Where the Future Came From
November 1, 2018 - February 15, 2019
Reception: November 2, 5-7 p.m.
Where the Future Came From focuses on the role of feminist artist-run activities in Chicago from the late 19th century to the present. This program will consist of a symposium, an exhibition that is an open participatory research lab, and a series of programs, all of which will be documented through a publication. Chicago has a deep history of artist-run activities. These projects are self-propelled programs that have been the lifeblood of Chicago’s contemporary art scene. In fact, many nationally and internationally recognized artists cut their teeth in such spaces. Where the Future Came From seeks to contextualize the role of feminism within that history and expand beyond work previously explored.
The history of artist-run projects in Chicago is one that often lives in the memories of the people who ran and experienced the projects that exist as footnotes on a cv, exhibition history, or small publication attached to any given artist’s career. This creates an anti-hierarchical platform to engage within the history of artist-run spaces, and the programs in Where the Future Came From will reflect that egalitarian process by employing artists, viewers, and art historians as experts based on their experience with any given project.
Where the Future Came From is organized and curated by Meg Duguid, Director of Exhibitions for Columbia College Chicago’s Department of Exhibitions, Performance, and Student Spaces (DEPS).
Exhibition Contact: MarkPorter/mporter@colum.edu/312-369-6643
Gallery Hours: Monday, Tuesday and Friday 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Wednesday and Thursday 9 a.m.- 7 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, Closed
Related Programming:
(Click here for more programming details)
Where the Future Came From Symposium
Keynote Conversation: Thursday, November 1, 5:30-8 p.m.
Discussions: Friday, November 2, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
This symposium will kick off with a keynote conversation bringing together Lynne Warren, Adjunct Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Courtney Fink, Director, Common Field, to discuss feminism, the artist-run, and money. This will be followed by a day-long program featuring presentations by Estelle Carol of Chicago Women's Graphics Collective, Arlene Turner-Crawford of Sapphire & Crystals, Mary Ellen Croteau of SisterSerpents, and Beate Minkovski of Woman Made Gallery, as well as a panel discussion with members of current feminist artist-run projects including panelists Gloria
November 8, 2018, 5-7 p.m.
Imagining a New Women's Liberation Movement One Zine at a Time
Led by Rana Liu and Willa Goettling
November 14, 2018, 5:30-7 p.m.
Women with the World at their Feet? Representing Women at Chicago World’s Fairs
Presented by TJ Boisseau, Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program, Purdue University
December 6, 2018, 5:30–7 p.m.
Rooms of
Presented by Joanna Gardner-Huggett
December 11, 2018, 5:30–7 p.m.
Women’s Work at Hull-House and Beyond: The Feminist Agenda through Arts and Crafts
Presented by Melissa Potter and Jennifer Scott
January 24, 2019, 5:30-7PM
Fighting as Form: Building Community on the Lower West Side
Presented by Nicole Marroquin
February 7, 2019, 5:30–7 p.m.
Women in the Alcoves: On Alice Browning, Dr. Margaret Burroughs, and the Women of The Catalyst
Presented by Tempestt Hazel
January 25 and February 15, 2019, 12-3PM
Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon
March 14, 2019, 5:30–7 p.m.
Feminism in Your Face: Public Art Resistance?
Presented by Neysa Page-Lieberman
This project is part of Art Design Chicago, an initiative of the Terra Foundation for American Art exploring Chicago’s art and design legacy, with presenting partner The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. Where the Future Came From is funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art and partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
