Chicago will lose a cultural institution as the DePaul Art Museum is set to close after nearly 15 years in Lincoln Park.
This difficult decision was announced last week by DePaul University President Robert L. Manuel.
As part of our responsibility to ensure long-term financial sustainability for our university, we are continuing to engage in ongoing budget planning discussions. As part of this review, we have made the difficult decision to stop operations at the DePaul Art Museum at the end of this academic year, effective June 30, 2026.
Since opening its current location in 2011, the museum has showcased the works of over 600 Chicago-based and underrepresented artists.
The announcement has sparked a strong backlash from the community, with faculty members from DePaul’s art history and philosophy departments penning an open letter condemning the closure.
Leaving aside the Orwellian invitation to ‘re-imagine’ the arts by closing the building that houses them, it seems those making the decision must not fully understand the multifaceted and widespread value that the DePaul Art Museum (DPAM) provides to our academic community. We submit this open letter for your consideration in an attempt to make that value evident, it reads.
DPAM was originally founded in 1985 and moved to its current location on Fullerton Ave in 2011, with a mission to highlight local artists and voices that have been historically underrepresented in museums.
Located just steps from the Fullerton Red Line station, the museum also served as an interdisciplinary classroom for DePaul University students and a cultural hub for the Lincoln Park community.
Before the museum closes, visitors will have a final opportunity to view two exhibitions: “Barbara Nessim: My Compass Is the Line,” the artist’s solo debut in Chicago, and “Alice Tippit: Rose Obsolete,” her first solo exhibition in a museum.