As part of its mission to make visual contemporary art more accessible to the general public, the Hyde Park Art Center offers an array of FREE events and programs. Check out below to see pictures and descriptions of some of our regular and past events.
Creative Events
Cocktails and Clay
Every 2nd Friday of the month; 8pm-12am midnight
Think of it as happy hour meets playing in the mud. Cocktails and Clay combines the best of our ceramics classes and exhibitions. You can take a 45 minute clay session back in our School and Studios, sip cocktails from the bar*, or just chill out to the sounds of our live DJ. All the exhibitions stay open all night long for you to peruse.
*Bar sponsored by Chant restaurant
Second Sunday
Every 2nd Sunday of the month; 1-4pm
An opportunity for the whole family to get creative. Second Sunday features FREE job-in, take-home art making workshops, scavenger hunts, and other fun activities. Children of all ages are welcome.
Open Crit
The Open Crit program asks what is the critical discourse surrounding your work, and how does your work relate to that discourse or not? Designed to be useful for artists who really want to progress to the next level in their career, each artist will have up to 30 minutes of dedicated discussion with our co-facilitators and the audience. The session provides critical response to actual works brought in for the evening. This is an opportunity to get real honest feedback, a chance to become part of the critical artistic discourse, and definitely not for the squeamish!
For more information on Open Crit, visit our 4833rph page.
Talks with the Artist
Ever want to meet the artist who created the work you see in our galleries? Here’s your chance. Each exhibitions features and artist talk where you can meet artist behind the art. It’s your chance to ask questions about how the work was created, the artist’s vision, and the techniques they used to create their work.
For more information on artists talks, visit our exhibitions page.
Special Events
Studio Chicago
Studio Chicago is a yearlong collaborative project that focuses on the artist’s studio. Through exhibitions, talks, publications, tours, and research, participating organizations will celebrate the working artist and reveal their sites of creative production from historical and contemporary perspectives. With concepts ranging from the “studio as muse,” “virtual studios,” “street as studio,” and “gallery as studio,” Studio Chicago invites participation from artists and the art-curious.
Hyde Park Art Center Studio Chicago Events include:
- Artists Run Chicago Digest book release
- Open Crit
- Artists Run Spaces Tour