{"article":{"id":851,"title":"Hyde Park Art Center is Turning 80!","excerpt":"","body":"
One of the previous locations of the Hyde Park Art Center. Photo courtesy Hyde Park Art Center
 

By CGN Staff and via PR

Hyde Park Art Center celebrates its 80th Birthday this month, and to collectively mark this milestone and make many supporters and artists a part of the occasion, it is holding its annual gala, as well as an after party, on Friday, November 22, co-chaired by Denise & Gary Gardner, Kate Groninger & Molly Meyer, and Julie & John Guida. The evening will be packed with food, music, dancing, and lots of art, as well as a series of interactive arts experiences for guests.

Interactive art is part of the celebration

THE BEGINNINGS

Hyde Park Art Center was founded at the end of the Great Depression and in the beginnings of WWII, in 1939. Originally established as the Fifth Ward Art Center of Chicago, IL, the Ward became the first alternative exhibition space in Chicago. In 1940, the Ward changed its name to Hyde Park Art Center because of its close ties with the Hyde Park community. In its adolescence, the Art Center struggled to find permanence in the city, moving annually and even bi-annually in order to remain open. Raising rent prices and gentrification was changing the community of Hyde Park. Despite of its struggle, Hyde Park Art Center was received very well during the 1940s as a prime source of arts education for the community.

LEGACY

Over the past 80 years, the Hyde Park Art Center has burgeoned into one of the prime contemporary arts exhibition and education spaces in Chicago. The Art Center’s legacy includes launching artists’ careers, fostering new artistic movements, and providing socially adept arts education programming. The most internationally recognized artistic styles to come out of Chicago, Chicago Imagism, emerged from artists exhibiting at the Art Center during the 1960s and 1970s under the leadership of director Don Baum, who brought together the Hairy Who, the group of five artists who came out of the School of the Art Institute and first exhibited at the Art Center and later became known as part of the Chicago Imagists.

In recent years, the Art Center has continued this tradition, presenting solo exhibitions of artists including Juan Angel Chavez, Theaster Gates, and John Preus. Meanwhile, the Art Center strives to provide access to arts education to youth and adults through its education programs, many of which are free or highly subsidized and to also connect artists with supporters of all walks of life through unique collaborations such as its popular artist/patron matchmaking event, Not Just Another Pretty Face. The Art Center’s continued incubation of talented artists and art curious brings new and exciting conversations to the world of art in Chicago and beyond.

TODAY

Now each year the Art Center unveils 20 exhibitions, offers 200+ studio classes, hosts artists from around the world, welcomes 45,000 visitors, and holds 200+ free events. Ongoing highlights include solo shows by emerging Chicago artists, studio classes with working and professional artists teachers and peers, youth and teen performances and exhibitions, family days, and more.

Executive Director Kate Lorenz says, “Hyde Park Art Center is humbled to be celebrating 80 years of supporting Chicago art. For the past 80 years, artists have led movements and established their careers by exhibiting work at the Art Center while also learning new skills in our school and studios. Today, artists of all ages are pushing boundaries, developing creative identities, and supporting their communities. This milestone is a celebration of our history, a call to action for the future to continue and build on this work. Happy birthday, Hyde Park Art Center!”

 

HPAC supporters and artists at the 2018 gala

This year for the gala the Art Center will celebrate a select Honorary Artist Committee and reflect on the positive impact Hyde Park Art Center has had on artists at all stages. The Honorary Artist Committee includes:

The evening will begin with a cocktail hour to be followed with the dinner program. After dinner, additional guests will arrive for the After Party. Both the cocktail hour and after party will feature interactive artist interventions by artists Hannah Barco, Cecilia Iwata, Kara Cobb Johnson, Liz McCarthy, Sadie Woods, and more. Follow Barco’s footsteps around the building to encounter surprises; search for McCarthy’s ceramic whistles hidden throughout the building; play with play-dough with Cobb Johnson or music boxes with Woods. The After Party experience also includes music, dancing, an open bar, late-night bites, and more fun to be announced.

Individuals may purchase tickets or tables online (starting at $800) but tickets to the After Party are, appropriately, $80.

More information about the gala may be found here.

 

 

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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.


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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



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