070 Artist Edra Soto shares her story and talks about the “Present Standard” exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Edra Soto (b. Puerto Rico, 1971) is a Chicago-based artist, educator, curator, and gallery director. She obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000, as well as attending Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2000), Beta-Local in Puerto Rico (2011), and the Robert Rauschenberg Residency Program in Captiva, Florida though a 3Arts Fellowship (2013), among others. She recently co-curated with artist Josue Pellot the exhibition PRESENT STANDARD at the Chicago Cultural Center. With her husband Dan Sullivan, she designed and fabricated THE FRANKLIN, an outdoor project space that they co-direct. THE FRANKLIN has received support from various institutions, including the Propeller Fund. Soto has received a commission from the Chicago Transit Authority, and her GRAFT project will be featured at the Western Avenue stop on the train line to O'Hare Airport. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, and she is an instructor at the School of the Art institute of Chicago.