Chicago Humanities Festival

The Chicago Humanities Festival is a foundation which organizes an annual series of lectures, concerts, and films in Chicago. The main festival takes place in the first and second weeks of November. The festival was started in 1990 by the Illinois Humanities Council and became an independent foundation in 1997. The annual Festival is generally built around a theme. For example, in 2012, the Festival theme was "America". Scheduled events included David Brooks, Russ Feingold, Adam Hochschild, Nathan Gunn, Grant Achatz, Philip Kotler, Tricia Rose, and Adam Gopnik. The Foundation also presents other shows and lectures during the remainder of the year. In 2012, past year-round events included Marina Abramović, Nancy Pelosi, and Etgar Keret

The Chicago Humanities Festival is designed to create opportunities for people to explore the humanities. In addition to its annual Festival of the Humanities, it presents programs throughout the year on the study and enjoyment of the humanities.

Under the aegis of the Illinois Humanities Council and its then-chairman Richard J. Franke, the notion of a "humanities day" was proposed, and then expanded into a "festival". Eileen Mackevich created the first Chicago Humanities Festival, a one-day affair, held on November 11, 1990 at the Art Institute of Chicago and Orchestra Hall, before an audience of 3,500 people. Eight programs addressed the theme Expressions of Freedom, including a keynote address by playwright Arthur Miller. Founding co-sponsor institutions included the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the University of Chicago.

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