EXPO CHICAGO Announces First Look at /Dialogues Panel Discussion Series for 2017 Program
/Dialogues Art & Architecture Symposium to Align with the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Featuring Original Members of Superstudio, Artist David Hartt with PIN—UP’s Felix Burrichter, Artists Thomas Demand and Luisa Lambri, and Flavin Judd with Sarah Herda and Artforum’s Julian Rose, Among Others; Additional Panels Include Author Sarah Thornton and Artist Paola Pivi; Keynote with Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi; and Chicago-Based Artist Michael Rakowitz with Omar Kholeif on First U.S. Museum Survey
Exchange by Northern Trust: An Interactive Conversation Around the Art of Collecting Program to Feature Exclusive Conversations Including the Museum Governance Forum, Presented in Partnership with the American Alliance of Museums and BoardSource; Roundtable on Race & Representation in Contemporary Collections; Among Others
CHICAGO — EXPO CHICAGO, The International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art, announces a first look at the 2017 /Dialogues program, presented in partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), to take place during the sixth annual exposition, September 13 – 17, 2017. Located on the east end of Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, the /Dialogues stage will offer continuous programming open to all EXPO CHICAGO visitors throughout each day of the fair, providing multiple opportunities to attend engaging and provocative artistic discourse featuring leading international artists, curators, scholars and arts professionals. A curated component of the full program, the second annual /Dialogues Symposium will align with the Chicago Architecture Biennial (September 16, 2017 – January 7, 2018) to feature a day-long series of discussions surrounding the intersecting fields of art and architecture.
The Symposium and announced panels will join a full /Dialogues program of more than 30 talks. In addition, the Northern Trust Anchor Lounge will host Exchange by Northern Trust: An Interactive Conversation Around the Art of Collecting, a series of exclusive discussions on the contemporary art market, institutions and economy. Both /Dialogues and Exchange by Northern Truest will feature an additional day of programming during the sixth edition. Hailed by Artforum, “What sets EXPO CHICAGO apart, really, is its excellent program of talks and panels.”
“Providing a platform for rigorous criticism and discourse is at the core of EXPO CHICAGO’s programming and we are thrilled to be working with leading international artists, professionals and scholars on curated discussions that address current topics necessary for engaging with contemporary art and culture,” said EXPO CHICAGO Director of Programming Stephanie Cristello. “As we expand the breadth of both the /Dialogues and Northern Trust Anchor Lounge programs, the exposition continues to reinforce the importance of intellectual practice in support of the work being done in the field. We remain grateful to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and to the commitment of our presenting sponsor Northern Trust, as we establish one of the most influential programs for collectors and professionals working in the art world today.”
/Dialogues
A curated component of the full /Dialogues program, the second annual Symposium will feature a day-long series of discussions and discourse surrounding the intersecting fields of art and architecture on Friday, September 15. The Art & Architecture Symposium will feature original members from Superstudio and the Italian Radical Design movement, artists David Hartt, Thomas Demand and Luisa Lambri, critics Felix Burrichter from PIN—UP and Julian Rose from Artforum, as well as Flavin Judd, among others. The Symposium will also include book signings and partnerships with the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the Graham Foundation, CULTURED Magazine, David Zwirner Books, and the Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Additional panels will include an intimate conversation between author Sarah Thornton and artist Paola Pivi, whose dynamic sculptures and installations address the tragicomedies of life, society, nature and power; a keynote discussion with Sharjah Art Foundation President and Director Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi on the global impact and responsibility of institutions’ off-site international programs, as well as the importance of their influence on the region; and an interview with Chicago-based artist Michael Rakowitz on his first-ever U.S. museum survey organized by Omar Kholeif, Manilow Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
These panels join previously announced discussions featuring Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Senior Curator Valerie Cassel Oliver and Museum of Contemporary Art Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator Naomi Beckwith moderated by SAIC Visual Critical Studies and Liberal Arts Associate Professor Romi Crawford as part of the Curatorial Forum, presented in partnership with Independent Curators International (ICI); and the second annual edition of EXPO CHICAGO Art Critics Forum: Criticism in the Post-Truth Era, both open to the public for the first time since the inception of the /Dialogues program.
First Look: /Dialogues Schedule
Thursday, September 14
3:30–4:30pm
Curatorial Forum Panel (previously announced)
Panelists | Valerie Cassel Oliver (Senior Curator | Contemporary Arts Museum Houston) and Naomi Beckwith (Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator | Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago). Moderated by Romi Crawford (Visual Critical Studies and Liberal Arts Associate Professor | SAIC).
Join EXPO CHICAGO and Independent Curators International (ICI) for this exclusive public panel as part of the Curatorial Forum, an invitation-only program convening mid-career and established curators to discuss critical issues related to curating, programming, institution-building and audience engagement within the context of global exhibitions.
5:00–6:00pm
EXPO CHICAGO Art Critics Forum: Criticism in the Post-Truth Era (previously announced)
Panelists | Sarah Douglas (ARTnews), Ana Bilbao (Afterall), Kenny Schachter (artnet News) and Kevin McGarry (Freelance). Moderated by Christian Viveros-Fauné (artnet News).
Conversations and Perspectives on Contemporary Art Criticism—the thematic focus of the 2017 EXPO CHICAGO Art Critics Forum, Criticism in the Post-Truth Era—will address the impact of the current political climate on the state of art journalism. Featuring a diverse group of panelists, speakers will present keynotes before opening into a group discussion. Presented in partnership with Virgin Hotels.
Friday, September 15
Art & Architecture Symposium
A curated component of the full /Dialogues program, the second annual Symposium features a day-long series of talks focused on the intersection of art and architecture.
12:00–1:00pm
SuperDesign: Radical Italian Design 1965–1975
Panelists | Gianni Pettena (Artist and Architect), Lapo Binazzi (Artist and Architect), Francesca Molteni (Film Producer) and Maria Cristina Didero (Independent Curator)
What started as a rally against the establishment, the Radical Italian Design movement (architettura radicale) was formed out of the belief that creation could change the world—not through political acts or war, but through architecture and design. SuperDesign investigates how and why these designers, during this short yet dynamic time, changed the way we think about the objects that surround us. Featuring original perpetrators of the Radical movement—Gianni Pettena and Lapo Binazzi—the panel is moderated by leading Italian design curator Maria Cristina Didero, alongside film director Francesca Molteni, whose new documentary will launch in 2017. Presented in partnership with CULTURED.
2:00–3:00pm
Architecture as Metaphor: Nature vs. Culture
Panelists | David Hartt (Artist, Corbett vs. Dempsey | Chicago, David Nolan | New York) in conversation with Felix Burrichter (Editor-in-Chief | PIN—UP Magazine)
Aligning with the opening of David Hartt’s in the forest, a newly commissioned solo exhibition at the Graham Foundation, the artist will speak on his multi-part installation, intersecting elements and ideologies of architecture alongside photographic and filmic practice. Focusing on the Bosque Urbano de San Patricio, an urban park in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Hartt’s anthropological approach considers the connections between ideology and the built environment: interior vs. exterior, public vs. private, nature vs. culture. Presented in partnership with the Graham Foundation.
3:30–4:30pm
Make New History: Photography in the Expanded Field of Architecture
Panelists | Adam Caruso (Caruso St John Architects, London | Zürich), Thomas Demand (Artist | Matthew Marks), Florian Idenburg (SO—IL | New York) and Luisa Lambri (Artist | Luhring Augustine). Moderated by Jesús Vassallo (Architect and Writer)
Join this Chicago Architecture Biennial program on the /Dialogues stage for a conversation with artists and architects included in Make New History, featuring collaborations intersecting photography and architecture. The discussion, organized by Co-Artistic Directors Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee (Johnston Marklee), will address the historical relationship between the two fields in the expanded field of media, sites of display, and production technologies. Presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Biennial.
5:00–6:00pm
Resistance and Necessity: Language in Art and Architecture
Panelists | Flavin Judd (Curator and Co-President | Judd Foundation), Sarah Herda (Director | Graham Foundation) and Julian Rose (Senior Editor | Artforum)
Writing was a parallel activity to Donald Judd’s art, architecture, and design practice. In his essay "Art and Architecture," from 1983, he states, "My aphorism is not that form follows function but that it never violates it." This essay is one of many texts by the late artist included in Donald Judd Writings, the most comprehensive survey of Judd's writing in one volume, released by the Judd Foundation in partnership with David Zwirner Books. This panel will examine the role of language—both its resistance and necessity at the crossroads of art and architectural practice. Presented in partnership with the Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
In addition to these panels, the Symposium will feature a pop-up of the Graham Foundation Bookshop, offering a selection of titles related to new, historically significant and rare publications on architecture, urbanism, art, and related fields. Schedule of book signings and titles to be announced.
Saturday, September 16
2:00–3:00pm
Cultural Cargo
Panelists | Paola Pivi (Artist | Galerie Perrotin) and Sarah Thornton (Writer and Sociologist of Culture)
Renowned author and cultural sociologist, Sarah Thornton, will interview Italian multimedia artist Paola Pivi. Appropriating cultural symbols and translating them into an art context, the subjects of Pivi’s spectacular and enigmatic practice have included live animals in the museum, an upside-down G-91 fighter jet, anthropomorphic feathered polar bears and unedited documentation of staged performances.
Sunday, September 17
12:00–1:00pm
Global Art Geographies
Panelists | Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi (President and Director | Sharjah Art Foundation)
Aligning with the 2017 edition of the Sharjah Biennial, this discussion will focus on the global impact and responsibility of institutions’ off-site international programs, as well as the importance of their influence on the region.
2:00–3:00pm
The Hospitality of Violence
Panelists | Michael Rakowitz (Artist | Rhona Hoffman Gallery) and Omar Kholeif (Manilow Senior Curator | Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago)
Based in Chicago, Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz makes work that explores recent contested social, political and cultural histories. Drawing on personal experiences and research on these subjects, as well as history and popular culture, Rakowitz creates illustrated objects, installations and performances that invite viewers to contemplate their complicit relationship to the political world around them, recognizing that hospitality and hostility are interlinked. The artist’s first US museum survey, curated by Omar Kholeif, Manilow Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, features early works, a new commission and major installations, such as The invisible enemy should not exist (2007-ongoing), a lifelong project by the artist to reproduce to scale items looted from the Iraqi National Museum, each made to scale and using recycled food supplies from Middle Eastern food stores in the United States. Collectively, the exhibition tells a story of restitution and reconstitution, positioning Rakowitz as one of the most important artists of our time.
Exchange by Northern Trust: An Interactive Conversation Around the Art of Collecting
Located within the Northern Trust Anchor lounge, Exchange by Northern Trust: An Interactive Conversation Around the Art of Collecting features exclusive panels open to invited VIP guests.
Highlights of the 2017 program include a roundtable entitled Race & Representation in Contemporary Collections featuring Curator at the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington D.C. Michelle Joan Wilkinson, Art Advisor Bomi Odufunade and artist Lavar Munroe, moderated by President and CEO of The DuSable Museum of African American History Perri Irmer; as well as a special edition of the Museum Governance Forum in Chicago, presented in partnership with the American Alliance of Museums and BoardSource, which will join a nationwide tour of over 25 American cities. Moderated by the Pritzker Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Madeleine Grynsztejn, the panel entitled Global vs. Local — Curating for Audiences in the Contemporary Museum will feature Chief Curator of The Andy Warhol Museum José Carlos Diaz, Curator at the Aspen Art Museum Courtenay Finn and Curator at the Pérez Art Museum Miami María Elena Ortiz. Highlights of the 2017 program are listed below. Full program available to EXPO CHICAGO VIP Guests.
First Look: Northern Trust Anchor Lounge Schedule
Thursday, September 14
5:00–6:00pm
Race and Representation in Contemporary Institutions
Panelists | Michelle Joan Wilkinson (Curator | National Museum of African American History & Culture), Bomi Odufunade (Dash & Rallo Art Advisory) and Lavar Munroe (Artist | Jenkins Johnson Gallery). Moderated by Perri Irmer (President and CEO | The DuSable Museum of African American History)
This panel will trace the importance and necessity of race and representation in contemporary collections from the perspectives of institutions, curators, collectors and artists. How has the historical lack of acquisitions of works by artists of color impacted the economic, social and visual currency in contemporary institutions, exhibitions and collections? What are the next steps to solving these systemic issues?
Friday, September 15
2:30–3:30pm
FRONT International — An American City
Panelists | Jens Hoffman (Co-Artistic Director | FRONT International) and Michelle Grabner (SAIC | Professor, Painting & Drawing and Co-Artistic Director | FRONT International). Moderated by Fred Bidwell (Collector and Founder).
Jens Hoffmann and Michelle Grabner will engage in a discussion on the past, present and future of biennials, triennials and other large-scale exhibitions of contemporary art. In this conversation, moderated by Fred Bidwell, Executive Director of FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, Grabner and Hoffmann will explain why they were willing to take on this new biennial project in an era of proliferating contemporary art events. Is there such a thing as "Biennial Fatigue" and what new things can a biennial or triennial exhibition bring at a time when forces of nationalism and regionalism seem to clash with the progressive, global traditions of the Venice Biennale, Documenta, and others? Hoffmann and Grabner will put FRONT in the context of the evolution of the biennial concept and will preview their plans for the Summer of 2018.
Saturday, September 16
1:00–2:00pm
Young Arts Salon
Panelists | Sarah Arison (President | Arison Arts Foundation) in conversation with Derrick Adams (Artist | Rhona Hoffman Gallery, YoungArts Visual Arts and Master Teacher)
This discussion will focus on the importance of mentorship for young emerging artists and how to guide their careers through various critical junctures in the field. The National YoungArts Foundation identifies and nurtures the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts and assists them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development. YoungArts aspires to create a community of alumni that provides a lifetime of encouragement, opportunity and support.
5:00–6:30pm
Museum Governance Forum
Presented in partnership with the American Alliance of Museums, Northern Trust and BoardSource
The State of Board Leadership: Opening Remarks
Panelists | Gregory S. Jordan (CFA, Managing Director-Central Region, Foundation & Institutional Advisors | Northern Trust), Laura Lott (President and CEO | AAM) and Carlos Tortolero (Board, AAM and President; Founder | National Museum of Mexican Art)
The American Alliance of Museums, in partnership with Northern Trust, announces the results of a new national survey, the first comprehensive scan of museum board practices, policies and performance. The study provides a critical baseline of information as museums continue to grow and evolve as critical components of American society.
Panel: Global vs. Local — Curating for Audiences in the Contemporary Museum
Panelists | José Carlos Diaz (Chief Curator | The Andy Warhol Museum), Courtenay Finn (Curator | Aspen Art Museum) and María Elena Ortiz (Curator | Pérez Art Museum Miami). Moderated by Madeleine Grynsztejn (Director | Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago).
Featuring curators from a variety of institutions, this conversation will address what it means to be a locally necessary museum, and in turn, internationally distinctive. Departing from the concept that a successful museum is global first and local second, this panel will address the role of the contemporary art museum through the lens of locale in the wake of an increasingly globalized context. Aligning with the 50th Anniversary of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Director Madeleine Grynsztejn will moderate the discussion.
About the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top three graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman. For more information, please visit saic.edu.
About Northern Trust
Northern Trust Wealth Management specializes in Goals Driven Wealth Management backed by innovative technology and a strong fiduciary heritage. Northern Trust Wealth Management is ranked among the top 10 U.S. wealth managers, with $260 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2017, and a wide network of wealth management offices across the United States.
The Northern Trust Company is an Equal Housing Lender. Member FDIC.
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 offices in the United States in 19 states and Washington, D.C., and 22 international locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of March 31, 2017, Northern Trust had assets under custody of US$7.1 trillion, and assets under management of US$1 trillion. For more than 125 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit northerntrust.com or follow us on Twitter @NorthernTrust.
Northern Trust Corporation, Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A., incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Global legal and regulatory information can be found at https://www.northerntrust.com/disclosures.
About EXPO CHICAGO
EXPO CHICAGO/2017, The International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, is presented by Art Expositions, LLC at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, hosting more than 145 leading International exhibitors presented alongside one of the highest quality platforms for global contemporary art and culture. Now in its sixth year as a leading international art fair, EXPO CHICAGO (Sept. 13–17, 2017) offers diverse programming including /Dialogues, IN/SITU,IN/SITU Outside, EXPO VIDEO, the Curatorial Forum, the Art Critics Forum, Special Exhibitions, EXPO Projects and OVERRIDE | A Billboard Project. In addition, EXPO CHICAGO continues to publish THE SEEN, Chicago's International Journal of Contemporary & Modern Art. 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. In 2017, EXPO CHICAGO and the Chicago Architecture Biennial(September 16–January 7, 2018) will align, establishing the city as a preeminent destination for global contemporary art and architecture. As part of the 2017 edition, the alignment will intersect across a wide variety of programs, including panels, international residencies, exhibitions and citywide events.
Vernissage, the opening night preview benefiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, takes placeWednesday, Sept 13,6–9 p.m.General Admission to the exposition isThursday, Sept. 14–Sunday, Sept. 17(for hours please visitexpochicago.com). Tickets to the exposition will go on sale in June 2017. Northern Trust is the Presenting Sponsor of EXPO CHICAGO. For more information about EXPO CHICAGO and EXPO ART WEEK (Monday Sept. 11–Sunday Sept. 17), visit expochicago.com.