Neighborhood News: West Town’s Intuit Art Museum champions self-taught artists, diversity, inclusivity
Early in 2025, Intuit Art Museum held a grand re-opening at its West Town headquarters, 756 N. Milwaukee Avenue. Its $20 million dollar transformation provided a spacious, modern home for the “art of the underdogs,” as WBEZ has dubbed the 34-year old museum.
The museum’s mission is grounded in the ethos that the instinct to create is universal, and the arts must embrace, represent and be accessible to all.
Because of Intuit, Chicago is recognized worldwide as one of first places to represent these artists, as Chicago Gallery News noted recently.
As Chicago Gallery News described it, the extensive renovation expanded the museum to three floors over 18,000 square feet, unveiled four exhibition galleries; a dedicated education and art-making studio; a community gathering space to host performances, lectures and activities for visitors; a revamped gift store featuring an array of unique, fun and artist-made products; a reimagined Henry Darger Room, and physical upgrades to accommodate all guests, including a new passenger elevator, interior staircases, and an accessible and welcoming entryway.
History of “Art of the Underdogs”
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, as it was originally called, began in 1991, when a group calling itself the Society for Outsider, Intuitive and Visionary Art declared its mission “to celebrate artists who, for one reason or another, seem motivated by a unique personal vision and demonstrate little influence from the mainstream art world,” as reported by New City.
Intuit made its entrance into Chicago’s art scene with two exhibitions, featuring artists and perspectives now considered essential to the canon of ‘outsider’ or ‘self-taught art:’
- “From Chicago,” held in late September at Navy Pier, presented work by Henry Darger, Joseph Yoakum, William Dawson, Lee Godie and others.
- “Thrift Store Paintings,” which opened in early December, was a traveling show of secondhand art collected and curated by the L.A. artist Jim Shaw and hosted at Tony Fitzpatrick’s World Tattoo Gallery.
Today, as its website notes, Intuit Art Museum (IAM) champions the diverse voices of self-taught art. IAM collects and exhibits work by artists who often work outside the mainstream due to societal, economic, or geographic barriers that have prevented them from pursuing formal training in the arts. Yet, they have developed a sustained artistic practice.
At The Museum Now
Intuit Art Museum has a growing collection of work by self-taught artists, spanning the late 19th century to the present. Highlights include paintings by William Hawkins, Howard Finster and Minnie Evans; sculpture by Georgia Blizzard, Kevin Sampson and Dr. Charles Smith; gelatin silver prints by Eugene Von Bruenchenhein; and a sizable collection of works on paper by artists James Castle, Thornton Dial, Sr., Hiroyuki Doi, Martín Ramírez, Nellie Mae Rowe, Scottie Wilson, Purvis Young and more.
Catalyst: Im/migration and Self-Taught Art in Chicago is the first major exhibition to focus on the importance of immigration and migration in the genre of self-taught art. Featuring more than 75 works from local and national collections, the exhibition spotlights works by 22 artists in a range of media, including drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, printmaking, textiles, ceramics, woodcarving and installation. The artists include Carlos Barberena, born in Granada, Nicaragua, Isamu Guy Conners, born Tokyo, Japan, and María Enríquez de Allen, born Allende, Mexico.
The exhibition underscores the creative contributions of migrants and immigrants, broadening the scope to include artists deserving of greater attention, while posing questions about access to the art world and how art comes to be defined and valued.
Event: Open House Chicago This Weekend
This Saturday and Sunday, October 18–19, from 11am-5pm, Intuit Art Museum’s doors—along with 200+ sites across the city—will be open for a free weekend of architecture and community, as part of Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago.
Admission is free all weekend, making it the perfect time to discover everything IAM has to offer.
As an added bonus , their Center for Learning and Engagement (CLEO) offers an opportunity to contribute to a site-specific installation by Pooja Pittie and take part in hands-on activities designed by lead educator Joshua Willis.
Finally, don’t miss the new Learning Studio featuring artwork by IAM Teacher Fellows and @skyartnfp—and be sure to check out their new striking façade by Bob Faust.
Intuit Art Museum is open Wednesday-Sunday, 11am–6pm, and every ThirdThursday from 11am–8pm. Admission is $15, or free for members, those 24 and younger, and those unable to pay. For more information, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
