Member Spotlight on the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts

Submitted by SuJ'n on September 1, 2015

For the month of September, GIA's photo banner features artistic work supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts in 2015. Founded in 1956, the Chicago-based foundation makes grants to individuals and organizations around the world for projects that advance new scholarship in the field of architecture, fuel creative experimentation and critical dialogue, and expand opportunities for public engagement with architecture and its role in contemporary society. For 59 years, it has been a prominent funder in the field of architecture.

The Graham Foundation is located in the landmark Madlener House, a turn-of-the-century Prairie-style mansion, which houses exhibition galleries, an architecture bookstore, an outdoor collection of architectural fragments, and a library of grantee publications.In addition to its role as a grantmaker, the Graham Foundation produces its own public programs, including exhibitions, talks, and performances, featuring architects, designers, artists, and curators whose work explores innovative and experimental approaches to the architecture and the built environment. Stephanie Whitlock, program officer, shares what the Graham Foundation is anticipating in the coming months:

This fall we are especially excited for the launch of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial, which begins its three-month run on October 3. The Graham Foundation is proud to be a Presenting Partner of the biennial with the City of Chicago. Titled The State of the Art of Architecture, the biennial invites over 100 emerging and established architectural practices from around the world to demonstrate how groundbreaking advances in architecture are tackling the most pressing issues of today.

In addition to featuring large-scale exhibitions, the biennial offers a range of public programs about architecture—film screenings, symposia, performances, tours—produced by over 60 cultural partners. As an official site of the biennial, the Graham Foundation will present the exhibition Barbara Kasten: Stages.

In the coming months, the Graham Foundation also anticipates the work of some of its 2015 grantees come to fruition. This includes a presentation by artist Michael Rakowitz in the 14th Istanbul Biennial, a traveling exhibition of work by architect Brad Cloepfil, and an installation at Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House by artists Mary Ellen Childs and Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle. Visitors will also enjoy the Art Institute of Chicago’s first major retrospective on architect David Adjaye, MoMA’s expansive exhibition on Toyo Ito, and the colorful translucent outdoor pavilion at Serpentine (London) created by Spanish architects selgascano before it comes down in mid-October. These are among the diverse and innovative projects in architecture, funded through over 110 grants totaling more than $990,000, being produced by Graham Foundation's individual and organizational grantees.

The Graham Foundation has been a member of GIA since 2010.

Learn more about the Graham Foundation and its grant programs.

Photo in post: Ultramoderne, Chicago Horizon, BP Prize Winner of the Chicago Lakefront Kiosk competition, 2015. Courtesy of Chicago Architecture Biennial.

You can also visit the photo gallery on our Photo Credits page.