Resources
Dig deeper into Chicago’s art and design history and contemporary creative communities! Explore resources—exhibition catalogues, digital archives, artist interviews, recorded conversations, and more—generated in conjunction with Art Design Chicago.
Opening Passages: Photographers Respond to Chicago and Paris is a multi-site exhibition across Chicago venues, showcasing French and American photographers exploring themes like cultural identity, urban divisions, and immigrant experiences.
Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s showcases over 100 pieces of protest art, including posters, buttons, and publications addressing race, war, gender, and LGBTQIA+ equality. Featuring works from past and present artivists, the exhibition highlights Chicago's enduring legacy of art-driven social change. The Art + Activism guide delves into examples from the exhibit.
Akito Tsuda: Pilsen Days showcases photographs captured by Japanese photographer Akito Tsuda during his time in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood from 1990–1994. The images document the vibrant Mexican American community through intimate and candid moments.
The United Colors of Robert Earl Paige at the Hyde Park Art Center showcases the renowned Chicago artist’s diverse works in clay, textiles, collages, and paintings. In a WBEZ interview, Paige reflects on his journey, creative joy, and influences like Margaret Burroughs and Faith Ringgold, urging young artists to embrace opportunities and stay true to their vision.
The United Colors of Robert Earl Paige at Hyde Park Art Center showcases the artist’s iconic textile designs and new works in clay, painting, and collage. Spanning sixty years, the exhibition includes pieces created during his Radicle Residency.
Christina Ramberg: A Retrospective offers an in-depth exploration of the influential artist's life and work, focusing on her investigation of form, femininity, and her artistic evolution. Known for her stylized depictions of female figures, Ramberg’s work blends popular culture with art history, creating enigmatic pieces, with essays examining her impact on gender identity, disability studies, and more. Featuring unpublished diaries, sketches, and ephemera, the catalogue provides a fuller picture of her legacy.
Artist and author Riva Lehrer examines the work of Chicago artist Christina Ramberg, whose short but powerful career challenged gender conventions. Lehrer discusses Ramberg’s abstracted depictions of the female body and her later, more deconstructed, ungendered or regendered figures through the lenses of disability activism, gender queerness, and monster theory. The talk focuses on Ramberg’s contributions to the discourse on gender and embodiment, as seen in Christina Ramberg: A Retrospective.