Image: Jennifer Armetta, CAB Executive Director. Courtesy Chicago Architecture Biennial. Photo: Noah Sheldon.

By CGN Staff

Jennifer Armetta, a Chicago-based gallery owner, has just been named the new Executive Director of the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB).

Armetta is well-known in Chicago, since for three decades Armetta she has been actively working with artists, collectors and others in the art world. She founded her first gallery in Chicago in 1996, Jennifer Armetta Fine Art, before moving to Los Angeles in 2000, where she continued her work as an art advisor. In 2004, Armetta returning to Chicago. Around that time she served as one of the founding members of the MCA Chicago’s acquisition board, Emerge, which is dedicated to bringing emerging artists into the museum’s permanent collection.

In 2020 Armetta took on the role of Owner and Director of Aspect/Ratio Projects in Chicago, a gallery founded in 2012, by Jefferson Godard. Initially founded as a gallery focused on video art, Armetta oversaw the evolution of its programming to include emerging and mid-career, interdisciplinary artists focused on painting, photography and sculpture. In fall of 2021 Aspect/Ratio Projects changed its name to ENGAGE Projects, highlighting Jennifer’s personal mission of engaging with artists, communities and patrons in order to make art and its community more accessible to everyone.

Armetta maintains deep and long-standing ties to the civic, fine arts and business communities in Chicago. She holds a seat on a number of boards, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; the Chicago Artists Coalition; The Chicago History Museum Costume Council and Artists in Public Schools. 

As the Executive Director of CAB, Armetta will leverage her extensive and wide-ranging experience working in both the fine arts and corporate sectors as she spearheads fundraising and programming initiatives along with securing new corporate and public sponsorships. Each facet of her role will remain oriented towards both solidifying CAB’s international presence and expanding its impact on and contribution to the city of Chicago.

CAB 6 will be open to the public and on view from September 12, 2025 through February 28, 2026. The hub of the Biennial will once again be the Chicago Cultural Center, located in downtown Chicago.

To learn more about Jennifer's appointment, please visit CAB's website.