December 2025
News | Exhibitions | Opportunities
Current Exhibitions
Little, but BOLD! 2025
CSI Project Space Gallery
Exhibit Dates: December 13, 2025 - January 30, 2026
Works from the exhibit remain available for purchase through the final day of the exhibition. The exhibition features affordable, small-scale sculptures that make thoughtful and distinctive holiday gifts, while offering collectors an accessible way to support contemporary sculptors. Click here to view works from the exhibit. To purchase work, please contact: projectspace@chicagosculpture.org
Little, but BOLD! is in celebration of all things unmonumental. Often flying under the radar, small things have the special ability to bridge private and public spaces. Within the sculpture field, there has been a projected narrative that bigger is better. We are here to assert that small things can hold the same importance as the largest monument.
Exhibiting Artists: Nikki Anderson, Nicole Beck, Sharon Bladholm, Donna Bliss, Wallace Bowling, Luyao Chang, Yidan Chen, Robert Craig, John D'Asto, Rea-Silvia Emmanouil, Darlys Ewoldt, Ladipo Famodu, Victoria Fuller, Spencer Gale, Gertah, Set Gozo, Carol Hammerman, Kyle Houseman, John Kurman, Kim Laurel, Beatriz Ledesma, Micki LeMieux, Marilyn Lucas, Angela McElwain, Michelle Meyer, Bill Mitchell, Brian E Monaghan, Frederick B. Napoli, Kathryn Parenti, Thomas Plum, Vaso Powers, Beverly Rautenberg, Gina Lee Robbins, Jacqueline Ropski, Nancy Lu Rosenheim, Zelene Jiang Schlosberg, Douglas Schuberth, Marvin Shafer, David Skora, Rich Stewart, Gunnar Theel, Nancy VanKanegan, Ryan Zoghlin
Location: CSI Project Space, 1912 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, IL (at the corner of Damen and Cortland)
Gallery hours: Fri. 2-6 pm*; Sat. 12–4 pm; Sun. 1-5 pm or by appointment
*Open until 8PM on the first Friday of every month.
Inquiries: projectspace@chicagosculpture.org
Member News
4 Women Artists at Space/900
Exhibition dates: December 19-21, 2025
Opening December 19, 5 - 8PM
Four Women artists present new works in painting silk, ceramics, collage, and jewelry. All of these unique and original treasures will be available for purchase.
Exhibition Artists: Joanna Alot, Roberta Ulrich-de Oliveira, Chris Thiel, and Lynn Floriano
SPACE 900, 816 Dempster St., Evanston, Illinois, 60202.
The following are not CSI-sponsored projects but may be of interest to our members:
St. Charles’ Sculpture in the Park 2026-2027
Call for Entries
The 20th Anniversary Sculpture in the Park Exhibit (2026–2027) invites sculptors to submit work for a year-round outdoor exhibition presented by the Sculpture Committee in partnership with the St. Charles Park District and St. Charles Park Foundation. Sculptures will be installed in Mt. St. Mary Park along the Fox River in downtown St. Charles, Illinois, with one additional work selected for the veranda garden at the Baker Community Center. Substantial, durable sculptures suitable for continuous public display are required. All works must be installation-ready, available for sale, and appropriate for a public setting. Accepted media include metal, stone, and other materials capable of withstanding weather and public interaction. Recognition plaques and online listings will include artist information, materials, and sale price.
All sculptures will be mounted to concrete pads using approved bolting systems, with specific size, weight, and safety requirements strictly enforced. Final approval at installation rests with the Construction Supervisor, and the Committee retains the right to require removal of any work deemed unsafe. Accepted works must be delivered between May 4–8, 2026, installed by May 15, 2026, and removed during the first week of May 2027. An Artists’ Reception will take place July 17, 2026, at Mt. St. Mary Park.
A $25 non-refundable entry fee is required per submission. Each accepted sculpture will receive a $1,500 honorarium, and one artist will be awarded a $500 Committee Award for originality, durability, and execution. The Committee will collect a 30% commission on works sold or commissioned during the exhibit period. Insurance coverage of up to $10,000 per sculpture will be provided during the exhibition period, with coverage outside that window remaining the responsibility of the sculptor. The exhibit is hosted by the St. Charles Park District in partnership with the St. Charles Park Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization.
Please apply online: https://www.stcsculpture.org/application
Submissions are due by March 6, 2026.
North Charleston Annual National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition
Sculpture artists from across the nation are invited to participate in the 20th Annual National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition, opening in conjunction with the 2026 North Charleston Arts Fest. Up to 14 sculptures will be juried into the exhibition and compete for cash prizes totaling up to $25,500, an increase over previous years. All selected artists will receive a $1,500 honorarium to assist with transportation, installation, and related expenses. Awards include Best in Show ($2,000), Outstanding Merit ($1,000), and up to three Honorable Mentions ($500 each). Applications are accepted online only at www.NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com/apply. A $35 application fee allows submission of up to four entries. The deadline is Wednesday, February 25, 2026. Application assistance is available through the Cultural Arts Department by appointment.
Presented by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, this 11-month outdoor exhibition offers established and emerging artists the opportunity to display work throughout North Charleston Riverfront Park, a ten-acre site along the Cooper River featuring walking paths, a boardwalk, performance pavilion, fountain, play areas, and picnic spaces. Located in the heart of the city’s arts district, the park welcomes an estimated 50,000 visitors annually, providing broad public visibility for exhibited works.
The 2026–2027 juror is Mark E. Brown, artist and Chair of Studio Art and Graphic Design at High Point University. Brown holds an MFA from East Carolina University and has participated in more than 350 exhibitions nationally and internationally, with work shown at venues including the National Arts Club, SECCA, and Grounds for Sculpture, as well as exhibitions abroad in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Brown has served as juror for numerous arts organizations and fellowships and has curated multiple traveling exhibitions. The exhibition will be on view April 29, 2026, through March 14, 2027, at North Charleston Riverfront Park. A free public reception and awards announcement will take place Wednesday, April 29, 2026, from 6:00–8:00 pm at the Charleston Area Convention Center. For additional information, contact the Cultural Arts Department at (843) 740-5854, culturalarts@northcharleston.org, or www.NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com.
Image: (left) Bridge Beyond Time II by Corinna Sephora (2025/26 Best in Show), (right) Celestial Motion by Hanna Jubran (2025/26 Honorable Mention)
Submit Your News
Have any news to share?
Shows, awards, residencies etc? Submit here and we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.
While you're at it, your profile and images on CSI’s website are important. When CSI applies for grants and upcoming shows, images are solely chosen from those you have uploaded to our website. Please take a minute to look over what you have posted and make sure you are presenting the best work. Member Shelley Gilchrist sgilchristart@gmail.com has volunteered to help you if you need it, so feel free to contact her.
CSI projects are partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.
Chicago Sculpture International acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency for CSI programming including exhibitions and funding for Project Space Gallery.
CSI is a proud recipient of the Driehaus Foundation Arts and Culture Grant to help support funding and programming.
Chicago Sculpture International acknowledges support from the National Endowment for the Arts
Above: (right) Ron Gard’s sculpture The Struggle Against Death; (right) Ron in 2014 working in Lincoln Park on one of three tree sculptures, Dying to Survive Nos. #3, #6 & #9.
In Memory of Ron Gard
Chicago Sculpture International acknowledges Ivy Gard, who in 2020 graciously donated ongoing exhibition space (CSI Project Space) to CSI and its members in memory of Ron Gard and his achievements in sculpture and dedicated service for several years as treasurer of the organization.
Ron’s exquisite and exacting craftsmanship, along with his vast knowledge of materials and methods, is widely regarded and revered by CSI and his circle of peers.
Land Acknowledgement
The City of Chicago, and its surrounding areas, have always been and always will be, home to numerous Native American communities. As a team dedicated to the uplifting of Indigenous People's sovereignty everywhere, we recognize that each program and exhibition associated with this project is taking place on the traditional homelands of the Council of Three Fires - the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa - as well as the Menominee, Miami, and Ho-Chunk Nations. Further, we acknowledge that Chicago is home to one of the largest urban Native American communities in the US. We therefore invite each of our non-Indigenous colleagues to learn more about the forced removal of many of the communities listed above from the state of Illinois and to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into their line of work. To provide immediate assistance to Native American Communities in Chicago, you can send donations to the city's American Indian Center here
Cover image:
Train Hive 1 by Victoria Fuller, Toy Train, paper, wire, epoxy clay, acetate, acrylic paint, 9 x 13 x 4-½ in.
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