Cultural Resources
Cultural Resources Heading link
Art Galleries
The College of Architecture and the Arts sponsors Gallery 400 located in the Art and Design Hall at 400 South Peoria Street. A not-for-profit exhibition space, Gallery 400 is committed to the production, interpretation, and exhibition of art, architecture, and design. The gallery provides an open forum for experimentation, collaboration, and dialogue about issues of art and architecture. The gallery also coordinates formal and informal educational programs such as lecture series, visiting artists programs, context talks, workshops, and symposia.
In addition, there are art galleries located in the UIC Student Centers, which feature work of UIC artists, as well as others of local, national, and international reputation. Exhibits change frequently and free opening receptions offer an opportunity to meet the artists and discuss their work. Galleries in the Student Centers include the Montgomery Ward Gallery and Lounge on the second floor at the north end of the Student Center East, and the Art Lounge on the first floor of the Student Center West.
Gardens
Heritage Garden: The UIC Heritage Garden was established in 2013 as part of a collaborative program through the Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change. It offers opportunities for paid student internships where students work with faculty, staff, and community members to connect horticulture with environmental sustainability, cultural diversity, and social justice as well as public educational events and tours of the garden satellites. There are currently 8 satellite gardens on the east side of campus. For additional information, refer to the link above.
Medicinal Plant Garden: The Dorothy Bradley Atkins Medicinal Plant Garden was constructed and is maintained by a generous gift commitment made in 1999 by Dr. Robert A. Atkins to honor his wife Dorothy Bradley Atkins, who earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy in 1945 and died in 1995. The garden, located next to the College of Pharmacy, exists not only for educational and research purposes, but also for the enjoyment it offers as an island of beauty on the campus of UIC. The garden was dedicated during a ceremony held on the afternoon of Friday, July 19, 2002. For additional information call the College of Pharmacy at 996-2497.
Museums
The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum: The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, part of the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts, is a historic site and is open to the public. Restored by the University in the mid-1960s, the Hull-House memorial commemorates the life and work of social welfare pioneer Jane Addams, and the history of Hull-House and its surrounding neighborhood. The memorial is made up of two original buildings, the Hull Mansion (1856) and the Residents’ Dining Hall (1907), which contain restored rooms, rotating exhibits, and memorabilia. Guided tours of the Hull-House buildings and slide-tape presentations are available to individuals and groups making reservations in advance. The museum is located at 800 South Halsted Street.
The Kottemann Gallery of Dentistry: The UIC College of Dentistry has had a profound impact on dental teaching, research, and public service. Its Kottemann Gallery of Dentistry, named for Dr. George Kottemann, a 1955 alumnus of the College of Dentistry, chronicles the innovative research and accomplishments of the College’s faculty and students, which have had international impact on dentistry. Located on the fifth floor of the College, the Kottemann Gallery is being refurbished to display graphics, text, and approximately 200 artifacts of dental equipment and instruments.
James Woodworth Prairie Nature Preserve
Consisting of over five acres of natural tall-grass prairie on agricultural grade soil, a remnant of the Peacock estate settled in 1843, the preserve is typical of the Illinois prairie when it was first settled. It is an irreplaceable resource for scientific research in management ecology and the impact on natural areas. The staffed Interpretation Center has exhibits about the prairie and about pioneer life, and a garden with most of the species found in the native prairie surrounds the Center. The building and garden are both wheelchair accessible. The preserve is located on the east side of Milwaukee Avenue in the Village of Glenview, half a mile north of the Golf Road intersection and a quarter mile north of the Greenwood Avenue intersection. The Prairie is open to the public from mid-May through mid-September. For additional information access the link above
UIC Theatre
The UIC Theatre has one 150-300 seat flexible configuration theater and one black box studio. The School of Theatre and Music offers four main stage productions a year. From time to time, the UIC Theater presents visiting productions from Russia, England, and elsewhere. The theater is also home to the Chicago Circle Players, the student theater organization.
UIC Skyspace
In Spring 2005, a spectacular public art project by acclaimed American artist James Turrell opened on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago. UIC Skyspace is the centerpiece of the newly built Gateway Plaza, also designed by Turrell, located on the university’s South Campus and situated on the southwest corner of Halsted Street and Roosevelt Road in the heart of Chicago. The UIC Skyspace, Turrell’s fifteenth permanent skyspace installation, will be the only freestanding structure of its kind in the Midwest.
Electronic Visualization Laboratory
The Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) was established in 1973 as a joint effort of the UIC College of Engineering and the School of Art and Design. The EVL is the oldest formal collaboration between engineering and art in the U.S. As an internationally renowned interdisciplinary research laboratory, the EVL supports scientific and engineering discoveries by designing and developing high-performance visualization, virtual reality, and collaboration systems using advanced networking infrastructure.