Longtime EXPO Chicago director Tony Karman will step down from his position with the organization at the end of June, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, citing ArtNews.
Karman, who has played an active role in the arts and culture scene in Chicago for almost three decades, will remain president while also serving in an advisory role as EXPO searches for its new director.
EXPO Chicago is the Midwest’s largest art fair, and each year it takes over Navy Pier’s Festival Hall. This year’s fair attracted more than 35,000 art collectors, curators and enthusiasts from around the world on April 24 to 27. Also, with Northern Trust as the presenting sponsor, the 2025 fair featured 170 leading galleries from 29 countries. (Karman founded the event in 2012.)
New initiatives for 2025 included a major partnership with the Galleries Association of Korea to bring 20 leading Korean galleries to EXPO Chicago, deepening the fair’s international reach and building on Chicago’s growing cultural ties to Korea, following the Art Institute of Chicago’s recent opening of a dedicated gallery for Korean art.