Centennial

This year the Renaissance Society reaches our 100th anniversary. What began in 1915 as a group of University of Chicago academics has since grown into a rigorous platform for risk-taking, boundary-pushing contemporary art. The original intentions of the Renaissance Society still ring true: to present art that engages with key questions of our times, to support ambitious artistic experimentation, and to provide a rich interdisciplinary context for discovering and discussing contemporary art.

Our centennial anniversary presents a critical opportunity to make new meaning of the institution’s past and to imagine possible futures. From September 2015 to January 2016, we present a multifaceted program that brings the Renaissance Society’s strengths to the fore: supporting artists’ ideas, commissioning new work, and shedding new light on established practices; presenting multidisciplinary programs that bring together art, poetry, and music; and hosting important conversations on the key questions institutions and practitioners face in making and presenting art today. See below for links to related exhibitions and events.

A key component of the Centennial program is a major scholarly publication to be published in autumn 2015. This book situates the institution as a force in the development of the visual arts on an international scale, featuring newly commissioned essays that consider the Renaissance Society from a variety of historical, cultural, and theoretical vantage points. Contributors include: Davarian L. Baldwin, Susan Bielstein, Bruce Jenkins, Pamela Lee, Nina Möntmann, Liesl Olson, R.H. Quaytman, Anne Rorimer, and Aoibheann Sweeney.

Note: We regret that Ian Wilson’s Discussions, originally scheduled for October 1 and 4, have been postponed until Spring 2016.