Art Chicago regional outreach continued in 2009 with two wonderfully attended events in Kansas City and Detroit. Working in partnership with sponsor AXA Art Insurance, Art Chicago and sister fair NEXT convened notable representatives of Kansas City and Detroit’s visual arts community to discuss additional ways that our fairs can partner with and support the extraordinary arts programming and collections in their city.
Art Chicago is committed to serving not only the international arts community, but also the growing, vital collector bases rooted in our regional Midwest cities-- bases that are increasingly fueled by cutting edge institutions and thriving communities of working artists. To that end, the impetus for these events is bolstered by Art Chicago’s commitment to serving these cultural centers due to their relevance and importance to the international art market.
In Kansas City, Art Chicago/NEXT representatives Paul Morris, Tony Karman, Kavi Gupta and Christian Viveros-Faune met with dealers, collectors, senior level curators and administrators from the Kemper Museum, the Charlotte Street Foundation, Grand Arts and the Nerman Museum. In Detroit, Art Chicago and NEXT hosted members of the Detroit area arts community from MOCA Detroit, Detroit Institute of Art, the Cranbrook Museum of Art and Cranbrook Art Academy.
In Kansas City, notable attendees included Bruce Hartman, Director of the Nerman Museum; Chris Cook, Senior Curator, Kemper Museum; Raechell Smith, Director of H&R Block Artspace; David Hughes, Jr. and Kate Hackman of the Charlotte Street Foundation; Sherry Leedy of Sherry Leedy Fine Arts; and Stacy Switzer, Artistic Director of Grand Arts. Notable Kansas City collectors Tony Oppenheimer, Brad Nicholson, John and Sharon Hoffman and Phyllis Cohen were also in attendance.
In Detroit, special guests included Director of MOCA Detroit Luis Croquer, Chief Curator of Detroit Institute of Art Becky Hart, Director of the Cranbrook Museum of Art Gregory Wittkopp, Executive Director of the Cranbrook Art Academy Reed Kroloff, and collectors Maxine and Stuart Frankel as well as collector Burt Aaron.
Moving forward, plans are underway to visit Dallas and Houston.
