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DePaul professors, students and community members are calling on the university to save its art museum after administrators abruptly announced their decision to close the Lincoln Park institution last month.
In an open letter penned by philosophy professor Sean Kirkland and fellow faculty, thousands of DePaul community members, artists, curators and more signed on to oppose the museum’s closure. Since its publication Feb. 28, the letter has received nearly 3,800 signatures.
Alyssa Quinlan
Northern Trust announced: \"We’re pleased to announce that Alyssa Quinlan has joined Northern Trust Wealth Management as Head of Advisor Relationships & Strategic Partnerships. In this role, Alyssa will lead our strategy for engaging with professional advisors, strengthening collaboration with key law, accounting and advisory firms across our global platform.
Bringing 25 years of experience across wealth management, private banking and fine art, Alyssa will also partner with The Northern Trust Institute to help establish an art advisory practice, expanding our ability to advise clients on tangible personal property. We’re excited to welcome Alyssa and look forward to the impact she’ll have as we continue to deepen our advisor ecosystem.\"
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Esme food images – L-R, clockwise: Watermelon, Clay, Dover Sole
Esmé, the renowned, MICHELIN-starred, mission-driven restaurant from husband-wife team Chef Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo has partnered with the acclaimed Southern-born, self-taught painter, sculptor and entrepreneur, Ashley Longshore, for their newest menu and multi-sensory dining experience.
The menu features favorite dishes offered throughout the last five years at Esmé – such as Mother of Pearls, with Japanese white sweet potato and kombu ice cream served within a custom Mother of Pearl bowl, crafted by Chicago’s DTK Ceramics; and Clay, featuring squab with foie sausage, morels, fermented barley jus, huckleberry puree, salsify, and ramps, presented in clay which is cracked tableside – reimagined through the vibrancy of Longshore’s artistic sensibility and singular point of view.
The tasting menu is showcased alongside Longshore’s distinctive works of bold and colorful pop art, which line the walls of Esmé’s dining room and transform the restaurant into an immersive, pop-up gallery space. Launching timed to Women’s History Month, portraits on display feature luminaries across a wide range of fields – such as Malala Yousafzai, Oprah Winfrey, Greta Thunberg, and Chicago’s own former First Lady of the U.S., Michelle Obama.
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Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.; photo courtesy of the National Public Housing Museum
The National Public Housing Museum announced it has commissioned celebrated “citizen printer” Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. as the next artist in its Housing for All, Art for All, Posters for the People series, an ongoing initiative that bridges the legacy of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) posters to urgent conversations about housing today. Kennedy will create three new works advocating for housing as a human right.
More than a dozen of Kennedy’s letterpress posters will be displayed in the Museum’s Living Room space, with additional copies available free to Museum visitors, reflecting Kennedy’s commitment to making print work that is accessible, shareable, and grounded in community.
“Amos’s prints are an expression of collective joy, and uncompromising and unapologetic messages about justice, equity, and the power of people to collectively create a better world for all of us,” said Lisa Yun Lee, Chief Curator and Executive Director of the National Public Housing Museum. “His ethos is rooted in movement building, and the still-radical idea that art should be accessible to all. His works are an exuberant addition to the museum’s commitment to artists and extension of the ongoing Housing for All, Art for All, Posters for the People exhibition.”
Chicago’s legendary Old Town Art Fair returns to the heart of the historic Old Town Triangle HistoricDistrict (Main Gate at the intersection of Lincoln and Wisconsin Streets) on Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14, 2026. Established in 1948, the Old Town Art Fair is one of Chicago’s oldest juried art fairs and one of the first fine art fairs of its kind in the country. For fifty years, two events have been held in Old Town on the second weekend in June; the Old Town Art Fair and the Wells Street Art Festival are separate events.
Organized by the non-profit Old Town Triangle Association and completely volunteer-run, this year’s Fair will be the most festive in its milestone 76-year history, attracting over 230 artists from across the country plus live music on two stages; an array of classic Chicago food and beverage options from local vendors; a dedicated Children’s Corner featuring interactive activities and crafts for kids; and the return of self-guided Garden Walks in over 50 gardens in the Old Town Triangle neighborhood. Annually, the Fair introduces artists to an estimated 30,000 art lovers over the course of the two-day event.
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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.
![](\"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.
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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