![](\"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1792084737/qrikvx76nvvt5agq24rq.jpg\")
By GINNY VAN ALYEA
Tony Fitzpatrick was the kind of friend I never imagined in a million years I would have. I met him within a year or so of taking over as publisher of CGN, when I stopped into his studio on Damen Ave. because I was picking up a framed work by one of his studio assistants, KS Rives. My parents had bought the collage for me and it was really the first work of art I had fallen in love with. KS had said she would be away so it would be ready at Tony's studio. I had no idea what walking in would be like. He had a lot of questions. He wanted to know who I was. How I had met KS. I felt like I a high-schooler meeting the parents before a first date. I said I published CGN, and he said he always liked Natalie [van Straaten, CGN's founding publisher.] Then he said something to the effect of \"Too bad her ex-husband was such an asshole.\" After that I was disarmed. We talked for an hour. I left with my new collage, three books Tony had written, and a promise he wanted to support CGN and buy a full page ad, as he said, \"To show all those other fuckers they should be advertising too.\"
Tony gave me confidence when I was getting my bearings as publisher, and he showed me what it meant to double-down on Chicago and love it no matter what. It's not easy to do, but Tony did it. He always seemed to try to give back to the city what it gave to him and to his art. I really think he also made me deeply appreciate living an urban life where you will never run out of things to see or do or think about, complain about and also appreciate.
Tony found birds and heard their music in the noisiest places. I hope he's listening to all the songs of his beautiful birds among the moths and butterflies now.
*
I told someone a couple of weeks ago, who used to be one of his many assistants, that I count myself very lucky that after 17 years, Tony and I hadn't fallen out – yet. She nodded knowingly. Tony's love was fierce and he wore his big heart on both of his fully tattooed sleeves. You always knew where you stood with Tony. Sometimes it was out, but if you hadn't done something really wrong, he'd welcome prodigal friends back in and admit to others if he thought he'd been wrong. No one could bullshit Tony. However, if you cheated, lied, thought you were better than someone else, that was it. His rules were simple and iron-clad. He was a curious and generous person, and he would tell you when he'd been burned and he'd tell you who'd done it, but then he'd move on.
Tony had a lot of thoughts on just about very topic, and he was so well known, in part, because the man could talk, and talk and talk. He loved to ramble, but he also loved to spar. He could be cool, well-read, interested in whatever came next. He collected people and their stories - inviting dogs into his open studio and making sure to stock their favorite treats. He'd buy 200 copies of a poetry book and give them all away to friends. He changed gallery models regularly, all in the name of making sure artists got visibility, and their money. He would be on his computer, on the phone and on Facebook all at the same time. And he'd be directing an assistant to cut this fragment of paper a little more or place a piece of ephemera just over there. It was magic to watch. On a visit to his studio one weekend last fall my 8 year old son brought him a drawing of a football player, and Tony gave him some advice about using colored pencils because they're so much better than markers. A couple weeks later he asked how his drawing was going.
Tony's artistic resume is well known - artist, writer, playwright, actor, former boxer. He designed album covers - the Neville Brothers, Steve Earle, Big Head Todd and the Monsters. He made art all over town, in restaurants (Yuzu) and tattoo parlors. He has murals from the Old Town School of Folk Music, to Steppenwolf Theater to the town of Glen Ellyn. Tony will always be everywhere in Chicago, even though the man himself is actually gone. At 66 he is gone too soon, but he lived a lot of lives – many more than most. Michele, Max and Gaby - my heart breaks for the three of you. Thank you for sharing your remarkable husband and father with so many of us who were so lucky to have him in our city and in our life.
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.
![](\"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1791479104/lltcodkx39gd8sbhtus1.png\")
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