2025 CENTER PROGRAM BIENNIEL APPLICATION
READY FOR MORE? The Center Program is Hyde Park Art Center’s capstone program for twenty (20) artists who are ready to move beyond studio courses into a new way of growing. The Center Program is the Art Center’s answer to critical gaps in traditional professional development programs, providing artists with access to space to develop studio practice, time to participate in critical dialogues, a network of peers, and access to guidance from professionals in the field. Finally, Center Program artists culminate their participation in the program by showcasing their work inside of the program exhibition.
2025 WILL FEATURE OUR 11th CENTER PROGRAM CLASS! The Center Program has a long history with over 200+ alumni. Now offered as a biennial program, Center Program is deeply aligned with the Art Center’s mission: developing artists at all levels in support of Chicago’s broader arts community. Past Partners have included 3Arts, Luminarts, Marwen, The University of Chicago Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies, UChicago’s Arts + Public Life, and the Center for the Study of Race, Politics & Culture. In addition to partnerships Center Program has worked with over 50 visiting professionals who provide guidance and feedback to artists in the program – visitors for 2025 Center Program will be announced at the first meeting in March of 2025. Click here to learn about past visitors and artist alumnae.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE: The Center Program centers around seminar meetings with visiting professionals which take place Monday evenings. The sessions include critical discussions around individual works, professional development discourse with visitors, as well as group works towards an exhibition curated by Program Curator Teresa Silva. Center Program artists meet in Spring of 2025 before taking summer off, and returning in Fall of 2025 to conclude seminars, before shifting to the curatorial and exhibition process, which culminates with the run of exhibition from December 10th, 2025 to March 22, 2026. ***Seminars meet on Monday evenings from 6-9pm and artists are encouraged to plan for food and drinks as needed, either eating before or bringing food with.*** Applicants are encouraged to consider all aspects of the program before applying, to ensure their full participation should they be accepted.
2025 CENTER PROGRAM GUIDING PRINCIPLE: Center Program is an intentional community that drives exploration, conversation, and connection for the purpose of artists developing their practice. For the 2025 edition of the Center Program, we will use a guiding principle of Mutuality to guide discussion and discourse towards new works and the program exhibition. We define mutuality as “demonstrating mutual care and interest as artists and people.” The guiding principle of Mutuality will challenge CP artists as people living in the United States, to think about how intentions, works, and practice impact our world.
The 2025 Center Program Bienniel will be led by Program Curator Teresa Silva! Teresa Silva is a writer, curator, and an art administrator. She is the Chicago co-director of the national artist-run cooperative, Tiger Strikes Asteroid. In 2020, Silva curated Luis A. Sahagun: Both Eagle and Serpent, the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition, at the Chicago Cultural Center. Other recent curated exhibitions were presented at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Mana Contemporary, and 6018North, with press featured in Art Papers, Bad at Sports, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Newcity Chicago, Sixty, and WBEZ 91.5. Her curated exhibitions have received support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Art Design Chicago, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Silva has won wide praise for her art leadership, having served in 2020 as a Visual Arts Panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts; and, lauded in 2019 and 2022 in Newcity’s Art 50: Chicago’s Visual Vanguard for her influence and contributions to the city’s art and culture.
CALENDAR TO CONSIDER: Center Program artists participate in 20 total seminars. Artists are expected to be at every session and required to be present for at least 75% (15 seminars) in order to show works in the program exhibition. Program seminars center around artist presentations made to the group of peers and visiting professionals. Spring Seminars run from March 3rd to June 23rd, 2025, and after breaking for the summer, Fall Seminars run from Sept 8th to November 17th, 2025. The Center Program final exhibition will be installed from November 24th to December 10th, span 3 galleries/entire first floor of our building, and run from December 12th, 2025 to March 22nd, 2026.
APPLICATION/PROGRAM TIMELINE: Please review the following timeline to ensure you are able to participate should you be accepted.
- December 31, 2024 – Center Program Applications Due
- February 3rd – All applicants are notified by this date
- March 3, 2025 – Spring seminars begin
- June 23, 2025 – Spring seminars end
- September 8, 2025 – Fall seminars begin
- November 17, 2025 – Fall seminars end
- November 24, 2025 – Exhibition install begins
- December 10, 2025 – Exhibition install ends
- December 12, 2025 – Exhibition opens
- March 22, 2026 – Close of Center Program exhibition
CENTER PROGRAM IS AN OPEN ARTS PROGRAM – meaning open tuition – Art for all! The creative learning community is one of Hyde Park Art Center’s biggest assets, and we believe that all people–no matter their economic status–should have access to it. The Art Center now offers all arts courses (150+ every year) in all media for all ages and skill levels in the Oakman Clinton School + Studios through Open Arts: a contribute-what-you-can tuition model. With Open Arts programs there is no minimum required tuition to participate. For Center Program artists who are accepted into the program, we ask that artists consider the suggested tuition ($1500) and contribute what they can. Open Arts was created to answer a need identified by our community. Sustaining Open Arts and the unique tuition model requires an investment to provide continual opportunities for current and future student artists. As such we invite Center Program artists to contribute what they can towards the Open Arts initiative, to help maintain equitable access to arts education in our community.
CLICK HERE FOR THE
CENTER PROGRAM
BIENNIEL APPLICATION
Professional Pathways is supported by the Kanter Family Foundation. If you have any questions about The Center Program or any other programs for working artists, please contact Director of Education Mike Nourse by email at mnourse@hydeparkart.org.
