Company Profile

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

Company Overview

Mission Statement

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art promotes public awareness, understanding, and appreciation of intuitive and outsider art through education, exhibition, collecting and publishing.

Intuit defines ‘intuitive and outsider art’ as the work of artists who demonstrate little influence from the mainstream art world, and who instead are motivated by their unique personal vision. This definition includes art brut, non-traditional folk art, self-taught art, and visionary art.

Value Statement

Established in 1991, is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that is committed to presenting self-taught and outsider art — with world class exhibitions; stimulating and provocative education programming; a Permanent Collection with holdings of more than 1,100 works of art; the Henry Darger Room Collection; and the Robert A. Roth Study Center, a non-circulating collection of books, monographs and periodicals with a primary focus in the fields of outsider and contemporary self-taught art.
Core Belief

Intuit is grounded in the belief that the instinct to create is universal and the arts must embrace all, celebrate all, and be accessible to all regardless of education level or socio-economic status.

Intuit operates with an annual budget of $400,000 and is governed by a 25- member Board of Directors. Current staff includes two full time and four part-time employees. Intuit’s activities are supported by more than 20 interns and volunteers.

Company History

In John Maizels’ book Raw Creation, the chapter “Art Brut & the U.S.” begins a historical account of outsider art in this country: “The American story is perhaps best told by beginning with events in Chicago.” Since 1945, Chicago artists and collectors have demonstrated a growing interest in outsider artists. Most of the early enthusiasts were especially impassioned by the work of untrained artists – eccentrics, isolates, compulsive visionaries, or the mentally disabled. However, the established institutions of the art world did not seem to share in the interest.
In early 1991, a small group of artists, collectors, art dealers, and business people began discussing the feasibility of forming a group devoted to intuitive and outsider art. In June, the founding few invited like-minded others to a public meeting in order to launch the organization and help determine its future course. Incredibly, nearly 80 people attended that first meeting, and the unexpected size of the group affirmed the viability of such an undertaking. This turnout also challenged its members to build a more formal organizational structure. Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art was then established as a not-for-profit organization. Today, Intuit’s 600 members, nationwide and abroad, support its mission.

Intuit’s mission is to promote public awareness of self-taught art. Intuit strengthens and enhances Chicago’s local community as the only museum for exhibitions, lectures, and educational activities related to self-taught art. Intuit also serves an international audience as one of the leading not-for-profit supporters of self-taught art in the U.S., with our magazine, The Outsider reaching members across the country and overseas.

Intuit’s activities serve a wide and diverse audience, from Chicago Public School students to artists, audiences, and collectors, and provide the public with educational opportunities unique to this genre.

Notable Products / Brands

The Outsider magazine, The Intuit Show of Folk & Outsider Art

Notable Clients

High Museum of Art, The Art Fair Company

Notable Accomplishments / Recognition

Intuit has always enjoyed critical acclaim that belies its size, but in 2009 at the end of the decade, the critics showered Intuit with recognition. It kicked off with kudos from Intuit’s fans, who for the second consecutive year named it “The Best Gallery in Chicago” in a poll conducted by the Chicago Reader, which was followed up by an award from the Illinois Art Educators Association for “Distinguished Service to the Community.” By year’s end, "Joseph Yoakum: The Picture Tells The Story" was selected as one of the “Top Art and Design Shows by Time Out Chicago, which also named the Henry Darger Room Collection as a “Development that Changed Chicago Art and Design Forever.” In addition The Henry Darger Room Collection was cited as “One of the Top 10 Chicago Art Stories of the Decade,” by Chicago Public Radio.

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