Features

CGN Art World Recap: 5/5

Balloon Girl, Courtesy of The Art of Banksy

Banksy Comes to Chicago... Sort of.

The Art of Banksy, the largest touring exhibition of authentic Banksy art works in the world, announced that it will open July 1 in Chicago. Hosted in a yet-to-be-disclosed location in the West Loop The Art of Banksy will feature 80 authenticated and certified original Banksy works from collectors across the globe, offering the public a rare opportunity to view art that is now privately held. 

The Art of Banksy is not authorized or curated in collaboration with the artist, but rather sourced from private collections. The exhibition features many of Banksy’s most recognizable images, including Flower Thrower, Rude Copper and Girl with Balloon, famously shredded at auction in 2018. The canvasses, screen prints, sculptures, one-off and limited-edition pieces on display date between 1997 and 2008. Banksy, whose identity is the art world’s biggest secret, is an enigmatic artist and world-recognized political activist. Tickets to see the works – which normally you would once pass on the street for free – will go on sale at 9 a.m. May 6 and start at $39.99 ($29.99 for under 16.)

 

Terra Foundation awards 35 grants to US arts and culture organizations for permanent collection projects

The Terra Foundation for American Art is pleased to announce the awarding of nearly $2.5 million in grants to 35 arts and cultural organizations across 30 cities in the United States. These grants support projects through the foundation’s new two-year exhibition grant initiative, Re-envisioning Permanent Collections: An Initiative for US Museums.

The Terra Foundation established this grant initiative to encourage museums to delve more deeply into their collections to reveal a fuller multiplicity of artworks and voices that have shaped, in the past and up through the present, the artistic and cultural heritage of the US.

 

57th Street Art Fair Announces It Will Take Place Virtually, Not In-Person as Hoped

The 57th Street Art Fair Committee announced they have made a final decision regarding the possibility of holding a scaled-down physical fair in June, 2021.  Sadly, after much deliberation, they regretted that this will not be possible.

There were many considerations behind this difficult decision, but the primary concern was for the health and safety of our artists, visitors, volunteers and community.  And in the end, time and cost to implement a safely modified in-person event became insurmountable factors.  

Without the city permit and permission from CPS, and with only a month to go before the early June fair date, there will not enough time to implement any of the plans considered for 2021’s 74th Annual 57th Street Art Fair.  The Committee felt they had no choice but to cancel this year’s physical event, and focus on the currently ongoing 2021 57th Street Art Fair virtual event, which is live through May 2022.