Its founders, who included future Senator Paul Douglas, consisted primarily of artists and volunteers committed to creating a neighborhood space for the visual arts.

A ribbon cutting ceremony for the new space took place that day, attended by Mayor Richard M. Daley, and several local Chicago aldermen, followed by the grand opening gala that evening.

[4] Garofalo "was selected to design a building that would highlight accessibility between artists and the public, transparency of the process of art making and exhibiting, and encourage experimentation with technology and concepts.

The Art Center exhibited Leon Golub, Ed Paschke, Roger Brown, Ruth Duckworth, Juan Angel Chávez, Kerry James Marshall and Dawoud Bey early in their careers.

To fulfill this mission, the Center cultivates arts mentorships within the community it serves, fostering a collective spirit among artists, teachers and students, children and families, collectors, and the general public.

Panel discussions, gallery talks, poetry readings, music performances, open house events, and a series of short pieces by guest writers expand upon the approaches and ideas presented in each exhibition and engage a broad audience.

Begun in 1940, HPAC's Oakman Clinton School and Studio Program has educated thousands of children and adults in ceramics, sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, stained glass, and other visual art practices in classes taught by professional artists.

In 2007, the CarianaCarianne exhibition The Embedded Body, was prematurely closed after visitors to the Art Center repeatedly tampered with multiple megaphone recordings used in the collaborative installation.