Sustaining Fellows Privileges

Membership in the Sustaining Fellows is open to individuals who, in recognition of the Art Institute’s commitment to artistic quality and its importance in the art world, desire to support the museum with an annual unrestricted gift of $2,500 or more. In appreciation of their generosity and leadership, Sustaining Fellows are offered an array of special privileges designed to bring them closer to the heart of the museum and its world-renowned collection.

Travel 

Sustaining Fellows are privileged to visit great collections of the United States and abroad with an eminent Art Institute curator or scholar.

Events and Programs 

Sustaining Fellows are invited to a number of diverse programs and special events designed to educate and inform members about all aspects of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Highlights include:

Exhibition Openings and Private Viewings 

These special preview receptions allow guests to hear a brief lecture by one of the exhibition’s organizing curators. Attendees view the show in a more intimate setting or during an exclusive opening celebration.

Curatorial Overviews 

Following a breakfast, luncheon, or afternoon tea, these lecture programs highlight a current exhibition, museum collection, or special project and include a gallery walk led by a curator, artist, or exhibition lender.

A. James Speyer Contemporary Art Lecture and Dinner 

This annual lecture, featuring a distinguished contemporary artist whose work is represented in the museum’s collection, honors the memory of A. James Speyer, curator of the department of 20th-Century Painting and Sculpture from 1961 to 1986. In recent years, participating artists have included Vija Celmins, Anish Kapoor, Brice Marden, Charles Ray, and Robert Ryman.

Art Walks and Field Trips 

Art walks and field trips provide Sustaining Fellows with exclusive opportunities to view private and corporate art collections and other experiences of cultural interest at colleague institutions throughout the city.

Special Recognition 

Each year Sustaining Fellows are recognized for their invaluable unrestricted support of the museum in the Art Institute’s online Annual Report and on the wall of donors in the museum’s Columbus Drive lobby.

Reciprocal Membership 

Among the many member benefits, Sustaining Fellows also receive reciprocal privileges to 16 other art museums.

• Cincinnati Art Museum
• Cleveland Museum of Art
• Dallas Museum of Art
• Detroit Institute of the Arts
• High Museum of Art (Atlanta)
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art
• The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
• The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, Missouri)
• Philadelphia Museum of Art
• Saint Louis Art Museum
• The Toledo Museum of Art
• Vancouver Art Gallery
• Walker Art Center (Minneapolis)
• Whitney Museum of American Art