DCASE Commissioner Clineé Hedspeth described her department’s proposed budget as a boost, which is needed to support artists and keep up with the rising costs of large-scale events.City of Chicago YouTube

Will Chicago arts see a boost next year from City Hall? Numbers tell mixed story

Amid big questions about how to sustain creative industries in a post-COVID, inflationary economy, Chicago’s proposed cultural budget for 2025 is under close scrutiny by some arts advocates.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2025 budget calls for about $73 million for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) for next year. Last fall, City Council approved more than $84 million for the department. However, fewer grants than forecasted came in, according to the city’s budget department, so DCASE actually received about $66 million, according to this year’s budget documents.

Via WBEZ

Image by Clare Britt

Art Institute of Chicago Announces Eric Lefkofsky as New Chair of the Board of Trustees

The Art Institute of Chicago announced on Nov 12 the election of Eric Lefkofsky as the organization’s new chair of the Board of Trustees. Lefkofsky will succeed Denise Gardner as the leader of the board, the governing body for both the Art Institute of Chicago museum and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).

Via Arctic.edu

Chicago in Living Color: Photography Book Focuses on Chicago From a European’s Point-of-View

A native of Spain, Judit Prat Marti was a newcomer to Chicago in early 2020. She moved here to accept a fellowship in the University of Chicago’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Three months later, the pandemic struck – and Prat Marti shifted her focus from the cosmos to the city.

She took photography classes and explored Chicago with a camera. She built a body of work taking photos of overlooked nooks of the city, embracing the finer points of her temporary home.

Now this scholar of cosmology is a photographer with a new book, published by Chicago’s Trope Publishing Company.

Via WTTW