September 13–17, 2017
EXPO CHICAGO Opening Preview: Wednesday, September 13
Palais de Tokyo Hors les Murs: September 12–October 29
Navy Pier
600 East Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
EXPO CHICAGO, The International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art, announces key Curatorial Forum and Art Critics Forum to be presented as part of /Dialogues during the sixth edition of the fair (September 13 to 17, 2017 at Navy Pier). In addition, EXPO CHICAGO announces the Roundhouse at the DuSable Museum of African American History as the official off-site exhibition venue for the Palais de Tokyo and Institut français‘ first U.S. iteration of Hors les Murs to open during EXPO ART WEEK, running concurrently during the Chicago Architecture Biennial (September 16, 2017 to January 7, 2018).
Curatorial Forum
Developed by EXPO CHICAGO and Independent Curators International (ICI), the Curatorial Forum offers a group of mid-career and established curators, working independently or with an institutional affiliation, the opportunity to engage closely with their peers to explore pertinent issues relating to curating, programming, institution-building, and audience engagement. As a core program of the exposition, the 2017 Curatorial Forum will for the first time feature a series of sessions among peers on critical questions relevant to contemporary practice and context led by internationally recognized leaders in the field. These session topics will include Contemporary Literacy (led by Larissa Harris—Curator, Queens Museum of Art), Presenting Performance In and Outside the Gallery (led by Fionn Meade—Independent Curator), Socially Engaged Practice (led by Dominic Willsdon—Leanne And George Roberts Curator of Education and Public Programs, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art), Race and Representation (led by Valerie Cassel Oliver—Senior Curator, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston), and Regional Collaborations (led by Miranda Lash—Curator of Contemporary Art, Speed Museum).
Art Critics Forum
The second annual Art Critics Forum, Criticism in the Post-Truth Era, will address the impact of the current political climate on the state of art journalism. Featuring panelists from a variety of perspectives, Sarah Douglas (Editor-in-Chief, ARTnews), Ana Bilbao (Editor, Afterall), Kenny Schachter (Author, artnet news), and Kevin McGarry (freelance critic) will present keynotes before engaging in a group discussion moderated by Christian Viveros-Fauné (Art and Culture Critic, artnet news).
For the first time since its inception, the Curatorial Forum and Art Critics Forum programs will have a presence on the public stage as part of /Dialogues, presented in partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, providing a broader public platform for conversations on exhibition practice and art criticism on-site at EXPO CHICAGO.
Thursday, September 14
/Dialogues Stage
3:30–4:30pm
Curatorial Forum Presents:
As an extension of the private session, Valerie Cassel Oliver (Senior Curator, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston) will chair a discussion on the /Dialogues stage with Naomi Beckwith (Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago), allowing the public a glimpse into the Curatorial Forum program. Co-presented with Independent Curators International (ICI).
5–6pm
EXPO CHICAGO Art Critics Forum: Criticism in the Post-Truth Era
Sarah Douglas (ARTnews), Ana Bilbao (Afterall), Kenny Schachter (artnet news), and Kevin McGarry (freelance). Moderated by Christian Viveros-Fauné (artnet news). Presented in partnership with Virgin Hotels.
Palais de Tokyo: Hors les Murs
In addition to the on-site Forum programs, the Roundhouse at the DuSable Museum of African American History—a 17,000-sq. ft. building built in 1881 by Burnham and Root—has been announced as the official off-site exhibition venue for the Palais de Tokyo and Institut français‘ first U.S. iteration of Hors les Murs to open during EXPO ART WEEK, running concurrently during the Chicago Architecture Biennial (September 16, 2017 to January 7, 2018). Curated by the Palais de Tokyo’s Katell Jaffrès, and presented in partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, the Hors Les Murs group exhibition will present emerging artists from both the French and Chicago art scenes, focusing on the dialogue between architecture and artistic process. Jaffrès will collaborate with Andrew Schachman, a Chicago-based Guest Designer nominated by the Graham Foundation, on the exhibition design. As an official off-site exhibition venue for EXPO CHICAGO, the program will feature newly conceived commissions and installations—both as works of art and architectural spaces able to welcome the work by other artists.
