Ground Floor—so named because it provides a crucial platform for emerging artists and fills the entire lower level of the Art Center—is an ongoing biennial project. Based on nominations by respected members of the art community, the Art Center’s Exhibitions Committee of artists, and curators select work by outstanding recent graduates from each of Chicago’s Masters of Fine Art programs: Columbia College Chicago, Northwestern University, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, The University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The exhibition brings together work by Chicago’s most promising emerging talent, offering a single destination to see work by diverse artists that deserve to be supported.

Twenty artists have been selected by the Exhibitions Committee to be included in this year’s biennial exhibition, Ground Floor:

Seomy Ahn, Dabin Ahn, Kayla Anderson, Cecilia Beaven, Leticia Bernaus, Stella Brown, Jonathan Castillo, Atefeh Farajolahzadeh, Efrat Hakimi, Joshua Kent, Percy Lam, Jessica Martin, Jordan Putt, Daisy Schultz, Forrest Simmons, Bun Stout, Paige Taul, Tamara Valdez, Terence Wong, Qianwen Yu

Since 2010, Ground Floor has brought together work by Chicago’s most promising emergent talent. The exhibition offers a single destination to discover artists who have recently graduated (in 2019 and 2020) from one of Chicago’s five outstanding MFA programs and whose work demands to be seen and supported. Ground Floor will be on view at Hyde Park Art Center from December 6, 2020 until February 28, 2021.

The 2020 Ground Floor exhibition is the sixth iteration of this biennial exhibition at the Art Center.