Chicago Cultural Center Visual Arts Program

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DCASE Visual Arts Exhibition Program:

The City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) exhibition program encompasses historic as well as contemporary art worldwide, with special emphasis placed on emerging and underrepresented artists who live and work in Chicago. The exhibition program supports professional artists, curators, and arts organizations to reach a wide audience in the heart of downtown Chicago. The exhibition program is activated through public programming such as gallery tours, public conversations, and hands-on exploration in the Learning Lab. Previous exhibitions can be viewed online.

The DCASE exhibition program serves Chicago-based artists and curators to advance their careers through the production and presentation of new work and retrospective exhibitions in the Chicago Cultural Center, one of the most visited and significant Chicago attractions. Indeed, the platform of an exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center can be a significant steppingstone in the career of an artist or curator.

Our status as a non-commercial and public entity encourages artists to take risks and connect to a broad audience. We are proud to serve a uniquely diverse public that may not otherwise encounter the kind of high-quality, experimental, community-oriented, and welcoming exhibitions they can find at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Ultimately, DCASE’s exhibition program aims to support a healthy city-wide arts ecosystem where artists, curators, and art appreciators can thrive in Chicago.

The goals of the Exhibitions program include:

- Support Chicago artists to advance their career through exhibition opportunities

- Position the Chicago Cultural Center as a hub for excellent, accessible, and engaging exhibitions for the public

- Create intersections between Chicago artists and national and international arts communities

- Support a diverse group of artists reflective of the city of Chicago and its cultural landscape

- Develop and maintain long-term relationships with Chicago-based artists

Exhibitions are curated and selected by the Visual Art staff, in consultation with an Advisory Committee. Beginning in 2024, artists, curators, and arts organizations are welcome to submit exhibition proposals for the Chicago Cultural Center galleries in 2025 and 2026.

 

Call For 2025-2026 Exhhibition Proposals:

DCASE is pleased to introduce a new application process for artists, curators, and arts organizations to propose exhibitions for the Chicago Cultural Center galleries in 2025 and 2026. Exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center come in many forms and sizes, including one-person and group exhibitions of contemporary art; exhibitions that focus on historical figures and ideas, cultural history, design, and architecture.

Our curatorial staff creates exhibitions of varying size and scope in close collaboration with individual artists, guest curators, and external organizations. Because our spaces and assets are so unique, many months -- sometimes years -- of advance planning are required for each exhibition.

 

Timeline

- Thursday, March 28, 9am: Application proposal template becomes available; applications submission portal opens on Cyber Grants

- Thursday, April 11, 4:30–5:30pm: Information session in person at the Chicago Cultural Center, room 408 (optional)

- Friday, April 26, 12–1pm: Information session online (optional)

- Monday, May 13, 11:59pm: Application portal closes, submissions no longer accepted

- End of June (estimated): Applicants invited for a second round notified

- Mid- August (estimated): All applicants notified of final decisions

 

Budget

Individual exhibition budgets are based on size and scope and range widely – typically from $10,000 for a small one person show to $80,000 for complex and large exhibitions. Part of the budget for an exhibition is honoraria for artists and/or curators, which may be up to 15% of an exhibition’s total budget. Other exhibition expenses may include installation, transportation, fabrication, de-installation and other negotiated expenses. A budget is not required as part of the initial proposal.

 

Selection Process

Applications that meet the evaluation criteria and are recommended by the Advisory Committee will be advanced for further consideration by the DCASE team. At this point, finalists will be asked to meet with DCASE curators to discuss the potential execution of their project and may be asked to prepare additional materials, including a proposed budget. Final decisions about exhibition space and scope will be made by the DCASE curatorial team in consultation with applicants.

Applications will be evaluated by DCASE staff, and an Advisory Committee made up of artists and arts professionals. Evidence of past exhibition experience will be taken into consideration, as well as how your proposal helps to fulfill DCASE's commitment to equity, access, and diversity of our overall programming.

 

Evaluation Criteria

- Artistic quality of the proposed project (the proposal demonstrates deep, thoughtful engagement with the proposed project’s themes, artistic materials, and relevant artistic practice)

- Feasibility of the proposed project (the proposal demonstrates a consideration of the unique context and limitations of the Chicago Cultural Center)

- Interest and relevance to our diverse audiences (the proposal seeks to engage the diverse public that visits the Chicago Cultural Center)

- Opportunities for public engagement (there are clear opportunities for public programming associated with the proposed project)

- Representation of a range of artistic media and creative processes (the proposed project brings a unique approach or perspective to the overall offerings of the Exhibitions schedule)

- Potential benefit to artist or organization (the proposal clearly identifies the potential impact of the project’s c to contributing artist(s), organization, and/or curator)

 

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for this exhibition application, applicants must:

  • Fit into one of these two categories:
    • Be a practicing artist, artisan, curator, or cultural producer. This is defined as someone who:
      • Is actively creating, curating or producing work.
      • Has demonstrated experience in the arts through the creation, curation or production of work or contributions to the field.
      • Has at least a two-year history of public presentation or publication.
    • Be a representative of an organization or group. This may entail:
      • An arts, education, or cultural organization for whom the arts are vital to the execution of their mission.
      • An organization or group made up of individuals who meet the above definition of artist, artisan, curator, or cultural producer.
      • A service organization that employs professional teaching artists in a significant capacity.
      • Group show proposals should feature no more than 4 artists*
  • Be a resident of Illinois or Lake County, Indiana with a valid street address (no PO boxes). A Driver’s License, State I.D., or Chicago CityKey showing address must be provided. No other proof of residency will be accepted.
    • Please note that for a group exhibition, at least one group member must meet the above residential requirements and at least half of contributing artists should have a meaningful connection to Chicago.
  • Be at least 18 years old.

 

The following are NOT eligible to apply for a 2025/6 exhibition:

  • Individuals enrolled full-time in undergraduate or graduate-level college/university studies.
  • Artists who have participated in one- or two-person exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center in the past 5 years.

For questions about eligibility, please email dcase@cityofchicago.org.

*Please note that curatorial applicants who are affiliated with another exhibiting institution or museum with group show proposals featuring more than 4 artists should reach out to dcase@cityofchicago.org directly.