This week’s art plans can take you across Chicago, into the suburbs, and north to Wisconsin. Auctions and museum conversations lead into Lincoln Park Art Night on Thursday, followed by Bridgeport’s Third Friday festivities and Milwaukee’s quarterly Gallery Night MKE. New exhibitions, live calligraphy, and an art sale round out Friday’s choices. Over the weekend, the Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House Chicago opens doors to distinctive spaces, while family activities and an outdoor sculpture tour offer more ways to spend time with art.

Here is a date-by-date look at what’s ahead. Follow the event links for registration and updates, and keep an eye on CGN’s calendar as more details are added.

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Curated: CALDER

Auction: Wednesday, October 14, 10 a.m. Central / 11 a.m. Eastern

Rago and Wright

online bidding

A midweek auction offers another way to engage with art. Rago and Wright’s current Curated: CALDER sale brings the artist’s work to the auction block, with bidding available online. See the current auction catalog for lots and registration.

European Furniture & Decorative Arts

Auction: October 14–15, 10 a.m. Central each day

Freeman’s

1550 W. Carroll Ave., Chicago

Freeman’s two-day sale spans English and Continental furnishings, decorative objects, and sculpture. Collections from across the country, including Barrington Hills, contribute to a selection ranging from clocks and tapestries to Minton porcelain.

Symposium: Religion, Art, and Provenance in Museums

October 14–16

Smart Museum of Art

University of Chicago | Hyde Park

What happens to religious objects when they enter museum collections? Keynotes, panels, and roundtable conversations consider their changing meanings and histories in this multi-day symposium. Consult the program for individual session times and locations.

Art and Women in Sports: Looking at Amber Morningstar

Wednesday, October 14, 3:30–5 p.m.

Block Museum of Art

40 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston

Northwestern Athletics’ Ava Earl and Associate Provost Michelle Manno consider Cara Romero’s photograph Amber Morningstar through the lens of women in sports and self-representation. The conversation connects art with identity, teamwork, and the power to shape one’s own image.

Coffee and tea begin at 3 p.m.

Becoming Words: A Joint Calligraphy Exhibition

October 15–November 15; opening reception Friday, October 16, 5–8 p.m.

Heritage Museum of Asian Art and Seldon Institute

Exhibition at Research House for Asian Art, 3217 S. Morgan St., Chicago

Japanese calligrapher Hekiun Oda and Iranian artist Bahman Panahi bring different traditions into conversation, moving from written language toward gesture, abstraction, and sound. The exhibition opens Thursday, followed by Friday’s live performance program and a free artist-led tour Saturday, October 17, 1–3 p.m.

The Fine Art of [Madron Gallery]

Opening: Thursday, October 15, 5:30–8:30 p.m.; on view through December 18

Madron Gallery

1000 W. North Ave., 3rd Floor, Chicago

Madron marks its 25th anniversary with twenty-five works by twenty-five artists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The free opening joins the fifth annual Lincoln Park Art Night, making it a lively evening to explore Madron, Leslie Wolfe Gallery, gallery 1871, Art City, and Art on Sedgwick.

Wander and Wallow: Must We Dwell — Brian Lathan

Opening: Thursday, October 15, 6–8 p.m.; artist remarks at 6:30 p.m.; on view through November 20

Kavanagh Gallery, Fine Line Creative Arts Center

37W570 Bolcum Rd., St. Charles

Brian Lathan’s brightly colored prints explore the uneasy relationship between escape and self-care. Figures shelter smaller versions of themselves inside exposed headspaces, inviting viewers to consider the habits and interior worlds that sustain us. Meet the artist at the free opening reception.

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View the full CGN Calendar here