If you’ve noticed a new DePaul building while waiting for the train, you noticed the new home of the DePaul Art Museum! Last Monday, I attended their Faculty and Staff Museum Preview Day as they hosted an election for a new acquisition to their permanent collection to coincide with their opening in September. In addition to previewing new pieces, the event also hosted a jazz performance from The DePaul School of Music and a presentation on the architecture of DePaul.
The three pieces that attendees voted on were from contemporary Chicago-based artists. The potential new acquisitions could be: Muhammad (Chicago) a photograph by Dawoud Bey, Volar an oil cloth collage by Angel Otero or Dream Girl an oil painting by Suellen Rocca. The Museum opens for its first exhibition entitled Re: Chicago on September 16th 2011when the winner will be announced. The DePaul Art Musuem prides itself on its strong representation of Chicago artists. Additionally, the permanent collection includes emphasis on American and Latin American photography, classical sculpture from West and Central Africa and contemporary African art.
The new building hopes to serve a greater expanse of the DePaul community through its larger space and more centralized location. The new building has more multipurpose rooms for hosting general events in the space in addition to having more gallery space to display more pieces from its 2,500 object collection. In addition to the Re: Chicago, the Museum will host two other collections next year. The first is Studio Malick (March 29, 2012 – June 3 2012) which exhibits the photography of Malick Sidibe in Mali after liberation from France. The second exhibition is Drawn From Photography (June 212012 – August 19 2012) which surveys a growing artistic medium of replicating photographs into drawings.
2 replies on “DePaul’s New Art Museum”
Awesome Post, Danielle! Random question that I always wonder about whenever I see the new Art Museum: can you hear the trains when you’re inside? Thanks!
I have been told that much insulation was used in the building, not so much to eliminate sound, but to lessen vibration, which is much more dangerous to the work, especially painting. I was surprised when I first heard the Art Museum would be built next to the Fullerton stop, not just an ordinary L station, but a “super station,” one of the busiest in the city, 24 hours a day. As I’m sure you have noticed, universities tend to put campus art museums on quiet, tree-laden side streets. I applaud DePaul’s desire to increase attendance through greater street traffic, but I’m not sure putting a museum next to an L station is ultimately a good idea. However, DePaul has many brilliant people making its decisions, so I have faith that this issue was discussed and potential problems averted. I also have faith the leadership of the museum would not have moved in if they thought the environment might be injurious to the collection. It’s time to enjoy DePaul’s Art Museum!