A professional development program for artists who are ready to raise their practice to the next level, The Center Program offers the unique opportunity to develop new work, receive feedback from art professionals in the field, and work towards an exhibition at the Art Center. Over the course of eight months, a supportive peer network, guest artists, gallerists, critics, and professionals pushed 20 Center Program artists to answer tough questions and evolve their practice. Guest curated by writer, curator, and art administrator, Teresa Silva, the exhibition introduces new work that often determines bold new directions for local artists.

For the 2025 edition of the Center Program, the cohort focuses on Mutuality as the guiding principle for discussion and discourse toward new works. Defining mutuality as “demonstrating mutual care and interest as artists and people.” This core value of mutuality challenges Center Program artists, as people living in the United States, to think about how intentions, works, and practices impact our world.

Featured Artists

Bethany Cordero, Amethyst Davis, Caitlyn Doran, Josué Esaú, Richard Gessert, Jalen Hamilton, Juan Molina Hernández, Amay Kataria, Millicent Kennedy, Deborah Kraft, Dawn Liddicoatt, Charlotte Mays, Kelly McKaig, Gabriel Moreno, Vida Sačić, Carlos Salazar-Lermont, Eugene I-Peng Tang, Carina Vargas-Nuñez, Frank Vega, and Katie Vota.

Teresa Silva is a writer, curator, and an art administrator. She is the Chicago co-director of the national artist-run cooperative, Tiger Strikes Asteroid. In 2020, Silva curated Luis A. Sahagun: Both Eagle and Serpent, the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition, at the Chicago Cultural Center. Other recent curated exhibitions were presented at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Mana Contemporary, and 6018North, with press featured in Art Papers, Bad at Sports, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Newcity Chicago, Sixty, and WBEZ 91.5. Her curated exhibitions have received support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Art Design Chicago, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Silva has won wide praise for her art leadership, having served in 2020 as a Visual Arts Panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts; and, lauded in 2019 and 2022 in Newcity’s Art 50: Chicago’s Visual Vanguard for her influence and contributions to the city’s art and culture. Previously, Silva was the Director of Exhibitions and Residencies and subsequently the Executive and Artistic Director at the Chicago Artists Coalition, from 2014-2022.

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Tags: Amay Kataria, Amethyst Davis, Bethany Cordero, Caitlyn Doran, Carina Vargas-Nunez, Carlos Salazar Lermont, Charlotte Mays, Chicago, Dawn Liddicoatt, Deborah Kraft, Eugene I-Peng Tang, Frank Vega, Gabriel Moreno, Hyde Park, Hyde Park Art Center, Jalen Hamilton, Josué Esaú, Juan Molina Hernandez, Katie Vota, Kelly McKaig, millicent kennedy, Mutuality: The Center Program Biennial Exhibition, Richard Gessert, Teresa Silva, Vida Sacic