![](\"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418631/p7kkmnngpkdfu76rfzcu.gif\")
By GINNY VAN ALYEA
Nearly two years after The Terra Foundation for American Art launched Art Design Chicago in January 2018, an expansive, year-long initiative to highlight the city as an international hub and crossroads of visual culture, the Terra just announced that they are going to revisit the program again in 2024. The undertaking of such a far reaching, varied and ambitious program in 2018 provided $6 million in funding to the year-long event, in addition to a $1 million donation from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and $1 million raised from smaller donors.
The city-wide partnership of more than 40 cultural organizations gathered cultural powerhouses and mass creativity and collaboration under one mission: to explore Chicago’s art and design legacy through some 25 exhibitions and hundreds of public programs in order to elucidate Chicago’s rich art and design history for all and to demonstrate that art can lead the way in changing lives in the city.
Largely viewed as a resounding success, Art Design Chicago will return in 2024. Through exhibitions, academic and public programs, and publications, the initiative will examine Chicago as a critical site for the exchange of ideas and meeting of cultures, from the past and into the present, and highlight the ways in which these dynamic confluences within the city have shaped creative innovation and civic life. Building on the success of Art Design Chicago 2018, which drew approximately 2.5 million people across its yearlong run, the 2024 edition will place additional emphasis on community outreach and audience engagement efforts, highlight the work of contemporary artists and designers, and encourage more projects that capture the narratives and contributions of immigrant and other under-represented groups. The anticipated budget for Art Design Chicago 2024 is $11 million, with the majority of funds going toward grants to institutional partners. The Terra Foundation will invest $9.5 million toward the realization of the initiative—an increase of nearly $3 million from 2018—and seek to raise the rest through philanthropic partnerships. Art Design Chicago 2024 will kick off in May 2024 and run for approximately eight months.
“We are delighted to announce that Art Design Chicago will return in 2024. When we first launched the initiative, we envisioned it as a beginning—a first step in rediscovering, and in some cases discovering for the first time, the depth of Chicago’s artistic legacy and its dynamic position as an incubator for innovation in American art and design. We have been inspired by the passion and enthusiasm for Art Design Chicago, from both our cultural partners and our wider audiences. We look forward to once again collaborating with Chicago’s cultural communities to create fresh and exciting experiences for the public, and to further expanding knowledge about Chicago’s history, its diverse communities, and its contemporary culture,” said Elizabeth Glassman, President & CEO of the Terra Foundation for American Art.
New scholarship is an essential aspect of Art Design Chicago, and the 2018 edition enhanced awareness of and presented the work of a wide range of cultural figures, including Ralph Arnold, Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Jesus Torres, Bill Walker, and Ray Yoshida, as well as groups such as AfriCOBRA, the Hairy Who, and the artists and designers affiliated with the New Bauhaus, among others. For 2024, the Terra Foundation is again offering exhibition research-and-development grants—and will make them available to more organizations—which provide cultural partners with the financial support to examine underexplored topics, collections, and archives; connect with other specialists; and hire fellows to support research into content that is rich in historic context and relevant to contemporary experience. These grants, which range in scale from approximately $25,000 to $75,000, offer an avenue for curators and organizational leadership to undertake expansive research projects that might otherwise be out of financial reach. First-round grants will be awarded in summer 2020 and second and third rounds in fall 2020 and spring 2021, respectively, following inquiry and proposal processes. Organizations will also have the opportunity to apply for larger exhibition-implementation grants in 2022 to bring their research to bear in new exhibitions.
For Art Design Chicago 2024, the Terra Foundation is also offering separate research-and-development grants for audience- and community-engagement efforts related to exhibitions within the initiative. The addition of these grants is a direct acknowledgement that establishing well-rooted and forward-looking connections with communities and the public takes both time and sustained commitment. Organizations can use these funds toward exploring new strategies for interpretation and programming as well as for developing partnerships with other cultural organizations or community-based groups. Along with these grants, the Terra Foundation will support a learning-community focused on engagement (to commence in 2021), which will provide opportunities for partners to convene, collaborate, and cross-pollinate project concepts. These audience-engagement research-and-development grants will be awarded in fall 2021, following inquiry and proposal processes.
\"Art Design Chicago was first established through a robust series of listening sessions, which allowed us to create a platform that spoke directly to the needs and interests of cultural partners, who had been seeking new opportunities to investigate Chicago as a place rich in artistic heritage and to deepen relationships across the city’s many neighborhoods and cultural enclaves. Plans for Art Design Chicago 2024 are informed by feedback from partners and advisors, ensuring that we remain responsive and engaged as the initiative evolves,” said Jennifer Siegenthaler, Program Director for Education Grants and Initiatives at the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Art Design Chicago 2018 marked the most expansive exploration to-date of Chicago’s essential role as an innovator and incubator of visual art and design in the US. In 2018, 95 partner institutions presented 46 exhibitions, 36 scholarly convenings, and more than 300 public programs, drawing a total audience of approximately 2.5 million. Partners additionally developed 29 publications and 15 new digital resources. With a total budget of $8 million ($6.8 million of which was contributed by the Terra Foundation), Art Design Chicago had an economic impact of more than $55 million, according to Choose Chicago, the city’s official destination marketing organization.
“At its core, Art Design Chicago is about leveraging the strength of the city’s cultural institutions to animate communities and encourage civic engagement and dialogue. We know, from our experience and the experiences of our partners, that art, in its many permutations, has the power to stimulate conversation, contribute to mutual understanding, and invite reflection and new ways of seeing the world. Through this collective effort we hope to inspire projects that display essential connections to civic life and that resonate with this contemporary moment,” said Amy Zinck, Executive Vice President of the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Further information on exhibition research-and-development grants can be found at terraamericanart.org/art-design-chicago-grants. The Terra Foundation will open grant opportunities in support of publications and academic programs related to the initiative in January 2020. Details regarding grants for audience-engagement research and development, exhibition implementation, and public programs will be announced at a later date.
About Terra Foundation for American Art
Since it was established in 1978, the Terra Foundation for American Art has been one of the leading foundations focused on art of the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, through its grant program, collection, and initiatives, it is committed to fostering exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of American art among national and international audiences. To further cross-cultural dialogue on American art, the foundation supports and collaborates on innovative exhibitions, research, and educational programs. Implicit in such activities is the belief that art has the potential both to distinguish cultures and to unite them. terraamericanart.org
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![](\"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1792084737/qrikvx76nvvt5agq24rq.jpg\")
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