Spring and summer offer a full slate of exhibitions across galleries and museums throughout the Midwest. Behind the scenes, many people in the community are working tirelessly to support artists and bring fresh perspectives to the public. We spoke with five insiders about what excites them now and what they anticipate next. – CGN

Read our 5TTT with Monique Meloche here.

Read our 5TTT with “Easy” Otabor here.

To subscribe to the spring/summer magazine click here.

Michelle T. Boone

– President and CEO, the Poetry Foundation

“This April, which is National Poetry Month, Poetry magazine unveils Bold Type, a new design series. The poem “First Light” by CAConrad fills the Poetry Foundation’s exhibition space wall as the first iteration of the series. Bold Type encourages visitors to linger and reflect on Conrad’s piercing visual poem, from which the line “no one can afford to lose love” serves as the theme for our 2026 spring event season. 

Nothing says spring like EXPO Chicago, which I’m always excited about attending. It’s a great platform to see many Chicago galleries under one roof and get introduced to artists and galleries from around the world. But it’s also a time to explore neighborhood galleries, and at the top of my list is heading to the Hyde Park Art Center to see “Cyndey M. Lewis: Weeds Grow In All Directions.” Her work gives a whole new meaning to “...one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, crafting rubbish, plastics, and paper into the most beautiful artworks.”