West Town, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Kinzie Corridor, Humboldt Park

West Town

Wisconsin

IL • MI • IN

West Loop, Fulton Market, East Garfield Park

West Loop and West Side

Evanston, The North Shore, Northern, Western and Southern Suburbs

Suburbs

Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, Rogers Park

North Side

Michigan Avenue, Streeterville, The Gold Coast, The Loop, and South Loop

Michigan Avenue

Pilsen, Bridgeport, Chinatown, plus Hyde Park, Jackson Park/Dorchester, and Bronzeville

South Side

Superior and Franklin streets, West Chicago Ave, and down to Merchandise Mart and the River

River North

The momentum continues this summer with&nbsp;Forward V: Our Wisconsin &amp; Regional Artists, our fifth annual celebration of the exceptional painters, sculptors, printmakers, and mixed-media artists who call Wisconsin and the greater Midwest home.&nbsp;&nbsp;This beloved exhibition carries special meaning in 2026 — it will be the first Forward in our beautiful new space, and it arrives at a landmark moment for the Third Ward as the&nbsp;Historic Third Ward Association celebrates its 50th Anniversary.Forward V gathers artists&nbsp;Marc Anderson, Reginald Baylor, Allison B. Cooke, Al Eickberg, Steve Gerhartz, Bobby Girsh, Michael Guinane, Mutópe J. Johnson, Darren Jones, Shelby Keefe, Antwan Ramar, Jolanta Kinga Rose, Colette Odya Smith, Michael Charles Sutton, and John Waite.This year we are proud to introduce two&nbsp;emerging artists&nbsp;to the Forward stage:&nbsp;Greta Berens&nbsp;from MIAD and&nbsp;Abigail Tran&nbsp;from UWM — two extraordinary young talents whose inclusion reflects our deep belief in growing and supporting the next generation of Wisconsin artists.

Forward V: Our Wisconsin & Regional Artists 

A solo exhibition of vibrant, layered paintings exploring memory, perception, and place through a process that balances intention with spontaneity. Image: Christina's Garden

Continuum: Selected Works by Carol Neiger

“All Terrain”, a landscape group show featuring Brooks Anderson, Mark Flickinger, Paula Blackwell, and others.River North Mid-Summer Gallery Walk, 5-8pm.

All Terrain, a landscape group show

4th Floor GalleryArt is a universal language that has many modes of expression. Color Songs: Musicians as Visual Artists, focuses on a marriage between the disciplines of visual art and music. Seeking visual artists who also create music, or musicians who compose visual artworks; painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed media, printmaking, fiber arts, photography, installation, etc… While works of art addressing music as a subject are encouraged, the works of visual art featured in Color Songs are not limited to this theme.Image: SuRa Dupart – Green Sun Drummer, foam acrylic paint sculpture with black frame 54″x 40″x 6″

Color Songs: Musicians as Visual Artists

11th Solo Exhibition PARK, Yon-JaePark Yon-jae is a Korean visual designer who has been a professor in the Department of Industrial Design at Joongbu University for 26 years.Under the theme of “Return to Nature,” Park Yon-jae’s exhibition expresses human desire to return to the pure nature. By expressing the dizzy and frustrating material-all-round society with barcodes and the human self with fish, butterflies, and flowers, the desire to return to the purity of the beginning was expressed in illustration.

Return to Nature

3RD FLOOR GALLERYGuruShots is a digital platform that allows photographers from around the world to submit their work for a variety of thematic photo challenges that open every day.Their July 2026 exhibition at Bridgeport Art Center features their premium exhibitions, a special series of photography exhibitions displaying photographic works from around the globe. Visitors will be able to view this remarkable collection of 150 unique printed works submitted by photographers spanning over 30 different countries.Learn more at <a href="https://bridgeportart.acemlnb.com/lt.php?x=4lZy~GDMV6Gh65F5zADMgRVw2nNSut~wj~hhjqTHI3Gi7p37zEy7x.Ny2nWRzk~w_x6uXnDMMnSZ6q360OxIU.Bx" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" target="_blank">gurushots.com</a>Image: Ethereal Night at Megyeri Bridge – Zoltán Csorba – Hungary

Gurushots Photo Exhibition: Chicago 2026

GoCM presents Grief and Hope, artists reflecting on how to process personal and collective loss and find a path towards healing. Please join us this Thursday, July 23 at 7:00pm in the gallery for the opening reception.&nbsp;​​Featuring:Etty HasakToyoharu KiiDugald MacInnesDeborah Bell MadsenDean MadsenDavid ChidgeyCarolynn FriedmanEugenia Sherman BrownVerdiano Marzi&nbsp;​​This special exhibition features 'From Darkness to Light: Mosaics Inspired by Tragedy.' 36 small mosaic works created in response to the 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Grief and Hope

Whispers from the Unfamiliar exhibit explores relationships with the unknown . . . the quiet, unfiltered thoughts that flutter internally before taking shape in the real world. Intuition perceives our surroundings and understanding of self long before our conscious mind constructs words to rationalize them. The unfamiliar whispers in silent moments, revealing hidden emotions, forgotten histories, and subtle echoes of understanding. It weaves narratives while we sleep and wakes us with instant clarity and purpose. By embracing this unconscious conversation, we uncover insight into our identities and the world we inhabit. Curator, Stephanie SailerExhibiting Artists: Debra Balchen, Roland Biermann, Bethany Cordero, Alexis Di Stefano, Brian Divis, Gertah, Abby Giurfa, Carol Hammerman, Alex Jarus, Nico Kazlauskas, John Kurman, Elizabeth La Bouef, Kim Laurel, Micki LeMieux, Ellen Lustig, Scott Mossman, Marvin Shafer, David Skora, Rich Steward, Nancy Van Kanegan, Audrey Yang The CSI Project Space Gallery is located at 1912 N. Damen Ave.Gallery Hours: Fri, 2-6 pm; Sat, 12-4 pm; Sun, 1-5 pm

Whispers of the Unfamiliar

Our summer&nbsp;show,&nbsp;Elements of Summer featuring Ana Zanic, Adam Thomas and Beth Herman Adler,&nbsp;opens on Thursday, June 25th with a reception in the gallery from 5-7 pm. We hope you'll join us for an evening of arresting art, engaging conversation and light refreshments!Elements of Summer&nbsp;will be on view through September 5th.

Elements of Summer featuring Ana Zanic, Adam Thomas and Beth Herman Adler

Centering on the iconic spacecraft that in 1976 transformed Parliament-Funkadelic concerts into interstellar journeys, the exhibition coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Mothership: a visionary creation that, in Clinton’s words, took “the ’hood into outer space.”&nbsp; George Clinton remains one of the most unfailingly eccentric figures in the history of music, renowned for extravagant performances in which stage production and sonic production are used to psychedelically transport his viewers. As ambitious as it was improbable, the&nbsp;Mothership&nbsp;– a silver, pyramid-shaped vessel that landed on-stage with Clinton himself as Dr. Funkenstein on board – captured the imagination of Parliament’s audiences by bringing psychedelic culture into the mainstream at a moment when the space race remained an ongoing cultural obsession.Drawing from an eclectic constellation of references, Clinton's paintings construct dreamlike worlds in which the logic of a non-narrative typology gives way to rhythm and vibration. Across the canvases, void-like forms recalling the silhouette of the&nbsp;Mothership&nbsp;hover at the center of the picture plane. Untethered from ground or horizon, these suspended forms occupy indeterminate fields where space is rendered not as empty expanse but as a living, psychic terrain in which possibility continuously circulates.&nbsp; Across the paintings, Clinton deploys a vivid palette of electric pinks, saturated blues, and radiant yellows that has become synonymous with the visual culture surrounding Parliament-Funkadelic and its Afrofuturist imagination. Suggestive of celestial atmospheres and synthetic light, these colors transform pictorial space into an environment of continual emergence. Together with the recurring form of the&nbsp;Mothership, they produce a visual language in which cosmic travel becomes synonymous to Clinton’s music and performances. <a href="http://link.marianeibrahim.com/ls/click?upn=u001.QEhnWBve3x4w-2FznpuSOKkHDHeH9lWxp-2BpojXmbdTFEe5mhUXHtCIR1ObL-2F1pf9PRCcXDMVVICTqMmyWZChgw6mSOCyaAfyXTHrbQzaNaRJmkNqLCw3gaBJwjG94W4dAkY-2B8Xqc-2BJCtT9qKLi6jcDqw-3D-3D-2l2_F-2B18IOO1ZU6iY4K-2F9Q9GBGu5rvP-2BL20ZUrVQMSgnAy2dkeZXZkSsnZVlr-2Bsr2mNTrrX1Su-2BlhTy9s-2FYv05MbNVmbO84LxVlquEZwgqQiHutO5vNXTTuf1Pxb4YhbMiEP0mNNX2dSqEQD3Sr7HmLAVjyykgkfMRfoyfdbQx1WmoQCuX-2FSMnulX5sl3YRKeduedRrrKIVs9oMbMakviv2H-2FuLzlhWDp0ELFo9gr8-2BJyNgwzk5XmYtznwPye3BiRGrzIkYMqdxreUTqg5l-2Ff5exV2BhYn20Zy8Bt0anB0GEFGmSvRfYiKl9rUKSP0y1Ze7McOx6i9x8eBUnl3SQU-2Bn31ClGS1L26MKM76jp4CJtV2YMC9n2q2Mhqr598gOFowzMjUpgB8bimwjmOgOC1nXEA93gjCLCIEp5RheIaSgLlwoeoWDeAy2XTO0vXhuUvik3hIDdw4tcyAehS5PKAIHbEaYVbB-2FuYnwZ9oKssTXrKXaOnMIdnaN3BExgve6aOp-2BrygE4jnQzvc-2ByeupidiAfK2lRPmIJMu6x57n64vDGccW9wCSZHv9hqe8dtY23i4us9MLFCySn1Uv40roj3E1uk6BDBJZhMtzOW0365YS2j5HXZAPA3-2BPdRR-2BstmO1KP0-2Fd3qoFr-2FNMo-2B8ApPmetI4T9Mbr3xQMiM99wiF1OzzGZMUqlzHt7oIPqtGupfRg6B2nBMPbBmR6WywrMg4G4CqZfk6q7ddHGaU9R0iTktWn-2B03nXc7XgIAP0NhHWB0V1rPavJTz8RS0crujqDMYSkGVIDR6GyfObNTnrpekG0M1XUqhKPJ5z-2BnED8nDgZaymCTTe3o5vmNhtcFS9qhUGIpSbZ8FJuf9FabMJhGnp7ZZBo-3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">READ MORE</a> Image: George Clinton,&nbsp;Ethereal De-cloaking, 2023. Courtesy of George Clinton. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1785440129/ssgaewgcbhqasjnyez9k.png">Artist Portrait of George Clinton. Photo by Lynsey Weatherspoon, Redux. Courtesy of George Clinton.

George Clinton: Mothership

The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art (UIMA) is pleased to announce Home Grown (Vol. III), the third iteration of curator Lauren Iacoponi’s ongoing exhibition series exploring sustainable processes and the relationship between people and plants. On view from July 11 through September 6, 2026, the exhibition transformsUIMA’s galleries into an immersive environment where sculpture, eco-dye textiles, hand papermaking, and botanical installations are integrated directly into a living landscape of plants.Home Grown began in 2022 as a booth installation at the MdW Fair at Mana Contemporary Chicago, and returned in 2025 for a second iteration at Heaven Gallery.&nbsp;For its third installment, UIMA serves as the flagship location, with new and returning artists creating work that responds to eco-friendly materials and processes — from artist-made bioplastic to sculptures grown from living mycelium.&nbsp;Visitors to Home Grown (Vol. III) will encounter work that blurs the line between artwork and ecosystem. Featured artists work in mycology, natural dye, fiber, ceramic, photography, and assemblage, often incorporating organic materials that continue to grow, change, or decompose over the course of the exhibition. Highlights include Erin LaRocque’s reishi mycelium sculptures, Noelani Jones’ participatory sprouting chia-seed textiles, SK Reed’s natural pigment paintings, and Rachel Meyers Heffernan’s homestead weavings made with her sheep’s wool.A central feature of Home Grown (Vol. III) is its roving counterpart, Unpacked Mobile Gallery, a 16-foot truck outfitted as a traveling exhibition space. Throughout the first week of the exhibition (Saturday, July 11 - Saturday, July 18) , Unpacked will bring nature-centered artwork and participatory workshops directly into public parks, cultural institutions, and community gardens across Chicago, including Comfort Station (Logan Square), Plant Chicago (Back of the Yards), Met West Community Garden (West Town), The Weaving Mill Dye Garden and Seed Library (Humboldt Park), Sand Ridge Nature Center (Cook County Nature Preserve), the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art (UkrainianVillage), and additional Chicago public parks. The project also partners with Jeremy Ohems of Wild World Gardens (Native plant sale with pre-order pickups), and Spudnik Press (plant sale partner and risograph residency in support of Home Grown exhibition).Free public programming will include eco-dye and natural ink workshops, foraging presentations, native plant lectures, and plant cutting exchanges, designed for intergenerational and cross-cultural participation. Workshop facilitators include artists SK Reed and Maven Kennedy (natural pigments), Katelyn Patton (natural dye), Tulika Ladsariya (cyanotype), Allen Moore and Grace Papineau-Couture (performance), and educators from the Weaving Mill Dye Garden, and Prairie Friends Native Plant Nursery. About Lauren IacoponiLauren Iacoponi is a Chicago-based curator and Curatorial Assistant at the UkrainianInstitute of Modern Art. She is the co-founder and director of Unpacked Mobile Gallery and the founder of Purple Window Gallery, and has curated exhibitions at venues including Elmhurst Art Museum, Heaven Gallery, and the MdW Fair at Mana Contemporary Chicago. About the Ukrainian Institute of Modern ArtThe Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art (UIMA) preserves and promotes contemporary art as a shared expression of the Ukrainian and American experience. Founded in 1971 inChicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood, UIMA has for more than fifty years offered an alternative exhibition space for nationally and internationally recognized artists working outside the mainstream. The Institute presents a robust annual schedule of exhibitions, concerts, literary events, lectures, and films, and is a core member of the Chicago Cultural Alliance.

Home Grown (Vol. III) 

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition,&nbsp;Ellen Holtzblatt and Paula Menchen | Place and Passing.&nbsp;The exhibition will be on display from&nbsp;August 8 - September 6, 2026 with an opening reception on Sunday, August 9, 1-4pm that will be free and open to the public.Place and Passing&nbsp;is a two-person exhibition that approaches landscape as shifting fields of memory, sensation, and emotion. Both artists draw from the transformative nature of their materials in constructed and deconstructed layers, revealing how the experience of place is carried within us and evolves through the act of creation.Ellen Holtzblatt and Paula Menchen | Place and Passing&nbsp;will be exhibited in the First Floor Gallery of the Art Center. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibition is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the EAC’s general membership.

Ellen Holtzblatt and Paula Menchen | Place and Passing

GALLERY HOURS:&nbsp;Monday–Thursday, 9am–6pm; Friday, 9am–5pm; Saturday &amp; Sunday, 9am–4 pm*Registration is required. Visit&nbsp;www.EvanstonArtCenter.org&nbsp;for more information.The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition,&nbsp;John Wangendo | Stories from Africa.&nbsp;The exhibition will be on display from&nbsp;August 8 - September 13, 2026 with an opening reception on Sunday, August 9, 1-4pm that will be free and open to the public.Through his colorful and detailed portraits, artist John Wangendo gives viewers&nbsp;a glimpse into stories from the continent of Africa, from its civil wars to its deep cultures and traditions. Wangendo was nominated for&nbsp;the Mayor's Award for the Arts by the City of Evanston, Illinois in 2023. John Wangendo | Stories from Africa&nbsp;will be exhibited in the Second Floor Gallery of the Art Center.The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibition is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the EAC’s general membership.Evanston Art Center, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization, is dedicated to fostering the appreciation and expression of the arts among diverse audiences. The Art Center offers extensive and innovative instruction in broad areas of artistic endeavor through classes, exhibitions, interactive arts activities, and community outreach initiatives.

John Wangendo | Stories from Africa

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition,&nbsp;Voytek Glinkowski | Pages From My Notebook. The exhibition will be on display from August 8 - September 13, 2026 with an opening reception on Sunday, August 9, 1-3pm that will be free and open to the public."Every day, most of the time we are processing and transferring messages, news, pictures and feelings into the notebooks of our minds. The fabrics of those thoughts and images become Pages From My Notebook. I don't want to lose them. One never knows."– Voytek GlinkowskiGlinkowski received a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from the Strzeminski Fine Art Academy in Poland. His work has been exhibited in over 30 individual and group shows in the USA and Europe including at Stricoff Fine Art Gallery in New York, Discovery Galleries in Bethesda, Atlas Galleries in Chicago, Vail Fine Art Gallery in Vail, Triada Gallery in Gdansk, and Newborough Avenue Gallery in Boston.

Voytek Glinkowski | Pages From My Notebook

This summer, the&nbsp;Driehaus Museum&nbsp;presents&nbsp;Ink &amp; Outrage: 18th&nbsp;Century Satirical Prints in London &amp; Dublin,&nbsp;an exhibition that explores the wit and graphic brilliance displayed by English graphic satirical artists such as James Gillray (1765-1815) and Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827) to lampoon civics, society, and culture in Georgian London. The exhibition places original prints in dialogue with plagiarized works by artists in Ireland, evoking conversations about piracy, originality, and reproduction that have become more relevant than ever today. Organized by guest curators&nbsp;Silvia Beltrametti&nbsp;and&nbsp;William Laffan&nbsp;and following its debut at the Irish Architectural Archive in Dublin in 2025,&nbsp;Ink &amp; Outrage: 18thCentury Satirical Prints in London &amp; Dublin&nbsp;takes place at the Driehaus Museum, 50 E. Erie Street, from&nbsp;May 15 to September 13, 2026.&nbsp;Now ubiquitous in Internet meme culture and modern-day satire, the groundbreaking use of image and text during the Georgian period was a powerful form of storytelling, holding those in power accountable, and fostering bonds between classes and communities.&nbsp;Ink &amp; Outrage: 18th&nbsp;Century Satirical Prints in London &amp; Dublin&nbsp;includes approximately 100 original prints and features loans from The William A. Gordon Library of British Caricature, the collection of the O’Brien family, and the Richard H. Driehaus Art Exhibition Lending Foundation.The exhibition places original prints alongside plagiarized works made in Ireland,&nbsp;where copyright law of images did not apply and business for replicas flourished. These pirated copies provoked historic debates around authorship and plagiarism that set the stage for current conversations around artificial intelligence, intellectual property, and mass reproduction today.In the context of the Driehaus Museum, the exhibition presents Georgian satirical prints as a vital precursor to the art, architecture, and ideas that shaped the United States during the Gilded Age. The works reflect the visual and political culture of an influential period in Britain and Ireland that went on to inform American taste and civic life.&nbsp;Executive Director of the Driehaus Museum&nbsp;Lisa M. Key&nbsp;says, “Ink &amp; Outrage: 18th&nbsp;Century Satirical Prints in London &amp; Dublin&nbsp;is a model for meaningful international collaboration, strengthening the Museum’s commitments to rigorous scholarship, shared stewardship, and cross-cultural exchange.&nbsp;We hope visitors see the trajectory from these early forms of satire to the present day, and the importance of satire as a public forum for debate and connection.” Co-curator&nbsp;Silvia Beltrametti&nbsp;adds, “Caricature is the intellectual vehicle that speaks truth to power in the fastest, funniest, and most piercing way possible. Behind the blasts of color in these prints lie a remarkable copyright story-- free from the legal constraints, Irish publishers could copy original productions from London.”Major support for this exhibition is provided by the Driehaus Trust Company, LLC. ABOUT THE CURATORSSilvia&nbsp;Beltrametti&nbsp;is&nbsp;a&nbsp;lecturer&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Department&nbsp;of&nbsp;Art&nbsp;History,&nbsp;Theory&nbsp;and&nbsp;Criticism&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;School&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Art&nbsp;Institute&nbsp;of&nbsp;Chicago. Beltrametti is an expert on art law and her research focuses on the international trade of art as well as intellectual property, specifically on how copyright shapes artistic production. She has published in the&nbsp;Columbia&nbsp;Journal&nbsp;of&nbsp;Law&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Arts&nbsp;andNorthwestern&nbsp;Journal&nbsp;of&nbsp;Technology&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Intellectual Property.&nbsp;In&nbsp;2025&nbsp;she&nbsp;contributed&nbsp;to&nbsp;Myth&nbsp;and&nbsp;Marble,&nbsp;Ancient&nbsp;Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection&nbsp;(ed. Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine&nbsp;A.&nbsp;Ruff,&nbsp;Yale&nbsp;University&nbsp;Press).&nbsp;With&nbsp;William&nbsp;Laffan,&nbsp;she has published two substantial articles on Dublin caricatures in&nbsp;Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies.William Laffan&nbsp;is a cultural historian and the author of numerous books on Irish art and architecture. He served as editor of&nbsp;Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies&nbsp;and has published extensively across a wide variety of cultural topics.&nbsp;In 2014 he co-authored&nbsp;Russborough:&nbsp;A&nbsp;Great&nbsp;Irish&nbsp;House,&nbsp;Its&nbsp;Families&nbsp;and&nbsp;Collections&nbsp;and&nbsp;the following year was historical adviser to the landmark exhibition at the Art&nbsp;Institute&nbsp;of&nbsp;Chicago,&nbsp;Ireland, Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690- 1840&nbsp;and edited the show’s catalogue.&nbsp;In 2024 he curated&nbsp;Thomas Frye, An Irish Artist in London&nbsp;at&nbsp;Dublin&nbsp;Castle.&nbsp;With&nbsp;Silvia&nbsp;Beltrametti, he has published two substantial articles on Dublin caricatures in&nbsp;Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies.&nbsp;Image: After James Gilray,&nbsp;Oh! that this too too solid flesh would melt, Published by William McCleary, Dublin.

Ink & Outrage: 18th Century Satirical Prints in London & Dublin

This exhibition highlights Ferrigno's newest monotypes. The ten works in the show, populated by biomorphic and architectonic&nbsp;forms, manifest an aesthetic sensuality which is heightened by a prismatic array of colors.<a href="https://www.artsy.net/show/manneken-press-andrea-ferrigno-collective-effervescence" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View on Artsy</a> Image: Andrea Ferrigno:&nbsp;We're At A Crossroads. 2026. Monotype, 27.75" x 37".

Andrea Ferrigno:  Collective Effervescence

Hilton Contemporary is pleased to present&nbsp;Cristina Mittermeier: Marks of Memory, a solo exhibition of new works on view from&nbsp;July 22 - September 15&nbsp;at Hilton Contemporary's River North gallery. The exhibition features a new body of mixed-media collages alongside a selection of limited-edition photographs, expanding Mittermeier’s celebrated visual language through layered, tactile works that reflect on memory, place, and the fragile beauty of the natural world.These new collage works extend Mittermeier’s longstanding exploration of our connection to nature while introducing a new physicality to her practice. Built through layers of image, texture, and mark-making, the works reflect both personal remembrance and collective environmental memory—traces of landscapes, coastlines, wildlife, and lived experience that remain with us long after a moment has passed. The result is a body of work that feels both expansive and deeply personal, balancing wonder with urgency. Coinciding with the exhibition, Mittermeier will also appear in Chicago as an honorary guest speaker at Aspen Institute's&nbsp;Aspen Ideas: Climate Chicago&nbsp;at&nbsp;Shedd Aquarium on&nbsp;July 21st&nbsp;— a fitting extension of the environmental and conservation themes that have defined her career. Serving as the focal point for the summit's "Evenings at Ideas", the event brings together global leaders, policymakers, and climate innovators. <ul><li>Evening at the Shedd (July 21): From 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM attendees can enjoy climate-focused dialogue surrounded by marine life. The festival's signature "Spark Talks" transforms into "Shark Talks," exploring nature-inspired climate solutions from sea otters, coral reefs, and electric eels.</li></ul> <ul><li>Speakers: In addition to Cristina Mittermeier, the speaker roster includes figures like Al Roker, actor Rainn Wilson, Chef Rick Bayless, and Shedd’s Vice President of Environmental Operations, Allen LaPointe</li></ul> Mittermeier is widely known as one of the leading voices in contemporary conservation photography. A photographer, marine biologist, and co-founder of the conservation organization&nbsp;<a href="https://vl6pibjab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Mn0h9qKSeNKjj9qj_8-HRZR8K7J5AxQr5yvA7QmdMKUIpIfLJi9XzJoFOQMoEOBzmBGerXHbxZkwFboJbNHM_shT9MLxWwjyKyCqXCWeyNOC7DOeyuWZT185eQWprAEGerJjyqiqAVQB2F6fLRprw4wnmQ_sjjzoVYvulustOWLQl0vcXR4PPGiZs8206qyP&amp;c=yN_KKghckIyp5r5sh56YsUgVn8wywT0gOJ6wtVAErUEzgJqn-GEuyg==&amp;ch=wtknYliUM8ea4LR5mTae8Vu9rGMlJJYRdV-bL2HVP-6vtieFAfDiwQ==" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank">SeaLegacy</a>, her work has helped shape global conversations around climate change, biodiversity, and ocean protection.&nbsp; ﻿Yet even as her images bear witness to the environmental crisis, they are rooted in reverence—an effort to inspire care, responsibility, and a deeper sense of belonging within the natural world.﻿In&nbsp;Marks of Memory, that sense of reverence takes on new form. The exhibition invites viewers to consider how images function not only as records, but as vessels: carrying emotion, experience, and evidence of what has been loved, witnessed, and at risk of being lost. Together, the collages and photographs offer a meditation on remembrance, stewardship, and the enduring marks left by both nature and human presence. Marks of Memory&nbsp;will be on view at Hilton Contemporary through September 15, 2026 312.852.8200 •&nbsp;<a href="mailto:arica@hiltoncontemporary.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" target="_blank">arica@hiltoncontemporary.com</a>&nbsp;•&nbsp;<a href="https://vl6pibjab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Mn0h9qKSeNKjj9qj_8-HRZR8K7J5AxQr5yvA7QmdMKUIpIfLJi9XzLIV9ZLYw1n7JlEAeV3DQhp04tBKDv7fqg9igZEhiMW1Qq3rURa4FhV4gb8t0SX7HlqK6qbDZu1ZrCENzC8EJO4dNUTg_9EKch0u1NkerN0_Ei8yuTh8ULw=&amp;c=yN_KKghckIyp5r5sh56YsUgVn8wywT0gOJ6wtVAErUEzgJqn-GEuyg==&amp;ch=wtknYliUM8ea4LR5mTae8Vu9rGMlJJYRdV-bL2HVP-6vtieFAfDiwQ==" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" target="_blank">http://www.hiltoncontemporary.com</a>&nbsp; Image: Muñeca con Flores

Cristina Mittermeier: Marks of Memory

Taqui Spateen –&nbsp;FROM THAT LAND Opening August 27, 5:30pm - 7:00pm John David Mooney FoundationInternational Currents Gallery114 W. Kinzie St. Chicago, IL 60654<a href="https://www.mooneyfoundation.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.mooneyfoundation.org</a> Taqui Spateen is a contemporary Palestinian painter and muralist, who held a 3 month Residency at the John David Mooney Foundation through our Artists at Risk Program. Born in Husan, Bethlehem, his work is inspired by the sacred beauty of the Palestinian countryside, as well as the displacement caused by the settler expansion. From That Land will be on display and open to the public from August 27 through September 17. Parking Available across the street at Sterling Park. Garage. Image: Committed Nature, Acrylic on Canvas, 2025

Taqui Spateen: From That Land

Paintings by Thomas McCueOak Park Public Library (Main Branch)2nd Floor Gallery834 Lake St. Oak Park, IL 60302 Generative Interference is a solo exhibition of paintngs by Thomas McCue The artist will exhibit recent work representative of ongoing explorations into expressive and abstract image making. The work is a product of a highly intuitive, spontaneous, and "generative" process.Influenced by biological entities, processes, and environments, both real and imagined, with form and composition emerge over&nbsp;the course of layering intuitive mark making and color. The artist is legally blind, having experienced significant vision loss&nbsp;over twenty years ago. Thomas has had to contendl loss of central vision, relying ofn his peripheral vision to do both every-day life tasks and make art. "Interference" in part refers to the artist's condition, called Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). In addition to loss of central vision, LHON presents with dynamic visual artifacts, simple visual hallucinations and "noise". The artist has had to adapt and work using memory, close-looking, technology, and intuition the work reflects both a process of real-time adaptation and a running internal narrative of nature's complexity, chaos, and beauty. The work is also defined by the effort to see through the interference with the use of contrast, saturated color, line, and repetition. Generative Interference will be at the Oak Park Public Library mMain branch from August 18 to September 18. Image: "The Idyll" 48" x 60" , Oil on Canvas, 2026, Thomas McCue

Generative Interference

Letica Pardo: Carcasa (109 E. Ontario St.)Through a material reconfiguration of the Mies van der Rohe stair and walls from The Arts Club building, the installation foregrounds aspects of architectural production often minimized or rendered invisible within dominant historical narratives. Originally produced for The Arts Club’s former location, the stair was salvaged from demolition and reinstalled in the institution’s current building, becoming an object in the collection.Translating the stair into exposed rebar—a material typically embedded within built infrastructure and intentionally concealed—brings construction to the surface. The seemingly unfinished structure draws attention to manual labor carried out by immigrant workers who have sustained the U.S. building industry. Silicone casts taken from travertine slabs surrounding the staircase function as reversed impressions of the stone, revealing internal veining and voids as surface textures. Together, the rebar structure and silicone casts establish a dialogue between structure and body, visibility and concealment, and value and labor.Reducing architecture to bone and skin, Carcasa (109 E. Ontario St.) approaches modernism as a system whose authority and visibility were produced through selective recognition. In doing so, it positions architecture as a cultural record of collective making shaped by social relations.This project was curated by Executive Director and Chief Curator Janine Mileaf.This site-specific installation involved production assistance by Dishan Rahman, and metal fabrication by Alejandro Castellanos, Ernesto Garcia, Jair Martínez, José Martinez, Ricardo Martínez, Danilo Medina, Ernesto Medina, Gonzalo Medina, Nelson Ramírez, Francisco Rivadeneyra, Heriberto Valdez, Daniel Valencia, Randi Vigueras, D5 Design and Metal Fabrication.Special thanks goes to Gallery Manager Colby Starck and preparators Reggie Williamson, Xavier Hughes, and Adele Henning. Carcasa (109 E. Ontario St.) (detail), Leticia Pardo. Photo by Fran Peñaflor.

Letica Pardo: Carcasa

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence defined “unalienable rights” as “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” And five years after the end of the Revolutionary War, the founding generation ratified a new Constitution to, among other things, “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” What it meant to dedicate a country to liberty was immediately contested and continues to be contested to this day. For whom were these “Blessings of Liberty” to be secured? Under what circumstances could individuals expect the inalienable right of liberty to be recognized? What justifies limitations on liberty, and what does a dedication to liberty demand of us?Though Americans grappled with these issues in all times and places, nothing crystallized the tensions around liberty quite like war. President Abraham Lincoln, in his address at the newly dedicated Gettysburg National Cemetery in the midst of the Civil War, centered his reflection on this very question: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” At the site of so much death and destruction, he wondered whether a nation, “so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.”Conceived in Liberty: Cartoons, Caricatures, and Illustrations in the Wartime US, 1812-1918&nbsp;will draw on the Newberry’s collection to show how artists living through wartime “conceived” cartoons, caricatures, and illustrations that grappled with questions about liberty. These images appeared throughout broader print culture (newspapers, magazines, sheet music, broadsides, posters) as well as in more private contexts, such as diaries, letters, or sketchbooks. Whether patriotic or dissenting, available to the masses or only to a few, wartime imagery reveals in dramatic, visually compelling ways how the people of the US have used the occasion of war to question, revise, challenge, and champion this core value of the country since its founding 250 years ago.<a href="https://www.newberry.org/calendar/conceived-in-liberty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DETAILS</a>

Conceived in Liberty: Cartoons, Caricatures, and Illustrations in the Wartime US, 1812-1918

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our upcoming exhibition,&nbsp;Glass Castles | Curated by Azul Alberto Nogueron. The exhibition will be on display from August 8 - September 20, 2026 with an opening reception on Sunday, August 9, 1-3pm that will be free and open to the public.Glass Castles&nbsp;is a whimsical, surrealist exhibition of works about spirituality and religious trauma curated through the queer perspective.&nbsp;Glass Castles&nbsp;is the second of three exhibitions curated by Azul Alberto Nogueron as part of their time as the EAC's COMPASS Resident.The COMPASS Curator Residency provides an emerging curator with an opportunity to curate three shows in the Evanston Art Center’s Lobby Gallery space. The EAC’s Lobby Gallery is a space dedicated to exhibiting emerging and underrepresented artists/curators and responds to current social events. This dynamic and inclusive space draws in new curators, artists, and audiences. Glass Castles | Curated by Azul Alberto Nogueron&nbsp;will be exhibited in the Lobby Gallery on the FirstFloor of the Art Center. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibition is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the EAC’s general membership.Evanston Art Center, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization, is dedicated to fostering the appreciation and expression of the arts among diverse audiences. The Art Center offers extensive and innovative instruction in broad areas of artistic endeavor through classes, exhibitions, interactive arts activities, and community outreach initiatives.

Glass Castles | Curated by Azul Alberto Nogueron

Willem de Kooning Drawing&nbsp;is the first exhibition to explore the full scope of Willem de Kooning’s drawing practice and how it was foundational to his boundary-breaking artistic career. Featuring more than 200 artworks including rarely-seen drawings—alongside paintings, sculptures, and prints—this exhibition offers an unprecedented opportunity to experience the totality of his graphic production over seven decades and sheds light on his experimentation with materials, tools, and techniques.

Willem de Kooning Drawing

Have you ever kneaded wet dough? It feels amazing. Smack smack thwap stretch flop. Throw it in the air and see what happens. It can be any shape you want.&nbsp;Fruit flies like dough too. Buzzzzz buzz buzz.My face is stiff and my arms are somewhat immobilized by a complex arrangement of bandages, but a sweet young thing named Annie sits&nbsp;patiently&nbsp;next to me, holding a plastic cup with a straw up to my parched lips. Pink sparkling rosé, my favorite. It’s about the little things. Miami Beach. Printed minidress. Chunky necklace on tan skin.... Cars slow down to get a better look at me....

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