EXHIBITION Weekend 2020
Presented by EXPO CHICAGO, EXHIBITION Weekend was a digital initiative that convened Chicago-based contemporary art galleries and leading institutions, featuring exhibitions, curatorial projects, and artist programs.
Mirroring the structure of Chicago’s art world, EXHIBITION Weekend straddled the commercial, institutional, and alternative facets of artistic practice unique to the city. Engaging the exposition’s local and global audience, the innovative digital platform, developed in collaboration with Hook, was complemented by live streaming public and VIP programs—including intimate glimpses into leading Chicago artists’ studios, convenings for established and aspiring collectors, an edition of the Curatorial Forum in collaboration with Independent Curators International (ICI), and virtual programming with museums and institutions.
The three-day initiative presented a diverse cross-section of galleries and exhibition spaces which showcased local artists alongside Fall exhibitions. Presented alongside the online viewing room for commercial galleries, a series of Chicago-centric programs provided a fresh perspective to those familiar with the Chicago landscape, as well as a comprehensive first-look for new audiences. Visitors had the opportunity to exclusively engage with Chicago’s contemporary art community, composed of the artists, curators, patrons, and gallerists that shape it.
As a leader in rigorous programming within the landscape of international art fairs, EXHIBITION Weekend took place on the historic dates of the exposition, and preceded the Chicago Gallery Open, presented by the New Art Dealers Association (NADA), September 30–October 4, 2020 and Alternate Assembly, presented by EXPO CHICAGO, January 21-23, 2021.
Artist-Led Gallery Tour: Brendan Fernandes at moniquemeloche
The Kenyan-born Canadian artist Brendan Fernandes works at the intersection of dance and visual arts, often addressing issues of race, queer culture, migration, protest, and other forms of collective movement. Join this virtual walk-through of the artist’s multidisciplinary work on view at moniquemeloche and their EXHIBITION Weekend viewing room, alongside an intimate conversation over Zoom. […] More information →
A Tale of Today: Nate Young & Mika Horibuchi
This panel will explore how historic house museums can leverage their architectures and legacies to connect the past with the present. The site-specific work of Young and Horibuchi draws on family, history, architecture, and museum practices to examine the way house museums can bridge our understanding of the past to current discourses on representation, truth, […] More information →
Artist Studio: Barbara Kasten — On Blueness
Join EXPO CHICAGO Artistic Director and author Stephanie Cristello for this intimate conversation with renowned Chicago-based artist Barbara Kasten. Working for over 40 years, Kasten often uses mirrors, lights, and props for conceptually-based pieces that are inspired by the act of recording a three-dimensional space onto a two-dimensional plane. Spanning her work with cyanotypes, and […] More information →
Screening: LITANY Part II: Issue (of Blood) — Presented by Rebuild Foundation
By Po’Chop aka Jenn Freeman EXPO CHICAGO partners with the Rebuild Foundation to present Part II of LITANY, a five-part dance film manifested and performed by Chicago Dancemakers Forum artist in residence Po’Chop aka Jenn Freeman. Created in collaboration with Jordan Phelps of VAM Studio, LITANY uses brown paper and imagination to create new worlds […] More information →
Artist-Led Gallery Tour: Jim Lutes at GRAY
For over four decades Chicago-based artist Jim Lutes has produced a varied yet unmistakable body of work that explores the specific tensions between figuration and painterly abstraction. Often discussed in the context of Chicago Imagism, Lutes’ distinct style draws from an expansive set of art historical sources that blends elements of West Coast Funk, Abstract […] More information →
Art Funders Forum: Remake the Model—Leadership and Ethics in the Arts
Presented in partnership with EXPO CHICAGO, the Arts Funders Forum (AFF) hosts this interactive virtual conversation as part of the Remake the Model series, examining how art funders can advance ethical leadership throughout the cultural sector and beyond. As the industry continues to evaluate its commitment to social justice, broaden its audiences, and develop new funding models to […] More information →
EXHIBITION Weekend Kick-Off: Nick Cave & Art For Justice
Artists Nick Cave and Bob Faust join representatives of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights and Illinois Humanities, grantees of the Art for Justice Fund, for a conversation on issues related to mass incarceration, freedom, advocacy, and structural inequity. The conversation takes place in honor of the limited-edition print produced by Cave and […] More information →