From left: Rhona Hoffman Gallery's final exhibition in West Town; Huguette Caland: Bribes de corps at the Arts Club, and Barely Fair.

By CGN Staff

EXPO CHICAGO returns to Navy Pier on April 24, and while there will be a great deal of attention on all that happens on-site at the fair, there is a lot happening throughout the city. Openings coincide with EXPO Art Week, with many exhibitions continuing long after the fair has ended. Following are some highlights, from museum re-openings to major institutional exhibitions, and of course, parties!

For full details about all EXPO Art Week programs click here or view the full CGN calendar here.

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April 23 – May 11 – Barely Fair

2025 marks the 5th iteration of the fair, with organizers returning to the white cube from which the fair originated. In 2019, BARELY FAIR first exhibited inside the Julius Caesar artist-run project space, and in 2025 the fair returns to JC as host to the fair. As a result of the smaller venue, BF is focusing on creating intimate experiences with miniature contemporary art. As a result, all visitation is ticketed, and tickets are limited (and must be purchased in advance via ARTSVP.)

Visitation is spread across 3 ticket tiers: General Admission: $10, VIP NIGHTS: $60, Extended Exhibition: $5

General Admission: APR 23-27, 11AM - 4PM. Extended Exhibition: May 3-11, 12PM - 5PM

April 23 – RenBen 2025 by Meriem Bennani

RenBen is the Renaissance Society’s annual gala which raises a significant portion of the museum’s annual budget, enabling new artistic commissions, scholarly discourse, and lasting publications. The 2025 edition is shaped by the vision of Meriem Bennani. Known for her sharp humor, resourcefulness, and ability to blend the absurd with the deeply human, Bennani is the latest artist to lead the Renaissance Society’s tradition of artist-conceived galas, following the bold propositions of Piero Golia (2022), Adam Linder (2023), and Kevin Beasley (2024). This year, Bennani’s playful yet incisive approach will transform Vertiport Chicago—a working commercial helicopter facility—into an unexpected gathering space.

Note: the event is sold out, but it usually aligns with EXPO Art Week, so take note for next year if you don't have a ticket!

April 25 – Art After Hours

Art After Hours is an annual EXPO event in support of local galleries. AAH takes place across the city on the Friday evening of EXPO ART WEEK (April 25), and features extended hours at contemporary art galleries, as well as special programming, including opening receptions, artist talks, late nights and more. Full details are here. 

April 25 – Flourish Fine Art Accelerator Party at the MCA

Join a party with a purpose as Flourish Fine Art Accelerator honors the 2025 Flourish Fellows and celebrates the impact of their contributions to shaping the future of contemporary art. This vibrant celebration of creativity, inspiration, and community is Flourish's annual fundraiser, intentionally designed to connect EXPO Creatives, local leaders in the visual arts community, and collectors, fostering meaningful relationships that drive the arts forward and accelerate diverse creatives. Funds raised will support Flourish's bi-annual goal of $150,000, providing essential grants and programming for local artists and curators.

April 25, 7-10pm, at the Museum of Contemporary Art

April 25 – Opening of new art center SVNGRN

SVNGRN is a new art center in Chicago's Fulton Market District. Its inaugural exhibition, Conversations in Color, opens Friday, April 25 from 6-9 PM at 310 N Peoria St as part of EXPO CHICAGO's Art After Hours. The exhibition features a global group of artists using color as a tool for dialogue—telling stories, expressing identity, and engaging with culture, memory, and emotion.

April 26 – Celebratory Opening of Intuit Art Museum

The newly renamed Intuit Art Museum also has a newly expanded 18,000 square foot home, reimagined in space and spirit. IAM will offer a more expansive experience in self-taught, outsider and intuitive art. On Saturday, April 26 a big celebration will offer a festive chance to mingle with fellow art enthusiasts, enjoy delicious bites, spirited libations and a special performance by the Grammy-nominated Kahil El’Zabar Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, followed by a lively After Party with DJ and dancing.

On April 25 there is a public preview of Catalyst: Im/migration and Self-taught Art in Chicago, the first exhibition to open in Intuit’s newly-renovated museum. This the first major exhibition to focus on the importance of immigration and migration in the genre of self-taught art. 

April 27 – Modern Vintage Chicago

Hosted by Randolph Street Market at the Ravenswood Event Center, this indoor market offers a chance to see and shop a stunning selection of vintage clothing, jewelry, furniture, handbags and accessories from 1890’s-2000’s as well as global goods, decorative arts, vinyl and more! Sunday, 10am–5pm

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And also on view, or ending soon:

At Rhona Hoffman Gallery: Not Just A Pretty Picture

After nearly 50 years in the gallery world, Not Just a Pretty Picture is Rhona Hoffman Gallery's final exhibition in their West Town space. This group show includes drawings, assemblage, sculpture, prints, and paintings by established artists Giovanni Anselmo, Susan Hefuna, Sol LeWitt, Gordon Matta-Clark, Sylvia Mangold, Martin Puryear, Edda Renouf, Richard Tuttle, and Gunter Umberg. This exhibition displays Gallerist Rhona Hoffman's depth as a curator in its appreciation for the artist's exploration of materiality, process, concept, and inquiry into the human condition. 

Thru April 26

At the South Side Community Art Center:

Beyond Frames: Black Women Collectors Shaping Cultural Heritage in Chicago

This exhibition highlights a trailblazing group of Black women collectors in Chicago, exploring their practices through care, memory work, and cultural heritage preservation. “Beyond Frames” celebrates an intergenerational group of women who continue this legacy today. Viewers can experience artworks from the personal collections of fourteen different Chicago collectors

Thru April 26

At the Art Institute: Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds

Unveiling Frida Kahlo’s work for the first time in the Art Institute galleries, this exhibition focuses on the celebrated Mexican artist’s first and only trip to Europe and her brief yet pivotal encounter with Mary Reynolds, an American avant-garde bookbinder who stood at the center of a rich Parisian artistic community.

Thru July 13

At the Arts Club: Huguette Caland Bribes de Corps

Huguette Caland: Bribes de corps presents painted works by the Lebanese artist whose life and career traversed decades, continents, and media, defying both aesthetic and social conventions of her time and place. Bringing together a significant corpus of works that have rarely been seen together, the exhibition focuses on the body of work that Caland produced while living in Paris in the 1970s, the Bribes de corps [“Body Bits”] and constitutes the largest presentation of the series to date.

Thru August 2

At the MCA: Wafaa Bilal: Indulge Me

Indulge Me is a major survey of renowned artist Wafaa Bilal (b. 1966, Najaf, Iraq; lives in New York, NY). Crucially, the exhibition takes a comprehensive look at Bilal’s myriad practice, highlighting the development of his work across decades and placing it in conversation with broader art histories. It will also explore cultural cannibalism—that is, how culture (specifically the culture of the other) is used, disassembled, and consumed.

Working in performance, sculpture, and with online and interactive technologies, Bilal’s interdisciplinary practice investigates the dynamic between international and interpersonal politics while highlighting the tension between the United States, which he has deemed the “comfort zone,” and the “conflict zone” of Iraq. 

Thru October 25