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Read the press release here.

Art Expo Brings Local and International Artists to Navy Pier

By Jackie Kostek | September 20, 2013 9:09am
EXPO CHGO
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DNAinfo/Jackie Kostek

NAVY PIER — The massive Festival Hall at the tip of Navy Pier has been converted into what could easily be the country's largest all-in-one art gallery.

EXPO CHGO — which is in its second year — features more than 120 international galleries from 37 cities around the world, including Athens, Berlin, Madrid, Mexico City, Munich and Paris. There are more than 15 local Chicago galleries represented at the expo.

"Chicago is really having an extraordinary moment," said Tony Karman, president and director of EXPO CHGO.

Karman said Chicago's "moment" is rooted in many things, including some major changes happening inside the city's art institutions — the Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Institute and Smart Museum of Art. Karman said the gallery scene has also grown more "robust" and the city's art schools are graduating some "extraordinary artists" that are making their mark in Chicago and elsewhere.

"I think we deserve to show off what is happening here, and the art world deserves to come and explore," Karman said.

The art expo runs through Sunday at the Festival Hall at 600 E. Grand Ave. (at the eastern end of Navy Pier). Daily tickets costs $20 and a three-day pass costs $30.