GLEN ELLYN, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — An art exhibit at a west suburban community college is reaching a global audience.
The Frida Kahlo: Timeless art collection has been on display at the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage since early June.
"We are projected to hit 100,000 visitors over this summer, which is quite miraculous," said Director of the McAninch Arts Center Diana Martinez.
Martinez said they also expect to hit roughly $2 million in ticket sales - something that wasn't a given during a global pandemic.
“We found this amazing window when the country started to open up and we'll hit $2 million in ticket sales,” Martinez said. “We've recouped all of our investment and it's just been a marvelous opportunity for not only the College of DuPage, but the entire DuPage County area, because it's brought in about $10 million in economic impact from visitors.”
It cost the College of DuPage nearly $3 million just to have it on loan.
"It's a very significant collection. It's worth $113 million and they are national treasures of Mexico, so people who know the art know how rare it is to see it," Martinez said.
She said the biggest draw to the exhibit is just that: its rarity.
“This collection hasn't been in the Chicago area in the last 40 years and to top it off, I just found out that they made a deal with the City of Mexico, so the art is going to be going back to Mexico for 40 years," she said.
Visitors traveled to Glen Ellyn from around the world, representing all 50 states and 43 different countries, putting the ‘Mac’ on the map.
"Every day at the exhibition you meet different people and you ask where they are from - Israel, Netherlands...We put a map near where you rent the headsets and ask people to put a dot on the map, and that's how I started realizing where everyone was coming from. It was just remarkable," Martinez said.
The Frida Kahlo: Timeless art collection will be on display through Sept. 12 before it returns to the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City for 40 years. It features 26 original pieces, as well as an immersive historical exhibit that provides a framework of the life, circumstances, and events that led to Kahlo becoming one of the most important painters of the 20th century and of our time.
The museum is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Note, since the Frida Kahlo: Timeless was extended through Sept. 12, the exhibition will have special hours for its final week, as follows:
Monday, Sept. 6, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Last tickets sold 12:45 p.m.)
Tuesday, Sept. 7, noon to 6:30 p.m. (Last tickets sold 5:15 p.m.)
Wednesday, Sept. 8, noon to 6:30 p.m. (Last tickets sold 5:15 p.m.)
Thursday, Sept. 9, noon to 9 p.m. (Last tickets sold 7:45 p.m.)
Friday, Sept. 10, noon to 6:30 p.m. (Last tickets sold 5:15 p.m.)
Sunday, Sept. 12, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Last tickets sold 2:45 p.m.)
Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 630-942-4000, or in person at the McAninch Arts Center Box Office, located at 425 Fawell Blvd in Glen Ellyn. Timed Tickets are $23 and are for a specific time and date. Untimed Tickets are $40 and are for a specific date only.
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