Studio Chicago

By Lauri Apple in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 26, 2009 9:40PM

What do you think of when you hear the words "artist's studio"? Maybe you imagine a small room stocked with tools of the trade, tucked away in a building in which other studios reside. But "artist's studio" can mean many things, from a corner of the cluttered table in one's tiny kitchen to a spare bedroom to a spacious loft in which one can make ginormous sculptures that cost a lot of money.

To celebrate our city's many creative spaces (and the artists who make work in them), the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs is partnering up with some of the city's top colleges, galleries and art spaces to produce Studio Chicago: a year-long initiative focusing on artists' studios. Columbia College, UIC's Gallery 400, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and threewalls will join DCA in putting on events and creating publications that pursue answers to questions such as "why do studios matter?" and "what does an artist need, infrastructure-wise, to maintain an arts practice?" The program's new website features an events calendar, "studio stories" about art spaces and production, and more. The DCA kicks off the program this Thursday at its next Artists at Work Forum.

Begins Thursday, October 29. 6 p.m. Artists at Work Forum, Millennium Park Room on the 5th floor of the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. A reception will follow at the nearby Hard Rock Hotel.