Announcing the exhibition “Opening Passages: Photographers Respond to Chicago and Paris”
Afpa, électricien (electrician) from the series Territoire-Travail (Territory-Work), 2018, © Gilberto Güiza-Rojas
May 4 – August 25, 2024
Chicago, April 4, 2024 – Villa Albertine today announced Opening Passages: Photographers Respond to Chicago and Paris, a multi-site exhibition featuring installations in non-traditional venues and community spaces across the city: the Chicago Cultural Center (Loop), 6018|North (Edgewater), BUILD Chicago (Austin), and Experimental Station (Woodlawn). Opening May 4, the exhibition showcases ten photographers—five American, five French—whose work explores the dynamic social landscapes of Chicago and Paris.
Today, the two sister cities are undergoing very similar processes of redefining their urban plans and futures. The unique perspectives of the 10 participating photographers, whether documentary or poetic, weave a new understanding of the issues and identities specific to each metropolis.
Opening Passages is produced by Villa Albertine, the arts institution based in 10 US cities that supports cultural exchanges between the US, France and beyond. Villa Albertine produces major public events, offers residencies and grants for artists, thinkers, and creators across all disciplines, and publishes the magazine States. This exhibition is part of Art Design Chicago, a citywide collaboration initiated by the Terra Foundation for American Art that highlights the city’s artistic heritage and creative communities. The exhibition is curated by Carl Fuldner.
The artists
United-States : Marzena Abrahamik, Jonathan Michael Castillo, zakkiyyah najeebah dumas-o’neal, Tonika Lewis Johnson, and Sasha Phyars-Burgess.
France: Gilberto Güiza-Rojas, Karim Kal, Assia Labbas, Marion Poussier, and Rebecca Topakian
Each American photographer selected for this project received creative grants or a residency in France through Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation, with Ateliers Médicis. The French photographers were selected from among the laureates of the Regards du Grand Paris national photographic commission.
The exhibitions
The Chicago Cultural Center, May 4 to August 25 | Main exhibition, featuring all 10 photographers
6018 North, May 4 to June 15 | Works from five artists on the theme of immigration through the notions of work, diaspora and borders.
BUILD Chicago, April 29 to May 10 | Works by Sasha Phyars-Burgess and Karim Kal on marginalized communities.
Experimental Station, May 4 to July 31 | Works from three artists on the on the relationship between center and periphery, and each individual’s connection to public spaces.
A signature feature of this multi-site exhibition is that each installation is curated to directly resonate with the neighborhood where it’s being shown, with reflections on urban divisions, cultural identity, immigrant experiences, waterfronts and green spaces, and the built environment. The exhibition centers stories from the margins, forming a visual collage of life within these two global cities.
Read more about each artist, and explore the schedule of special events, here.
Opening Passages: Artists Respond to Chicago and Paris is organized by Villa Albertine in Chicago, curated by Carl Fuldner in association with Pascal Beausse from the Centre national des arts plastiques and Clément Postec from the Ateliers Médicis. It is supported by the Terra Foundation for the American Arts, Albertine Foundation chapter in Chicago, the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Chicago, the Institut Français, the Alliance française de Chicago and the France Chicago Center at the University of Chicago.
