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EXPO CHICAGO Announces Fall Program: EXHIBITION Weekend (September 25–27) and Alternate Assembly (October 15–18)
Image courtesy Justin Barbin
EXPO CHICAGO announced the launch of its fall program featuring EXHIBITION Weekend (September 25–27, 2020) and Alternate Assembly 2020: Environmental Impact in the Era of Pandemic (October 15–18). Underscoring EXPO CHICAGO’s commitment to local galleries, artists, and institutions, EXHIBITION Weekend will showcase Chicago-based exhibitions, curatorial projects, and artist programs through a series of virtual programs including studio visits, exhibition and gallery tours, and discussions accessible globally.
Taking place during the original dates of the exposition, the weekend will commence with a conversation featuring artist Nick Cave, introduced by philanthropist and Art for Justice founder Agnes Gund discussing the re-release of Cave's limited edition print for sale in support of Art for Justice on September 24. In October, EXPO CHICAGO will present Alternate Assembly 2020, a virtual symposium featuring live- streamed discussions between leading curators, artists, and scholars worldwide addressing environmental impact within the era of pandemic.
EXHIBITION Weekend | September 25–27
Highlighting Chicago-based exhibitions, curatorial projects, and artist programs from leading artists, galleries, and institutions, EXHIBITION Weekend will activate Chicago's creative communities and provide international audiences the opportunity to engage directly through virtual tours, conversations, and an online viewing experience. “Given EXPO CHICAGO’s commitment to our community, there was no hesitation to make our first predominantly virtual initiative in support of Chicago—celebrating the breadth and scope of the city’s vibrant creative community while providing an access point for international audiences to connect with local artists, gallerists, and collectors. With support from Presenting Sponsor Northern Trust and others, we are proud to partner with Hook on the development of the online viewing room that will enable EXPO CHICAGO to continue to present the highest quality platform for contemporary art and culture,” said Tony Karman, President | Director of EXPO CHICAGO. Virtual program highlights include:
- Artist-led Tours offering intimate glimpses into the studios of Chicago’s leading artists, including Barbara Kasten;
- The premiere performance of Angel Bat Dawid’s composition “Peace: A Suite for Skylanding, A Mended Petal Odyssey” commissioned by The Art Institute of Chicago in response to Yoko Ono’s first permanent public sculpture in the United States, located in Jackson Park on the south side of Chicago;
- The opening reception for the Driehaus Museum's exhibition, A Tale of Today with Nate Young and Mika Horibuchi;
- Additionally, VIP Program Highlights, available by invitation only, include: Art Advisor-led Tours of EXHIBITION Weekend by Erica Barrish (EAB Fine Art Services), Victoria Espy Burns (Victoria Burns Art Advisory), Patti Gilford (Patti Gilford Fine Arts), and Jamie DeGroot (DeGroot Fine Art); Collector Home Tours with Chicago-based collectors including Jack and Sandy Guthman; Curator-led tours of exhibitions by Chicago’s foremost institutions, including a behind-the-scenes conversation with Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Manilow Senior Curator, Naomi Beckwith, on the exhibition Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago, co-curated with the Nigerian-born British fashion designer. Event presented in collaboration with the University Club of Chicago.
Participating galleries in EXHIBITION Weekend include Aaron Galleries, Jean Albano Gallery, Aspect/Ratio, Corbett vs. Dempsey, Stephen Daiter Gallery, Devening Projects, DOCUMENT, Catherine Edelman Gallery, GRAY, Kavi Gupta, Carl Hammer Gallery, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Mariane Ibrahim, Alan Koppel Gallery, M.Leblanc, McCormick Gallery, MICKEY, Monique Meloche Gallery, Richard Norton Gallery, PATRON, Jason Pickleman, ANDREW RAFACZ, David Salkin Creative, Ken Saunders Gallery, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Volume Gallery, Western Exhibitions, and Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, among others. Participating alternative and project spaces include Arts of Life, Chicago Manual Style, The Franklin, Goldfinch, Julius Caesar, RUSCHMAN, and Weinberg/Newton Gallery, among others.
Launching EXHIBITION Weekend on Thursday, September 24, EXPO CHICAGO will present a conversation with artists Nick Cave and Bob Faust, Quintin Williams of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, and Gabrielle Lyon of Illinois Humanities. With an introduction by philanthropist Agnes Gund, Founder of Art for Justice, this conversation will explore the concepts addressed in the limited-edition print designed by Nick Cave and Bob Faust, a Facility Art/Work collaboration printed by Landfall Press, in celebration of the 2019 edition of the exposition. The conversation is co-hosted with EXPO CHICAGO Marketplace Partner Artsy, and proceeds of the sale of the limited-edition print will benefit Art for Justice, the Facility Foundation, and directly support EXPO CHICAGO’s Curatorial Initiatives 2020 fall programming, presented in partnership with Independent Curators International (ICI). The limited-edition print can be purchased at www.expochicago.com, a custom viewing room in the EXHIBITION Weekend (September 25–27) platform, and via the Artsy Marketplace. Chicago audiences will have select opportunities to view exhibitions in-person (by appointment) aligning with EXHIBITION Weekend. Safety precautions will include limited capacities, social distancing, mask requirements, and non-invasive temperature checks.
In-person exhibition highlights include:
- The Art Institute of Chicago | Richard Hunt: Scholar’s Rock or Stone of Hope or Love of Bronze; Malangatana: Mozambique Modern; El Greco: Ambition & Defiance
- Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | Chicago Works: Deborah Stratman; Alien vs. Citizen; The Location of Lines; Just Connect
- Driehaus Museum | A Tale of Today: Nate Young & Mika Horibuchi
- Wrightwood 659 | Balkrishna Doshi: Architecture for the People
- Renaissance Society | Nine Lives: Raven Chacon, Bethany Collins, Tamar Guimarães, Kapwani Kiwanga, Hương Ngô, Aliza Nisenbaum, Alison O'Daniel, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Elle Pérez, and Charlotte Prodger
- Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society | Apsáalooke Women and Warriors
- Hyde Park Art Center | Artists Run Chicago 2.0
- DePaul Art Museum | Kathryn Andrews
- Elmhurst Art Museum | A Space Problem: Organized by David Salkin
- GRAY | McArthur Binion / Jim Lutes
- Mariane Ibrahim | Amaoko Boafo
- Monique Meloche Gallery | Jake Troyli
- Kavi Gupta | Deborah Kass, Orange Disaster (Linda Nochlin); WHEN FIRE IS APPLIED TO A STONE IT CRACKS; Better Nights
- Rhona Hoffman Gallery | Spencer Finch
- DOCUMENT | Erin Jane Nelson
- Western Exhibitions | Elijah Burgher
- Andrew Rafacz | Melissa Leandro
- David Salkin Creative: Rami George: Untitled (the wars in Lebanon)
- 2020 West Town Art Walk
EXHIBITION Weekend will also feature a special virtual convening of The Curatorial Forum—a continuation of EXPO CHICAGO’s core program—presented in partnership with Independent Curators International (ICI) on Thursday, September 24. Composed of three peer-led Zoom sessions with past participants and new Chicago-based leaders, the online discussion will center on racial equity in U.S. museums and institutions and promote the Forum’s two main goals—advancing civic-minded practice and the role of curators in empowering local art scenes; and promoting regional collaborations and knowledge-sharing across the US. The Online Dispatch initiative, distributed by EXPO CHICAGO, will be presented daily to relay these events as well as exhibitions and programming by local institutions, museums, and non-profits scheduled in alignment with the event, including exclusive artist talks and virtual exhibition tours hosted by leading curators.
For a full list of additional EXHIBITION Weekend programming and events including dates, times and locations, visit www.expochicago.com.
Alternate Assembly 2020: Environmental Impact in the Era of Pandemic | October 15 – 18
As a continuation of EXPO CHICAGO's year-round programming curated in response to contemporary issues, Alternate Assembly 2020 will engage the fair’s local and global audience through film screenings and live-streamed panel discussions featuring leading curators, artists, and scholars that will be open to the public. Building upon Chicago’s long legacy of supporting alternative models to exhibitions and engagement with contemporary art, the virtual symposium will address the ways in which contemporary art can contribute to rethinking our environment within the era of pandemic. Additional details to be announced at a later date.
“Committed to providing a forum for critical dialogue within the contemporary art world, EXPO CHICAGO’s virtual symposium will unite creators, curators, and critics to examine some of the most vital issues of our time,” states Stephanie Cristello, Artistic Director of EXPO CHICAGO. “Alternate Assembly invites artists whose works address issues such as environmental racism, colonial histories, and sustainability to engage in meaningful discourse with leaders of institutions and non-profits. Through film screenings and panel discussions, Alternate Assembly highlights the ways in which contemporary art engages and interrogates the physical and socioeconomic structures in which we as individuals co- exist—and in doing so, offers up pathways for meaningful change within the art world and beyond.” For the eighth consecutive year, Northern Trust returns as Presenting Sponsor of EXPO CHICAGO and related programs EXHIBITION Weekend and Alternate Assembly.
About EXPO CHICAGO EXPO CHICAGO, The International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art features leading international galleries alongside one of the highest quality platforms for contemporary art and culture. Hosted within historic Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, EXPO CHICAGO’s ninth edition will take place April 8 – 11, 2021. EXPO CHICAGO presents a diverse program, including /Dialogues (presented in partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago) and Exchange by Northern Trust, an unrivaled talks program for both public and VIP audiences; IN/SITU, dynamic on-site installations highlighting large-scale sculpture, film, and site-specific work; and major public art initiatives, including IN/SITU Outside, public art installed throughout Chicago Park District locations, and OVERRIDE | A Billboard Project, a curated selection of international artists throughout the city’s digital billboard network. The EXPO CHICAGO program also features an unprecedented commitment to host curatorial initiatives during the exposition, including the Curatorial Forum in partnership with Independent Curators International (ICI), and the Curatorial Exchange, which partners with foreign agencies and consulates to expand the exposition’s global reach. EXPO CHICAGO is the publisher of THE SEEN, Chicago’s only international journal of contemporary and modern art criticism, distributed throughout the United States and Europe. EXPO CHICAGO is presented by Art Expositions, LLC. Under the leadership of President and Director Tony Karman, EXPO CHICAGO draws upon the city’s rich history as a vibrant international cultural destination, while highlighting the region’s contemporary arts community and inspiring its collector base. For more information on EXPO CHICAGO and EXPO ART WEEK (April 5 – 11, 2021) visit expochicago.com.
About Northern Trust Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has a global presence with offices in 22 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and across 22 locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of June 30, 2020, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US $12.1 trillion, and assets under management of US $1.3 trillion. For more than 130 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Please visit our website or follow us on Twitter. Northern Trust Corporation, Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A., incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Please read our global and regulatory information.
About Independent Curators International Independent Curators International (ICI) supports the work of curators to help create stronger art communities through experimentation, collaboration, and international engagement. Curators are arts community leaders and organizers who champion artistic practice; build essential infrastructures and institutions; and generate public engagement with art. Our collaborative programs connect curators across generations, and across social, political and cultural borders. They form an international framework for sharing knowledge and resources — promoting cultural exchange, access to art, and public awareness for the curator’s role.
About Art for Justice Art for Justice Fund is a five-year initiative created by philanthropist Agnes Gund in partnership with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and the Ford Foundation. The Fund invests in artists and advocates dedicated to ending mass incarceration and the racial bias that fuels it by. To date, Art for Justice has invested over $75 million across almost 150 grants.
About Facility Facility is a place. It’s a multi-disciplinary creative space. And it’s home to Cave Studio, Faust Associates and $oundsuit$hop while also serving as a creative hub for other artists, artisans, designers and architects. Additionally, Facility plays host to myriad pop- up special projects such as exhibitions, performances and fresh retail experiences. Facility is a philosophy. It believes that art and design can create peace, build power, and change the world ... that by fostering an environment and community built from your dreams you will wake up daily within your destiny. Facility is an action agent. It reaches deep into our communities, employing the collective powers of art and design as a means to empowerment and social change. Facility Foundation provides scholarships and opportunities for young, promising and emerging artists, collaborations with fierce, like-minded established artists and partnering with outside, organizations and institutions to galvanize their outreach programming.