EXPO CHICAGO Moving From Traditional September Dates To April 2021
By Chadd Scott

EXPO CHICAGO will bypass its traditional September event dates and instead present its ninth edition April 8–11, 2021 at Navy Pier.

When did it become obvious to organizers that its originally scheduled September 24-27 dates were not feasible?

“It was really two-and-a-half weeks ago, in council with all the stakeholders–exhibitors, collectors, civic leaders, cultural leaders, our partners–there was still hope, but it was real clear that everyone recognized that there was no way we could present a fair in September with the health and wellness of our patrons and exhibitors in mind and make it successful,” President and Director of EXPO CHICAGO Tony Karman told Forbes.com on May 12, the day the decision was announced.

The decision to delay the event was unanimous.

“I don’t think anyone was bullheaded enough to say, ‘don’t listen, stay the course, we want to be there with you;’ I didn’t have to fight a wave of potential discontent about the decision ever,” Karman said. “Everyone wants to hope that we can get back to some normalcy yesterday, but outside of that hope, no one said to me, ‘this is not a good decision if you have to do this.’”

An international exposition of contemporary and modern art, EXPO CHICAGO hosted more than 135 leading exhibitors from around the world at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall in 2019.

EXPO CHICAGO presents a diverse schedule of programming including conversations with leading artists, curators and designers, on-site installations highlighting large-scale sculpture, film and site-specific work, major public art initiatives including work installed throughout Chicago Park District locations, and a curated selection of international artists with work displayed throughout the city’s digital billboard network.