Installation view of OH, YOU'VE GOT TO COME BACK TO THE CITY, Theaster Gates, GRAY Chicago, 2025. Credit: Zoey Marciniak, Courtesy of Gertie

By GINNY VAN ALYEA

Chicago's contemporary art community will have more to explore this fall as Chicago Exhibition Week (CXW) expands from a long weekend into a seven-day, citywide program running September 14–20, 2026.

Now in its fourth year, the annual initiative has steadily evolved into an important moment on the city's cultural calendar, bringing together commercial galleries, artist-run spaces, museums, and cultural organizations through a coordinated week of exhibition openings, public programs, performances, and special events. This year's expanded format reflects the event's growing role as both a destination for visitors and a rallying point for Chicago's arts community.

Presented by Gertie, CXW coordinates programming across Chicago's contemporary art community, bringing together commercial galleries, artist-run spaces, museums, and cultural organizations during a shared week in the fall. The expanded format reflects a broader schedule of exhibitions and partnerships for the 2026 edition.

Highlights include Corbett vs. Dempsey's presentation of works by the late artist Pope.L with a focus on his experimental band, GRAY's solo exhibition by Jaume Plensa, featuring a monumental freestanding relief sculpture in wood, Good Weather's exhibition of Berlin-based artist Tiphanie Kim Mall, and Mariane Ibrahim's fifth solo exhibition with Clotilde Jiménez. Chicago artists will also be featured, including Joseph Grigely at M. LeBlanc and Lindsay Adams at PATRON, alongside a new body of work by Guggenheim Fellow Claire Sherman.

This year's program also expands the event's network of institutional partnerships. Returning collaborations include EXPO CHICAGO, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Independent Curators International (ICI), and the Renaissance Society. New partnerships include the Chicago Reader, Contemporary Art Daily, the Driehaus Museum, and Harris Theater.

Museum and institutional programming scheduled during the week includes Jill Mulleady: The Passenger at the Art Institute of Chicago, Slow Dance at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Karimah Ashadu: Tendered at the Renaissance Society. The Driehaus Museum will present Brendan Fernandes: In the Round, accompanied by a public dance program. Harris Theater will present Dancing with Bob, a performance by Trisha Brown Dance Company and the Merce Cunningham Trust celebrating Robert Rauschenberg's collaborations with dance.

CXW will also introduce a new interdisciplinary partnership with Chicago artist, musician, filmmaker, and philanthropist Vic Mensa. Co-hosted with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the ticketed opening reception will bring together music and contemporary art and will conclude with a DJ set by Mensa in conjunction with the MCA's Dancing the Revolution exhibition.

Gertie has planned for CXW's 2026 edition to coincide with the opening of a permanent headquarters at 400 North Peoria in the West Loop. The space which will serve as the organization's year-round exhibition space and as a central hub for CXW programming. According to Gertie founder Abby Pucker, the expansion from a weekend to a full week reflects the growing scope of the event and the increasing number of organizations choosing to present programming during the same period.

Additional exhibitions and details will be announced later this summer. Chicago Exhibition Week runs September 14–20, 2026.