CHICAGO, IL.- EXPO CHICAGO, The International Exposition of Modern & Contemporary Art, announces the return of EXPO ART WEEK, Sept. 11 – 17, 2017. With EXPO CHICAGO as the centerpiece (Sept. 13 – 17), the city’s most prestigious cultural institutions will highlight their unique programming and special events including museum exhibitions, gallery openings, artist talks, public art projects, open studios and outdoor installations. This citywide celebration of arts and culture will offer international art enthusiasts, collectors and curators opportunities to explore the thriving Chicago art and culture scene.

In addition, key cultural institutions and organizations will participate in the EXPO CHICAGO Special Exhibitions program, with more than 15 booths on the main floor of Festival Hall. New to the 2017 Special Exhibitions program is the Chicago Community Trust, presenting work by Faheem Majeed. In addition to Majeed’s installation, which features a similar configuration to the version used in his 2016 solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, curated artworks, performances and activations by Project Onward, SkyART, Gwendolyn Brooks Centennial Celebration and Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place in the booth during the exposition. The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum will also be exhibiting for the first time, in anticipation of Michigan Stories: Jim Shaw and Mike Kelley, opening at the MSU Broad in November 2017. For EXPO CHICAGO, the Bells Angels (Simon Bernheim and Julien Sirjacq) have produced original silkscreen prints for EXPO CHICAGO. Michigan Stories is the first exhibition to place these artists’ practice alongside each other in their historical context.

“The sixth edition of EXPO ART WEEK amplifies the many collaborations and alignments that are happening throughout Chicago during this important week surrounding the exposition,” said EXPO CHICAGO President | Director Tony Karman. “Being able to herald this extraordinary list of concurrent events and openings offers visitors and residents alike a comprehensive guide to both attend EXPO CHICAGO and explore Chicago’s rich cultural community.”

In its sixth year, EXPO CHICAGO and the Chicago Architecture Biennial (September 16–January 7, 2018) strategically align their openings during EXPO ART WEEK, establishing the city as a preeminent destination for global contemporary art and architecture. In addition, EXPO CHICAGO partners with the Palais de Tokyo in Paris for its first off-site exhibition program in the United States with the Institut français to kick off EXPO CHICAGO (public opening on Tuesday, September 12) at The Roundhouse at the DuSable Museum of African American History. Featuring 11 artists from the French and Chicago art scenes, the exhibition, entitled Singing Stones, will be on view through October 29, 2017.

Karman added, “Our alignment with the second Chicago Architectural Biennial and collaboration to present the Palais de Tokyo’s first U.S.-based, off-site exhibition as part of their global initiative with the Institut français, are significant highlights of EXPO ART WEEK. With all that is happening, Chicago in September is definitely the place to be for international collectors, curators, artists, architects and designers.”

In addition to external institutional partnerships during EXPO ART WEEK, the Special Exhibitions program features select regional, national and international non-profit institutions, museums, and organizations to be included on the main floor of the exposition. EXPO CHICAGO’s Special Exhibitions offer unique, high-quality installations, joining 135 leading galleries from around the world featured throughout Navy Pier’s iconic Festival Hall. Complementing the surrounding elements of the fair, this program illustrates and preserves the important relationship between contemporary and modern art and non-profit organizations.