Special Edition: EXPO CHICAGO #2

 

IN THE THICK OF THINGS by Sarah Hamilton The walk into EXPO CHICAGO from the entrance to Navy Pier takes you down long corridors lined with confections and photo booths characteristic of the carnivalistic atmosphere Navy Pier is known for. Would this long walk be an omen of what EXPO CHICAGO held – an endless, fatiguing, gaudy market? Once in Festival Hall, however, the winding dark hallways of the mall give way to an aluminous open foyer. The bustling atmosphere of Navy Pier dissipated as the art crowd casually makes its way into the inaugural EXPO CHICAGO. Immediately, the most noticeable and notable thing is the air of goodwill at EXPO CHICAGO. Mainstay institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Hyde Park Art Center, and the Renaissance Society have been included to showcase some of their work, but so too have Bad At Sports, threewalls, Artspace, Design Bureau and so forth. These booths line the walls, surrounding the commercial spaces, and adding a very necessary atmosphere of community and collaboration to the fair. It gives EXPO the support and energy that seemed to be lacking from previous incarnations of art fairs... ...Read more...

SPONSOR

Dawoud Bey is a pillar of the photography community in Chicago. Starting his career in Harlem in the 1970’s, he moved to Chicago in 1998. His works of portraiture seek to represent the Black community in a positive light counter to an American photographic history centered on victimization, cruelty and objectification. Bey recently concluded two exhibitions in Chicago, Dawoud Bey: Harlem, U.S.A. at the Art Institute of Chicago and Dawoud Bey: Picturing People at the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago.  Before the opening, I was able to ask Bey a few questions about the special exhibition he curated for EXPO CHICAGO, Eclectic Coherence... ...Read more...