Reshuffling at Art Expo

A massive loss of art-dealer support for John Wilson’s Chicago International Art Exposition has led to a major restructuring of the Lakeside Group, the fair’s parent organization. Mark Lyman, previously director of Lakeside’s New Art Forms Exposition, has been named executive director of the Lakeside Group. He replaces Thomas Blackman, who abruptly resigned last month to form an arts-management group that will present Art 1993 Chicago: The New Pier Show next May.

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Lyman says he will oversee a reorganization of the Lakeside Group that will better prepare it “to meet the challenges of the 1990s.” He maintains that Wilson has given him “full authority” to run Lakeside and that Wilson will no longer be a key decision maker or a presence in day-to-day operations. “It’s a whole new ball game now,” claims Lyman, adding that Lakeside will produce an art fair next May and is now searching for a new director to head up the planning process. He says, “We want to do an Art Expo that is significant, but the situation is extremely competitive right now.” Art Expo has moved next year’s fair up to May 6-10 in order to coincide with the two other fairs. Attempts to move Art Expo from McCormick Place’s Donnelley Hall to the Rotunda at Navy Pier were unsuccessful.

Hubbard Street’s New Name

Is it civic pride or paranoia? Perhaps a bit of both. Hubbard Street Dance Company, the city’s best,established dance troupe, underwent a name change last week to become Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. The company’s marketing chief, Carol Fox, explains, “People come up to us when we’re on tour who still don’t know where we are from.” Because so many major dance companies are headquartered in New York, Fox says too many people incorrectly assume that Hubbard Street halls from there as well. Hubbard Street is the second local dance company in recent years to change its name in an attempt to more clearly identify itself with its hometown. The Joseph Holmes troupe is now Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre.

Woman Without Country: K.D. Lang Sells Out

Would-be walk-ins to tonight’s K.D. Lang concert at the Chicago Theatre are out of luck. The performance has been sold out for weeks, just as executives at Jam Productions hoped it would be. But the speed with which the 3,700-seat theater sold out did surprise Jam promoter Andy Cirzan. In previous visits to Chicago Lang had played Park West, a venue that seats about one-fourth as many people.