Esmaa Mohamoud and Chanelle Lacy: The Art World Agitators Driving Chicago’s Creative Renaissance

Ashleigh Kane, DAZED, June 2, 2023

Dazed Magazine — ChetLo

 

Chicago’s art scene came out as a collective force for EXPO Chicago to claim its status as a formidable player on the international art stage

 

It’s clear there’s no shortage of people pushing the Chicago scene into a bright future – and EXPO is its moment to show off just how strong its community has become. For Lacy, EXO has helped the city prove it’s back to being a contender on the world’s art stage. “The temptation of comparison has also always been there,” she says. The city is no longer in the shadow of its coastal contemporaries: LA, Miami, and New York City; it’s forged forward with its own identity, attracting people from all around the world to take a piece of its magic with them.

 

“EXPO’s programming is wonderfully inclusive and taps into various artistic communities within the city, so it feels like you are getting the full experience of Chicago’s art scene,” says Chanelle Lacy, Director of Kavi Gupta, a gallery championing diverse and underrepresented artists for more than 20 years. “Sometimes that means driving to the South Side – an area that gets vilified in the media but is full of beautiful, creative energy and vital players within the city! I don’t see as many fairs pushing their audience in that same bold way.” 

 

“Galleries, Artist, Collectors, are no longer looking outside of the city for validation or the ‘next big thing’ in an attempt to assert our revlevancy. We are the next best” –  Chanelle Lacy

 

This boldness runs through the city’s DNA. Chicago’s cost of living is around 36 per cent lower than New York’s, so there’s less risk for artists experimenting beyond what sells. “We have a unique level of freedom to think outside of the box because we don’t have the same pressures as New York and LA,” continues Lacy. “This freedom allows us to present expansive and experimental programming that reverberates differently when encountered and participated in.”

 

 

 
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