Tony Karman, the longtime director and president of EXPO Chicago, will step down from his role with the organization at the end of June, according to an email disseminated to the media and first reported by ArtNews.
Karman, who has played an active role in the arts and culture scene in Chicago for nearly 30 years, will remain in his role as president while also serving in an advisory role as EXPO searches for its new director, according to a statement received by the Sun-Times on Thursday.
“As I move into a new advisory role with EXPO CHICAGO, I want to acknowledge the deep commitment Frieze has made to both the fair and to Chicago’s wider cultural landscape. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to continue supporting the team as they shape the future of the fair,” Karman said in the statement.
Karman founded EXPO Chicago in 2012 as a contemporary and modern art fair. He launched it as a successor to Art Chicago, a similar art fair that ran from 1980 to 2011.
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, institutional leaders and enthusiasts from all around the world, making the city a global destination for art.
This year’s art fair was the second time it was produced by Frieze, a multinational media and art fair production company, which purchased EXPO in July 2023.
But last October, a press release from Endeavor Group Holdings, the global sports and entertainment company, indicated that it was exploring selling some of its assets, including all of Frieze’s art fairs and publications. In March, Ari Emanuel (brother of former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel) stepped down as CEO of Endeavor, but remains as its executive chairman. Endeavor has been the majority owner of Frieze since 2016. Earlier this month, nearly a week after April’s EXPO Chicago showcase took place, Frieze was sold to Emanuel and his new company, which remains unnamed for now.
It will be a “global events and experiences” company that is “backed by a consortium of leading global investors,” according to a statement from Endeavor when they announced the sale.
Emanuel’s purchase includes Frieze’s seven annual art fairs, their magazine, published out of London, and a London gallery space. The deal is valued at around $200 million and is expected to close sometime in the third quarter of this year, according to the Financial Times.
Frieze and EXPO Chicago did not immediately return a Sun-Times request for comment.