In 2019, the Driehaus Museum launched a pilot project under the title A Tale of Today. The project is comprised of two new initiatives. The first is a series of exhibitions that present work by leading contemporary artists to expand the immersive experience in art, architecture, design, and history of the Nickerson Mansion, the Museum’s home. The second offers allied programs tied to these contemporary exhibitions including a six-month Fellowship opportunity that creates an artistic community of established and emerging artists as well as museum and art professionals.
Now in its second pilot year, the Fellowship supports promising, emerging talent from Chicago’s art community through an unprecedented career-building opportunity to engage with the network and audience of the Driehaus Museum. The four Chicago-based ALAANA artists and designers along with Curatorial Fellow, Kekeli Sumah form a united cohort as they navigate this experience, guided by Museum staff.
The Fellowship is inspired by the many facets of the Nickerson Mansion, as an exemplary model for innovative achievement, a showcase of cutting-edge design, a reminder of the complex history of the Gilded Age, and an incubator for learning as art students were invited to study from the Nickerson’s extensive art collection and to utilize their art gallery as a place to develop and gain inspiration for their own work.
A series of meetings with art professionals, career counseling sessions, public programming experiences, and exhibition opportunities will culminate in a pop-up exhibition, featuring the Fellows’ work which has been inspired by their Fellowship experience, in association with EXPO CHICAGO in 2021.