The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in Chicago. Re:Visionary Ball 2024

ENC News 19 Jun 2024

The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art (Intuit) is a premier museum of outsider and self-taught art.

Founded in 1991 in Chicago, it champions diverse artistic voices and pathways, inviting all to explore the power of outsider art.

Intuit defines outsider art as the work created by artists who demonstrate little influence from the mainstream art world and who are, instead, motivated by their unique personal visions.

The museum’s mission is grounded in the ethos that powerful art can be found in unexpected places and made by unexpected creators.

Intuit offers world-class exhibitions; a collection of 1,300 works of art; resources for scholars and students, and educational programming for people of all interest levels and backgrounds.

Its centerpiece is its Henry Darger Room Collection, a permanent exhibition and archive. Visitors from around the globe come to Intuit specifically to visit the Henry Darger Room Collection and get a peek into the world of one of the most significant outsider artists.

For more than 30 years, Intuit has brought the perspectives of outsider artists to a public hungry for authentic work by exhibiting their art and creating programming that engages artists with the public.

Intuit’s most prestigious award is the Visionary Award. It is given once annually to an artist, expert or advocate doing extraordinary work in the field of outsider and self-taught art.

The Advocates for the Arts Recipients are Janet and Craig Duchossois. Janet and Craig have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to improving the lives of Chicagoans through their contributions to philanthropy, especially the arts. Their passion for outsider art and the work of Intuit has been instrumental in shaping Intuit’s present and future – its renovated building, digital transformation and reimagined Henry Darger Room Experience.

The 2024 Award ceremony took place on June 8, 2024 in Chicago, IL, at Re:Visionary Ball, the fundraiser celebration for Intuit. All sponsorship funds will be used for building a renovated expanded museum.

The 2024 Visionary Award Recipient is Leslie Umberger.

Leslie is the curator of folk and self-taught art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She is known for situating artists who navigated their own artistic path, often in oppressive environments, within specific cultural contexts and establishing meaningful frameworks for the art they have made.

The participants of the event had an opportunity to bid on an exciting auction.