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By CGN Staff


In one week Art Encounter will host Kaleidoscope 2025, its annual art auction and benefit to support its programming. Tickets sales close this Friday, May 2.


On Tuesday, May 6 from 6–9pm visitors are invited to LeTour Brasserie (restaurateur Amy Morton with James Beard Chef Debbie Gold), in Downtown Evanston to enjoy an evening of specialty cocktails, a French-Moroccan buffet, a silent art auction, and a raffle celebrating all in the name of helping to provide essential funding for Art Encounter's community programming. The event also honors CGN's founding publisher, Natalie van Straaten, and current publisher Ginny Van Alyea.



LeTour Brasserie in Downtown Evanston is the venue for Kaleidoscope 2025



This unforgettable evening of art, inspiration, and impact celebrates Art Encounter's mission to educate, inspire, and connect people of diverse ages and backgrounds through interactive encounters with visual art. Most importantly, Kaleidoscope raises critical funds to support our outreach programs that bring art education and engagement to under-resourced Chicagoland public schools, assisted living and senior centers, and social service agencies including those that serve individuals with disabilities. Kaleidoscope brings together a vibrant community of friends, artists, art enthusiasts, collectors, gallerists, and philanthropists from Chicago, Evanston, and beyond.



Left: Natalie van Straaten; Right: Ginny Van Alyea



This year Art Encounter will recognize and honor three champions of the Chicago and Evanston art communities while raising vital funds for Art Encounter. Art Impacts Honorees Natalie van Straaten and Ginny B. Van Alyea have shaped Chicago’s art scene through Chicago Gallery News (CGN) for nearly 45 years. Natalie founded CGN in 1982, creating a vital platform for galleries, collectors, and artists. Ginny, CGN’s publisher since 2007, has expanded its impact, amplifying artists' voices and fostering critical conversations. Their dedication makes them ideal Art Impacts Award recipients. Community Partner of the Year Andy Vick, Executive Director of Downtown Evanston, has been a steadfast supporter of public art initiatives, working tirelessly to enhance Evanston’s cultural landscape. Through his leadership, Downtown Evanston has championed Art Encounter’s community-driven public art initiatives and strengthened Evanston’s creative identity. Andy’s passion and dedication make him an outstanding recipient of this year’s Community Partner of the Year Award.


Whether or not you'll be at Kaleidoscope in person, you can help support Art Encounter by entering to win one of three prize packages celebrating outstanding local businesses from Art Encounter's hometown by purchasing raffle tickets to win the following prizes:


• Cocktails & Concert at Evanston Space

• Dinner Date at LeTour Brasserie

• Curated Wine Basket from The Wine Goddess



From left: work by Jordan Nickel, Sandro Miller, and Rubén Aguirre



All bidding for Art Encounter's art auction will take place in person at the event, but if you see something you love, you can purchase it now at the buy-it-now price! Online purchasing closes Friday, May 2. Check out AE's website to see 25 works by talented, notable area artists.


Kaleidoscope will provide essential funding for Art Encounter's work throughout the greater Chicago area, which includes educational outreach programs for schools, senior homes, and social service agencies; art discussion programs for the public in artist studios and exhibition spaces; and a local mural program that makes art accessible to everyone in our community.


These programs include:




Kaleidoscope helps to support and sustain Art Encounter's community mural initiative, educational programs in public schools, local art tours, and more.



 In the past year alone, Art Encounter has impacted thousands of individuals, including:


• 880 CPS students through our ARTiculations residency program

• 250 Evanston students from Title 1 schools through free programs for after-school groups

• 110 senior citizens through our program Making for Memory

• 55 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through our program Art for All

• 430 art-lovers and lifelong-learners through our educational art tours and travel programs

• The entire Evanston community through the Evanston Mural Arts Program


*


Art Encounter's mission is to educate, inspire, and connect people of diverse ages and backgrounds through interactive encounters with visual art. AE believes that there are many ways to see, and that art can be a powerful vehicle to better understand ourselves and the world around us. Founded in 1978, Art Encounter is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering creativity and connection through close, meaningful engagement with visual art. Art Encounter serves thousands of individuals annually, ensuring that art remains an accessible, engaging, and transformative experience for all through three pillars of programming: free, educational Outreach Programs making art accessible for underserved youth, adults, and seniors; unique Public Programs for art enthusiasts, from local art tours to international art travel; and Art Encounter's widely-respected Evanston Mural Arts Program, which has energized Evanston with transformative public art.


For tickets and more information, please visit:  www.artencounter.org/kaleidoscope-2025


*


KALEIDOSCOPE 2025 ART AUCTION CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS


Dan Addington

Rubén Aguirre

Todd Anderson

René H. Arceo

William Conger

Clark Ellithorpe

Dustin Harris

James McNeill Mesplé

Sandro Miller

Bob Magrisso

Scott Mossman

Jordan Nickel

Raúl Ortiz

Raul Ortiz Bonilla

Sarah Packer

Joanna Pinsky

Don Pollack

Nancy Rosen

Karen Ross

Max Sansing

Adam Siegel

Jay Strommen

Joseph Taylor

Annie Trincot

Molly Z.

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By CGN STAFF


Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center will reopen its Skokie location on November 11, 2026, following a renovation that expands visitor spaces, updates its core Holocaust exhibition and adds a new reflection gallery. The reopening is timed to coincide with Veterans Day. Active military personnel, veterans and their families will receive free admission that day.


The project includes a redesigned Lillian & Larry Goodman Auditorium and Gallery, an enlarged lobby in the Shapiro Family Foundation Welcome Center, and a refreshed Resilience Hall with an expanded stage for presentations and public programs.


Updates to the Zev & Shifra Karkomi Holocaust Exhibition include additional material on the roots of antisemitism, the story of Chicago resident Leo Edelman, and the experiences of other groups targeted by the Nazis. A new reflection gallery, accessible from the exhibition, offers visitors a quiet space during and after their visit.


“Every visitor’s experience now begins differently and runs deeper,” said Kelley Szany, the Museum’s senior vice president of education and exhibitions. “The new welcome center sets the tone from the moment people arrive, the enhanced core Holocaust exhibition brings the history and the voices of survivors into sharper focus, and our new auditorium gives us a place to gather, listen, and talk about what it means for our communities today.”


Existing attractions, including the virtual reality theater, the interactive Survivor Stories Experience holographic theater, the Take A Stand Center and the Voices of Genocide Exhibition, will remain part of the Museum’s offerings.


Following the reopening, Blacklist: The Hollywood Red Scare will open November 15 in the special exhibition gallery. Created by and on loan from Jewish Museum Milwaukee, the exhibition examines the intersections of politics, antisemitism, freedom of speech and national security during the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s. It will remain on view through March 2027.


The Museum’s satellite location in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, Experience360, will remain open through December 31, 2026. The downtown space opened during the Skokie renovation to provide continued access to the Museum’s immersive exhibitions.


For information and ticket reservations, visit ilholocaustmuseum.org.


Image: Museum exterior. Photo by David Seide/Definedspace.com

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By GINNY VAN ALYEA


SOFA Chicago, the longtime fair devoted to sculpture, objects, functional art and collectible design, will return to the city October 28–31, 2027, as part of Chicago Art Fair at THE MART, which opened its inaugural edition last night.


Founded in Chicago in 1994, SOFA became a popular fixture on the city’s fall arts calendar. For much of its history, collectors and visitors gathered at Navy Pier to discover works in glass, ceramics, wood, metal and fiber, alongside sculpture and design. Its focus on materials and craftsmanship gave the fair a distinct identity and cultivated a devoted audience.


The announcement comes as the inaugural Chicago Art Fair gets underway at THE MART. The new fair opened with a preview on October 7 and continues through October 10, presenting modern and contemporary art. Tim von Gal, CEO and producer of SOFA Chicago and CEO of Intersect Art and Design, was in Chicago this week for the occasion.

Organizers describe the 2027 collaboration as two distinct but complementary presentations under one roof, with SOFA’s focus on three-dimensional art and design alongside Chicago Art Fair’s broader offerings.


“Chicago has always been an extraordinary home for SOFA and a city with a deep appreciation for art, craft, architecture and design,” said von Gal in the announcement. “Joining the Chicago Art Fair at THE MART gives us the opportunity to build upon that legacy while creating an exciting new experience for collectors and exhibitors alike.”

Eric Smith, owner of Chicago Art Fair and CEO of Redwood Art Group, said the addition would broaden the fair’s scope while preserving SOFA’s identity.


“SOFA has a remarkable legacy and a distinct identity, and its return adds an important new dimension to the fair while reinforcing Chicago’s position as a destination for collectors, galleries and art lovers from around the world,” Smith said.


For those who remember SOFA as an annual opportunity to encounter ambitious work in craft and design, the return will be welcome news. The participating galleries and programming, still to be announced, will provide a fuller picture of how that legacy will take shape in its new setting.


SOFA Chicago is produced by Intersect Art and Design, which also organizes annual art and design fairs in Aspen and Palm Springs.


Additional details about exhibitors, partnerships and tickets are expected in the coming months.


Visit chicagoartfair.com for updates.

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The artist Richard Hunt



By CGN Staff


Pigment International has dedicated Black Fine Art Month 2026 to Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt (1935–2023), recognizing his contributions to American art and his lifelong connection to the city.


As part of the month’s programming, the organization will host Pigmented: Chicago to the World — A Black Fine Art Convening on October 23 at the University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts. Partners include the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation, Adler University, CAI Designs, Chicago Public Art Group, Chicago Sculpture Exhibit and Diasporal Rhythms.


Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Hunt developed an internationally recognized practice while continuing to live and work in his hometown. His welded metal sculptures brought together abstract forms, references to the natural world and an enduring interest in freedom and social justice.


Hunt identified attending Emmett Till’s funeral in 1955 as a turning point in his artistic life. Till had lived just two blocks from Hunt’s home. Decades later, Hunt’s public commissions would honor figures including Martin Luther King Jr., Mary McLeod Bethune, Jesse Owens and Ida B. Wells, while also addressing the Middle Passage and the Great Migration.

In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Hunt to the National Council on the Arts, where he became its first African American member. In 1971, at age 35, he became the first African American sculptor to receive a retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. His career encompassed more than 150 solo exhibitions and more than 160 public art installations.


Richard Hunt with artist Chris Devins, who recently completed a mural honoring the sculptor in Hyde Park. Photo courtesy of Chris Devins.


Recent projects in Chicago offer new ways to encounter Hunt’s work and history. This fall, the Logan Center opened the Hunt, a café honoring the artist. Created and designed by Little Black Pearl founder and executive director Monica Haslip, the space incorporates two Hunt sculptures, African art, archival materials and photographs by Sandro Miller.

In Hyde Park, artist Chris Devins and historian Michelle Duster have brought a mural of Hunt to 1515–19 E. 54th Street. The portrait is based on photographs Devins took in Hunt’s studio before the sculptor’s death.


“Richard Hunt was a giant in the arts world and people need to see what he looked like and be inspired by his legacy,” Devins said.


Pigment International’s dedication also reflects its own relationship with Hunt. The organization featured him in its magazine in 2020, and he welcomed its Black Fine Art Month programming into his studio in October 2021.


#


Two events take place this month:


Pigment International at SPECTRUM Chicago Art Fair


October 7–10, 2026.

Chicago Merchandise Mart, seventh floor, booth #3091.

Wednesday, October 7, 5–8 pm, with a champagne toast in the booth and an artist meet-and-greet.

Thursday, October 8, 6-8pm with Diasporal Rhythms

Featured artists: Jesse Howard, Howard Simmons, Edo, Candace Hunter, Sura DuPart and Max Sansing.

Additional events are taking place during the fair


Chicago to the World: A Black Fine Art Month Convening

Presented by Pigment International as part of Black Fine Art Month, which the organization has dedicated this year to Richard Hunt.

Friday, October 23, 2026, 11:30 am–5 pm.

Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th Street, Chicago.


Details at pigmentintl.com



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