijg711qrwtq.jpg"><figcaption>Stonehenge. Photo by Andre Pattenden, courtesy of English Heritage. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure><h3>Where Did Stonehenge Get Its Stones? Scientists Thank 90-Year-Old Retiree</h3>&nbsp;The origins of Stonehenge’s massive stone monoliths, long shrouded in mystery, have at last been demystified. The new research was made possible thanks to a former diamond cutter, Robert Phillips, who was involved in repairs carried out on the prehistoric structure in 1958. Phillips kept a the three-and-a-half foot cylindrical cores, which was set to be discarded, as a souvenir, hanging it in his office. Sixty years later, Phillips, on the eve of his 90th birthday, returned the core to English Heritage, which oversees Stonehenge.&nbsp;By Sarah Cascone, Artnet<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/stonehenge-get-stones-age-old-mystery-finally-solved-1898403?utm_content=from_&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=News%207%2F30%2F20&amp;utm_term=US%20Daily%20Newsletter%20[AFTERNOON]&amp;fbclid=IwAR1fLp320PPVFPLLiExZmulXpdsTgwMb_xviXkFPKNgFxxWWFAcyiCZUVGg">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417975/vh5v9bf1wh3myz0tivkr.jpg"><figcaption>Notre Dame's grand organ pipes with the famous rose window above Photo: Chris Waits &nbsp;</figcaption></figure><h3>Saving Notre Dame's 'voice': mammoth restoration begins on cathedral's fire-damaged organ</h3>&nbsp;The latest stage in the restoration of Paris's Notre Dame cathedral begins today: the gradual removal of its great organ, which must be cleaned piece by piece, according to the public body in charge of the cathedral's reconstruction. Scaffolding was erected in July to enable the operation.During the <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/fire-damages-notre-dame-cathedral-in-paris">April 2019 fire</a>, the symphonic organ was not badly damaged either by flames or by the water used during the firemen's rescue operation. However, the instrument was covered with lead dust and some parts were affected by thermal variations, such as during last July's heatwave.By Anna Sansom, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/notre-dame-organ">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417976/vevk8jw2oblkdp2r10ad.jpg"><figcaption>Arkady Rotenberg has made a nearly $3 billion fortune overseeing infrastructure projects. Endeavors such as the 12-mile Crimean Bridge have earned him awards in Russia, as seen here where he received a Russian Hero of Labor gold star but also landed him on the U.S. sanctions list for undermining Ukrainian independence.PHOTO: MIKHAIL METZEL/TASS/ZUMA PRESS</figcaption></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>How Two Sanctioned Russian Billionaire Brothers Bought Art Anyway&nbsp;</h3>&nbsp;Two months after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russian construction billionaires Arkady and Boris Rotenberg in March 2014, the brothers sent their art adviser on a shopping spree, according to a Senate investigation report released Wednesday. At a Sotheby’s auction that month in New York, the Rotenbergs, who are lifelong friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin, paid $6.8 million for 10 works of art, including a cubist still life by Georges Braque and a swirling tableau by Marc Chagall, the report said.By Kelly Crow, Wall Street Journal<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-two-sanctioned-russian-billionaire-brothers-bought-art-anyway-11596035186?mod=hp_lead_pos13&amp;fbclid=IwAR07-tnz2L-knd-WmiCchnDBE3-CGMHIPmFaWUSkLTNdn3dlDgH2oVHSToM">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417977/nttijoxmcfpta0fw2xvp.png"><figcaption>“Constellation” a sculpture by architect Santiago Calatrava at River Point Park on July 28, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) &nbsp;</figcaption></figure><h3>Farewell, Spire. Hello, spiral.</h3>&nbsp;Remember the Chicago Spire, the planned 2,000-foot condo tower that would twist into the sky like a giant corkscrew but wound up an embarrassing hole in the ground?Well, the architect of that failed project, Spanish-born, Zurich-based Santiago Calatrava, is back, with something considerably shorter — 29 feet short, to be exact.By Blair Kamin, Chicago Tribune<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/blair-kamin/ct-biz-calatrava-sculpture-in-chicago-kamin-20200729-alxyyxo6pngb7drpntzmavwml4-story.html?fbclid=IwAR0WEPAgbYph44C8l0EUTRN9n8aCxyV92H6aEkH0C7aIQ0AnFpW9C7xHVJs">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417978/uyhbh2n0zsnqq6atybw2.jpg"><figcaption>Visitors at the Berardo Collection Museum's reopening on July 15, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal. Photo by Horacio Villalobos/Corbis via Getty Images.</figcaption></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Most People Plan to Visit Museums Just as Much as Ever and 5 Other Takeaways From Artnet Survey</h3>&nbsp;The pandemic is likely to change the way people do just about everything—the way they travel, the way they shop, the way they work.But for around 60 percent of respondents to a new Artnet News survey, it will have little impact on the way they interact with art.&nbsp;This is one of the surprising takeaways from the survey, which polled almost 2,000 Artnet News readers from 67 countries (though the majority of respondents hailed from the US). All told, the survey paints a picture of an art-engaged audience concerned with safety, but also committed to in-person experiences with art—though maybe not for the reasons you might expect.&nbsp;<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-engagement-survey-artnet-news-1897510">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: August 3, 2020

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417990/kowmqxbp9g28wp1ji8en.png"><figcaption>The 1982 painting "Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump" by Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Art Institute of Chicago on Friday, July 24, 2020. Billionaire, Ken Griffin paid more than $100 million for the large-scale 1982 canvas "Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump" and has loaned it after a pre-pandemic purchase. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)</figcaption></figure><h3>Now hanging at the Art Institute: Chicago billionaire Ken Griffin’s new, $100 million Basquiat canvas</h3>Now that eye-widening sale has turned into news Chicagoans can use. Exuberant, elemental and about 14 feet wide by 8 feet high, the painting is now hanging on a wall in the Modern Wing of the Art Institute, where it will be on view when the museum reopens Thursday after its more than four-month COVID-19 closure.By Steve Johnson, Chicago Tribune<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/museums/ct-ent-griffin-basquiat-art-institute-loan-0725-20200725-g2l2lzlkhfdh7dpobezyvqw4p4-story.html">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417991/iw9jnggncbsc8dbvki22.png"><figcaption>Pablo Picasso, Still Life (1922). Pablo Picasso’s Estate. VEGAP. Madrid, 2020.</figcaption></figure><h3>Stunned Conservators Just Found a Ghostly Picasso Hidden Beneath One of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Most Treasured Paintings</h3>The discovery lends new insight into Picasso's practice.What’s better than one Picasso? How about a second Picasso lost for decades?That’s exactly what a team of research scientists&nbsp;at the Art Institute of Chicago discovered and wrote about in a report published this week in&nbsp;<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42452-020-3136-y#Sec2">Applied Science</a>.By Caroline Goldstein, Artnet News&nbsp;<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/picasso-still-life-1896526">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417992/jerx09nbn9gwg7icrsfc.jpg"><figcaption>Legislation calls for the Smithsonian Institution to study a site for a National Museum of the American Latino on the National Mall in Washington</figcaption></figure><h3>US House votes to establish a National Museum of the American Latino</h3>The US House of Representatives voted today to establish a National Museum of the American Latino under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution to promote recognition of the Hispanic community’s role in American history and culture.By Nancy Kenney, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/us-house-votes-to-establish-a-national-museum-of-the-american-latino">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: July 28, 2020

<html><head></head><body>By CGN StaffThe MoCP is the world’s premier college art museum dedicated to photography.&nbsp;Founded in 1976 by Columbia College Chicago as the successor to the Chicago Center for Contemporary Photography, the Museum began collecting in the early 1980s and has since grown its collection to include more than 15,000 objects by over 1,500 artists.&nbsp;The Museum of Contemporary Photography's popular Fine Print Program allows collectors to affordably buy art by some of the world's most renowned photographers while also supporting the museum's programming. &nbsp;Printed especially for the Museum by some of the most innovative photographers working today, the sale of editioned Fine Prints (many for just $400) directly supports artistic and educational programs at the MoCP.&nbsp; Prints by more than 60 artists are available online including works by artists of local, national and international renown such as Sarah Pickering, Olivo Barbieri, Tony Tasset, Ken Fandell, Brian Ulrich, Anna Shteynshleyger, Anna Fox, Aspen Mays, Kahn and Selesnick, Simon Roberts, Yeondoo Jung, and Tim Davis. Works by internationally-collected artists like Alec Soth, Vik Muniz, Candida Höfer, and Curtis Mann have quickly sold out in recent years.Each image is printed on archival-quality paper and is offered in an edition of 30, numbered and signed by the artist.This year, four artists join the program &nbsp;– all women artists:&nbsp;<a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=9233b6e150&amp;e=d76e1da35a">Patty Carroll</a> <a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=3858ba12e8&amp;e=d76e1da35a">Beth Dow</a> <a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=d7e6f68eee&amp;e=d76e1da35a">Priya Kambli</a> <a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=503fd7658e&amp;e=d76e1da35a">Millee Tibbs</a>At a time when many of us have not been able to visit a museum in months, the latest unveiling of MoCP's print program additions means you can (physically! not virtually!) bring museum-quality work in your own home.&nbsp;<a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=47cf8dad40&amp;e=d76e1da35a">Explore Fine Prints</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418790/az3av3ephtct3uukj3ya.jpg"><figcaption>Patty Carroll (American, b. 1946) Scrapbooking from the Domestic Demise series, 2016 Archival Pigment Print 12 x 12 inch image on 14 x 14 inch paper Signed Edition of 30 $400</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418790/zw8ent9qvnjcizrsx5gf.jpg"><figcaption>Beth Dow (American, b. 1965) Natural Color from the Prediction Error series, 2018 Archival Pigment Print 15 x 12 inch image on 20 x 16 inch paper Signed Edition of 30 $400</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418791/hqiyvkmkbnlh2eetmqfy.jpg"><figcaption>Priya Kambli (Indian, b. 1975) Eye (Muma and Maushi) from the Buttons for Eyes series, 2019 Archival Pigment Print 10 x 14 inch image on 11 x 15 inch paper Signed Edition of 30 $400</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418792/r5cqdoqpyp7c8mudzjog.jpg"><figcaption>Millee Tibbs (American, b. 1976) Untitled from the Mount Analogue series, 2014 Archival Pigment Print 11 x 14 inch image on 11 x 14 inch paper Signed Edition of 30 $400</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

MoCP Unveils Latest Works in Its Fine Print Program (And all the Artists are Women!)

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417978/nl7jbgis6cqp7yq4dext.jpg"><figcaption>Kate Lynn Lewis, The Radiance of Being</figcaption></figure>CGN Staff via PRSpending a beautiful, sunny day walking Chicago's Riverwalk might make you feel a twinge of normalcy, like you're back in 2019. Except now in 2020 you must wear a face mask and be mindful not stroll too closely to others enjoying the same view. However, summer is here, the sun is out, and there is new art to enjoy.&nbsp;This week the&nbsp;Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)&nbsp;in collaboration with the Department of Assets, Information and Services&nbsp;(AIS)&nbsp; announced new public artworks on&nbsp;the&nbsp;Chicago Riverwalk&nbsp;–&nbsp;including a mural celebrating 100&nbsp;years of Art&nbsp;Deco by&nbsp;artist&nbsp;Kate Lynn Lewis and portraits of Chicagoans by&nbsp;street muralist Dont Fret. Guests&nbsp;to the Riverwalk&nbsp;are required to wear a face covering and practice social distancing.“The new artworks on the Riverwalk continue Chicago's rich tradition of murals and public art," said Mark Kelly, Commissioner of DCASE. “These commissions support local artists and enrich our second waterfront, as Chicago welcomes visitors – and residents – back to our city, safely and responsibly.”Located at the Riverwalk’s Community Marketplace&nbsp;west of Michigan Avenue, the newly completed&nbsp;mural&nbsp;The Radiance of Being,&nbsp;designed and painted by Chicago-based artist Kate Lynn Lewis,&nbsp;celebrates 100&nbsp;years of Art Deco&nbsp;architecture.&nbsp;Spanning over 180 feet&nbsp;tall&nbsp;on two levels, the&nbsp;lead artist and an all-female crew completed the&nbsp;mural over six weeks.&nbsp;In the artist’s own illustrative style, the&nbsp;scene&nbsp;is&nbsp;composed of motifs from&nbsp;some of Chicago’s Art Deco buildings, including the Chicago Motor Club, the St. Jane, One N.&nbsp;LaSalle, 10 W. Elm St., the Palmolive Building,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Palmer House,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Adler Planetarium and many&nbsp;others.&nbsp;A nearby mural on one of the Riverwalk interior walls&nbsp;shows&nbsp;a map of where&nbsp;these&nbsp;buildings can be found&nbsp;in the city.“Having the opportunity to give back to the city that has developed me as an artist and a person has been the experience of a lifetime,”&nbsp;said artist Kate Lynn Lewis.&nbsp;“The Riverwalk is surrounded on all angles by art deco architecture, so it felt like a great opportunity to expound on the immersive experience of painting a deco collage inspired by motifs found in the area. I love that this experience is just one of countless examples of how Chicago has invested in the creative culture that makes it so beautifully unique.”The Confluence,&nbsp;the Chicago Riverwalk’s most western point near Lake Street,&nbsp;will become home for a&nbsp;series of 55 portraits of Chicagoans by street artist&nbsp;Dont Fret later this month. Created by one of Chicago’s most visible street artists&nbsp;–&nbsp;Dont&nbsp;Fret,&nbsp;The People in Your Neighborhood&nbsp;will offer a microcosmic reflection of scrappy and hard-working Chicagoans found throughout the city, each portrayed with&nbsp;Fret’s inimitable documentarian flair.<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417979/wv05g3244xuadwrm0jn6.jpg"><figcaption>Dont&nbsp;Fret, Manny's Deli</figcaption></figure>“There are certain character traits that I think define a true Chicagoan. Tough, full-browed with a sense of ingenuity and midwestern humbleness, but always toiling, working, moving forward with an almost absurd laugh and grin about this crazy, wonderful city,” said&nbsp;Dont&nbsp;Fret. “I was asked to paint 55 portraits of Chicagoans who I think contribute to the hard work that defines our city, although it can only scratch the surface of the millions of stories moving through our streets. These are the people in your neighborhood.”These new artworks will complement&nbsp;several&nbsp;installations&nbsp;that were&nbsp;added to the Riverwalk last year.&nbsp;Between the below..., a series of five intricate and colorful banners by Kingston-born multimedia artist Ebony Patterson, hang at the Riverwalk on&nbsp;Wacker Drive, just east of the Michigan Avenue Bridge.&nbsp;Known for her drawings, tapestries, videos, sculptures and installations that involve surfaces layered with flowers, glitter, lace and beads,&nbsp;Patterson&nbsp;is an&nbsp;associate&nbsp;professor in&nbsp;painting at the University of Kentucky, Lexington,&nbsp;and is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago.Nearby under the Columbus Avenue&nbsp;Bridge,&nbsp;artist&nbsp;Alberto Aguilar's&nbsp;Echo Hecho Fresco was also added to the Riverwalk in 2019. The zigzag pattern made with&nbsp;CDOT traffic paint&nbsp;is intended to&nbsp;reflect the&nbsp;constant movement of people through the tunnel, cars on the bridge above, boats below and river flowing beside.The award-winning Chicago Riverwalk, a 1.25-mile promenade through the heart of downtown, has quickly become one of the city’s most popular destinations for art, music, dining and the enjoyment of natural habitats, beloved by Chicagoans and visitors alike. The Riverwalk is managed by the AIS&nbsp;with programming from DCASE. Access to the space is free and open to the public daily from 6am–11pm.&nbsp;Under the City’s phased reopening, the Community Marketplace is set to open July 17. Face coverings and physical distancing are required for all&nbsp;visitors. Vendor&nbsp;details are available by visiting&nbsp;<a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=Fx6ZlfogyykExOP4a2vWQ9p4frCbFaRwb7jG00BWy2WVcn5INrLroHU97-2BaA4vmLZfu3_BYLPtpUivDHORxxkVXshLCRT3wjV7CgXbLJWP9J5MP9LJ6jv7-2Bb0c97UF1yE1XeiKasl3Q0KHAlfCn9N7XONZksYe5OIXa5kf5eLUqZODuRSP9aq4SJ-2B49W0jH0wJ361NM0FOZiL1GFTzBMt2Gu7zTMc39udau6iXwplVM5stLkNtA1PXGQcyYqH3U27sUP2ldBNVgvvLwIqtzPfTshw-2Bpw9R9LG2fYwolHyZ6pztA-2FlqqcqDo0ty737qTkl0b8ZQFg8LuVuYZ-2BVqYU-2BNY9uTvUFPV35Ut7en9aIfw-2Fd4HZj1msc03pPN7j1vPZ2b6p0FUMAoun-2FZzb-2BC4wCFeJpz2ht1K0A3oYaLLmv7lfIxTb8234mBKLxJBpZoec7VDhRFrGDPv9EdER8fJcwYbcMHH8s-2Bjf3zbL9CdVmDz-2BdPSo-3D">www.chicagoriverwalk.us</a>. &nbsp;</body></html>

Riverwalk's New Art Continues Tradition of Murals and Public Art and Welcomes Visitors Back to City

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417919/rje9vqylh3fbwvkuy5k0.png"></figure>Via PR<a href="https://www.expochicago.com/amanda-williams-what-black-is-this-you-say">EXPO CHICAGO</a>, The International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, which has moved its regularly scheduled fall art fair to spring 2021, launched its new virtual salon series, Dine&amp;, with an artist conversation and dinner featuring artist Amanda Williams and 2020 James Beard nominee Erick Williams (no relation). A new initiative from EXPO CHICAGO, Dine&amp; pairs bespoke culinary experiences with conversations led by prominent figures from Chicago’s artistic and cultural communities. For the first event in the series, Virtual Virtue: What Black is This, You Say?, Erick Williams of Virtue restaurant designed a four-course dinner menu inspired by the many hues of black envisioned by the artist Amanda Williams in her recent digital series What black is this, you say?.Over the course of the meal guests experienced a dynamic discussion between the artist and chef on Amanda’s digital series that originated as her response to the Instagram ‘black out’ on June 2, 2020, when black squares publicly swept the platform in an effort to show solidarity with the #blacklivesmatter movement. Meals were delivered to guests' homes, with an optional wine pairing featuring wines from Black-owned wineries McBride Sisters and Maison Noir Wines. The event brought together collectors, philanthropists, and cultural leaders from Chicago and around the country to experience a dialogue between chef and artist. EXPO CHICAGO has donated event proceeds to Enrich Chicago, a nonprofit organization working to address systemic racism in the arts, and honoraria for both participating artists.&nbsp;“Throughout this incredibly challenging time, I have thought deeply about the role EXPO CHICAGO can play as a connector—between multidisciplinary creators, between artists and arts patrons, and between arts patrons and organizations that are making real change,” said President | Director of EXPO CHICAGO&nbsp;Tony Karman. “In creating Dine&amp;, the exposition seeks to connect our community in new and innovative ways, fostering important conversations and continuing our year-round support of the Chicago arts community. We are honored to work alongside and collaborate with both Amanda Williams and Chef Erick Williams, whose artistic contributions to this event will have a tangible impact on the extraordinary work of Enrich Chicago.”<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417920/icyw2oegjfludj1alird.png"></figure>Director of Enrich Chicago Nina D. Sánchez stated, “The funds EXPO CHICAGO helped raise tonight will further our mission to fund equity research, develop the next generation of aspiring anti-racist arts administrators, and sponsor anti-racism workshops with leading national training organizations for arts leaders throughout Chicago. It is heartening to see our city’s art fair provide thoughtful support of Black artists and Black-owned businesses, and recognize the work we do at Enrich—we hope this series can serve as a model for influential organizations nationwide.”Guests in attendance received one of 32 signed limited-edition artist proofs, an adaptation of Amanda Williams’ series What black is this, you say? in embroidered silk dupioni paired with a work on paper. Produced by EXPO CHICAGO and Open Editions, the work adopts the form of a dinner napkin and conventional swatch card used by fabric manufacturers, acting as a vehicle for messages written by the artist in response to the visual culture of protest.EXPO CHICAGO has also partnered with Williams and Open Editions to produce a collectible and functional edition of What black is this, you say?. Based on her Instagram series, the artist’s interpretation of distinct hues of black will be presented as embroidered fabrics in a set of six dinner napkins. Each napkin in the set is sewn from a different type of fabric to portray a range of shade and texture. This edition includes an artist-designed swatch card, which features the fabrics in a conventional grid, paired with captions used in the original series. The open edition of What black is this, you say? is available for $85 and can be purchased online <a href="https://open-editions.com/products/amanda-williams-what-black-is-this-you-say-napkins">here</a>. Proceeds from the sale of the edition will benefit Enrich Chicago to support anti-racism learning workshops, capacity-building training and leadership development for the Rising Arts Leaders of Color program.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417921/axg2edrmqy2wahamg7u3.jpg"><figcaption>Amanda Williams. Limited edition AP of 32. Raw silk, silver embroidery, 18 x 18 inches. Hand painted work on paper, watercolor, 4 x 8 inches.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Dine&: EXPO CHICAGO Expands Its New Initiative 

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417908/ln4jqizyakouzikbisgz.jpg"><figcaption>Murals on the walls of the Uptown Post Office in Chicago on June 22. The W.P.A.-era murals, painted on ceramic tiles by artist Henry Varnum Poor, celebrate the accomplishments of architect Louis Sullivan and poet Carl Sandburg. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;How will Chicago artists make it through the pandemic? 85 years ago the Feds had an answer. Could it work again?Indeed, 85 years ago this spring, in the darkest days of the Great Depression, with more than 20 percent of Chicagoans out of work, President Roosevelt did something unprecedented. By signing an executive order creating the WPA — one of several federal programs established during the 1930s that provided regular salaries to artists — he was promoting the role of the federal government as arts patron. He was suggesting the government should play a part in directing the cultural identity of the nation itself. And by the late 1930s, about 75,000 Chicagoans — and 12,000 more in the surrounding suburbs — were working for the WPA.By Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-lessons-of-great-depression-art-0719-20200715-pb2at6yaqjd6hhevkj364ip4om-story.html">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417909/oqsjctqzzxwtsqucjfts.jpg"><figcaption>Coming Home, purportedly by Gertrude Abercrombie, sold at auction for $93,750 last year.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Experts weigh in on alleged art forgery ring in MichiganArt historians explain why the work of lesser known artists with rising markets, like George Copeland Ault and Gertrude Abercrombie, might become the target of a fakes schemeBy Ruth Lopez, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/analysis/experts-weigh-in-on-michigan-art-forgery-ring">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417911/y8sls16yejzeagdz0mud.png"><figcaption>A mural based on the phrase “Beyond Human Dreams of Loveliness” stretches 150 feet along an outside wall at Harry S Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave. in Uptown. Pat Nabong / Sun-Times</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Street artist Left Handed Wave’s Uptown mural ties together neighborhood’s past, present‘Beyond Human Dreams of Loveliness’ at Truman College spells out that phrase, each letter inspired by a place — past or present — central to Uptown and the surrounding area.By Clare Proctor, Chicago Sun Times<a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/murals-mosaics/2020/7/17/21310570/chicago-murals-uptown-left-handed-wave-beyond-human-dreams-loveliness-truman-college-balaban-katz">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417912/cjuzdgviofjelusvjs6f.jpg"><figcaption>TEFAF's spring 2018 edition in New York. KIRSTEN CHILSTROM</figcaption></figure>TEFAF Cancels Fall New York Fair as Pandemic’s Far-Reaching Impact Becomes&nbsp;ClearAs the coronavirus pandemic continues to make it difficult for large events to be held throughout the remainder of 2020, another top art fair has been canceled, marking the second event of its kind to be called off this week alone. The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) said in a statement that it will not host its New York edition, which had been postponed from May until the end of October.By Maximiliano Duron, artnews<a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/tefaf-new-york-fall-2020-canceled-1202694702/">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: July 21, 2020

<figure class="image"><img src="http://i2.cmail19.com/ei/i/E6/51F/945/031908/csfinal/Untitleddesign-6b4bd8bb11a91af1.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Kayla Anderson (left) and Kristin McWharter (right)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Via PRChicago, IL. July 16, 2020 --&nbsp; Chicago Artists Coalition is thrilled to announce&nbsp;the recipients of the 2020 ENVISION Grant for Chicago-based artists working in the field of time-based digital and electronic art: <a href="https://news.chicagoartistscoalition.org/t/i-l-xkjdya-dlvzir-r/">Kayla Anderson</a> and <a href="https://news.chicagoartistscoalition.org/t/i-l-xkjdya-dlvzir-y/">Kristin McWharter</a>. Anderson and McWharter have been awarded unrestricted grants of $2,500 each for their demonstrated artistic excellence. 2020 is the inaugural year of the ENVISION Grant, which is made possible by a partnership with the Carl &amp; Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation.&nbsp;In announcing the grants, CAC’s Executive and Artistic Director, Teresa Silva said, “We are pleased to provide direct funding to Kayla Anderson and Kristin McWharter for their compelling and rigorous work. Our hope is that the ENVISION Grant will have a positive impact on their studio practice for developing imaginative and experimental new work. CAC is also grateful to the Thoma Art Foundation for their vision and generosity in supporting Chicago artists.”The Thoma Art Foundation’s Curator of Digital Art, Jason Foumberg added: “The Thoma Foundation is thrilled to sponsor this three-year award for emerging Chicago-based artists working in the digital art field. We often look to emerging artists as we would a crystal ball, to see what the future holds in terms of experimentation, innovation, and paradigm shifts. For this reason, we are pleased that the jury has selected Kayla Anderson and Kristin McWharter, two promising artists working at the forefront of virtual reality who shed light on human relations in our technological age. I look forward to seeing the artworks that Anderson and McWharter develop in the near future.”Anderson and McWharter will be recognized for their achievement in an award ceremony by CAC and the Thoma Art Foundation, once it is deemed safe to reopen to the public, anticipated for fall or winter 2020.The next ENVISION Grant application cycle opens May 2021 and&nbsp;more information about the program can be found <a href="https://news.chicagoartistscoalition.org/t/i-l-xkjdya-dlvzir-j/">here.</a>&nbsp;

Chicago Artists Coalition announces recipients of the inaugural ENVISION Grant

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417606/z4xjlmi7smz3ort2frjl.jpg"><figcaption>The murals that Sounding Boards collect as businesses opt to take their plywood down will live in a storage facility until the initiative is able to move on to the next phase of its preservation plan. Mackenzie Crosson / WBEZ</figcaption></figure>Protest Art Has Covered Boarded Up Businesses — Will It Be Preserved?Some businesses were damaged, some were looted, and others sought to pre-emptively safeguard their property from civil unrest by boarding them up—and the blank plywood covering their windows became canvases. Ant Ben hoped his painting would have a life in a Chicago public school once the restaurant decided to take the boards down, but the piece disappeared before that was possible.By Mackenzie Crosson, Steven Jackson, Izii Carter &nbsp;- Via WBEZ Radio<a href="https://www.wbez.org/stories/protest-art-has-covered-boarded-up-businesses-will-it-be-preserved/e3db8017-a6ba-4dde-9bc3-3d17f6ee5392">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417607/svjnd5rw3zqnvhn9xiix.jpg"><figcaption>The installation “Dirty Laundry” on the lawn at Schurz High School. (Erica Gunderson / WTTW News)</figcaption></figure>Artists Nick Cave and Bob Faust Ask Community to Make #AMENDSThe broad front lawn at Carl Schurz High School in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood is bisected by two laundry lines strung between trees and festooned with bright yellow ribbons that flap and rustle in the breeze. Scrawled in black marker on the hundreds of ribbons are personal messages about racism.The ropes and ribbons, in place since Thursday, are one portion of the three-part community-based art project “#<a href="http://facilitychicago.org/the-contribution-project/">AMENDS,</a>” which seeks to end racism by beginning with the self. It’s the work of life and art partners Nick Cave and Bob Faust at their multidisciplinary creative space and gallery Facility, right across the street from the school.By Erica Gunderson, WTTW News<a href="https://news.wttw.com/2020/07/12/artists-nick-cave-and-bob-faust-ask-community-make-amends">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417608/vw608cueucb6l7w82kkm.png"><figcaption>Christie's "ONE" auction.</figcaption></figure>Christie’s Nets $420 M. in First Livestreamed Global Relay Auction Led by $46.2 M. Lichtenstein&nbsp;NudeThe global event closes the first set of milestones of the new virtual auction era. The auction hammered at $362 million, above its pre-sale low estimate of $337 million, realizing a total sell-through rate of 94 percent.By Angelica Villa, artnews<a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/christies-one-sale-results-roy-lichtestein-1202694117/">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417609/gmwwtyaoap7zsfrhxxwc.jpg"><figcaption>Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2020 have been cancelled Photo by Linda Nylind. Courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze</figcaption></figure>Frieze directors ‘left with no choice’ but to cancel London fairs in OctoberContinued restrictions on large-scale events and travel due to coronavirus have made the show logistically impossibleBy Anny Shaw, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/frieze-directors-left-with-no-choice-but-to-cancel-london-fairs-in-october">Read More</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: July 14, 2020

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417594/doqlkyg8pkrautoue9w2.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;CGN Staff, Via PRThe Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is pleased to announce that it is planning to reopen to the public on Friday, July 24, 2020, after several months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. With generous support from Northern Trust, the museum is welcoming back visitors with free admission through the end of August, as well as new museum hours, days, and a lower capacity optimized for the safety and well-being of visitors, following city, state and CDC health guidelines.The MCA will now be open to the public on Fridays and weekends from 11 am to 6 pm, with the first hour of the day dedicated to seniors and people at an increased risk. Visitors are encouraged to make online reservations in advance through a new touchless admission process. The MCA’s reopening features more work on view by Chicago artists and from Chicago collections than ever before in its history. Acclaimed Chicago filmmaker Deborah Stratman’s exhibition on her film The Illinois Parables, includes a re-creation of the WFMT radio studio of the renowned Studs Terkel with a selection of his celebrated interviews. Just Connect is a timely exhibition on how the pandemic has made us more aware of our desire to connect, and how we depend on our communities and families for a sense of belonging. The popular exhibition, Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago has been extended to September 27, featuring an exceptional assembly of works drawn from Chicago’s greatest public and private collections by the British-Nigerian fashion designer Duro Olowu.﻿MCA Director Madeleine Grynsztejn says, “Throughout extraordinary moments in history, artists have always shown us the way forward with work that has the power to heal, connect, inspire, and ignite our creativity. Art museums are among the lowest-risk spaces to visit in the city, and the spacious design of the MCA offers wide-open public spaces to easily accommodate physical distancing while guests experience the art on view. We also encourage visitors to step outside to enjoy time for quiet contemplation in our terraced sculpture garden with some of the best views in the city overlooking Lake Michigan.”With the health and safety of the community as its top priority, the MCA has implemented extensive new safety measures that follow city, state, and CDC guidelines, from a new touchless admission process, to a system of newly designed wayfinding to ensure physical distancing, to enhanced cleaning and sanitization. A full roster of safety measures is online at <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001j_e975AqtCcZm4RiG1uZtYXtPbOHM38JGMAdkgAwJoSlgLZMt-zeTczCZiPblC1cpcLqlEqYqrw2lGc2pxHr0lc5Cmyb3ERGdDzNM4vIv4zYUf1o91eGgJDWKqf1z6Avr4NTe0Gm4PWS4vfXN3cpT8vfuBLfNpbo&amp;c=SqG7nguZ9rNrA4JhIyF9nXlWIltHh4u-vo4-TiJiBVmxl3ypX8_ejg==&amp;ch=6FKRbN0JfcJdzPfvUy9xJLwLVfOj_161TmZbVLMfK7qIVREP0YhFyA==">www.mcachicago.org/safety</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

MCA Chicago Set to Reopen on July 24 with Free Admission and New Hours

<html><head></head><body>CGN Staff, Via PRArtadia is pleased to announce the recipients of the eleventh annual Chicago Artadia Awards:​ Caroline Kent ​and ​Eliza Myrie​. As the 2020 Chicago Artadia Awardees, Kent and Myrie will receive $10,000 in unrestricted funds, as well as access to the ongoing benefits of the Artadia Awards program. Applications were open to any visual artist living within Chicago’s Cook County for over two years, working in any medium and at any stage of their career.The decision followed an extensive jury process, culminating in a virtual studio visit between shortlisted finalists and jurors ​Jennifer Carty​, Associate Curator of Modern &amp; Contemporary Art, The Smart Museum at University of Chicago and ​Jessica Hong​, Associate Curator of Global Contemporary Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth.On receiving the 2020 Chicago Artadia Award, ​Eliza​ states, “The process of this award, the opportunity to discuss and present my practice, especially with the discombobulated energy of Covid-19, really reminded and excited me about the investments and commitments I have made. There are so many things to find out by making and many conversations I want to be having as a result of finding those things out. Artadia was a great reminder of that and of course, will enable lots more making.”Of the Awardees' work, ​Jennifer​ notes, “I was so struck by the work of the awardees Caroline Kent and Eliza Myrie, both of which tackle existing power structures and hierarchies in different and nuanced ways. Through a fluency of language with histories of abstraction, Kent extends and alters this legacy through potent means. While Myrie’s exploration into sculpture, performance, and likeness leads us to consider the physical and mental maintenance, often coupled with moments of futility, of subverting patriarchal systems. Both of these bodies of work feel particularly relevant to the current moment in which we live and the futures we endeavor to imagine.”Additionally, ​Jessica​ states, “When we’re facing such extremes and upheavals, it is artists and cultural producers that push us to think, question, and engage in new ways, and this year’s Artadia Awardees are no exception. Though both artists have quite distinct practices, Kent and Myrie seek novel, even revolutionary, potentials of their media and create space for possibility, which is now more essential than ever. It is especially during these times, artists require support through organizations like Artadia to amplify their voices, as it is ultimately the publics that need to hear these voices and experience their work. It was a privilege to serve as juror and connect with all of the finalists and it’s an honor to have a small part in supporting these critical practices.”Artadia is honored to partner with Global Insurer, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, and the artist LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, Inc. for the two 2020 Chicago Artadia Awards. Both organizations have generously committed to supporting exceptional artists in Chicago, each with a named Award in the amount of $10,000. The 2020 Chicago Artadia Awards are additionally supported by the Artadia Board of Directors, Artadia Council Members, and individual donors across the country.&nbsp;About the Awardees:Caroline Kent<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417591/uverwcm2wxjj989izgnq.png"><figcaption>Artwork credit: Caroline Kent,​ Language for the Living, 2018 Photo courtesy of the artist</figcaption></figure>Caroline Kent is a Chicago based visual artist that explores the relationship between language, translation and abstraction through her expanded painting practice. Kent speculates in both the potential and the limitations of language, and ultimately questions the modernist canon of abstraction.Caroline Kent earned a BS in Art at Illinois State University (1998) and an MFA at the University of Minnesota (2008). Kent has exhibited nationally at The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, The DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, The California African American Museum, LA, and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Kent has received grants from The Pollock Krasner Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, and The Jerome Foundation. She is currently represented by Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles.&nbsp;Eliza Myrie<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417592/br57szfv6htnwvgrgu8i.png"><figcaption>Artwork credit: Eliza Myrie, ​clothesline/back fence talk​, 2018 Photo of artist by Elizabeth Haynes</figcaption></figure>Eliza Myrie received her MFA from Northwestern University and was a participant at The Skowhegan School and The Whitney Independent Study Program. Myrie is a lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is a co-founder of The Black Artists Retreat [B.A.R.]. Exhibitions include Arts Club Chicago; Gallery 400; Vox Populi; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; New Museum of Contemporary Art.Myrie’s work explores site and labor through generational inheritance, gender, and authorship. As a sculptor and printmaker, dimension, volume, and examination of how representation and subjectivity are lost/gained via physical and conceptual processes are central to her work.&nbsp;The LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Artadia Award is presented to Eliza Myrie​. "The work of Eliza Myrie elegantly tackles questions of colonialism, race, borders, pronouns, and materiality across a wide range of mediums. These are difficult issues, but Myrie walks that tightrope, often managing to demonstrate how such concepts can be both fictional and vitally important at the same time. LeRoy Neiman's own art was deeply engaged with the contemporary moment, and I'm sure he would have been thrilled to support an artist like Myrie, who carries on that legacy with a similar dedication to beauty and wit.”&nbsp;The Liberty Specialty Markets Artadia Award is presented to Caroline Kent.​ Robert Pittinger, Senior Vice President – Fine Art &amp; Specie at Liberty Specialty Markets said: “We are thrilled that Caroline Kent is this year’s recipient of Liberty Specialty Markets Artadia Award. We hope the award will help this Chicago-based visual artist to continue pushing the boundaries with her bold yet highly sophisticated explorations of the relationship between shape, line and color. As one of the world’s leading fine art insurers, we’re dedicated to playing a positive role in the art community, helping it flourish and protecting its creations. The Artadia program, which supports innovative visual artists in their local communities and the wider world, is precisely the type of initiative that aligns with our commitment to supporting the arts.”Awardees were selected from a shortlist of ​five finalists: ​Yvette Dostatni​, ​Azadeh Gholizadeh​, ​Caroline Kent​, ​Yvette Mayorga​, and ​Eliza Myrie​. The finalists were chosen by ​Jennifer Carty​, Associate Curator of Modern &amp; Contemporary Art, The Smart Museum at University of Chicago; ​Daonne Huff​, Director, Public Programs &amp; Community Engagement, The Studio Museum in Harlem; and ​Laura Mott,​ Senior Curator of Contemporary Art and Design, Cranbrook Art Museum.&nbsp;About the Artadia Awards: Artadia is a national non-profit organization that awards artists with unrestricted grants followed by a lifetime of program opportunities. This is Artadia’s eleventh Award cycle in Chicago. Applications were open to any visual artist living within Chicago’s Cook County for over two years, working in any medium and at any stage of their career. Finalists and Artadia Award recipients are selected through Artadia’s rigorous, two-tier jury review process. In the first round of review, jurors evaluated all submissions and collaboratively determined the five Finalists. Artadia is unique in that it allows any artist to apply, engages nationally recognized artists and curators to review work, and culminates in direct grants. Since 1999, Artadia has awarded over $5 million to 342 artists across Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Artadia Announces the 2020 Chicago  Awardees

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418783/uerw1f8byyhce24eu96u.jpg"><figcaption>Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (American, 1910-1983). Untitled #289 (detail), 1955. Oil on oak tag board, 17 x 14¾ in. Collection of Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, gift of Lewis, Jean and Dan Greenblatt, 2003.3.9. Photo by John Faier.</figcaption></figure>﻿Written by Alison Amick, Senior Manager of Exhibitions and Development, Chief Curator at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art&nbsp;Did you know the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) features works of art at their stations? Recently, the CTA renovated the Chicago Avenue Blue Line Station, just kitty-corner from Intuit. As part of this process, the CTA engaged Intuit about artists and artworks from the museum’s collection that could be reproduced in light boxes gracing the renovated station. After discussing numerous possibilities, the artist Eugene Von Bruenchenhein was selected as the choice.﻿Self-taught artist Eugene Von Bruenchenhein created striking artworks in the Milwaukee home he shared with his wife, Eveline Kalka, whom he nicknamed “Marie.” In the 1940s, he began a series of photographs of Marie, before turning his attention to painting around 1950. At the time these two paintings were created—the mid-1950s—Von Bruenchenhein, like many Americans, was thinking about the possibility of nuclear warfare and possible annihilation.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418784/dbno1br0llutguk3a7sk.jpg"><figcaption>Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (American, 1910-1983). Ruins of Palenque #216 (detail), 1955. Oil on oak tag board, 17 x 14¾ in. Collection of Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, gift of Lewis, Jean and Dan Greenblatt, 2003.3.8. Photo by John Faier.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Excavated in the mid-20th century, the ancient Mayan city of Palenque would have appealed to Von Bruenchenhein as a subject. The artist was interested in past civilizations, believing himself to come from royal lineage, and may have seen parallels between the rise and fall of Palenque and the uncertain era in which he lived. Ruins of Palenque #216 incorporates Von Bruenchenhein’s technique of using his fingers to manipulate paint, here, to create the stacked geometric forms that comprise his structure. Its vibrant pinks, purples and blues contrast with the more muted orange and green of the swirling smoke-like background. Von Bruenchenhein, who worked as a florist for a time after high school, also created brightly colored fantastical landscapes filled with vegetation and flora. His dynamic composition Untitled #289 incorporates botanical elements set against a fiery background of reds and yellows, suggestive of an apocalyptic vision.The light boxes are now in! Stay tuned to our social media channels for updates.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Outsider Artists Featured at CTA Blue Line Station 

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418783/iwulcx4ibb9gfna6xjvd.jpg"></figure>CGN Staff, Via PR&nbsp;<a href="https://www.designs4dignity.org/art-for-dignity/">Art for Dignity</a> is demonstrating support for racial justice and social responsibility presented through art and visual expression with the help of Chicago’s talented and passionate community. In creating awareness of the ideals of equity, inclusion, empathy and empowerment through the power of art, River North neighbors and business owners with boarded windows are partnering with Chicago- area artists to bring this vision to life. Representing unity, peace and community through original artwork, Designs for Dignity stands together through Art for Dignity in empowering lives through design.&nbsp;Artwork will later be auctioned off with proceeds benefiting <a href="https://www.formyblock.org/">My Block My Hood My City</a>, participating artists and Designs for Dignity.&nbsp;Participating artists include: Cleveland Dean, Shawn Micheal Warren, Sam Kirk, Caswell James, Veronica Martens, Janeallison Ng, Bahar Shirkhanloo, and Malcolm Poe, among others.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418784/cppmrcywtxlrhi4jvaid.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Painted boards will remain on display in River North over the next week. You can find images of the already completed boards <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bg5wmmhk1skgnsu/AABcH68t43kpUhlZRKpPfCzva?dl=0">here</a>. If you are interested in capturing the painting in action, we can continue to update you on scheduled installations. The next opportunity to capture the artwork taking place will be:&nbsp;&nbsp;Completed Art for Dignity boards can be found at:&nbsp;Artists Frame Service: 1867 N. Clybourn Ave.Jo Chicago Communications: 126 W. Kinzie St., 2nd FloorOscar Isberian Rugs: 120 Kinzie St.&nbsp;Glamour Closet: 209 W. Illinois St.&nbsp;&nbsp;ABOUT DESIGNS FOR DIGNITYDesigns for Dignity is a 501(c) nonprofit organization that transforms nonprofitenvironments through pro bono design services and in-kind donations – empowering lives through design. Celebrating its 20th year, the organization’s mission is to serve marginalized communities by harnessing the talents and resources of the design community at large, with the ultimate goal of providing spaces that inspire hope and dignity. By engaging the design community and all of its resources, Designs for Dignity has positively impacted hundreds of thousands of lives by transforming 250+ nonprofit spaces and leveraging $13 million in donated materials. <a href="http://www.designsfordignity.org/">www.designsfordignity.org</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Designs for Dignity Initiates Art for Dignity Campaign to Raise Money for Social Justice

CHICAGO – Threewalls, a Black-led non-profit organization providing support and visibility for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Native American) contemporary visual artists in Chicago, today announced the 2020 recipients of the RaD Lab+Outside the Walls fellowship. Awarding grants of $32,000 for 8 total projects, nine fellows will imagine alternative ways towards racial equity through the lens of radical imagination and racial justice. Dedicated to ALAANA artists who are working at the intersection of art, community and justice and doing so to build a racially just society, the fellowship is generously supported by the Surdna Foundation, who awarded Threewalls $1.2 million in 2019 to expand the organization’s racial justice work.Program fellows will spend a year researching, developing and testing an idea that addresses a racial justice issue pertinent to their neighborhood community. 2020 Fellows Jenna Anast, Ireashia Bennett, Aquil Charlton, Safiya Eshe Gyasi &amp; Chineze Mogbo, Felicia Holman, Salvador Jimenez-Flores, Youree Kim and Chandra Christmas-Rouse will address a wide range of racial justice issues, including dismantling weaponized media, food apartheid, environmental and educational racism, segregation, ableism, abolition, decriminalization of mentally disabled People of Color and disinvestment from Black communities. Each project will engage community members based in Chicago neighborhoods, including Bronzeville, Bucktown, Little Village, North Kenwood, Pilsen, South Shore, Uptown and Washington Park. Project summaries and artist bios are available <a href="https://carolfox.box.com/s/kiunh3c0b566avkjqp3oj9ra0kgf3d3r">here</a>.“The artists and creatives we have awarded represent critical and imaginative thinking necessary to create a racially just Chicago, and by extension a racially just world,” said Threewalls Executive Director Jeffreen M. Hayes. “Our organization has radically reimagined what it means to truly support ALAANA artists, with funding going towards not just their projects but also their needs as individuals. Additionally, recognizing that many of our artists are part of communities in which the coronavirus has had a disproportionate impact, we increased the award amount to $32,000.”Fellows are offered technical and creative assistance throughout the program, including financial and digital coaching sessions, creative counseling and accessibility workshops. Threewalls serves as a thought partner and engages the fellows by offering curatorial and administrative support.“This year's RaD Lab+Outside the Walls fellows demonstrate the power of artists to challenge the status quo and reimagine a more just world in which everyone can thrive,” said Robert Smith III, program officer of the Surdna Foundation's Thriving Cultures program. “As communities across the nation work together to dismantle anti-black racism, we are proud to partner with Threewalls to support this powerful cohort of artists to work within their communities to use their collective experience, strategies, and creativity to realize a racially just Chicago.”The fellowship takes place sequentially over two years, with fellows developing their projects in RaD Lab during the first year and Outside the Walls in the second year. Once completed, fellows will receive an additional $32,000 and their research projects will be presented as installations and interventions in their neighborhood.&nbsp;“We deeply appreciated all who applied for this fellowship, reflecting the expansive and distinctly creative force of ALAANA communities in Chicago,” said Threewalls Director of Programs Barak adé Soleil. “The 2020 cohort affirms complexities of our culture that cannot go unnoticed; dynamic intersections of disability, queerness, Black feminism, migration and healing that shape how they will collectively reimagine - within and across this city’s neighborhoods - a more equitable future.”Fellows were selected through an open call process and reviewed by an external panel of individuals who are actively involved in artistic work, who identify as members of an ALAANA community and the majority of whom are Chicago-based. 2020 panelists were Addis Aliyu, Justin Cooper, Chandra Méndez-Ortiz and Nikki Patin.&nbsp;About the Surdna FoundationThe Surdna Foundation seeks to foster just and sustainable communities in the United States --communities guided by principles of social justice and distinguished by healthy environments, strong local economies, and thriving cultures. Learn more at <a href="http://www.surdna.org/">www.surdna.org</a>.&nbsp;About ThreewallsThreewalls was founded in 2003 to provide support and visibility for the visual arts community in Chicago. In 2016, the organization was reimagined through the lens of blackness and is an evolving Black-led nonprofit organization, that unapologetically celebrates blackness, intersectionality, and exists through Black feminist practice. Threewalls fosters contemporary art practices that respond to lived experiences, encouraging connections beyond art. We center ALAANA (African, Latinx, Arab, Asian, and Native American) artists, creatives and collaborative projects, especially those which are best presented outside of traditional art spaces. Learn more at <a href="http://three-walls.org/">three-walls.org</a>.&nbsp;

Artists Will Receive $256,000 to Support Eight Year-Long Neighborhood-Based Projects in Chicago

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417774/kqgawlmuzm80qkfzu5h0.png"></figure>CGN Staff Via PR&nbsp;The International Museum of Surgical Science is one of 20 science centers and museums around the country selected to receive $5,000 in support of STEM engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic from the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and made possible by the Voya Foundation.This flexible program is designed to support science and technology centers and museums to continue to serve their missions and community by developing, enhancing, or adapting programs or resources, helping maintain STEM learning as children, families, and educators adapt to a new normal. Twenty institutions were selected to receive funding, from among 96 science centers and museums that submitted applications.The International Museum of Surgical Science will use the award to develop a STEM-engagement program that includes downloadable education materials and do-at-home activities, designed for grades 6–8. The packet and associated activities explore core concepts on topics including pathology, patent medicines, cardiology, ophthalmology, anesthesia and medical imaging. Each activity highlights artifacts from the museum, including a photograph and inquiries for observation. The project extends the museum’s mission of enriching people’s lives by enhancing their appreciation and understanding of the history, development and advances in surgery and related subjects in health and medicine. These resources will be made available digitally, and for local families in need, the museum will provide kits of materials. The packet and resources will be available by the end of June on the Museum’s website at&nbsp;<a href="https://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1047035384&amp;msgid=2239760&amp;act=GR1O&amp;c=428141&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imss.org%2F&amp;cf=66669&amp;v=776a947d47d6b73f91637fa56a9daed4d65747cedb5fd07501f8109ca0ee74f7">http://www.imss.org</a>.“We are thankful for this opportunity to create new materials for our younger audience. Since being closed, we have been working on ways to further engage our community through online education. This STEM packet has been developed with our educators and interns to cater to a need in our community that will benefit those learning at home. These funds help our organization greatly during this uncertain time,” said Michelle Rinard, Operations Manager, International Museum of Surgical Science.“We know the important role the International Museum of Surgical Science’s STEM program play in our communities because of the success of Voya STEM Futures, one of our signature programs,” said Angela Harrell, SVP, Chief Diversity and Corporate Responsibility Officer and President, Voya Foundation. “We’re proud that our rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic can keep our children learning during this unprecedented time.”“We are thankful that Voya recognized a need for continued exploration and learning opportunities—even when science centers and museums are closed—and stepped forward to help them keep doing what they do best,” said Cristin Dorgelo, President and CEO of ASTC. “Community-based organizations like the International Museum of Surgical Science are well-positioned to help meet the need for increased understanding of—and engagement with—science and technology among all people, which is needed now more than ever.”Members of the public can further support the International Museum of Surgical Science’s STEM project by making a contribution at&nbsp;<a href="https://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1047035384&amp;msgid=2239760&amp;act=GR1O&amp;c=428141&amp;destination=https%3A%2F%2Fimss.org%2Fdonate%2F&amp;cf=66669&amp;v=627a36a7d28cabb64076d14aeb7e01920908c3337b3b05b196faa0a9c1a6ac95">https://imss.org/donate/</a>.&nbsp;About the International Museum of Surgical ScienceThe International Museum of Surgical Science (IMSS), a division of the International College of Surgeons, maintains over 10,000 square feet of public galleries committed to the history of surgery, and an exquisite permanent collection of art and artifacts from the history of medicine. The museum supports its mission through medically themed exhibitions and programs, in addition to a strong contemporary art exhibition program. IMSS is housed in a historic landmark mansion located at 1524 North Lake Shore Drive, one-half block south of North Avenue, in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. IMSS is open to visitors Monday through Friday 9:30AM – 5:00PM and Saturday and Sunday 10:00AM – 5:00PM. For more information visit&nbsp;<a href="https://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1047035384&amp;msgid=2239760&amp;act=GR1O&amp;c=428141&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imss.org%2F&amp;cf=66669&amp;v=776a947d47d6b73f91637fa56a9daed4d65747cedb5fd07501f8109ca0ee74f7">www.imss.org</a>.&nbsp;About Voya FoundationVoya Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life in communities where Voya Financial operates and its employees and customers live. Voya Foundation provides grants and establishes signature partnerships in the areas of financial literacy and children’s education and fosters employee engagement to deepen our positive impact on the community. For more information, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1047035384&amp;msgid=2239760&amp;act=GR1O&amp;c=428141&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.voyafoundation.com%2F&amp;cf=66669&amp;v=cc46548bb0d8614fa7d760c4b18307f554a3988aee2f18017738e2cd3fbef3f5">http://www.VoyaFoundation.com</a>.About ASTCFounded in 1973, ASTC is a network of nearly 700 science and technology centers and museums, and allied organizations, engaging more than 110 million people annually across North America and in almost 50 countries. With its members and partners, ASTC works towards a vision of increased understanding of—and engagement with—science and technology among all people.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.astc.org/">www.astc.org</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

International Museum of Surgical Science Wins Highly Competitive Grant to Support STEM Engagement During COVID-19 Pandemic

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418782/jo2ppddshaxammr5qh3f.png"></figure>Via PRCHICAGO — The Richard H. Driehaus Museum today announced the four artists who will receive its 2020 A Tale of Today: Emerging Artists Fellowship. Launched in 2019, the annual Fellowship provides four emerging Chicago-based ALAANA (African, Latino, Asian, Arab, and Native American) artists with an unrestricted stipend of $2,500. It also provides the artists with support from the Driehaus Museum’s professional networks to advance and promote their careers, plus access to the Museum’s resources and its home, the Nickerson Mansion. To help with the repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis, the stipend this year will be given at the outset of the program, allowing the Fellows to immediately use the funds for anything from studio supplies to housing and other basic needs.The Fellowship is a six-month program which includes meetings with art professionals, career counseling sessions, public programming experiences, and exhibition opportunities, including a pop- up exhibition at EXPO Chicago in April 2021. Inspired in part by the Nickerson Family, who in the late 19th century often invited art students to sketch and study their collection, the Fellowship encourages artists to use the Museum and the mansion as a creative center for developing their work and careers.The 2020 A Tale of Today: Emerging Artists Fellows are: Maryam Taghavi, Alexandria Eregbu, Devin T. Mays, and Unyimeabasi Udoh. Brief bios on each of the Fellows follow below.“We are committed to supporting our local artists and the creative community in Chicago,” said founder and president of the Board of Trustees, Richard H. Driehaus. “Our Fellows this year reflect the diversity of Chicago’s cultural scene and the variety of contemporary art being created in the city. We want the Driehaus Museum and its home, the Nickerson Mansion, to serve as an inspiration for Chicago’s creative energy.”This year’s four Fellows were selected by a committee comprised of Lisa Lee, Associate Professor of Public Culture and Museum Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago; artist Nick Cave; gallerist Monique Meloche; and Hendrik Folkerts, Dittmer Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. An open call application process invited artists to submit their portfolios and describe how their practice would develop through the Fellowship, how the Driehaus Museum’s space and history related to their work, and how they would contribute to their Fellowship cohort.“Following the success of last year’s program, I am thrilled to welcome the second cohort of A Tale of Today: Emerging Artists Fellows to the Driehaus Museum,” said the A Tale of Today Curatorial Fellow, Kekeli Sumah, who also leads the Fellowship program. “As our world has transformed over the past few months, so too have the topics we will explore in the program, including resiliency, adaptability, and perseverance in the face of adversity. At times like these, strengthening one’s community is especially important, and I look forward to working with the Fellows to do just that.”This summer, the Driehaus Museum will also launch a virtual conversation series featuring the A Tale of Today: Emerging Artists Fellows. The conversations will explore the Fellows’ current projects, practices, and techniques in light of the themes being explored in the A Tale of Today Fellowship.The A Tale of Today Emerging Artists Fellowship is made possible in part through a grant award from the Terra Foundation for American Art.&nbsp;About the 2020 A Tale of Today: Emerging Artists Fellows:MARYAM TAGHAVIMaryam Taghavi is a Tehran-born Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist working in photography, installation, video, publication, drawing, and performance. She employs a post-studio, site-specific practice that weighs in on and intervenes in existing modes of production. Interested in the interchangeability between the observer and participant, Taghavi locates agency in the role of the language to mark the experience of displacement and expose complex layers of difference across social and cultural levels. Taghavi’s work has been exhibited at LAXART, the Queens Museum, and the Chicago Cultural Center, among others.ALEXANDRA EREGBUAlexandra Eregbu is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice draws from history, lived experiences, and her own imagination to deepen her connectivity to the natural world. Her work is driven by memories, whether lived or dreamt, and surrealist activity across the diaspora — spanning from West Africa and the Caribbean, to her native city in Chicago. Frequently working with natural dyes such as indigo, dried roots, and other plant-based pigments, Eregbu is also motivated by the stories of the material world and views her work as a quest to unlock the unifying mysteries that exist within them. Her work has been presented at Public Space One in Iowa City, the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France, Casa Rosada in Salvador, Brazil, and the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans, among others.DEVIN T. MAYSDevin T. Mays’ practice is driven by an investigation of the so-called “in-between” space created by the social polarities of his understanding. He is interested in developing a visual language that defines and re-defines the “in-between” being. Through performances, spatial interventions, and installation work, Mays’ practice questions and complicates how we view our identities and understand ourselves subjectively. His work has been exhibited at the DePaul Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, as well as the Chicago Artists Coalition.UNYIMEABASI UDOHUnyimeabasi Udoh is an artist and graphic designer who seeks to make peace with the void. They are concerned with surface and absence, text as image, blackness as color and construct, and how systems of communication and knowledge—particularly the Western canons of art and literature, and the position of black people and African artifacts within them—are created and maintained. Udoh has exhibited work at the Chicago Artists Coalition, SITE Galleries in Chicago, and the Porto Design Biennale in Portugal.&nbsp;About A Tale of Today The A Tale of Today initiative launched in March 2019 with the opening of the Driehaus Museum’s inaugural contemporary art exhibition featuring the work of Yinka Shonibare CBE. Since then, A Tale of Today has expanded into the Fellowship program, which launched in June 2019, with an aim to engage Chicago-based emerging artists, promoting their careers and expanding their networks. The second class of Fellows coincides with the second A Tale of Today contemporary art exhibition, featuring site-specific work by the Chicago-based artists Mika Horibuchi and Nate Young. The initiative takes its name from The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, the 1873 book by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner that gave the era its name.&nbsp;About The Terra Foundation for American Art The Terra Foundation for American Art is dedicated to fostering exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of the visual arts of the United States for national and international audiences. Recognizing the importance of experiencing original works of art, the foundation provides opportunities for interaction and study, beginning with the presentation and growth of its own art collection in Chicago. To further cross-cultural dialogue on American art, the foundation supports and collaborates on innovative exhibitions, research, and educational programs. Implicit in such activities is the belief that art has the potential both to distinguish cultures and to unite them.&nbsp;About <a href="driehausmuseum.org">The Richard H. Driehaus Museum</a> The Richard H. Driehaus Museum explores the Gilded Age through the art, architecture, and design of the late 19th century to the present. Once known as Chicago’s “Marble Palace” and located just steps from the Magnificent Mile, the collection of period decorative arts is presented in an immersive experience within the mansion. Temporary exhibitions organized by the Driehaus Museum and its partners place the Gilded Age in context, as do vibrant educational and cultural programs designed to illuminate the history, culture, and urban fabric of Chicago.Richard H. Driehaus, the museum’s founder and namesake, is a Chicago businessman and preservationist with a long history of supporting the arts and culture.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

The Driehaus Museum Announces 2020 Recipients of its A Tale of Today: Emerging Artists Fellowship

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417589/omwdrblarurzrf9dcmj3.png"></figure>Via PR&nbsp;GRAND RAPIDS, MI – ArtPrize’s board of directors today announced the cancellation of the organization’s 2020 exhibition, joining many other festivals that have cancelled as a result of COVID 19 related uncertainties. The event had been scheduled to take place from Sept. 16 to Oct. 4, 2020 in downtown Grand Rapids. &nbsp; “Everyone had hoped to find modifications that would enable us to host the exhibition safely,” said ArtPrize board member Marc Schwartz. “We initially shifted plans to focus on outdoor spaces and large indoor venues. &nbsp;However, after analyzing the situation further and considering the unknowns, we realized that hosting such an event was not the best course forward. Although very disappoint-ing, we believe it is the best decision to ensure the well-being of our constituents.” The global COVID 19 pandemic created many obstacles that prevented ArtPrize from hosting an impactful and safe event at the level the community, artists, sponsors, venues, staff and fans of ArtPrize have come to expect. Challenges included concerns regarding artist and tourist travel, un-certainty regarding venues and possible restrictions, unpredictability regarding permitted gatherings in the State, and other safety, health and planning uncertainties. Despite the best efforts of the ArtPrize team and generous, unwavering support from businesses, community organizers, the City of Grand Rapids and many others, these challenges were not able to be overcome and have forced the board to cancel ArtPrize 2020. “I want to thank everyone who has played a role in attempting to host ArtPrize this year despite challenges unlike anything we have ever experienced before,” said ArtPrize Founder Rick DeVos. “The ArtPrize community is talented and innovative, and we appreciate each and every one of you. While we won’t come together to experience art as we have in prior years, I hope that all of us can find our own unique way to connect with Grand Rapids in the months ahead. Our community is known as one that comes together in challenging times and we all need each other now more than ever.” The ArtPrize organization will pause its overall operations as a result of the 2020 cancellation and take time to evaluate the possibility of future events. Artist and venue registration fees will be refunded. Sponsors that had previously committed to participate in ArtPrize 2020 will be contact-ed in the coming days to arrange for the cancellation of partnership agreements.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

ArtPrize Announces Cancellation of 2020 Exhibition Due to COVID-19

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418774/mmhsuuqnn76msftsl5ft.jpg"><figcaption>Holiday Home (Milwaukee), 2019 featuring the updated color scheme for 2020.&nbsp;Photo by Kevin Miyazaki/Sculpture Milwaukee</figcaption></figure>By CGN Via PRAt a time when so much has gone virtual or been put on hold, it is encouraging that public art has, for the most part, still been publicly &nbsp;accessible while so many doors have been closed. We were encouraged to hear last week that Sculpture Milwaukee is moving ahead with plans to mount its popular city-wide sculpture exhibition. They declared on social media, "We're not cancelled!"&nbsp;<a href="sculpturemilwaukee.com">Sculpture Milwaukee</a> announced on May 28 that its annual world-class collection of monumental sculptures will return to the streets this summer, where they can be safely enjoyed by all. Installation is slated to begin the week of June 8, and will be phased through mid-July, and, for the first time ever, many works will remain on view through the winter.&nbsp;&nbsp;In an historic year of innumerable cancelations and uncertainties due to COVID-19, the non-profit was spurred-on by the urgent understanding that access to free, safe, and culturally enriching activities are more important now than ever.&nbsp;“The sculptures will be a visible and vibrant reminder of our city’s unwavering resilience, an invitation to reimagine our surroundings, take-in new perspectives, and get inspired,” says Beth Weirick of Milwaukee Downtown. She continues, “We want everyone to feel safe coming downtown; Sculpture Milwaukee’s plans fit right in with the larger effort to create a safe, inviting locale for our community.”&nbsp;In light of ongoing public health concerns, Sculpture Milwaukee has announced a few unique features of the 2020 season. The organization has deferred in-person events, instead resources will be made available on <a href="http://sculpturemilwaukee.com/">SculptureMilwaukee.com</a> for self-guided exploration. They’ll host a mix of live-streamed and pre-recorded conversations with artists, virtual art lectures and more. Visitors will be encouraged to share their photos and thoughts about the sculptures via social media. Ground markings will be provided to help visitors maintain the recommended six-feet physical distance from others.“Our exhibition stretches out along Wisconsin Ave from O’Donnell Park to the Wisconsin Center, and this year, in partnership with The Black Box Fund, we’ve expanded into the Historic Third Ward. Altogether, our exhibition is over a mile and a half long, open 24-7 and will remain open months longer than in past years. We believe there will be ample space for people to experience vibrant and diverse, world-class artworks while maintaining a safe physical distance,” remarked Sculpture Milwaukee’s Executive Director, Brian Schupper. “We love Milwaukee, and, we want our exhibition to inspire people to get out and experience our beautiful city once again.” &nbsp;</body></html>

Sculpture Milwaukee Returns This Summer, Making Art Accessible 24/7

This is the most recent update from the Arts Alliance Illinois, which we received May 29, 2020. &nbsp;We will share more updates as we have them and as the art and business community begins to safely reopen spaces to the public.&nbsp;– CGN&nbsp;<blockquote>Today many parts of the state are moving to Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan for phased reopening. Governor Pritzker released guidelines for businesses to operate during Phase 3, including limits and safety measures for manufacturing, offices, retail, barbershops, and personal services (e.g. salons). <a href="http://go.pardot.com/e/789543/dceo-pages-restoreILP3-aspx/smb3/52877748?h=_6rjJFF1Am05MAr4sHhTyVKT4lt5WrCRHYpn1iovFIs">Click here to read these industry-specific guidelines</a>. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced this week that cautious reopening for the city will begin June 3,&nbsp;releasing a city-specific set of guidelines for businesses that are included in this phase.&nbsp;These guidelines refer to museums and outdoor performances in a "later Phase 3," the details of which are being developed in collaboration with representatives from the field. The expanded guidelines will be released when approved by public health officials.&nbsp;<a href="http://go.pardot.com/e/789543/reopening-business-portal-html/smb5/52877748?h=_6rjJFF1Am05MAr4sHhTyVKT4lt5WrCRHYpn1iovFIs">Click here to read the current Phase 3 guidelines for Chicago</a>.&nbsp; The Alliance is supportive of reopening our state's creative industries when it is deemed safe to do so by public health officials, as the health of artists, creative workers, and audiences is our highest priority. We have advocated successfully for our sector’s many diverse stakeholders to be included in reopening conversations with both the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois, and will keep you updated on developments in these discussions.&nbsp;As always, if you have any ideas, questions, needs, or resources to share, please email us at <a href="mailto:info@artsalliance.org">info@artsalliance.org</a>. State funding for the arts preserved In case you missed it, over the weekend the Illinois General Assembly passed a budget bill with several big wins for the creative sector. This collective support from the state helps to ensure arts and culture will be a critical part of our state’s recovery from the current crisis. &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="http://go.pardot.com/l/789543/2020-05-27/s9df/789543/42166/2020_0526_IL_arts_funding_preserved_v3.png" alt=""></figure> We're grateful to all the legislators who made the arts a priority, as well as the 36 members of the Arts &amp; Culture Capital Coalition. Finally, thank YOU for being part of our fight for the arts and culture in Illinois. We know the creative sector is hurting right now and we are doing everything we can to ensure it is a critical part of healing and restoration across Illinois. <a href="http://go.pardot.com/e/789543/ILArtsFY21/smb7/52877748?h=_6rjJFF1Am05MAr4sHhTyVKT4lt5WrCRHYpn1iovFIs">Click here to read more.</a></blockquote>&nbsp;&nbsp;

State Funding for the Arts: Art Alliance Illinois Updates

Via PRChicago Artists Coalition (CAC) today announced that Teresa Silva, currently CAC’s director of exhibitions and residencies, has been selected as its new executive and artistic director.&nbsp;She will assume the new role on August 1, 2020. The Chicago Artists Coalition is a non-profit organization that has provided artists and curators with the resources to live, work and thrive in the city since 1974.<figure class="image"><img src="http://i1.cmail19.com/ei/i/AC/126/D20/005148/csfinal/TeresaHeadshot2020-990000000003cf3c.jpg" alt="Teresa Silva has been promoted to the new position of Executive and Artistic Director starting August 1, 2020"><figcaption>Teresa Silva</figcaption></figure>The new position and Silva’s appointment bring to fruition an organizational restructure that Caroline Older, CAC’s executive director since 2014,&nbsp;and CAC’s&nbsp;board&nbsp;of directors have been working on since February 2020. The plan called for a 6-month transition to enable Older to take the next step in her career while ensuring the long-term success of CAC.“In early 2020, as we entered CAC’s 45th year of supporting Chicago artists and curators, it became clear that to accommodate changing priorities among arts&nbsp;funders we needed to innovate to&nbsp;ensure CAC’s sustainability,” said Older.&nbsp;“The new management structure provides for a viable financial future while allowing Teresa Silva to lead CAC’s efforts to support Chicago’s artist community.”During her tenure, Older’s accomplishments include relocating CAC to enhance services and accessibility for artists, launching CAC’s first capital campaign, refreshing CAC’s brand with a new website, increasing grants to artists by 2000% and developing a board of directors of esteemed Chicago leaders while improving board and staff diversity. Older leaves CAC on sound financial footing with over four years of balanced budgets and substantial emergency funds secured since March 16.<figure class="image"><img src="http://i2.cmail19.com/ei/i/AC/126/D20/005148/csfinal/Caroline-D.-Older-990a280a28028a3c.jpg" alt="Caroline Older, CAC’s executive director for the past 5 years, will be leaving to explore new opportunities."><figcaption>Caroline Older</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;“Caroline raised the visibility and impact of CAC, led its move to a new location and substantially increased CAC’s financial support for artists. Her dedication to the success of CAC has been remarkable,” said Carmelita Tiu, Board Chair. “Teresa Silva has unparalleled experience and passion for CAC’s mission and programming, and will undoubtedly continue to build on the foundation that Caroline created.”Silva was Older’s first hire at CAC, and the two were recognized together in Newcity’s Art 50: Chicago’s Visual Vanguard 2019.&nbsp; Silva will be responsible for procuring financial support for CAC through grants and donations, leading programming, residencies and exhibitions, and overseeing day-to-day operations of the organization.&nbsp;She brings to her position a vast network of artists, curators and arts patrons. Karina Quintana and Aileen Cortez, who have worked at CAC since 2019, will support Silva.“COVID-19 has heightened the need to support artists so that they can continue to work and thrive in Chicago,” said Silva. “I am grateful for this opportunity and that, thanks to Caroline, CAC is poised for a dynamic future that will continue to contribute to Chicago’s reputation as a world-class arts center.”&nbsp;As director of exhibitions and residencies since 2014, Silva has helped launch the careers of countless artists and curators. CAC alumni have gone on to exhibit in New York at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Storm King Art Center and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art and galleries across the country.&nbsp;CAC alums also hold positions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, EXPO CHICAGO, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.About Chicago Artists Coalition Chicago Artists Coalition is a non-profit organization that supports contemporary Chicago artists and curators by offering residency programs, exhibitions, professional development and resources that enable them to live, work and thrive in the city.&nbsp;CAC&nbsp;is deeply committed to advancing the cause of art and its importance in Chicago’s culture and economy by cultivating a wide-reaching civic, philanthropic and public support network. For more information, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://news.chicagoartistscoalition.org/t/i-l-xdiihc-dlvzir-y/">www.chicagoartistscoalition.org</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Chicago Artists Coalition Announces Leadership Transition

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417775/edqx4gmumpvdbz9o4hz5.jpg"><figcaption>Wadsworth Jarrell with son Jerry, Jae Jarrell, and Napoleon Jones-Henderson at an AFRICOBRA meeting,&nbsp;1968, Chicago, IL. Courtesy of Gerald Williams</figcaption></figure>Via PR&nbsp;The three living co-founders of AFRICOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists)—are receiving honorary doctorates from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417776/uyjmup519ojp4yuimsb6.jpg"><figcaption>AFRICOBRA: Nation Time,&nbsp;official collateral exhibition of the&nbsp;2019&nbsp;edition of La&nbsp;Biennale&nbsp;di&nbsp;Venezia,&nbsp;installed at Ca’ Faccanon, Venice, Italy&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Kavi Gupta congratulates Gerald Williams, Wadsworth Jarrell, and Jae Jarrell—the three living co-founders of AFRICOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists)—for their receipt of honorary doctorates from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, "for their extraordinary contributions to culture."<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417777/qp4d78jehr5crxtfvzct.jpg"><figcaption>Jae Jarrell working on&nbsp;Ornaments of Reflection for the Toronto&nbsp;Biennial, 2019, Cleveland, OH.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>This honor comes on the one-year anniversary of the opening of&nbsp;AFRICOBRA: Nation Time, an award-winning, official collateral exhibition at the 58th Venice Biennale. Organized and sponsored by Kavi Gupta, bardoLA, and MOCA North Miami, and curated by Jeffreen M. Hayes, Ph.D.,&nbsp;AFRICOBRA: Nation Time&nbsp;was noted as a highlight of the Biennale by numerous press outlets and further enshrined AFRICOBRA as a crucial voice in the international artistic landscape. Installed in the gothic palazzo Ca’ Faccanon, the exhibition featured both classic and recent works by the artists of AFRICOBRA, including some pieces which had not been displayed publicly since their original showings with the group in the 1970s. Accompanied by extensive historical material to contextualize the state of 1960s America, and Chicago specifically, the exhibition now stands as a definitive exploration of the group’s legendary history.&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417778/esfhujsy9st4rknmlclc.jpg"><figcaption>Wadsworth Jarrell in his studio,&nbsp;2019, Cleveland, OH.</figcaption></figure>Founded in 1968 on the South Side of Chicago, AFRICOBRA was on the vanguard of the global Black Arts. Rather than focusing on violent revolution, they focused on nurturing a revolutionary cultural spirit distilling the intertextual aspect of their visual environment into an aesthetic position that was unmistakably current, and unmistakably connected to the African diaspora. Soon, the group was joined by five more members: Napoleon Jones Henderson, Nelson Stevens, Sherman Beck, Omar Lama, and Carolyn Mims Lawrence.&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417779/hqhzlhaakjyubjhkj8ji.jpg"><figcaption>Gerald Williams in front of his work at the opening for The Time is Now! Art Worlds of Chicago's South Side atthe Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, 2018, Chicago, IL.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Congratulations, AFRICOBRA, for everything you have accomplished. We celebrate the far-reaching impact your philosophical and aesthetic positions continue to have on our culture—the story of AFRICOBRA has only just begun.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Three Living Members of AFRICOBRA are Receiving Honorary Doctorates from SAIC

CGN staff via PRAfter NADA had to announce the cancellation of their September 2020 fair in Chicago, after only hosting one edition of the show a few months ago in 2019, they have now shared plans for a fully digital endeavor. FAIR, built in partnership with Artlogic, is a new art fair initiative designed to be entirely online, function cooperatively, and act as a benefit for NADA’s community of galleries, nonprofits and artists.&nbsp;The plan has come together in a relatively short period of time and is not only meant to be only online but also a means of supporting galleries through sales (vs grants, loans or fundraising.) What art fair preview have you ever read that doesn't reference the cliche comfortable shoes? Well, now you don't even need them.&nbsp;Taking place May 20–June 21, 2020, FAIR will directly support 119 NADA Gallery Members and 81 other galleries that have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, totaling nearly 200 galleries around the world.FAIR offers an alternative profit-sharing model, structured to facilitate mutual support within the art community and provide revenue to each of its participants during a time in which galleries have temporarily closed their physical locations. A percentage from each sale made from FAIR will directly benefit all participating galleries and artists. In addition, a percentage of each sale will go towards supporting NADA for their efforts in producing FAIR, their continued work as an organization for art galleries, through this time of crisis and beyond.Cooperative Sales Model:50% of each sale goes directly to gallery (which is split evenly between artist/gallery)20% of each sale goes into cooperative gallery sales pool; to be shared evenly among all participating galleries20% of each sale goes into cooperative artist sales pool; to be shared evenly among all participating artists10% of each sale goes to support the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA)Each participating gallery will present a series of artworks over four-weeks with the opportunity to share new artworks each week. The initiative will also feature a series of online performances, studio visits and talks to complement the artworks presented by participating galleries and artists. FAIR, produced in collaboration with Artlogic, utilizes their Online Viewing Rooms service and is generously hosted by them.&nbsp;Week 1 of FAIR launches on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 10am EST at <a href="https://newartdealers.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3493a38a571991d5c278569e7&amp;id=d6cb77681a&amp;e=a3f64d3727">thisisfair.org</a>.View the list of participants <a href="https://newartdealers.viewingrooms.com/participants/">online</a>. Chicago and regional galleries participating include:&nbsp;<ul><li>Ackerman Clarke – Chicago</li><li>Circle Contemporary (Arts of Life) – Chicago</li><li>Devening Projects – Chicago</li><li>DOCUMENT – Chicago</li><li>The Green Gallery – Milwaukee</li><li>M. LeBlanc – Chicago</li><li>MICKEY – Chicago</li><li>PATRON – Chicago</li><li>The Suburban – Milwaukee</li><li>Volume Gallery – Chicago</li><li>Western Exhibitions – Chicago</li></ul>&nbsp;FAIR Dates​ &amp;​ Times May 20 – Sunday, June 21, 2020 <a href="https://newartdealers.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3493a38a571991d5c278569e7&amp;id=55dfb3879b&amp;e=a3f64d3727">thisisfair.org</a>Week 1: May 20, 2020 Live at 10am ESTWeek 2: May 27, 2020 Live at 10am ESTWeek 3: June 3, 2020 Live at 10am ESTWeek 4: June 10, 2020 Live at 10am EST&nbsp;

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