(February 1, 2021) Hyde Park Art Center, the renowned non-profit hub for contemporary art located on Chicago’s vibrant South Side, announces the Artists Run Chicago Fund, a new regranting initiative providing more than half a million dollars ($560,000) to support Chicago’s artist community. Taking place in two phases, the first will immediately grant awards of $8,000 to each of the 50 independent      artist-run spaces that participated in the Art Center’s popular 2020 exhibition, Artists Run Chicago 2.0 (ARC 2.0).  Later this month, Chicago artist-run spaces that did not participate in ARC 2.0 are invited to apply for 20 additional grants of $8,000. The Artists Run Chicago Fund initiative is being funded by an anonymous donor and is being fully administered by Hyde Park Art Center. 

Recipients of the first phase of the Artists Run Chicago Fund include 062, 4th Ward Project Space, 65Grand, ACRE Projects, Adds Donna, AMFM, Annas, Apparatus Projects, Bad At Sports, Blanc Gallery, boundary, Chicago Art Department, Chuquimarca, Cleaner Gallery + Projects, Clutch, Co-Prosperity Sphere/Public Media Institute, Comfort Station, Compound Yellow, D Gallery, Devening Projects, Document, Experimental Sound Studio, F4F, The Franklin, Heaven Gallery, Iceberg Projects, Ignition Project Space, Julius Caesar, Lawrence and Clark, LVL3, Mujeres Mutantes, Ohklahomo, The Nightingale Cinema, Practise, Prairie, Roman Susan, Roots & Culture, Rootwork Gallery, The Silver Room, Slow, The Suburban, Sweet Water Foundation, table, Terrain Exhibitions, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Trunk Show, TRQPITECA, VGA Gallery, Wedge Projects, and Western Pole.

“The Artists Run Chicago Fund presents a proud moment for Chicago,” said Allison Peters Quinn, Hyde Park Art Center Director of Exhibitions & Residency.  “In the city, artists freely share their resources, time, space, and ideas to create unforgettable experiences that unite people through art in their neighborhoods. This fund proves to artists that this city and its people value artists and the relentless work they do to make Chicago a place where art, experimentation, and community converge.”

Added Mark Jeffrey, founder of Ohklahomo and Artist Run Chicago 2.0 participant, “This extraordinary donation for artist-run spaces here in Chicago is unbelievable. Artists and community need resources right now to continue and to begin again. And as we enter this new year, this fund gives light and hope and allows for artist run spaces to reimagine and to create new communities and a new sense of belonging, inclusion and being together.  For this I am so grateful and so humbled.”

The second phase of the Artists Run Chicago Fund program will award 20 unrestricted $8,000 grants to artist-run spaces, collectives, and platforms from the Chicagoland area that were not included in the ARC 2.0 exhibitionand founded before 2020. The second phase of the grant will support experimental artist-led spaces and platforms with a particular focus on those that are run by artists who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), women, queer and/or with disabilities. Phase two will also expand the network of support that makes artist-driven projects thrive in Chicago. Applications for Artists Run Chicago Fund grants will be available starting March 1, with a submission deadline of March 31, 2021; for more information, please visit https://www.hydeparkart.org/get-involved/artist-opportunities/artists-run-chicago-fund

About the Hyde Park Art Center

Hyde Park Art Center, at 5020 South Cornell Avenue on Chicago’s vibrant South Side, is a hub for contemporary arts in Chicago, serving as a gathering and production space for artists and the broader community to cultivate ideas, impact social change, and connect with new networks. Since its inception in 1939, Hyde Park Art Center has grown from a small collective of quirky artists to establishing a strong legacy of innovative development and emerging as a unique Chicago arts institution with social impact. The Art Center functions as an amplifier for today and tomorrow’s creative voices, providing the space to cultivate and create new work and connections.

For more information about Hyde Park Art Center and the Artists Run Chicago Fund, please visit  https://www.hydeparkart.org/