About Chicago Cultural Center Exhibitions
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs administers several galleries in the Chicago Cultural Center: the Exhibit Hall (fourth floor), Sidney R. Yates Gallery (fourth floor), and the Michigan Avenue Galleries (first floor).
Exhibits presented by the Department of Cultural Affairs at the Chicago Cultural Center are planned to encompass a variety of media in the following areas: Fine Arts, Folk Arts, Crafts, and Cultural Studies. Free of charge and open to the public, the exhibits are designed to provide an opportunity for an individual's aesthetic and intellectual growth and enjoyment, and to foster public awareness of the cultural and artistic community.
Through its exhibition program, the Department of Cultural Affairs strives to foster freedom of expression and provide freedom of access. A special responsibility towards Chicago artists and exhibitors is considered in balance with a desire to present shows of national and international scope that are important for Chicagoans to have the opportunity to view. Standards of excellence are maintained through adherence to selection criteria. Exhibits are chosen by the Chicago Cultural Center's Exhibition Advisory Committee, which meets approximately every four months, and are based on the following criteria:
- Quality and originality
- Cultural diversity
- Suitability of physical form
- Historical significance or emerging trends
- Interest to the community
- Relation to past and future exhibits, to insure a variety of techniques, subjects and mediums
- Relation to other exhibits or special programs and events in the community presented at or about the same time.
Under the administrative supervision of the Director of Visual Arts/Chief Curator, the curatorial staff is responsible for handling all aspects of exhibit planning and implementation. Proposals for exhibits are submitted to the Visual Arts Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs for eventual consideration by the Exhibition Advisory Committee. There are no deadlines for submissions and proposals are accepted all year round.
The Department of Cultural Affairs’ curatorial staff is responsible for the design and installation of all exhibits. In some cases, the exhibitor works with the curator in the development of the general exhibit presentation.
