Chicago’s historic Fine Arts Building (410 S. Michigan Avenue) is thrilled to announce Mayor Brandon Johnson has proclaimed Friday, October 13 as Fine Arts Building Day in Chicago “in recognition of [its] milestone 125th anniversary” and to “encourage all residents to support this historic landmark.”
The full Mayoral Proclamation is available at fineartsbuilding.com/mayoral-proclamation.
The Fine Arts Building is hosting a free public celebration on October 13 from 5-9 p.m. that activates all ten floors of this Chicago Landmark, an artist haven since its founding in October 1898. Programming will include a free concert in the Studebaker Theater from Dr. Yulia Lipmanovich, a distinguished concert pianist and piano teacher based in the building, who will be recreating part of the original piano recital setlist that opened the Studebaker 125 years ago. Advance registration for the 7:30 p.m. concert is recommended by visiting fineartsbuilding.com/events/125.
Throughout the evening, guests will be able to meet the artists and craftspeople of the Fine Arts Building and learn about their work and the storied history of the building, while enjoying additional performances, artistic demonstrations, refreshments and hands-on creative activities. Programs range from music, puppetry and dance to open mic poetry, fine art and jewelry, illustrating the full range of artforms that fill the halls of the Fine Arts Building today.
Participating tenants and programming during the October 13 event include: 2nd Floor Art Gallery and artist Don Yang, Ann Pickett Studio and Gallery, portrait artist Lou Ann Burkhardt, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, Chicago Opera Theater, bookstore Exile in Bookville, Jazz Institute of Chicago, illustrator and editorial cartoonist Richard Laurent, Liederstube, pianist Dr. Yulia Lipmanovich, Monsieur Pamplemousse custom jewelry by Alex Agudo, Patrice Olsen Fine Art, Ossia Musical Forum and Press Here Studio.
Additionally, guests will be able to visit new historic exhibits Art Alone Endures and Staging Ground on the 5th Floor, which offer “windows into history,” sharing stories of the artists and companies that have called the Fine Arts Building home over the past 125 years. For more information on Fine Arts Building exhibits and programming, visit fineartsbuilding.com.
The Fine Arts Building is a home for art in all forms. From pioneers like Poetry magazine’s founding publisher Harriet Monroe, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz illustrator William W. Denslow, sculptor Lorado Taft and the Chicago Little Theatre, to the ongoing legacies of painters, musicians, booksellers, puppeteers, dancers, photographers and craftspeople who inhabit the building today, the Fine Arts Building is buzzing with more than a century of Chicago creativity and innovation. A Chicago Landmark since 1978, the building features original manually operated elevators, Art Nouveau murals from the late 19th century and the recently renovated Studebaker Theater, one of the city’s oldest and most significant live theatrical venues.