Expo Chicago fair turns ten: dealers say low cost of living and greater freedom to experiment nurtures US city’s art scene

March 31, 2023

THE ART NEWSPAPER | By Carlie Porterfield | Chicago is benefiting from a new generation of innovative collectors and a rich cultural ecosystem

Along with the city’s prominent art universities—foremost among them the School of the Art Institute of Chicago—constantly bringing new cohorts of young artists into the local scene, and strong support from Chicago’s many major art institutions, the cultural ecosystem also benefits from a lower cost of living compared with other art hubs like New York and Los Angeles, according to John Corbett, who founded Corbett vs. Dempsey with Jim Dempsey in 2004.

“There’s more experimentation in Chicago, potentially where there’s less at stake in terms of what might push galleries to be more conservative. So those are all forces and factors that shape the reality of the art scene here,” Corbett says. Dealers say creatives working in Chicago’s art, music, architecture, drama and food industries often influence each other or experiment in other fields, which helps contribute to the city’s cross-disciplinary artistic flavour.

Read full article here.