After four months, the College of DuPage’s “Frida Kahlo: Timeless” exhibit has come to a close.  The exhibition ran from June. 5 to Sept. 12 and was one of the largest exhibitions in the Chicagoland area in the past 40 years, according to a recent press release,

“It’s been an exciting summer” according to Diana Martinez, the director of the McAninch Arts Center, which hosted the exhibition. According to Martinez, the exhibit was very successful from an audience perspective, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. People from all 50 states and 43 countries came to the Frida Kahlo exhibit. Overall, around 10,000 people attended the exhibit during its four-month run. Martinez said the exhibition was an outstandingly popular event in regard to its artistic excellence and academic impact on visitors.                                                                               

Frida Kahlo expressed her artwork as “her reality.” In return, the exhibit highlights and documents Frida Kahlo’s artwork throughout various moments of her life. And the way that Kahlo portrays her life in her work is still relatable to people to this day.

The exhibition was even more successful when taking into account COVID restrictions. Already postponed once because of the pandemic, Martinez noted COD followed CDC guidelines for museums, forums and meetings. This included touchless ticketing, online ticket sales, touchless ticket scanning, hand sanitizer dispensers and enforced mask policies. According to Martinez, out of 10,000 staff and attendees who attended, no one contracted COVID-19 from visiting the exhibit.

But the experience is not over yet. Those still interested in viewing Frida Kahlo’s work can also book virtual tours offered by the Cleve Carney Museum through Oct. 15. According to the press release, “​​The virtual tour includes the 26-piece collection on loan from the Museo Dolores Olmedo, including 100+ photographic images from the artist’s life. There are also more virtual tours being offered to those who want to learn more about Frida’s work. You can book a virtual tour by going to theccma.org/tickets.