{"article":{"id":4095,"title":"MCA's 2024 Visionary Luncheon Honors Artist Sarah Sze and Key Museum Supporters","excerpt":"","body":"

Visionary Luncheon featuring Sarah Sze in conversation with MCA Pritzker Director Madeleine Grynsztejn, October 7, 2024. Photo: Jeremy Lawson Photography, © MCA Chicago.

By GINNY VAN ALYEA

On Monday October 7, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s Board of Trustees and the MCA Women’s Board hosted the MCA Chicago Gala Visionary 2024 at The Four Seasons Hotel, Chicago.

The luncheon is an annual celebration of leadership in the arts and featured a dynamic conversation between renowned artist Sarah Sze and the MCA's Pritzker Director, Madeleine Grynsztejn. At the luncheon, attended by nearly 350 arts industry leaders and supporters, collectors, board members, as well as civic and corporate leaders, the MCA presented the 2024 Arts Philanthropy Award to BMO Bank N.A. for its exceptional support of arts education in Chicago. Mr. Darrel Hackett, President, and Chief Executive Officer of BMO Bank accepted the award on behalf of the bank. Additionally, the award honored both Mr. Hackett and his wife, MCA Trustee Nickol Hackett, for their generous philanthropy in our city.

In addition to being one of the fall season's highest profile arts gatherings, the Visionary luncheon plays a crucial role in supporting the MCA's commitment to learning and public programs. Each year, thousands of young people from across Chicago visit the museum to engage with contemporary art and explore its broader historical, social, and cultural contexts. The MCA raised over $640,000 dollars at the event in support of its Learning programs.

During their extensive conversation, Grynsztejn and Sze discussed Sze’s painting and sculptural work, how the MCA was her first institutional solo venue, and how artists and museums work together to create an artistic experience for the viewer. Sze's career has spanned three decades, but her creative perspective on technology and art continues to evolve. She notably got one of her early starts at the MCA, and at the luncheon Sze shared her own personal fondness for the museum, [The MCA] is a very special place. As Madeline said, it was here where I first did a show at an institution, and it was an incredibly warm institution. There are still many people on the staff who were there in 1999.

Sze's career has grown internationally since that first museum show, and she and Grynsztejn discussed how much the world has changed in the ensuing years, particularly when it comes to the accessibility as well as bombardment of images in our daily lives. At a time when everyone is a photographer, Sze has largely returned to painting.

The return to painting, she said, is about not representing reality, but really thinking about how we store images in our head. Since the late nineties, when I started making work, for all of us who have lived in that time period, we have been barraged by images in a way that has really changed the way we experience the world, the way we communicate. We're all photographers, we receive images at this incredible rate. I want to remind people about what we dream for, what we hope for, what we imagine. I want the paintings to be in this place when we wake every morning, where we've spent hours of our time making images in our head – that time where you are in this fragile moment trying to remember what your mind has created in the images, but you're moving into the space of the images outside your head.

Sze also still harnesses the ubiquity of images, merging the digital and the static in her public sculpture. Even the history of photography has influenced her current work. Sze explained, Most of the images that are in the paintings are actually stills from videos. So I think the static photograph is disappearing. Film was really started in the 1880s, and it came out of photographs – the photographs in repetition became the moving image. And now we rarely see images static. Our children are all pushing the button down and holding it and getting 20 images and choosing. Similarly in my work, they're mostly stills from video that I choose.

Sarah Sze, *Sleepers,* 2024. Mixed Media, Paper, String, Video Projectors, Aluminium
Dimensions variable. More info at victoria-miro.com

Grynsztejn drew attention to a work by Sze in Venice, noting for the audience the synthesis of a somewhat static grid holding pieces of torn paper onto which video is projected. Explains Sze, This idea reminds people that the digital and the physical are not actually separate. That everything outside our eyes is physical. In this work they're torn pieces of paper that you can imagine having in your pocket. Usually when we see a film and we forget the world around us. I'm interested in keeping you in this teetering place between what is the real and what is imagined. Floating images and space that we're navigating at this incredible pace is something I'm really interested in right now.

Continuing, Grynsztejn added, You've called these interior landscapes. The time of them, the experience of them is more like looking at memory than it is looking at reality. It's a nonlinear kind of experience. The writer, Sadie Smith, a really good friend of yours, recently compared your installations to being in an open iPhone that mashes up momentous and really incidental events.

Installation view, Sarah Sze, MCA Chicago. Photo: James Isberner, © MCA Chicago

Sze’s father immigrated to the United States from China and became an architect. She reflected that he probably would've been an artist, except that his family emphasized that he would have to get a degree or he would not get a job, or worse, no one would take him seriously in his new country. In the next generation, Sze grew up in Chicago looking at the world through the eyes of an architect in a modern city and understanding the potential to do what she wanted. That perspective of examining space and structure remains with Sze today.

When looking at images from Sze’s U.S. pavilion where she represented the United States of the Venice Biennale, Grynsztejn commented, “The thread that I think you may be picking up on directly, or even unconsciously, is that your work is both whole and made up of parts. Because of that sometimes, even though it is not the case in reality, it communicates the state of being barely held together. A consistent theme in your work is that vulnerability of the object, that fragility.” Grynsztejn continued, asking, “Why is that important to you? Why do you want to create that condition for us to share?”

Sze responded, “One of the primary ideas for me was how do you create an artwork that feels live? I think post COVID we've become more addicted to live events, to theater, to these shared moments where we feel things will never happen again. So [the work is about] how do you mark time? A birth, a marriage, a death – these moments are completely out of our control but they really mark what it is to be alive in this way that nothing else can, this kind of serendipity of process in the moment.”

Grynsztejn’s response spoke for the audience, “I think one of the reasons why I find your art so important and so gorgeous, but also so heartbreaking is because it reverberates with the transient nature of our own life, because it could so easily be forced to come apart.”

She went on to comment that part of what she loves about Sze’s work is how she actively compels viewers to care about what they are seeing. Through questioning how it is constructed, how long that process took, what is looks like from one side and then another, viewers are part of the conversation. They are being asked she says, “to gently to care for this work forever.” Or as long as we are each here.

Sarah Sze Shorter than the Day, (powder coated aluminum and steel, 48' x 30' x 30,' 2020) Commissioned by LaGuardia Gateway Partners in partnership with Public Art Fund for LaGuardia Airport's Terminal B Photo: Nicholas Knight, courtesy of the artist; LaGuardia Gateway Partners; Public Art Fund, NY.

Sze has a new permanent monumental work on view at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. She said she’s always getting messages from friends and family who take selfies near the work when they pass by. She also points out that while the work may look delicately suspended, it really is not. “The most fragile thing we have,” she says, “which I think is important for people to understand, is technology. The technology we have in public space as opposed to governmental space, it's already outdated. Think about how for museums, what they have to change all the time are the light bulbs, the cameras, the film. Now they have to tend to videos. They are [surprisingly] the most ephemeral things.”

We tend to think about videos that last forever – a moment captured and then shared digitally seems like it may never be erased. But installed in a museum or public setting, video and technology must be maintained and cared for in order to last. Sze made a surprising point in the 21st century, that paper is more durable than one would think, and that we also have centuries of experience preserving it. In the same vein, the work at LaGuardia may look fragile, but it is created to last, with images printed on metal and its structure crafted from industrial materials. This deceptive and chaotic digital and analog mashup, Grynsztejn points out, is actually what we all have been enduring for the last 15 years. Sze’s work shows where the physical and the digital are interchangeable and equivalent and here to stay. She is revealing the art history that we are all living through, whether we like it or not.

Sze admitted that she hates her phone and her attachment to it, but she knows she cannot live without it either, a sentiment that is entirely relatable. We know the pull phones have, the damage they can do as well as the access they can offer. The personal digital relationships we all balance are both fragile, formidable and changing fast.

Towards the end of the discussion, Sze talked about her students at Columbia University, where she is a professor. To emphasize her earlier point about how much we are accustomed to accepting digital images as reality, she talked about the disappointment many feel when they order art materials only to realize that when they arrive they are not what they expected. Often variances in color and texture leave them without the quality they expected. “They'll say, I want this to be fuzzy and red, and it's itchy and kind of purple. It's not the right thing. They're getting things digitally before they're getting physically,” she explains. It’s a lesson worth remembering.

There are plenty of chances to encounter Sze’s work in person. In addition to the work at Laguardia she has placed many works in public, very deliberately as Grynsztejn says, in zones of transit, such as subway and train stations, along New York’s High Line, and as outdoor projections on museums. Each work is accessible in this way is a democratic experience, says Sze. “We can spend all the time in the world trying to get people into the museum, but it is a building with walls. To put things into the public space where people don't need to know it's art, they don't need to know who made it, they can have an experience with it. They might be drawn in. The democratization of art has always been extremely important to me.”

More information about the artist Sarah Sze may be found at sarahsze.com and victoria-miro.com

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Stargazer (I remember you)

18\" x 16\" x 1 3/4\"

colored pencil on archival paper, framed with museum glass

photo credit: Nathan Keay

By SUSAN GESCHEIDLE

Duncan Robert Anderson has long been a steady presence in the Chicago art scene, carrying an identity that is impossible to miss. He stands well over six feet and is consistently dressed in black from head to toe, complete with boots and a signature wide-brimmed cowboy hat. His silhouette has remained unchanged since he arrived from East Tennessee in 1998, save for his long hair slowly turning grey. Since we first met back in 2002, I have never once seen him out of this attire. Yet whether encountering him at gallery openings or during visits to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, where he works as building operations manager, that imposing visual style is always balanced by an easy, genuine warmth and impeccable manners rooted in his Appalachian upbringing. It’s an unpretentious demeanor that has earned him a quiet, lasting respect across the community.

Anderson is best known as a dedicated artist and a vital behind-the-scenes force at the MCA. His current solo exhibition, Messengers and Oracles, at the West Town Chamber of Commerce, offers a welcome look into his personal and creative practice. Featuring nineteen drawings, the exhibition focuses heavily on memory and how we are shaped by places and people. The majority of the works were already sold, despite being exhibited outside of a traditional commercial gallery space. Opening night also celebrated the release of his beautiful monograph of the same name, which is now officially available for purchase at the MCA Store. The artwork leans into Anderson’s Appalachian roots, bringing his childhood background into a direct conversation with his decades of lived experience in Chicago.

Stormlight

24\" x 20\" x 1 3/4\"

colored pencil on archival paper, framed with museum glass

photo credit: Nathan Keay

Anderson’s geography isn't just a straight line from the South to the Midwest, though. His marriage has introduced a deep Japanese influence to his life, adding another layer to the work. You can see this cultural mix directly in some of the drawings, portraits of anonymous Japanese figures set against a backdrop of familiar Chicago architecture and cityscapes.

While Anderson’s drawings have always stemmed from his own life and memories, this newest body of work has a profound focus on loss and grief. The exhibition serves as a tribute to his mother, as Anderson recently reached the exact age she was at her passing. This enduring grief is compounded by the consecutive losses of his dog Smokey, his artistic brother-in-arms Tony Fitzpatrick, and his art hero Don Meckley between 2025 and 2026. In light of these profound losses, his signature technique of mark-making on black paper feels especially fitting, giving these deeply personal images a darker, more forlorn feel.

Anderson's process makes perfect sense when you understand a love for German Expressionism that dates back to his childhood. In the spirit of that movement, his technique of coloring on black paper makes the bright colors jump, letting his animals emerge directly out of the deep shadows. You can see this dramatic mood across his landscapes and cityscapes—whether capturing weathered old houses, the dark silhouette of the John Hancock Center, or the towering form of the Willis Tower.

Anderson notes he is a \"huge fan of Symbolism and Romanticism,\" blending those traditions with \"a bit of dream-like revelation and vision\" to create a magical world of his own. He imagines solitary animals as protectors keeping watch over the people and places he has lost. Although only a few pieces on display feature human figures, many drawings are filled with bears, elk, wolves, birds, and dogs. By dropping these creatures directly into man-made settings, he creates a strange visual tension—granting the animals a powerful presence that disrupts an otherwise quiet human environment.

The Hospital Escape

24\" x 20\" x 1 3/4\"

colored pencil on archival paper, framed with museum glass

photo credit: Nathan Keay

Many of these drawings focus on a single, isolated figure. The Hospital Escape (18” x 15”) features a massive elk standing under a glowing streetlamp. This powerful image hints at a wild animal breaking free from an institutional space and stepping out into the city, tapping into timeless themes of survival and freedom.

Storm Light (18” x 15”) shifts into a quieter, more tense atmosphere, focusing on the weathered Victorian house where Anderson lived in the attic while a student at East Tennessee State University. Warm sunlight hits the front steps and grass, bathing the home in a serene beauty that contrasts with the dark, stormy sky. Perched on the peak of the roof is a massive black heron with its wings spread wide—completely dominating the structure as both a menacing hunter and a fierce, protective shield: an oracle keeping watch.

The mood shifts with The Pact (18” x 15”), created in memory of Fitzpatrick. A well-worn tombstone stands in an overgrown cemetery with a wolf sleeping peacefully in front of it. Rather than feeling ominous or macabre, the image carries a serene beauty, and the sleeping animal brings a gentle ease to Fitzpatrick's passing. Through this peaceful presence at the grave, Anderson cuts through the heavy grief of the exhibition with a rare moment of comfort.

The Silent City (18” x 15”) blends his two worlds through an intentional ambiguity. Featuring a female face rendered in deep purple and adorned with traditional hair ornaments, an anonymous Japanese figure looks directly at the viewer with a calm expression against the dark silhouette of the Willis Tower. Anderson notes she “may or may not be a ghost or emissary,” juxtaposing her against the landmark to seamlessly connect his current life with his family’s heritage.

Sunday Morning

20\" x 18\" x 1 3/4\"

colored pencil on paper, framed with museum glass

photo credit: Nathan Keay

A direct tribute to his mother is Sunday Morning (18” x 15”). Dressed in her Sunday best—a coat, scarf, gloves, and pumps—she stands against a soft blue glow as a white owl swoops toward her. The lights of the John Hancock Center glow as the iconic building rises in the background against a crimson and orange sky. This stunning juxtaposition brings her memory directly into the urban landscape he has inhabited for decades.

An atmospheric touch to the show is a collaborative sound loop by Paul Deuth. Anderson designed the audio to match the mood of what is on the walls, with Deuth shaping the sounds to be \"dark, magical, and other-worldly.\" It is a beautiful blend of sight and sound that completely pulls the room together. Ultimately, the exhibition stands as a quiet reminder of profound artwork built on real human issues, ignoring the fleeting, superficial trends that too often dictate the whims of the contemporary art world.

Messengers and Oracles runs through October 23, 2026.

West Town Chamber of Commerce | 1819 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL

Open Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Meet the artist for a special book signing on Saturday, October 17, from noon to 4:00 PM.

@DuncanRobertAnderson

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Professor Tony Jones and artist Andy Scott in the Driehaus Museum's Murphy Auditorium on August 29, 2026.

By GINNY VAN ALYEA

“Now in Chicago, we have a tradition of significant public sculptures, not without controversy,” Professor Tony Jones CBE observed during an August 29 conversation with Scottish sculptor Andy Scott OBE at the Driehaus Museum.

Hosted by Chicago Scots, the evening brought together artists, preservation specialists and members of Chicago’s Scottish community for a dinner and discussion about the cultural and economic importance of public art. It also recognized the restoration underway at the Robert Burns monument in Garfield Park, a gift to Chicago from its Scottish community in 1906.

Gary Maclean, National Chef of Scotland, prepared an exceptional three-course tasting menu with whisky pairings. Following dinner in the museum’s newly-restored auditorium, Jones and Scott turned to the work behind public sculpture, from securing funding and solving engineering problems to seeing an artwork become part of a community’s identity.

Jones and Scott met during Scott's student years at the Glasgow School of Art, which Jones then led. A sculptor himself, Jones later served as president of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is a Chicago Scots board member.

A view of Scott's The Kelpies in Falkirk, Scotland

Scott is best known for The Kelpies, two 100-foot steel horse heads in Falkirk, Scotland, inspired by the Clydesdales that worked along the canals and on the land. Chicago audiences encountered their maquettes on the lakefront during the 2012–13 Chicago Sculpture International exhibition.

Chicago, of course, offered an example of what ambitious public art could accomplish. Scott recalled using the city’s large-scale artworks as inspiration and to give his client team confidence in the project that became The Kelpies. That confidence was tested, he says. Scott described an eight-and-a-half-year process, prolonged by political impasses and funding difficulties. Some coverage became hostile. As the sculptures began to rise, however, opinions shifted in their favor.

Scott during fabrication of the Kelpies

“You need to tough it out,” he shared.

At one point, financial pressures prompted suggestions to reduce the sculptures to roughly a third of their intended size, or build only one horse head. Scott and his wife, Hanneke, resisted.

“We drew a line in the sand and said absolutely not,” he recalled.

The finished sculptures became a tourism landmark and appeared in campaigns promoting Britain, including advertisements in China and at a London airport. In April 2025, Falkirk Council reported that The Helix, the park home to The Kelpies, had welcomed one million visitors in the preceding year, helping attract business to the area. Over a decade since their construction there are measurable benefits directly attributed to the Kelpies, including a tourism boost to Falkirk of 73% and 1,380 local annual jobs. Falkirk's population is just 40,000 residents.

For Scott, the response extended beyond visitor numbers. He pointed to “that passion and ownership and pride” among people who had embraced the sculptures.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited the Kelpies when the Queen officially opened the Queen Elizabeth II Canal in 2017.

Jones described a similar sense of attachment in Chicago. Recalling the opening of Jaume Plensa's Crown Fountain, he noted how quickly children adopted its shallow pool, learning to anticipate the water pouring from the faces on its towers.

“It was an amazing moment that we could never have predicted,” he said.

Jones went on to highlight the numbers that back up the impact of Millennium Park and its public art on the City of Chicago. From 2003-2026 the estimated impact is $2.5 billion. The Kelpies have not been in existence quite as long but their impact will last for decades to come.

Jones shared a photo of the parking lot that Millennium Park and its public art replaced.

Public art was the theme of the evening, and not just because an internationally known artist from Scotland was in Chicago to discuss the Kelpies. The Chicago Scots have their own long history of supporting art that is part of the community. Chicago Scots, founded in 1845 as the Illinois Saint Andrew Society, joined other Scottish organizations in supporting William Grant Stevenson’s Robert Burns monument more than a century ago. Today, the organization is raising funds to supplement the Chicago Park District’s restoration budget and support ongoing maintenance of the ode to Scotland's national poet here in has a long history in Garfield Park.

Conservator and sculptor Andrzej Dajnowski, who attended the dinner, is in the process of recreating four stolen bronze relief panels that once belonged on the sculpture, as Burns’s missing quill. Dajnowski will quite literally help put a pen back into the poet's hand soon.

Andrew Schneider, the Park District’s director of historic assets, described its long-term stewardship partnership with Chicago Scots as the first of its kind in the district’s history and one that connects the creation of new landmarks with the responsibility of caring for those Chicago already has so that the public may enjoy art and its impact for the ages.

Publisher's note: Ginny Van Alyea has served on the Chicago Scots Board of Governors since 2009 and also attended the Glasgow School of Art in 2001.

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Collectors and artists attend the Not Just Another Pretty Face unveiling at the Hyde Park Art Center.

By JACQUELINE LEWIS

This year, Hyde Park Art Center is hosting the latest installment of Not Just Another Pretty Face (NJAPF). This special experience and exhibition began in the mid-1990s and occurs only every three years.

Not Just Another Pretty Face uses a matchmaking program to connect local patrons with artists. During this experience, patrons and artists choose each other, and the artist creates artwork specifically for that patron. Works range from traditional to experimental, depending on the artist chosen and the desires of the patron. At the end of the experience, the pieces are unveiled in an exhibition later this year before being purchased and taken home by the patron.

This matchmaking process differs from traditional art purchasing. Instead of collectors looking for works that already exist, purchasing them, and moving on, they become part of the artistic process and the work’s origin. Once matched, patrons meet with artists to discuss what they like and what they hope for from the final work, and the artist melds those desires with their own style.

The process cultivates a sense of generosity between artist and patron as they mutually share themselves and allow each other into their individual worlds. It facilitates lasting relationships that do not often develop naturally in gallery spaces and plays an important role in establishing broader financial support for the artistic community.

Director of Development Eric Thompson has been with Hyde Park Art Center since 2023, making this his second iteration of NJAPF. As this year’s program nears completion, Thompson offered insight into how the experience comes together.

A commission being unveiled at Hyde Park Art Center

Jackie Lewis: What is the process for artists and patrons to sign up for this experience?

Eric Thompson: For the artists, our team begins reaching out to invite them to participate about 18 months before the unveiling. For this iteration, conversations began in late spring 2025. They provide information on their artistic process, image examples of their work, and their commission rate. Our team then publicizes this information on our website and presents the artists at various salons throughout the city.

Several supporters of the Art Center host NJAPF salons and invite their own guests. Potential patrons learn about the artists and the project at large and express interest with our team. From there, we work to get the commission started!

JL: Once artists and patrons are chosen, what does the matchmaking process look like? Is there any process beyond the salons?

Eric Thompson: Much of the process happens after the salons. Patrons and the Hyde Park Art Center staff discuss artists who have piqued their interest. The HPAC staff sets up studio visits with the artists, giving the patron and artist a chance to meet, learn about each other, and discuss a possible commission. Sometimes artists may meet with multiple patrons through the project, and patrons will visit multiple studios before making a decision. Once a patron and artist agree to work together, the artist begins the work.

JL: What is your role in the process? How does HPAC support both the artists and the patrons?

Eric Thompson: NJAPF is a win-win-win situation for all parties. The patron has the opportunity to meet amazing Chicago artists, receives a unique commissioned work, and has that piece included in a public exhibition at the Art Center. The artist receives payment for the work, has the opportunity to expand their network of collectors, and often pushes their own practice through this process. The Art Center also benefits, as half of the commission serves as a tax-deductible donation that supports our mission to sustain Chicago art and artists.

JL: What aspect of NJAPF do you think has the greatest impact on the Chicago art community?

Eric Thompson: The project itself embodies the mission of the Art Center: it is designed for artists in Chicago to flourish. I think the greatest impact from the program’s ten iterations is the access it has created between artists and patrons. Relationships have been built. It is all about connection—a personal connection to the art and the connection between the artist and the patron. As a staff member, it is a wonderful thing to observe.

Sarah Nishiura, Inching

D. Lammie-Hanson, Agility to Surrender, 14k gold on Acrylic (wood panel)

A Word From the Artists

For a deeper understanding of the experience, artists D. Lammie-Hanson and Sarah Nishiura shared their own perspectives. Both have completed commissions for NJAPF in the past and are currently creating work for this year’s iteration.

JL: How did you first learn about NJAPF, and how did you become involved?

Sarah Nishiura: I have been teaching and exhibiting with the Hyde Park Art Center for over 15 years now, and I think it was through this affiliation that I was first invited to participate in NJAPF. I was lucky enough to receive two commissions the first year that I participated, and I think this success led to repeat invitations through the years.

D. Lammie-Hanson: I learned about NJAPF through an email invitation from Hyde Park Art Center. After I responded that I was interested, they placed me in their rotation to be presented to their patrons.

JL: How has working with NJAPF affected your artistic career? Did it fit within your practice?

Sarah Nishiura: My favorite thing about NJAPF is the opportunity to step outside my usual practice to try something different. Many of the commissions I have done in the past have involved working with materials given to me by the patron. This presents technical challenges that I wouldn’t normally take on, but I learn so much from stepping outside my comfort zone every few years. I have had continued relationships with patrons, and I have appreciated seeing the commissioned pieces in their homes. There is nothing better than seeing your work be part of someone’s life.

D. Lammie-Hanson: The patron trusted me to interpret their direction through my own lens. They gave me the subject and overall intent, and I stayed grounded by making creative choices around composition and focus that matched their goals while keeping my personal approach. Because metalpoint/silverpoint isn’t a widely known medium, working with NJAPF and Hyde Park Art Center helped me present my process to a wider audience. It also strengthened my broader portfolio by giving my work a strong platform and context.

JL: What was your experience working with a patron? How did it differ from your usual process?

Sarah Nishiura: The two patrons came by my studio, and we immediately found we had a lot in common and a lot to talk about. We shared some of our favorite artists, our experiences with travel, our love of craft and nature, and from these conversations they came up with great ideas for jumping-off points for the commission. At the same time, they let me know they really wanted me to have the freedom to go in any direction I wanted with the final piece. This experience only differed from my usual process because it began with conversations with other people rather than the conversation that usually happens in my own head!

D. Lammie-Hanson: The patron visited my studio while I was an artist in residence at Little Black Pearl, and we discussed his vision. He chose my silverpoint-on-black/metalpoint technique, and we developed the direction together. This differed from my usual process because I don’t usually enjoy doing commissions, but I enjoyed working with Hyde Park Art Center through this program. After we aligned on the creative direction for the artwork, the patron gave me the freedom to carry out the piece according to my own vision.

JL: Since you have participated in NJAPF before, what made you decide to do it again?

Sarah Nishiura: I love HPAC, and I feel like this is a great program that allows me to support their mission while also giving me a wonderful opportunity to work with collectors I might never meet otherwise. It is a win-win!

D. Lammie-Hanson: I enjoyed the opportunity to work with Hyde Park Art Center again. I submitted my interests without knowing which new collectors would be interested, but I was willing to take the chance, and I’m glad I did.

Unveiling party attendees at Hyde Park Art Center

From the Collectors

To understand more about another side of the program, Ginny Van Alyea, CGN’s publisher and a past participant of NJAPF, shared her perspective as a patron who commissioned a work by artist Mel Watkin several years ago.

JL: Before NJAPF, did you consider yourself an art collector? Had you ever commissioned a work before?

GV: NJAPF appealed to my husband and me because we had bought art separately and together, but we hadn’t commissioned anything. My parents gave us the commission as a wedding gift, so it was especially meaningful.

JL: Before meeting with the artist, did you have a specific idea for the artwork you wanted?

GV: We looked through a lot of artwork before deciding whose work would be the best fit. There were so many choices, but we liked Mel Watkin’s particular focus. It felt like a good fit for creating something that spoke to both of us and our families when we got married.

JL: What was your experience working with the artist like? Did it feel collaborative?

GV: Working with Mel on a piece that was just for us was so cool. We sent images, ideas, and references back and forth. We met for coffee. We gave a little feedback but also listened to what she suggested. It was definitely a collaborative experience, but ultimately it was still the artist who made the art.

JL: Have you continued your relationship with your paired artist?

GV: Yes! A few years later, for a milestone birthday, I commissioned Mel again to make two more works: one about our daughter and one about our son. Now all three works hang together at home.

JL: Is there anything else you’d like to add about the experience?

GV: I know many collectors who have participated in the program more than once, and I can see us doing it again someday. It’s a wonderful chance to work with a local artist while also setting the parameters—like price and size—up front, which is another unique benefit of the program. It’s also terrific to support HPAC and local artists at the same time. While there are some big artist names in the program, NJAPF is also a wonderful way to discover emerging artists.

This year’s unveiling reception will take place on December 11, 2026, from 6:00–8:00 p.m. at Hyde Park Art Center. Following the reception, the artwork will remain on display and will be accompanied by a catalogue documenting the entire process for patrons, artists, and visitors alike.

The success of NJAPF has extended beyond Chicago, with similar exhibitions adapted in Boise, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Salt Lake City. To date, the program has generated more than $2 million in sales. Half of the proceeds go directly to participating artists, while the other half supports Hyde Park Art Center’s programs and mission. With more than 400 works commissioned by over 300 new and established collectors, NJAPF has cultivated an ecosystem of patronage that enables artists to thrive.

By embracing and encouraging the idea of patronage in contemporary art, NJAPF has built a community of people who value not only finished works of art, but also the creative process behind them. If you missed your opportunity to participate this year, consider becoming a patron for the next iteration.

More details at hydeparkart.org/njapf-2026/

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