Mission and History

IAM making history

Mission and History

Intuit Art Museum champions the diverse voices of self-taught art, welcoming both new and familiar audiences. Located in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood, Intuit is a premier museum of self-taught art. The Museum collects and exhibits work by artists who typically work outside the mainstream and have developed a sustained artistic practice. Some artists may have faced societal, economic or geographic barriers to pursuing extensive training in the arts. The museum’s mission is grounded in the ethos that the instinct to create is universal and the arts must embrace, represent and be accessible to all.

Chicago is recognized as one of the first places in the nation to embrace self-taught art as a legitimate genre, ultimately leading to Intuit being formed in 1991 by a group of artists, collectors, art dealers and art enthusiasts devoted to outsider art.

From 2023–2025, Intuit Art Museum completed a 20-month, $10 million renovation and expansion, transforming its facility into a modern, welcoming museum—in service of its vision to be the most welcoming museum in Chicago and the leading museum advocate for self-taught art.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Commitment to championing
anti-racism

Intuit was founded on inclusivity, and we refuse to tolerate hate and brutality. We champion anti-racism and stand with those seeking justice and systemic change. Black lives matter.

Inclusion Statement

Drawing on the power of self-taught art to transcend borders—those drawn on maps as well as those existing only in our minds—Intuit is committed to serving as a safe place of open and inclusive inquiry and discussion. For more than 30 years, we have brought the perspectives of self-taught artists to a public hungry for authentic work, made by artists who have created extraordinary beauty from the simplest materials. The artists have realized their personal vision with the aid of few resources, often while facing systemic poverty and discrimination. We honor their courage and reassert our solidarity with all those who recognize that our deepest strength lies embedded within our differences. Rarely in recent memory has art been so necessary to us all, simply because it allows us to see beyond appearances. We invite everyone through our doors to enjoy artwork whose creation embodies our collective search for what it means to be human, overcoming boundaries based on religion, race, ethnic origin, gender, socioeconomic status, orientation, and physical or mental ability.

Ongoing

Since 2014, the IntuiTeens summer program offers leadership and creativity internships for Chicago teens; the program is predominately made up of youth of color. All IntuiTeens receive a stipend to ensure they can afford to attend.

Every year, the Teacher Fellowship Program provides professional development for Chicago Public School teachers and their classrooms, impacting 20–24 teachers and up to 750 students. Typically, about 65% of those schools are in low-income neighborhoods. The participating Teacher Fellows spread the ethos that art can be found anywhere and made by anyone.

The Intuit Store features artworks and products by artists and craftspersons of color; sales benefit the artists and Intuit’s programs.

Intuit is actively seeking BIPOC volunteers and members for our Board of Directors and Young Professionals Board. Please email intuit@art.org if you are interested in these opportunities. Employment opportunities are available here.

The Visionary Award is the Museum’s most prestigious award, typically given annually to an artist, expert or advocate doing extraordinary work in the field of self-taught art.

2024 Leslie Umberger
2023 Dr. Charles Smith
2022 Frank Maresca
2021 Lisa Stone
2020 Lonnie Holley
2019 John Maizels
2018 Susann Craig
2017 Kiyoko Lerner
2016 Judy Saslow

2015 Jan Petry
2014 Carl Hammer
2013 Ann Nathan
2012 Cleo Wilson
2011 James Zanzi
2009 Mr. Imagination
2006 Phyllis Kind
2003 Ruth Kohler

Mission and History

IAM making history