Partners
Participating Organizations
Anchor Graphics @ Columbia College
623 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605312 344 6864
http://www.colum.edu/anchorgraphics
Anchor Graphics is a nonprofit print shop that brings together a diverse community of youth, emerging and established artists, and the public to advance the fine art of printmaking, integrating education with the creation of prints. Anchor Graphics provides workshops, lectures, demonstrations, artist residencies, exhibitions, publishing projects, and studio time, serving practicing artists and the general public.
The Art Institute of Chicago
111 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603312 443 3600
http://www.artic.edu
The Art Institute of Chicago's collection spans 5,000 years of artistic expression, featuring paintings, prints and drawings, sculptures, photographs, videos, textiles, and architecture. The Art Institute's extensive holdings are complemented by a year-round schedule of exhibitions and daily programming including lectures, workshops, performances, symposia, travel, and courses. The American Perspectives season beginning September 2007 features different artistic responses to the American experience through special exhibitions, lectures, and concerts.
Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University
40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL 60208847 491 4000
http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu
The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, presents exhibitions and organizes numerous education programs for its diverse constituency. Its permanent collection consists of approximately 4,000 works of art, the majority being 20th-century American works on paper, including WPA prints and other pre-war works, prints by Chicago-area artists, prints and drawings by sculptors, documentary photography, and architectural renderings.
The Santa Fe Building, Headquarters of the Chicago Architecture Foundation
Chicago Architecture Foundation
224 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60604312 922 3432
http://www.architecture.org
Home to a new permanent exhibition, You Are Here, with a scale model of Chicago, the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public interest and education in architecture and related design. CAF offers more than 80 different tours, exhibitions (both permanent and temporary), special events, and lectures, as well as a retail store with architecture and design-related merchandise.
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs
78 E. Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602312 744 6630
http://www.cityofchicago.org/culturalaffairs
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) is dedicated to enhancing the cultural life of the city of Chicago. Housed in the historic Chicago Cultural Center, the DCA provides free public programs and support to the arts community. As both a venue and cultural destination, the Cultural Center boasts outstanding late-19th-century American decorative arts throughout its finely crafted interior spaces. In spring and summer 2008, the Chicago Office of Tourism will present special Chicago Neighborhood Tours that focus on historical American art found throughout the city.
Chicago History Museum
1601 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614312 642 4600
http://www.chicagohistory.org
The Chicago History Museum houses exhibitions that explore Chicago's unique past and present, including a costume and textile gallery, a children's gallery, and more. The Museum's collections include more than 22 million items in seven main holdings: archives and manuscripts, architecture, costumes, decorative and industrial arts, prints and photographs, painting and sculpture, and library materials.
Chicago Humanities Festival
500 N. Dearborn Street, Suite 825, Chicago, IL 60610312 661 1028
http://www.chfestival.org
The Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF) is an independent, nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for Chicagoans to explore, enjoy, and support the humanities. CHF presents public humanities and arts programs throughout the year, culminating in a 16-day festival each fall intended to encourage an inclusive civic conversation and celebration of ideas. The theme of the 2007 festival is "The Climate of Concern."
Chicago Park District
541 N. Fairbanks Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611312 742 PLAY
http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
The Chicago Park District seeks to enhance the quality of life in Chicago by offering recreation and leisure opportunities; providing safe, beautifully maintained parks and facilities; and creating a customer-focused and responsive park system. The Park District maintains a permanent art collection, which includes recently restored murals from the Progressive and WPA eras found in park field houses throughout the city, and more than 100 sculptures in public parks.
Chicago Public Library
400 S. State Street, Chicago, IL 60605312 747 4300
http://www.chicagopubliclibrary.org
The Chicago Public Library has a rich collection of American art housed in the Harold Washington Library Center. Many of the works belong to the Library’s Civil War and American History Collection, including pieces by Lorado Taft and John Antrobus. The collection also contains works installed for the building’s opening in 1991 as part of the city’s “Percent-for-Art” program.
Chicago Public Schools
125 S. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60603773 553 2170
http://www.cps.k12.il.us
The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) serve over 420,000 students in 623 schools throughout the city. The district's expansive art collection contains original murals, paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. Historically significant WPA- and Progressive-era murals found in schools across the city provide a unique opportunity to link classroom experiences with a thorough understanding of the collection.
DePaul University Museum
2350 N. Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614773 325 7506
http://museums.depaul.edu/artwebsite
Located on the university's Lincoln Park campus, the DePaul University Museum serves as a focal point for teaching and discussion through its collections, exhibitions, programs, and events, which strongly represent visual arts of the Chicago area. While the gallery is committed to presenting contemporary art as a means of exploring aspects of own culture, many of its projects are historical or thematic in focus
DuSable Museum of African American History
740 E. 56th Place, Chicago, IL 60637773 947 0600
http://www.dusablemuseum.org
The DuSable Museum of African American History is dedicated to the collection, documentation, preservation, study, and dissemination of the history and culture of Africans and Americans of African descent. Among its diverse collections, DuSable Museum's fine art holdings include paintings, works on paper, and sculpture from the mid-19th century to the present, including works by several Chicago artists.
Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605312 922 9410
http://www.fieldmuseum.org
The Field Museum is dedicated to preserving historical objects, including works of art. Examples of American art in the museum's special collections include a double-elephant folio edition of John James Audubon's The Birds of America and watercolors by influential bird artists Louis Agassiz Fuertes and George Miksch Sutton.
Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust
931 Chicago Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60302708 848-1976
http://www.GoWright.org
The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust's mission is to engage the public in educational and aesthetic experiences to foster an appreciation of architecture, design and the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Hyde Park Art Center
5020 S. Cornell Avenue, Chicago, IL 60615773 324 5520
http://www.hydeparkart.org
The Hyde Park Art Center's mission is to stimulate and sustain the visual arts in Chicago. It serves Chicago's artistic community as a whole by presenting the work of Chicago artists and hosting accompanying programming that both documents their work and educates the public, encouraging discussion and critique that ensures these artists are included in the developing canon of American art.
Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery
James R. Thompson Center, Suite 2-100, 100 E. Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601312 814 5322
http://www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/chicago
The Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery exhibits and promotes the work of contemporary and historical Illinois artists for statewide, national, and international audiences. Its changing exhibition schedule showcases important Illinois artists as well as works from the museum's decorative arts holdings, which include an outstanding quilt collection.
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
756 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622312 243 9088
http://www.art.org
Intuit's mission is to promote public awareness, understanding, and appreciation of intuitive and outsider art through education programs and exhibitions. Intuit defines "intuitive and outsider artists" as those demonstrating little influence from the mainstream art world but who seem instead motivated by their unique personal visions. Intuit's permanent collection encompasses the fields of art brut, non-traditional folk art, self-taught art, and visionary art.
Loyola University Museum of Art
820 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611312 915 7600
http://www.luc.edu/luma
The Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) is dedicated to the exploration, promotion, and understanding of art and artistic expression, and it attempts to illuminate the enduring spiritual questions and concerns of all cultures and societies. LUMA is committed to education and educational programming, and interprets and displays the university's own Martin D'Arcy Collection, other museum permanent collections, and rotating exhibitions.
Midwest Art History Society
312 243 8258http://www.mahsonline.org
The Midwest Art History Society (MAHS) is a professional organization comprised of more than 500 midwest-area art historians, representing museum professionals, academic art historians, and independent scholars of all specializations. The annual conference held each spring features three days of scholarly presentations, panel discussions, and workshops.
Museum of Contemporary Art
220 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611312 280 2660
http://www.mcachicago.org
The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) offers exhibitions of thought-provoking art created since 1945, documenting contemporary visual culture through painting, sculpture, photography, video and film, and performance. Its mission is to be an innovative and compelling center where the public can directly experience the work and ideas of living artists, and understand the historical, social, and cultural context of the art of our time.
Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605312 663 5554
http://www.mocp.org
The Museum of Contemporary Photography is a stimulating and innovative forum for the collection, creation, and examination of contemporary image-making in its camera tradition and in its expanded vocabulary of digital processes. Its permanent collection of more than 8,500 images by 900 contemporary artists focuses on photography with strength in American and emerging artists' works and a growing body of work by international photographers.
National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 W. 19th Street, Chicago, IL 60608312 738 1503
http://www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org
The National Museum of Mexican Art's mission is to preserve knowledge and stimulate appreciation of Mexican culture through sponsoring events and exhibitions exemplifying the rich tradition of visual and performing arts; to develop a significant collection of Mexican art; to encourage the professional development of Mexican artists; and to offer arts education programs. The Museum offers exhibitions, educational opportunities, performing arts events and festivals, and a permanent collection.
Newberry Library
60 W. Walton Street, Chicago, IL 60610312 255 3700
http://www.newberry.org
The Newberry Library, a world-renowned independent research library, houses a wide variety of American art within its collections. The most famous objects are in the Edward E. Ayer collection documenting Native American culture, including works by George Catlin, Seth Eastman, and Edward S. Curtis. Elsewhere, a lively assemblage of portraits, most by 19th-century American portraitist George Peter Alexander Healy, decorates the library's reading rooms and other public spaces.
Roger Brown Study Collection entry shelves. Photo: Michael Lombardi
Roger Brown Study Collection
1952 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60614773 929 2452
http://www.saic.edu/webspaces/rogerbrown
The Roger Brown Study Collection (RBSC) is a special collection, "artists' museum," and archive of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), preserved intact in a historic house museum setting. Located in artist and alumnus Roger Brown's former home, an 1889 storefront building at 1926 N. Halsted St., the RBSC is an intimate collection with an astonishing range of objects including works by Chicago Imagists and other contemporary artists, self-taught artists; folk and tribal art from many cultures; objects from material and popular culture; costumes, textiles, and furniture; travel souvenirs; and more. The collection is installed as Brown left it, throughout the second floor of the building and two stairways. The RBSC "Artists' Museum" provides public tours include a slide presentation on Roger Brown's artistic and collecting path and a complete tour of the collection. For more information please call 773 929 2452 or visit www.saic.edu/webspaces/rogerbrown.
Smart Museum of Art
5550 S. Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637773 702 0200
http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu
The permanent collection of the University of Chicago's Smart Museum of Art includes more than 10,000 works, ranging from classical antiquities to contemporary art.
Spertus Museum
610 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605312 322 1700
http://www.spertus.edu
Spertus Museum, at the new Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, engages audiences in examining Jewish history, culture, and identity through its exhibitions, publications, educational initiatives, and multidisciplinary public programs. Its collection contains more than 15,000 objects from the 17th to 21st centuries, and features works by important 20th-century American artists such as Milton Resnick and Todros Geller, as well as historical objects reflective of Jewish life in Chicago. The Spertus Museum is opened its brand new facility on Friday, November 30, 2007.
Swedish American Museum
5211 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60640773 728 8111
http://www.swedishamericanmuseum.org
The Swedish American Museum (SAMAC) is dedicated to preserving and disseminating the history of the great contributions of early Swedish immigrants to Chicago. The main floor gallery features rotating exhibitions of art, craft, and design. SAMAC's permanent exhibit, The Dream of America, contains art and artifacts from the mass immigration of Swedes to Chicago. SAMAC also houses the Children's Museum of Immigration, featuring a hands-on, interactive journey through history.
Union League Club of Chicago
65 W. Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604312 427 7800
http://www.ulcc.org
The Union League Club of Chicago promotes and upholds the obligations of good citizenship, honesty and efficiency in government, and the city's cultural institutions. It began acquiring art in 1886, and is recognized today as having one of the most important private collections of American art in the midwest. Its 800 works include paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts, with a particular strength in Midwestern artists.
The University of Chicago
1126 E. 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637773 702 8381
http://www.uchicago.edu/
The University of Chicago supports the research and teaching of American art and culture in a variety of departments including Art History, History, Cinema and Media Studies, and English. Its Smart Museum of Art permanently displays significant works of American art as well as hosting occasional special exhibitions. The Special Collections of Regenstein Library contain significant holdings of American art as well.
WTTW11
5400 N. St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625773 583 5000
http://www.wttw.com
WTTW11 is producing a series of original "Artbeat" segments, a regular feature on its nightly newsmagazine Chicago Tonight, to help audiences learn about and connect to the variety of activities that are part of American Art American City. For more than 50 years, WTTW11 has served the Chicago community and beyond as the nation's most watched public television station, earning a reputation for providing outstanding programming in many areas, including the arts.
Related Initiatives
