Collaborations
Aspen Institute
Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative
The Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation is an inaugural member of the Aspen Institute Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative (AEFI). Bearing names such as Helen Frankenthaler, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Mapplethorpe, Joan Mitchell, Gordon Parks, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol, foundations created by visual artists are a rapidly emerging force in cultural philanthropy and art stewardship.
The AEFI aims to strengthen the charitable impact of this emerging field by addressing the significant information gap facing those who create, lead, govern, and advise artist-endowed foundations. It implements this strategy through research, publication, leadership convening, professional development, and events to share knowledge with key audiences.
The Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation follows the Aspen Institute's professional standards and guidance in the development of our board and leaders with policy-setting, governance, management, and leadership responsibilities.
Quest for Peace (2006)
Public Art Archive
Richard Hunt's Public Commissions
The Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation and the Public Art Archive™ are pleased to announce a new partnership developed to inventory, document, and provide free online access to a comprehensive catalog of Richard Hunt’s extensive public art commissions throughout the United States.
Richard Hunt has more public works in the United States than any sculptor. As the most prolific public sculptor in the country, Hunt’s artistic legacy, seen in works installed across parks, universities, and a multitude of public spaces, is paramount to the history of public art in the U.S.
Hunt made the largest contribution to public art in the United States, with more than 160 public sculpture commissions gracing prominent locations in 24 states and Washington, D.C. Hunt was a central figure in Civil Rights-era action and commemorated many African American icons. His body of work explores themes of the African diaspora, African and Western art, mythology, and Hunt’s own ancestry, especially in relation to growth, expansion, freedom, movement, and flight.
University of Chicago
Richard Hunt's Lifelong Connection
Richard Hunt maintained a lifelong connection to the University of Chicago, where he remains the only non-white public artist with artwork displayed on campus. Hunt's sculpture Why? is located at the entrance of the Smart Museum of Art and Becoming sits proudly in the courtyard of the Disciples Divinity House. His early work as a UChicago zoological lab technician, alongside exposure to the university’s Gothic architecture and phoenix emblem, catalyzed his signature biomorphic forms and themes of resilience.
Expanding this legacy, the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation is launching a strategic partnership with the university. This wide-ranging collaboration includes a partnership with the Logan Center for the Arts, collaboration with the Smart Museum of Art, and curriculum integration across multiple academic departments. It also features library donations to the Joseph Regenstein Library, art history collections integration, and expanded student opportunities through the Metcalf Internship and Odyssey Scholarship programs.
Little Black Pearl
Richard Hunt Legacy
Founded by Monica Haslip, Little Black Pearl is a thriving South Side Chicago cultural arts center dedicated to empowering youth and the community through creative education, hands-on arts programming, and entrepreneurship.
In partnership with the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation, Little Black Pearl expands access to the monumental artistic legacy of world-renowned Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt. Together, the organizations work to bring Hunt's heritage to life for students and people of all ages across the South Side through engaging educational initiatives and community outreach.
Looking ahead, this collaboration bridges neighborhood-rooted arts with academic institutions through upcoming joint projects at the University of Chicago. By celebrating Hunt’s vast cultural contributions while inspiring the next generation of creative minds, the partnership ensures his transformative work continues to enrich and uplift the community.
Chicago Sculpture Exhibit
Richard Hunt Award
The Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation is excited to partner with the Chicago Sculpture Exhibit (CSE) for the biennial Richard Hunt Award.
CSE established the award in partnership with Hunt in 2021 to help bring new perspectives and added diversity to the large-scale public art world. The Richard Hunt Award offers financial support to emerging or mid-career sculptors for a new artwork sited at a prominent location in the city. The award is part of CSE’s mission to encourage a broader range of artists to design and fabricate large-scale outdoor public sculpture.
The 2025 Richard Hunt Award winner is D. Lamar Preston for his sculpture, Gifted to Me, which was made with tools and repurposed Cor-Ten steel that Hunt had gifted Preston during his time working in Hunt's studio.
Blacks in Green
Richard Hunt Sculpture Garden at
Emmett Till Museum
Blacks in Green (BIG), an environmental justice and heritage restoration pioneer on Chicago's South Side, proudly owns and operates the historic Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley House and Museum. Through a vibrant partnership with the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation, BIG is expanding this landmark space to include the adjacent Richard Hunt Sculpture Garden.
The garden will one day showcase Hunt’s monumental masterpiece, Hero Ascending, a powerful tribute celebrating the deeply entwined legacies of Emmett Till, Mamie Till-Mobley, and Richard Hunt. Rooted in the rich storytelling and cultural vitality of Woodlawn, this collaboration honors the sacred memory of ancestors who reshaped civil rights and American art. Working hand in hand, both organizations are weaving historic preservation, neighborhood narrative, and artistic genius into a living monument—fostering healing, honoring ancestral strength, and inspiring the South Side for generations to come.
SOPHY Hyde Park
Richard Hunt Legacy
The partnership between the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation and SOPHY Hyde Park establishes a cultural collaboration designed to integrate and honor the spirit of legendary sculptor Richard Hunt throughout the hotel. Serving as a regional hub for scholars and art enthusiasts, SOPHY embeds Hunt’s vision directly into the guest experience by placing his books and exhibition catalogues throughout the lobby and every guest room, inviting visitors to explore his life and work while setting the stage for forthcoming initiatives.
Born in Woodlawn, Hunt maintained a deep connection to Hyde Park, where the Fifty-Seventh Street Art Fair was the very first art fair he ever attended. SOPHY is located just blocks away from Book Bird, the pinnacle monument created by Richard Hunt for the Obama Presidential Center's Library, seamlessly anchoring the hotel within his enduring South Side legacy.
Richard Hunt Day
April 24
State of Illinois
First Lady MK Pritzker proclaimed April 24 as "Richard Hunt Day" in the state of Illinois, recognizing Hunt's talent as a distinguished Illinois artist.
"The artists of our state tell the story of generations of struggle, passion, and culture, and I'm thrilled that the Governor's mansion can uplift and recognize those contributions," said Governor JB Pritzker. "Richard Hunt's addition is the most recent in a long tradition of incredible Illinois artists MK and I are proud to honor." Hunt's Growing Flowing sculpture is installed in a sitting room in the Illinois Governor's Mansion in Springfield, Illinois.
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Mayor Marcus Muhammad of Benton Harbor, Michigan also marked April 24 as "Richard Hunt Day." Celebrations in the city have continued annually, including the dedication of a portrait of Richard Hunt by artist Eric Bradford for the Benton Harbor Public Library.
The Krasl Art Center celebrates Richard Hunt's legacy through its Richard Hunt Studio Center, a satellite studio Richard Hunt owned for years and then donated to Krasl. Krasl plans to open the center as a community art space in 2026.