The Driehaus Museum, centrally located at 40 E. Erie Street just steps off the Magnificent Mile shopping and cultural district, puts its own ‘gilded’ spin on the holiday season with “Drie-cember,” a new month-long celebration of weekend programs and holiday concerts for the entire family to enjoy. “Drie-cember” kicks off with the opening of Glass to Garden: Tiffany Inspired Floral Designs, a temporary exhibition of contemporary floral creations in four rooms of the historic Gilded Age mansion, curated by HBO Max “Full Bloom” judge Elizabeth Cronin and created by emerging Chicago floral designers. Festivities continue with weekly Saturday afternoon pop up concerts celebrating each of the holidays—Christmas, Hanukkah, St. Lucia Day, and Kwanzaa—that are enjoyed by Chicagoans throughout the month, as well as a festive Trunk Show with a lively selection of vendors and curated items from the Museum Store, December 16.
Holidays at the Driehaus Museum, Courtesy the Driehaus Museum
Executive Director Lisa Key says, “The Museum truly sparkles during the holiday season, and we welcome families across Chicagoland to come in from the cold and enjoy our festive programs as they celebrate the holidays downtown this month. With our pop-up holiday concerts, our Museum Store filled to the brim with great gift ideas, and exciting new work from contemporary artists, we are opening our doors even wider and inviting visitors of all ages and neighborhoods to come together at the Driehaus Museum this season.”
Exhibition: Glass to Garden: Tiffany Inspired Floral Designs
Friday, December 1, 2023 to January 7, 2024
Glass to Garden: Tiffany Inspired Floral Designs is an exhibition showcasing newly commissioned floral design installations from four local floral designers in dialogue with the Driehaus works of Louis Comfort Tiffany and Tiffany Studios. The exhibition is curated by Elizabeth Cronin, the founder and Creative Director of Chicago’s Asrai Garden—and widely known as one of the judges on HBO Max’s competition program, “Full Bloom”— who has selected and worked closely with each of the florists to create works inspired by the Tiffany pieces they in turn chose. The floral designers participating in the exhibition are Angelica Rivera Varela from Semillas Plant Studio; John Caleb Pendleton from Planks & Pistils; Taylor Amilas Bates from Dusk Lily Floral; and Serena Madrigal from Espinas. This diverse group of emerging designers will draw on their own backgrounds as further sources of inspiration for their designs.
Santa Saturday
Saturday, December 2
8:45 AM- 2:00 PM
Tickets: $25 adults, $13 youth 17 and under
Join Santa in our Front Parlor, share your Christmas wish list, and take selfies with jolly old St. Nick. This magical, family-friendly event will fill up fast so make sure to book early.
Drie-cember Holiday Pop-Up Concerts
Celebrate all of December's light-filled holidays with a series of pop-up concerts at the Museum. Free with admission.
· Caroling with the St. James Youth Choir
Saturday, December 2
4:00 - 4:45PM
· Hanukkah Songs with the Music Institute of Chicago
Saturday, December 9
4:00 - 4:45PM
· St. Lucia Day Songs with the Swedish American Museum
Saturday, December 16
4:00 - 4:45PM
· Kwanzaa Celebration with the African American Museum of Performing Arts
Thursday, December 21
4:00 - 4:45PM
Driehaus Museum Store Trunk Show
Saturday, December 16
11:00 AM - 2:00PM
Free with admission
The Trunk Show will feature a curated selection of unique vendors selling vintage jewelry, clothing, and other treats and treasures.
Visitor Information
Due to the renovation of the Murphy Auditorium, the Museum elevator to the 2nd and 3rd floors is closed. The First Floor remains accessible.
About the Driehaus Museum
The Driehaus Museum engages and inspires the global community through exploration and ongoing conversations in art, architecture, and design of the late ninseteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its permanent collection and temporary exhibitions are presented in an immersive experience within the restored Samuel Mayo Nickerson Mansion, completed in 1883, at the height of the Gilded Age, and the soon-to-reopen Murphy Auditorium, built in 1926. The Museum’s collection reflects and is inspired by the collecting interests, vision, and focus of its founder, the late Richard H. Driehaus. For more information, visit driehausmuseum.org and connect with the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.