An update from the Renaissance Society

Dear members and friends,

In this uncertain time when we’re all facing unbelievable developments, the Renaissance Society team is wishing for the health and safety of everyone in our community. Like all museums and cultural organizations, the Ren is navigating difficult terrain. As much as ever, we are sustained and energized by our mission: an uncompromising commitment to artists and their ideas. At this moment we’re especially thankful for the strength of our board and staff, our partnership with the University of Chicago, and the dedication of our supporters like you. As we look ahead to more hopeful days, we also find grounding in the belief that art can speak to us in moments like these and offer ways of bringing us together, even from afar. 

For now, we wanted to share some updates and notes about what’s to come:

The Renaissance Society will be adapting our spring program and moving much of it online. For our upcoming exhibition by Miho Dohi, we will begin by presenting her work on our website starting April 18th. This presentation will be joined by a suite of new online content that will unfold over the following weeks. Look for a reading by poet Hoa Nguyen, a talk by writer and curator Shannon Stratton, and a night of live-streamed music in partnership with Experimental Sound Studio.

We will announce the details of this schedule in the days to come.

We know this is a deeply challenging time for so many people, including many artists and workers in the arts. Our staff and Board of Directors are working to do our part and we are honoring our spring artist fees as certain programs are postponed or reimagined. We are also compensating our temporary and part-time staff for installation and visitor services work to have been done in April.

Founded in 1915, the Ren has moved through some of America’s, and the world’s, most challenging economic, geopolitical, and cultural moments. This institution has endured on the very premise of “negotiating the ever-changing conditions for making art.”* We honor this intention every day, and we are inspired by our future encounters together.

Sincerely,

Jessica Cochran, Michael Harrison, Colleen Kelly, Bradley Lenz, Karsten Lund, Karen Reimer, Emily Schexnayder, and Pierre Sondeijker

And, the Renaissance Society Board of Directors: Raven Thomas Abdul-Aleem, Heiji Choy Black, Vanessa Copans, Marilyn Fields, Martin Friedman, Laura Front, Mirja Haffner, Glenn Holland, Jill Ingrassia-Zingales, Jennifer Keller, Randall Kroszner, Nancy Lerner, Ivan Moskowitz, Canice Prendergast, Neil Ross, Glen Saltzberg, Margaret Stone, Anne Van Wart, David Williams, Richard Wright

• Joe Scanlan in A History of the Renaissance Society: the First Seventy-Five Years, 1993