Art of Design Chicago showcases local artists and arts organizations through citywide events and exhibitions | chicago news

“Carlos Cortez: 100 Years,” currently on view at the National Museum of Mexican Art, is one of several art design exhibitions in Chicago that explore the role of artists as activists, problem solvers, and interpreters of history. (Rachel Ruttle/Road Resources)

The Terra Foundation for American Art has announced a new citywide initiative with Chicago-based artists and organizers called Art Design Chicago. The initiative will work with more than 50 art-focused organizations to showcase the work of hundreds of artists between now and 2025.

“The city’s artists and designers continue to influence visual culture within our city and beyond,” Sharon Corwin, president and CEO of the Terra Foundation for American Art, said in a press release. “The exhibitions and events supported through this initiative—some of which feature art and design rarely or never before exhibited—invite us to learn more about Chicago through the art, culture, and history of our own backyards, through the lens of some of its most dynamic arts communities.” in the city.”

Among these featured artists is Amira Hegazy, a Detroit native who has spent the past five years working as an artist, designer, and design historian. She currently works as a teaching artist at both UIC and Columbia College Chicago, as well as a Chicago Type Research Fellow through the Design Museum of Chicago (which is in partnership with the Terra Foundation).

She initially came to the city to attend graduate school to study printmaking and now uses the medium to create notable prints and books. She also dabbles in typography, a practice that studies how words and letters are arranged and used in everyday life.

“Typography is what letters look like: how letters look, how letters are used. These are typographic choices,” Hegazy said. “I think a lot about how we read, what it looks like and how it changes the places people will go in their communities. I’m looking specifically at the history of printing in our neighborhoods. So how do you decide which taco shop or grocery store to go to? You make this choice purely visually. But you make this choice unconsciously.”

Hijazi has been researching the impact of this practice with the help of the Terra Foundation.

“This work would not have been possible without them,” Hijazi said. “They have funded this research for the past two and a half years and continue to support it. As an emerging researcher, I would not have received the financial assistance otherwise. They have helped me write grants and even offered me sessions with researchers who teach us how to work ethically around society, Which helps us develop community archiving practices.

There are currently four exhibitions in partnership with Art Design Chicago that will be on display over the next year.

“The goal of Art Design Chicago is not only to tell the stories of Chicago’s creative past and present, but also to contribute to the vitality of the city’s arts ecosystem,” said Jennifer Seigenthaler, senior program director at the Terra Foundation for American Art. press release. “Art Design Chicago encourages new research and innovative approaches to community engagement that can be applied to future partnerships, enhancing understanding of the role artists play as problem solvers in their communities and interpreters of the city’s history and the current moment.”

Follow Angel Idowu on Twitter: @angelidowu3

Angel Idowu is DuPage Arts Correspondent JCS Fund.