Art Institute employees win vote to form Chicago’s first major museum union

Employees at the Art Institute of Chicago have successfully voted to form a union, achieving certification Tuesday from the National Labor Relations Board and ushering in a new era for hundreds of nonmanagement workers at the museum.

The results were announced Tuesday, formally recognizing the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United. The first major museum union in Chicago will represent 266 Art Institute employees including art installers, curators, custodians, librarians and retail workers.

Via Chicago Tribune

R.S. Johnson Announces Gallery Will Move to Virtual Model After More than 65 Years in Business 

Stanley Johnson and his wife Ursula shared in an email to clients this week, "When we moved from Paris to Chicago in 1968 to become stewards of the gallery started by my father in 1955, we had visitors coming to see us throughout the day, six days a week.  Foot traffic from Michigan Avenue brought us into contact with so many wonderful people who shared a passionate interest in or at least a cursory curiosity for the wonderful works of art curated and imported by us from Europe. 

Today, that era seems like a distant memory. 

The answer to this challenge is, of course, obvious and so from the end of January, we will now aim to guide you—our long-time friends, colleagues and fellow art collectors—as well as many new enthusiasts and connoisseurs via our online platforms, rather than in a physical location, so that you will be best able to appreciate, savor and enjoy the history, tradition and culture captured in the works of art we have assembled with great knowledge and enormous passion."

Philips Presents Cooler by the Lake: Chicago Art 1965-1985

Phillips announced last month its first private selling exhibition dedicated to the artists that have come to define the Chicago art scene. Curated by gallerist Karen Lennox, Cooler by the Lake: Chicago Art 1965-1985 celebrates the vision and influence born from the artists of the Windy City during two of its most significant decades of creative output. Including works by Roger Brown, Miyoko Ito, Jim Nutt, and, Christina Ramberg, the exhibition brings together an extraordinary group in the new New York galleries at 432 Park Avenue, where the show will be on view through January 15.