DePaul Art Museum will close in June—here’s what to see before it shutters

After nearly 15 years in Lincoln Park, DePaul Art Museum will close its doors on June 30. The decision was made to “ensure long-term financial sustainability for our university,” DePaul president Robert L. Manuel said in an announcement to faculty and students released last week.

Since opening in its current location in 2011, the museum (935 W Fullerton Ave) has showcased the work of more than 600 Chicago-based and underrepresented artists. Located just steps from the Fullerton Red Line stop, the space also served as an interdisciplinary classroom for DePaul University students and a cultural hub for the Lincoln Park community. The museum regularly employed students interested in pursuing careers in the arts and museum field.

The announcement has been met with swift community backlash. DePaul art history and philosophy faculty members have penned an open letter decrying the closure. “Even given the university’s current budgetary shortfall and consequent need for belt-tightening at various levels, the plan to repurpose the DPAM building (without specific details) appears to us short-sighted, wrong-headed, and grounded in some deeply disappointing principles of prioritization,” the letter reads. At the time of publication, the letter has garnered over 3,000 signatures.

DPAM was originally founded in 1985 before moving to its current home on Fullerton Ave in 2011, guided by a mission to highlight local artists and voices historically underrepresented in museums. According to Manuel’s statement, the university does not plan to sell the building, though the future of the museum’s roughly 4,000-piece collection has not yet been determined.

Before the museum closes, visitors have a final opportunity to view two exhibitions: “Barbara Nessim: My Compass Is the Line,” the artist’s Chicago solo debut, and “Alice Tippit: Rose Obsolete,” her first museum solo exhibition. The latter is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog published by the DePaul Art Museum. Both open March 5 and run through June 21.

The museum is open Wednesday and Thursday from 11am to 7pm and Friday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Supporters can also sign the open letter calling on the university to reconsider the closure.