(Chicago, IL - January 18, 2018) The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, in its fifth year as a hub for the vibrant arts scene at the University of Chicago and on the South Side of Chicago, has been awarded a $100,000 grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in support of the 2018-2019 Logan Center Exhibitions program. This level of financial support recognizes the program’s impact and promising future under the direction of Yesomi Umolu, Logan Center Exhibitions Curator.
 
The Andy Warhol Foundation grants are highly sought-after, and focus on serving the needs of artists by funding the institutions that support them. In Fall 2017, the Andy Warhol Foundation awarded over $4 million to 48 organizations to support scholarly exhibitions, publications, artist residencies, new commissions, and other visual arts programming. The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts is one of five Chicago institutions—including the the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Artists Coalition (CAC), Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), and the Museum of Contemporary Photography of Columbia College—to receive this prestigious grant.
 
“We are thrilled that Logan Center Exhibitions is among a stellar group of grantees recognized by the Andy Warhol Foundation for their contribution to the field of contemporary art nationally,” said Umolu. “With this support, we are poised to continue exploring groundbreaking artistic ideas, interdisciplinary collaborations, and critical conversations with artists and our communities at the Logan Center and on Chicago’s South Side.”
 
The Andy Warhol Foundation grant will support several Logan Center Exhibitions initiatives: the production of new work by artists for career-elevating solo exhibitions; short term residencies for artists to provide them access to the Logan Center’s facilities and networks, as well as resources at the University of Chicago; and the production of exhibition-related publications. The grant will also support the robust series of talks and workshops that accompany exhibitions.
 
Since taking the helm of the exhibitions program in 2015, Umolu has organized a number of critically-acclaimed exhibitions, such as Cinthia Marcelle and Tiago Mata Machado: Divine Violence (2017), Kapwani Kiwanga: The sum and its parts (2017), Larry Achiampong: OPEN SEASON (2016), and So-called Utopias (2015). Umolu was also recently awarded a curatorial fellowship by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the multiyear research project, public program, and online platform The Ties that Bind: Waves of Pan-Africanism in Contemporary Art and Society.
 
“Since opening five years ago, the Logan Center for the Arts and Logan Center Exhibitions has been committed to supporting a dynamic group of artists whose work inspires discovery. I am thankful to the Warhol Foundation for supporting our ongoing work with an incredible group of international contemporary artists who are committed to creating work that engages our students, faculty and the many communities of Chicago,” said Bill Michel, Executive Director of UChicago Arts and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.
 
Highlights of the program that the Andy Warhol Foundation grant will support include the 2018 exhibition Mike Cloud: The Myth of Education, presenting a suite of new and existing works by the critically acclaimed Brooklyn-based artist Mike Cloud; the residency of visual artist Karthik Pandian and choreographer Andros Zins-Browne exploring ideas of architecture, movement, and migration, which will culminate in the 2019 exhibition Karthik Pandian and Andros Zins-Browne: ATLAS UNLIMITED; a solo exhibition of sculptural work by LA-based artist Candice Lin considering historical and contemporary formations of gender, race and sexuality; a solo exhibition by Mexico City-born and Berlin-based artist Mariana Castillo Deball; and an exhibition related to Umolu’s research on pan-Africanism.
 
“Our 2018-2019 program is firmly rooted in artists’ reflections on some of the pressing concerns of contemporary society, with a strong understanding of historical precedents,” said Umolu. “We are excited about the conversations we are having with artists about their work. Thanks to the support of the Andy Warhol Foundation, we will be able to deepen the reach and impact of these compelling projects.”
 

More information about Logan Center Exhibitions and its programs is available at arts.chicago.edu/logan/gallery. 

ABOUT YESOMI UMOLU, LOGAN CENTER EXHIBITIONS CURATOR
Yesomi Umolu is Exhibitions Curator at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, where she oversees a program of international contemporary art in the Logan Center Gallery and throughout the multidisciplinary art center. In addition to her curatorial role, Umolu also holds the position of Lecturer in the Humanities Division. Specializing in global contemporary art and spatial practices, Umolu recently curated Cinthia Marcelle and Tiago Mata Machado: Divine Violence (2017), Kapwani Kiwanga: The sum and its parts (2017) and So-called Utopias (2015) at the Logan Center Gallery. Prior to joining the Logan, Umolu was Assistant Curator at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at MSU where she curated Material Effects: Contemporary Art from West Africa and the Diaspora (2015), John Akomfrah: Imaginary Possessions (2014) and The Land Grant: Forest Law (2014). Umolu was previously Curatorial Fellow for Visual Arts at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis where she curated The Museum of Non Participation: The New Deal (2013). She also held curatorial positions at the European biennial of contemporary art Manifesta 8, region of Murcia, Spain and the Serpentine Gallery, London. She has also contributed to programming at Iniva and Tate Modern, London. Her writing has appeared in numerous catalogues and journals, including Art in America, Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism, the Studio Museum in Harlem’s Studio magazine and African Arts. Umolu received an MA with honors in Architectural Design from the University of Edinburgh and an MA with Distinction in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art, London. She is a 2016 recipient of an Andy Warhol Foundation Curatorial Fellowship. Umolu is a member of the board of trustees of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago.

ABOUT LOGAN CENTER EXHIBITIONS
Logan Center Exhibitions presents international contemporary art programming at the Logan Center Gallery and throughout the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago. Reflecting the spirit of inquiry at the university, Logan Center Exhibitions focuses on open, collaborative and process-based approaches to cultural production. Working closely with artists, students, scholars and community members, Logan Center Exhibitions presents innovative exhibitions by emerging and established artists; supports ambitious new commissions and research projects; disseminates knowledge through publications; and facilitates connections through talks and other public programs.

ABOUT THE REVA AND DAVID LOGAN CENTER FOR THE ARTS
The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts advances arts practice, inquiry, and presentation at the University of Chicago, and fosters meaningful collaboration and cultural engagement at the University, on the South Side, and in the city of Chicago. The Logan Center is an innovative hub for arts education for UChicago students and Chicago-land students and families, a platform to showcase today’s most innovative creators across all media, and a locus for impactful and collaborative artistic projects with partners in nearby South Side communities and across Chicago.