ABOUT STUDIO CHICAGO
Creativity. Production. Infrastructure.
Studio Chicago is a yearlong collaborative project that focuses on the artist's studio. Through exhibitions, talks, publications, tours, and research, participating organizations will celebrate the working artist and reveal their sites of creative production from historical and contemporary perspectives. With concepts ranging from the "studio as muse," "virtual studios," "street as studio," and "gallery as studio," Studio Chicago invites participation from artists and the art-curious, beginning with Chicago Artists Month in October 2009.
Studio Chicago Core Partners are the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University, Gallery 400 at UIC, Hyde Park Art Center, Museum of Contemporary Art, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and threewalls.
PROGRAM FOCUS AND GOALS:
All programs presented and featured as part of Studio Chicago seek to further collective inquiry, leading to a deeper, more nuanced understanding among the artist community, and to broader awareness and understanding among the arts-curious by asking critical questions, presenting new scholarship, or proposing new ways of thinking about the artist’s studio. Programs may also serve as forums for exchanging solutions or reflecting on the practical realities of working in the studio. All programs are selected through a review process and must address any or all of these questions:
- How and why does the studio matter to art and artists today?
- What is the artist’s studio today?
- What infrastructures are needed to sustain thriving art practice, and what role does the artist studio play within this infrastructure?
Studio Chicago also seeks to build community, serving as a catalyst for new or newly strengthened relationships among those involved--audiences and organizers alike. To this end, participating artists and arts organizations pool resources, find synergies, collaboratively organize, and jointly foster participation and audience ownership in Studio Chicago programs.
AUDIENCE:
Studio Chicago seeks to engage:
Primary – Chicago Artists
Secondary – Chicago Art Curious (a broad non-specialized audience ranging from the curious to the well-informed)
Tertiary – International Art Community
TIMEFRAME: October 2009 – October 2010.
LAUNCH:
Artists at Work Forum: Studio Chicago
Thurs. October 29, 6:00 - 7:30pm, Free
Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St.
Why does the studio matter today for art and artists? Curators and artists from the lead organizations of Studio Chicago discuss this question and introduce the programs that will take place over the upcoming year. Free After Party at the Hard Rock Hotel.
ORGANIZATION
Studio Chicago is led by staff members from the core partner organizations: Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Columbia College, Gallery 400, Hyde Park Art Center, Museum of Contemporary Art, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and threewalls. A Steering Committee guides the full initiative and makes final programmatic, communication and financial decisions. A Marketing Committee Website Sub-Committee, and Program Committee form its working groups.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why was Studio Chicago established?
Studio Chicago emerged from conversations among several core partners. Directors, curators, and programmers in these organizations realized that they were simultaneously planning exhibitions, programs, research projects, and publications related to the artist studio, all with a focus on the visual arts. These organizations seized the opportunity to collectively pool resources and programmatic strengths to examine the current relevance of the artist studio and its current forms, and to enhance public understanding about the ways artists work and the infrastructures that are needed to sustain a thriving art community.
How can artists participate?
Artists can submit studio stories, tag images on Flickr, and comment on the blog. Artists are also encouraged to collaborate with other artists or with arts organizations and schools to plan and propose programs. (Please note that programs that are organized by a single artist and only feature a single artist’s work will not support the vision of Studio Chicago.) Artists will also be featured as bloggers on the website, and as presenters, writers and facilitators in most of the programs and publications of Studio Chicago.
Does Studio Chicago focus solely on the visual arts?
Studio Chicago emphasizes the visual arts. It also creates room for exploring relationships and intersections between creative work in other arts fields and studio activity of visual artists.
How is the project funded?
The project is funded through in-kind contributions and minimal financial contributions from its core partners.
Does Studio Chicago fund programs submitted for review?
Each program organizer/presenter funds its own programs. Collaborations across institutions and individuals are encouraged. Each program organizer/presenter also promotes its own programs.
How are the financial contributions of the core partners used?
Financial contributions from each core partner cover the cost of maintaining the project’s website as well as limited advertising for the initiative as a whole.
What are the benefits of having a program featured as part of Studio Chicago?
Programs that are reviewed and approved by the Steering Committee benefit from heightened visibility and broad promotion to an artist and art-curious audience. Specifically, your program is featured on the “Events section” of the website, through monthly e-blasts that are sent to the (Chicago Artist Resource (CAR) email list on the month when your program takes place, and in the flier that each partner distributes onsite. You also can contribute to the Studio Chicago blog as a writer.
What is the media and marketing strategy?
Each program partner promotes its own activities and helps bring attention to the project as a whole by following the communications guidelines and using the project’s logo. In turn, Studio Chicago heightens the programs’ visibility through an integrated communications strategy. This strategy is three-pronged: collective media and marketing efforts by its partners, all of which will follow a single communications plan; online promotion through the Studio Chicago website, which is also linked to each partner’s website and to the Chicago Artist Resource (CAR); and viral, word-of-mouth communication fostered through email announcements. Interactive/online placements and smaller ads aimed at the artist community and the “arts curious” will draw traffic to the Studio Chicago website rather than to individual programs or partners and will be spaced throughout the year. These will be booked and handled by the MCA’s Marketing department. In addition, there will be three waves of joint media outreach: October 2009, February 2010, and early summer 2010. Media releases will be prepared and sent by the Department of Cultural Affairs. Each organization will send their own release for their programs at the appropriate times, noting each program as part as part of Studio Chicago and including the general Studio Chicago paragraph.
Can I submit multiple programs proposals as a program partner?
Program partners may submit one or more programs for review. The Steering Committee reviews each program individually; a proposal is required for each event or program.
Are all Studio Chicago programs public?
Many Studio Chicago programs are public. In addition, schools such as the School of the Art Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Architecture and the Arts, and Columbia College Chicago will offer courses and workshops exclusively for their students. The combination of curricular and public programs, technical surveys, and publication projects contribute to the depth and richness of the project.
Are all Studio Chicago programs free? Do I need to reserve a space to participate?
Some Studio Chicago programs are free and some are fee based. For details, please refer to the program information for each event. Registration requirements and fees vary from program to program, and vary widely among organizers. Each partner sets policies and handles reservations and registration for their own programs. Contact the organizer or visit the Studio Chicago website to learn about specific policies.
Image: Diagram by Adelheid Mers
