Treasured tradition EXPO CHICAGO celebrates its grand return to in-person programming at Navy Pier this month.
Vernissage, the opening night preview of EXPO CHICAGO, in 2019
After a two-year pivot to virtual programming, EXPO CHICAGO (expochicago.com) returns to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall April 7 to 10, as EXPO president and director Tony Karman prepares to welcome the art world back to the Windy City once more. Also known as The International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, the festival will present more than 140 leading exhibitors showcasing works by over 3,000 artists representing myriad countries from Africa, Europe, Latin America and Asia, including Chicago’s own Alan Koppel Gallery, M. LeBlanc, Jean Albano Gallery, Spudnik Press and The Renaissance Society. The ninth annual in-person event also features thought-provoking programming, from /Dialogues presented with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to IN/SITU curated by Marcella Beccaria, chief curator and curator of collections at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in Italy.
Expect stunning sculptural pieces like this textured work by Nick Cave.
New this year? The Directors Summit will host eight emerging museum directors from across the country to present public discussions on issues that contemporary art institutions are facing today. Another historic highlight: The founding members of AFRICOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists), an artist collective founded in Chicago in 1968, will reconvene in a sure-to-be-riveting talk led by lauded Swiss curator Hans Ulrich Obrist. “We are deeply proud to be returning this April as Chicago has hosted an international art fair for over 40 years and our move from fall to spring marks a return to the original dates of those historic fairs,” Karman notes. “EXPO CHICAGO is back, and we’ll welcome the art world again each April. See you at Navy Pier.”