There’s no shortage of visual art events to attend this fall, particularly during Expo Art Week, which culminates in Expo Chicago: gallery openings, art walks, lectures, art talks, galas, tours, parties, et cetera. So why add another fairlike event to the mix? Because not everyone, particularly new or would-be collectors, can afford to buy work by established names from blue-chip dealers; because emerging buyers may prefer to see artwork in a more intimate environment than, say, Navy Pier’s Festival Hall; and because tons of art-minded people will be visiting Chicago that week—so why not capitalize? That’s what Chicago Artists Coalition is doing with “The Annual,” a new yearly exhibition (CAC previously put on a fair called “Edition”) that spotlights up-and-coming and often underexposed Chicago artists. Curated by writer and educator Claudine Isé and artist Alexandria Eregbu, the inaugural Annual features work by rising stars Phaedra Call, Chelsea Culp, Michelle Anne Harris, Kiam Marcelo Junio, Johana Moscoso, Macon Reed, Alfredo Salazar-Caro, and Neha Vedpathak, to name a few.
Fri 9/18-Sat 9/20, Chicago Artists Coalition, 217 N. Carpenter, 312-491-8888, chicagoartistscoalition.org, free.