Chicago History Museum (Chicago, IL 60614-6038)
Olivia Mahoney (Project Director: January 2018 to October 2019)
Charles E. Bethea (Project Director: October 2019 to November 2021)
GI-261054-19
Exhibitions: Implementation
Public Programs
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[Grant products]
Totals (outright + matching):
$100,000 (approved)
$100,000 (awarded)
Grant period:
8/1/2018 – 1/30/2020
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Modern by Design: Chicago Streamlines America
Implementation of a temporary exhibition examining the role of Chicago in popularizing mid-twentieth-century modern design and the impact of this design on American culture.
From Oct 2018-Jan 2020, the Chicago History Museum will present a major temporary exhibition titled Modern by Design: Chicago Streamlines America, exploring a significant but overlooked story about Chicago’s dominant role in shaping the look and feel of modern America in the first half of the 20th century. The exhibition will reveal that innovations made by Chicago designers and companies revolutionized manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of commercial products, and these products appealed to the growing ranks of the American working and middle classes. Innovative designs coupled with the might of Chicago’s manufacturing and distribution infrastructure led to mass production of affordable products featuring a new streamlined aesthetic that furnished American homes from city centers to remote rural hamlets. Education programs will help youth build critical thinking and design skills and knowledge of history. Public talks and tours will connect the exhibition’s themes to today.
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