Chicago Architecture Biennial

Program Partners for the 2017 edition
More than 100 regional, national and international partner organizations will contribute vital programming and events

chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org

The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) announces more than 100 Program Partner organizations that will present collateral events and exhibitions in Chicago, Illinois. Partner programming will coincide with the preview on September 14–15, 2017, and continue for the duration of the Biennial, from the opening weekend on September 16–17 through January 7, 2018.

The Biennial and its partners will explore Chicago’s rich historic legacy as an incubator of architectural ideas and showcase diverse cultural sites across the city and region through a range of programs that are available to the public. The city and its buildings will provide a space for international participants and visitors to explore the 2017 theme, Make New History, and to question how the past connects to the present, while also inspiring the future of art, architecture, and urban design.

“The Program Partners of the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial will further explore and examine the meaning of architecture today, and reflect and expand on the Biennial’s theme of ‘Make New History,’” said the 2017 Biennial Artistic Directors, Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, of the Los Angeles–based firm Johnston Marklee.

Todd Palmer, Executive Director of the 2017 Biennial, added, “The Biennial and its partners will leverage Chicago’s unique legacy to present compelling programming, events, and exhibitions which will highlight the Artistic Directors’ vision.”

"It's exciting that visitors to the Biennial and Chicago residents will be able to enjoy the architecture related programming throughout the entire city," said Mark Kelly, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. "Chicago's architectural history is embedded within every neighborhood and touches so many of our world-class cultural organizations and venues."

The opening of the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial will align with the sixth annual EXPO CHICAGO, the International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, which will run September 13–17, 2017, at Navy Pier.

A complete list of Biennial programming and special events will be available in the coming months at www.chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org. To learn more about the Program Partners, please visit their respective websites. 

The 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial Program Partners are presented below in alphabetical order. The Program Partner list (in formation) includes:

6018North / Adaptive Operations / AIA Chicago / AIA National / AIA Practice Management Knowledge Community / AIGA Chicago / Archeworks / Architecture & Design Society / Arquitectos, Inc / Art Institute of Chicago / Arts + Public Life / Arts Club of Chicago / Aspect/Ratio Gallery / Association of Architecture Organizations / Benjamin Marshall Society / Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation for Women / Block Museum / California College of the Arts / Canadian Centre for Architecture / Chicago Architectural Club / Chicago Architecture Foundation / Chicago Cultural Alliance / Chicago Design Museum / Chicago History Museum / Chicago Ideas Week / Chicago Loop Alliance / Chicago Park District—Culture, Arts & Nature / Chicago Public Library / Chicago Women in Architecture / Chinatown Public Library, Chicago / City of Chicago, DCASE, Year of Public Art / City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events / City of Chicago, Department of Planning and Development / Columbia Books on Architecture and the City / Columbia GSAPP (Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation) / Defibrillator Gallery / DePaul Art Museum / DePaul University Department of History of Art and Architecture / Design Evanston / DOCOMOMO_Chicago / DuSable Museum of African American History / Edgar Miller Legacy / Experimental Sound Studio / EXPO Chicago / Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Frank Lloyd Wright Trust / Friends of Historic Second Church / Gallery 400 at University of Illinois at Chicago / Garfield Park Conservatory / Glessner House Museum / Goethe-Institut / Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in Fine Arts / Harvard Graduate School of Design / Hong Kong Design Center / Hyde Park Art Center / Illiniois Humanities Council / IIT College of Architecture PhD Program / Institute for Public Architecture / Lampo / Landmarks Illinois / Logan Center Exhibitions / Mana Contemporary / MAS Context / Metropolitan Planning Council / Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP), IIT College of Architecture / Mies Society / Monique Meloche Gallery / Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago / National Museum of Mexican Art / National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture / National Public Housing Museum / Navy Pier, Inc. / Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society / Northwestern University Department of Art History / Palais de Tokyo / Pleasant Home Foundation / Preservation Chicago / Rebuild Foundation / Renaissance Society / Rhona Hoffman Gallery / Rootwork Gallery / Royal Institute of British Architects US Region / Ruth Page Center for the Arts / SC Johnson / School of Architecture at Taliesin / School of the Art Institute of Chicago / Sixty Inches from Center / Smart Museum of Art / Society of Architectural Historians / The Cliff Dwellers  / The Farnsworth House / The National Trust for Historic Preservation Annual Conference, PastForward / The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation / The Ruth Page Center for the Arts / Unity Temple Restoration Foundation / University of Chicago / University of Illinois Chicago School of Architecture / UW-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) / Van Alen Institute  / Volume Gallery / Workshop 4200

About the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial
The 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial will be open to the public and on view from September 16, 2017, through January 7, 2018. Press and professional previews will take place September 14 and 15. The opening of the 2017 Biennial will align with the sixth annual EXPO CHICAGO, the International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, which will run September 13–17 at Navy Pier. The hub of the 2017 Biennial will once again be the Chicago Cultural Center, located in downtown Chicago.

The manifestation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s vision for a major international architectural event and an outcome of the comprehensive cultural plan developed by Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events under the leadership of Michelle T. Boone, the inaugural 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial was presented through the support of BP, and in partnership with the City of Chicago and the Graham Foundation. Joseph Grima and Sarah Herda, Co-Artistic Directors, curated the 2015 Biennial, entitled The State of the Art of Architecture.

The Chicago Architecture Biennial’s mission is to provide a platform for groundbreaking architectural projects and spatial experiments that demonstrate how creativity and innovation can radically transform our lived experience. Through its constellation of exhibitions, full-scale installations, and programming, the Biennial invites the public to engage with and think about architecture in new and unexpected ways, and to take part in a global discussion on the future of the field.

Press and professional accreditation is now open. Please click here to apply.

Sponsors and Special Partners of the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial
The 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial is presented in partnership with the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and funded through private donations with lead support from SC Johnson, Presenting Sponsor; BP, Founding Sponsor; Marriott, Hotel Sponsor; and philanthropic support from The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

This year, the Chicago Architecture Biennial will align with EXPO CHICAGO (September 13–17, 2017) through a series of programs that establish the city as a preeminent destination for global contemporary architecture and art. The Biennial’s Signature Education Sponsor is the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

Media Partners
ArchDaily, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architectural Record, Architizer, artnet News, Cultured Magazine, designboom, and Metropolis. 

Media contacts

SUTTON
Julia Lukacher
julia [​at​] suttonpr.com / T +1 212 202 3402

FLEISHMANHILLARD
Emma Sheer
emma.sheer [​at​] fleishman.com / T +1 312 729 3687 / T +1 513 309 6688