Chicago’s most anticipated gallery this year isn’t a space run by fledgling artists in West Town or a renovated warehouse in the West Loop, but Star Line Gallerythe long-awaited second studio album from Grammy-winning Chicago musician Chance the Rapper.
True to its title – which refers to the Black Star Line shipping company founded by Jamaican-born Pan-Africanist activist Marcus Garvey – the album will not have a cover but a gallery of 16 original works, one for each track. To date, Chance has collaborated with artists Nikko Washington, Naïla Opiangah (whose work for the song God’s Son was exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago last year) and Yannis Davy Guibinga, whose photography for the song The ups and downs was exhibited at Art Basel in Basel in June 2022.
Visitors to Expo Chicago will have the opportunity to see more upcoming events from Chance Star Line Gallery on the Dialogue stage of the show, where the rapper will be in conversation on April 13 with the artist Hank Willis Thomas. As well as discussing Thomas’ huge new sculpture at O’Hare Airport, Chance will curate a selection of work from some of the artists creating pieces for his album. The rapper will also perform “live audio experiences” in response to the works every night from April 13-15.
