As part of the third annual Chicago Exhibition Weekend (CXW), ICI hosted two talks with some of Chicago's most innovative gallerists and arts organizers. To expand our understanding of Chicago's artistic legacies from multiple perspectives, these two talks aim to "zoom out" and "zoom in" on the themes brought up in the keystone exhibition of CXW: Over My Head: Encounters with Conceptual Art in a Flyover City, 1984-2015, which presented Chicago as a nerve center for post-conceptual art, foregrounding the histories of some of the city's great art dealers and the artists they championed.
Watch: Chicago Exhibition Weekend ICI Conversations
Featuring Monique Brinkman-Hill, Faheem Majeed, John Corbett, and Hamza Walker
On Nov 14, 2025
Chicago, IL, USA
The first conversation "zooms out" to build awareness of the artists that get left out of the gallery and dealer systems and asks: What institutions support these artists, and how do different communities and spaces in Chicago fit together to create and sustain the larger art ecosystem? This conversation centers around the South Side Community Art Center, as former Executive Director Faheem Majeed and current E.D. Monique Brinkman-Hill discuss the Center's historical role in supporting the careers of Black artists in Chicago and its evolution into the future.
A version of the video with ASL intepretation is available here.
The second conversation "zooms in" through the lens of a long-standing friendship between Hamza Walker (Director of The Brick) and John Corbett (co-owner of Corbett vs. Dempsey). Engaging with the exhibition Over My Head: Encounters with Conceptual Art in a Flyover City, 1984–2015, they discuss their experiences living through, and shaping, Chicago post-conceptual art, as well as the importance of our personal relationships in sustaining a city's larger cultural fabric.
A version of this video with ASL interpretation is available here.
Presenters
Monique Brinkman-Hill
Monique Brinkman-Hill is a seasoned financial leader renowned for her extensive Chicago business network, exceptional fundraising success, and strong community connections.
Faheem Majeed
Faheem Majeed (b. 1976) is an artist, curator, educator, and non-profit administrator whose work focuses on institutional critique and centers collaboration as a tool to engage communities in meaningful dialogue.
John Corbett
John Corbett is a writer, curator and gallerist based in Chicago.
Hamza Walker
Hamza Walker is the director of The Brick (formerly LAXART) a non-profit alternative art space in Los Angeles.
About Chicago Exhibition Weekend
Chicago Exhibition Weekend (CXW) is presented by EarlyWork, a community-building initiative founded by Abby Pucker and led by Chanelle Lacy that offers elevated cultural experiences and access to arts programming across the city of Chicago. The third CXW edition will convene over sixty participating galleries, artist-run spaces, museums, and cultural organizations, featuring citywide programming that reflects the depth and diversity of Chicago’s arts and culture ecosystem, and partnerships with the Chicago Art Book Fair and ICI.
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