Hyde Park Art Center Annual Gala

Hyde Park Art Center hosts its annual Gala that activates its entire building on Friday, November 17, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., with an afterparty that goes till midnight. 

Co-chaired by Kimberly and James Elbaor, Wendy and John Minor, and Angelique Power, the lively event is packed with hands-on art activities, performances, open studios, art auctions, and DJs from Lumpen Radio, offering a unique and interactive experience while benefiting the art center’s various programs supporting Chicago art and artists. The Gala afterparty is hosted in partnership with Lumpen Radio.

The Art Center’s co-Executive Directors Jeannette Tremblay Chambers and Aaron Rodgers share their excitement for the upcoming fundraiser and hope for the event: “We're thrilled to celebrate Hyde Park Art Center's impact on arts and artists in Chicago. It has been an extraordinary year: from the groundbreaking solo exhibition of artist-activist William Estrada to the vital retrospective of Edra Soto's Graft; from the TeenFest to the Art of Pride; with the contribute-what-you-can art classes of our art education initiative Open Arts, the Art Center continues to be a vital resource for our vibrant community. The proceeds of the gala will enable us to continue our work, and we hope everyone will join us in making next year our best year yet!” 

With a “creative cocktail” dress code, the evening will feature a cocktail party running from 5:30-7:00 p.m., followed by a seated family style dinner, remarks by Art Center leadership, and art auctions. With a reputation as one of the city’s most “hands-on” art parties, the Gala will feature an afterparty in collaboration with Lumpen Radio from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30pm that includes the popular Interactive Artist Interventions, resident artist open studios, performances, DJs Logan Bay, La Janesita, and Sonorama, late-night bites, and more. Afterparty tickets are $75 and are available on the Art Center’s website. Resident artists include Rufina Bazlova, Sofía Fernández Díaz, Juarez Hawkins, Candace Hunter, Malika Jackson, zakkiyyah najeebah dumas o'neal, Eric Perez, Tongji Philip Qian, Kushala Vora, and Rhonda Wheatley.

Interactive Artist Interventions have been one of the highlights of past Art Center Galas, where guests were engaged in inventive interactions such as getting inked by a tattoo artist and eating cake off a wall. The 2023 Gala will feature artist interventions by Jonathan Castillo, Young Kim, Jordan Knecht, Mariana Noreña, Chris Tasior, and teen artists from the Art Center’s Youth Board of Artists. 

For more information on participating artists and DJs, visit hydeparkart.org/gala.

Gala tickets are available for $750 with sponsorship levels beginning at $2,500. 

Guests may RSVP and make donations at www.hydeparkart.org/gala. 

For more information on sponsorship levels, please contact Marina Vulinovic at mvulinovic@hydepartart.org.