Talks@EHC: Blanche Gildin: The Bauhaus in Chicago and the Foundations of an Artistic Practice

Gatherings: Blanche Gildin: The Bauhaus in Chicago and the Foundations of an Artistic Practice

Tuesday, March 24, 6:30 PM

Free & Open to all. Scroll down to RSVP

In-person event*
At the Evanston History Center
225 Greenwood Evanston, IL

Evanston-based artist Blanche Gildin (1928–2024) studied at Chicago’s Institute of Design for just two years, from 1947 to 1949. What she carried from that experience, however, shaped her artistic practice across more than seven decades. Gildin’s career unfolded largely outside the spotlight of museums and markets. Like many women artists of her generation, she worked in private- often in or near her home in southeast Evanston- and alternative spaces, guided less by recognition than by curiosity and discipline. Her art offers a powerful reminder that the influence of an educational institution is not measured only by its famous names or iconic moments, but by the quiet, persistent practices it sets in motion. The talk by Dr. Lara Allison will be followed by a discussion with Bonnie Gildin, the artist’s daughter, and Jack Weiss of Design Evanston, who also studied at the Institute of Design.

About Dr. Lara Allison

Dr. Lara Allison teaches design history at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her research examines Chicago design culture, mid-twentieth-century corporate design, and the influence of the Bauhaus on academic, cultural, and corporate institutions in the United States during the interwar and post–World War II periods. She serves as Education Chair on the Board of the Chicago Design Archive and is editor of Chicago Art Deco Magazine. She was a contributing author and a member of the editorial advisory team for Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America (Yale University Press/CADS, 2018). Lara recently wrote a book on the artist, Blanche Gildin: Back to the Bauhaus, the Foundations of a Practice (published by Design Evanston with support from the City of Evanston). The book was designed by Jack Weiss.

*This in-person event will also be available on Facebook Live for those who cannot attend in person.

Through our community’s generosity, we can offer these free programs! Please consider donating $10 to support our ongoing free public programming.

Please click the blue “Going” button below to RSVP. A confirmation email will be sent to the email you registered with.

If you don’t receive a confirmation email, please email Erin Hughes at ehughes@evanstonhistorycenter.org.