DePaul University in Chicago has announced it will close its campus art museum on June 30 due to a projected budget shortfall in 2026. The private institution’s president, Robert L. Manuel, informed students and staff of the impending shutdown of the DePaul Art Museum (DPAM) through a letter last week, highlighting ongoing evaluations of the university’s long-term financial health. The decision has been met with strong opposition from faculty and staff, who have expressed their discontent in an open letter signed by over 2,000 community members, criticizing the choice as ‘short-sighted and wrong-headed.’
Signatories of the letter urged the administration to reconsider, emphasizing the museum’s educational and reputational significance. The closure decision comes just over two months after the university reduced nearly eight percent of its full-time workforce in an effort to cut $27.4 million in expenses. Last year, the university cited a decline in international enrollment and increased student demand for financial aid as financial challenges. In a conversation with Hyperallergic, museum director Laura-Caroline de Lara described the closure as a ‘devastating loss’ for the campus and the wider Chicago community.
De Lara highlighted the unique role of DPAM as a university art museum that could venture into areas of social justice and contemporary issues more boldly than larger institutions. The museum, which is free and open to the public, suffered a setback when a $500,000 grant intended for collaboration with Chicago Public Schools was withheld under the Trump administration. Annually, the museum operates on a $745,000 budget, funded by $420,000 from DePaul and private fundraising. Since its relocation in 2011, DPAM has focused on creating an inclusive space that champions underrepresented Chicago artists.
In Manuel’s letter, it was noted that the Lincoln Park building would not be sold, though the fate of the museum’s 4,000-piece collection remains undecided. Past exhibitions have drawn parallels between Chicago history and global political issues, such as linking incarceration in the city to human rights abuses at Guantánamo Bay in a 2022 show. The museum also offers valuable opportunities for student workers interested in museum careers.
DePaul senior Jessica Saunders, who is majoring in advertising and museum studies, expressed her disappointment, stating that the museum influenced her decision to attend DePaul. ‘As a student pursuing a career in the field, I feel let down,’ she shared. Faculty members such as Sean Kirkland, who co-authored the open letter, argue that closing the museum reflects a broader decline in academic culture in the U.S. ‘This is the very moment to be encouraging our students to see the enormous human value of the arts, not turning our collective back on them,’ the faculty wrote. The DePaul communications office has declined further comment beyond the initial closure announcement. The museum’s final exhibitions will open on March 5 and run until June 21.
