From May through October 1893, the City of Chicago was the site of one
of history’s most influential gatherings, the World’s Columbian Exposition.
In just six months, this vital center of trade and transportation hosted 46
participant nations, and over 27 million visitors were introduced to a range
of innovations, from electrical power to the Ferris wheel. The firsts included
the initial meeting of the Congress of Mathematicians and the 1893 Parliament
of the World’s Religions, the first formal gathering of representatives
of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions from around the world.

With its long history of innovation and diversity, Chicago was a natural
choice to host a yearlong celebration of the Silk Road. Chicagoans love
their city; they take pride in its world-class institutions, its neighborhoods
and its wealth of activities. What could make a more fitting location for a
Silk Road journey?

Hundreds of years ago a vital route for trade, the Silk Road has come to
mean something much broader than the exchange of exotic treasures
brought across the desert by caravan. Historically, the route enabled the
spread of Islam and Buddhism, the growth of languages and the migrations
of people and their ideas. As demonstrated at the 1893 Exposition, the
collaboration and creativity that arise when strangers meet have given birth
to some of the most extraordinary cultural evolutions.

The Silk Road Project is grateful for its many festival partners, including
the City of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra and dozens of cultural organizations. Mayor and Mrs. Daley and
the incomparable Lois Weisberg have been welcoming hosts, creative and
entrepreneurial visionaries whose work weaves culture into the fabric of their
city. The Art Institute of Chicago, headed by the great thinker and teacher
Jim Cuno, explores the transformational power of the visual arts, while
Deborah Card and her Chicago Symphony Orchestra team are pioneers in
joining innovation and tradition, both in music and in culture at large.

Across many art forms and hundreds of venues, the stories, rhythms, tastes
and colors of the Silk Road region are coming to life. Silk Road Chicago
is about transformation, celebration and wonder. It’s about seeing the world’s
multiple perspectives, stirring the imagination and getting people to
dream. I look forward to sharing the Silk Road experience with Chicago.

Yo-Yo Ma
Artistic Director