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

Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago (MoCP) announces its next exhibition,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=1157c0cf86&amp;e=58cea278c7" target="_blank">MoCP at Fifty: Collecting Through the Decades</a>, on view January 22-May 16, 2026. As we enter the new year, MoCP celebrates its 50th anniversary. Since opening in 1976 and initiating collecting in 1979, MoCP has acquired over 18,000 objects by more than 2,000 artists, representing a broad scope of aesthetics, technologies, and processes. The variety of artworks collected has allowed the museum to engage in conversations across political, social, and cultural landscapes. To celebrate this milestone,&nbsp;MoCP at Fifty&nbsp;examines the evolving practice of building a dynamic collection, presenting a range of objects, from the rarely exhibited to newly acquired works. Together, these selections question and reflect on the role cultural institutions play in shaping the photographic canon. Each of the museum’s five galleries represents a decade of collecting, beginning with the most recent acquisitions (2016-2026) in the first gallery, then moving backwards through time. “Over five decades, the MoCP has built a collection that traces shifting cultural, political, and visual histories. This moment allows us to look back with reflection and celebrate our holdings, knowing that every photograph we steward becomes part of a larger conversation about how images shape our understanding of the world.” Karen Irvine, Chief Curator and Deputy Director Looking at MoCP’s collection decade by decade is as much an archive of history as it is of art. Collections are fluid, often evolving in ways that mirror the values and trends of society at large. The first decades are noticeably missing many women and artists of color, not because such artists were not making work at the time, but because cultural institutions had yet to fully consider the value of varied perspectives and forms of practice. The later decades were collected with intention, not only of addressing gaps in representation, but to embrace conceptual works and works that push the boundary of what defines “photography,” in the process expanding, innovating, and redefining what a photography museum can offer the public. This exhibition displays over 100 objects from the MoCP collection. Featured artists include: Joel Sternfeld (American, b. 1944), Barbara Crane (American, 1928–2019), Matthew Finley (American, b. 1972), Carrie Mae Weems (American, b. 1953), Yasuhiro Ishimoto (Japanese American, 1921-2012), Dayanita Singh (Indian, b.1961), Bob Thall (American, b. 1948), Carlotta Corpron (American, 1901-1988), and various others. Uta Barth, Field #3, 1995; printed 2021. 2021:244

MoCP at 50: Collecting Through the Decades

The Arts Club’s Exhibition of Visual Artist Members is a beloved tradition that brings great pride and prestige to the institution and its membership. Following an inaugural exhibition of paintings by John Singer Sargent in 1916, the second exhibition ever mounted at The Arts Club was of work by our members. Although its structure has changed over the past century, the goal of the exhibition remains the same: to celebrate and showcase the creative efforts of our artist members across a range of media, styles, genres, and forms.To continue The Arts Club’s tradition of showcasing a current and dynamic representation of our members’ practices, participants are asked to submit works completed within the past two years. Some of the artists members are participating in this exhibition for the first time; others have participated for several decades.It is a remarkable accomplishment to have reached the 92nd Artist Exhibition, the 91st of which featured a record-breaking 84 artist participants. We celebrate most sincerely our artist members’ capacity to thrive, make new and exciting work, and forge community through turbulent times.Photo: Installation view,&nbsp;91st Exhibition of Visual Artist Members, January 2024. Photo: Michael Tropea.

The 92nd Exhibition of Visual Artist Members

The Newberry will hold an event on Saturday, January 24, designed to help both new and returning visitors learn more about the independent research library in Chicago’s Gold Coast.&nbsp;“Winter NewberryFest”&nbsp;is an open house-style event that will lean into the library’s extensive collection of maps, dating from the 1500s through present. NewberryFest arrives as a current exhibition,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newberry.org/calendar/mapping-outside-the-lines" target="_blank">Mapping Outside the Lines</a>, takes visitors through a vast array of maps from mundane textbooks to avant garde art. Winter NewberryFest&nbsp;will take place on the first floor of the library (60 West Walton Place, Chicago) with a wide variety of activities that are free and open to all. A few of the activities taking place&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newberry.org/calendar/newberryfest" target="_blank">on Saturday, January 24, from 12-3pm</a>, include: <ul><li>Coming face-to-face with extraordinary maps and related items&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newberry.org/collection" target="_blank">from our collections</a>and having questions answered by our expert librarians and curators.</li><li> </li><li>Learning from our map curator about how to find and enjoy materials in our collection in a half-hour session, 12-12:30pm.</li><li> </li><li>Making map-inspired art through collage and papermaking from 1-3pm.</li><li>Shopping a used book sale, which promises to offer literary treasures at low prices.</li><li> </li><li>Visiting our latest exhibitions,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newberry.org/calendar/mapping-outside-the-lines" target="_blank">Mapping Outside the Lines</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newberry.org/calendar/from-page-to-pixel" target="_blank">From Page to Pixel: Discovering the Digital Newberry</a>.</li><li> </li><li>Joining a docent-led building tour to learn about the library's nearly 140-year history.&nbsp;</li><li> </li><li>Visiting the&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.bookshop.newberry.org/" target="_blank">Newberry Bookshop</a>, which includes much more than just books. All attendees receive 10% off their purchase.</li><li> </li></ul><a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newberry.org/calendar/newberryfest" target="_blank">Registration is encouraged to receive updates and reminders about the event.</a>

Winter NewberryFest

We’re excited to announce Chicago’s first Museum Member Swap Weekend! During the last weekend of January, Driehaus Museum members can visit 11 museums around the city free of charge.&nbsp; Participating institutions include:<ul><li>American Writers Museum</li><li>Driehaus Museum</li><li>Glessner House</li><li>Illinois Holocaust Museum presents Experience360</li><li>International Museum of Surgical Science</li><li>Intuit Art Museum</li><li>Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago</li><li>National Museum of Mexican Art</li><li>National Public Housing Museum</li><li>National Hellenic Museum</li><li>Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art</li></ul> Present your Driehaus Museum membership card at any of the museums listed above to receive free admission. Keep an eye out for a reminder email with further details, and feel free to reach out to&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(136, 125, 255);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:membership@driehausmuseum.org" target="_blank">membership@driehausmuseum.org</a>&nbsp;with any questions.

Chicago Museum Member Swap Weekend

Opening reception Thursday, January 29, 20265:00 - 7:00 pmMoCP600 S. Michigan Ave.&nbsp;Chicago, IL Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago (MoCP) announces its next exhibition,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=1157c0cf86&amp;e=58cea278c7" target="_blank">MoCP at Fifty: Collecting Through the Decades</a>, on view January 22-May 16, 2026. As we enter the new year, MoCP celebrates its 50th anniversary. Since opening in 1976 and initiating collecting in 1979, MoCP has acquired over 18,000 objects by more than 2,000 artists, representing a broad scope of aesthetics, technologies, and processes. The variety of artworks collected has allowed the museum to engage in conversations across political, social, and cultural landscapes. To celebrate this milestone,&nbsp;MoCP at Fifty&nbsp;examines the evolving practice of building a dynamic collection, presenting a range of objects, from the rarely exhibited to newly acquired works. Together, these selections question and reflect on the role cultural institutions play in shaping the photographic canon. Each of the museum’s five galleries represents a decade of collecting, beginning with the most recent acquisitions (2016-2026) in the first gallery, then moving backwards through time. “Over five decades, the MoCP has built a collection that traces shifting cultural, political, and visual histories. This moment allows us to look back with reflection and celebrate our holdings, knowing that every photograph we steward becomes part of a larger conversation about how images shape our understanding of the world.” Karen Irvine, Chief Curator and Deputy Director Looking at MoCP’s collection decade by decade is as much an archive of history as it is of art. Collections are fluid, often evolving in ways that mirror the values and trends of society at large. The first decades are noticeably missing many women and artists of color, not because such artists were not making work at the time, but because cultural institutions had yet to fully consider the value of varied perspectives and forms of practice. The later decades were collected with intention, not only of addressing gaps in representation, but to embrace conceptual works and works that push the boundary of what defines “photography,” in the process expanding, innovating, and redefining what a photography museum can offer the public. This exhibition displays over 100 objects from the MoCP collection. Featured artists include: Joel Sternfeld (American, b. 1944), Barbara Crane (American, 1928–2019), Matthew Finley (American, b. 1972), Carrie Mae Weems (American, b. 1953), Yasuhiro Ishimoto (Japanese American, 1921-2012), Dayanita Singh (Indian, b.1961), Bob Thall (American, b. 1948), Carlotta Corpron (American, 1901-1988), and various others. Image: Danny Lyon,&nbsp;Crossing the Ohio, Louisville, from the portfolio&nbsp;Danny Lyon,&nbsp;1966; portfolio 1979. 1983:125.10

Opening Reception for MoCP at 50

Bert Green Fine Art&nbsp;is pleased to present our third solo show by Chicago native artist&nbsp;Jesse Howard. Jesse Howard is a Chicago native who has observed the rhythms and nuances of African American cultural life in Chicago over many decades. His artworks are meant not as portraits but rather as figurative typologies. meant to document and celebrate the rich variety of individual and collective expressions, showing the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. At the core of this work is a deeply felt, powerful pronouncement of the human spirit. All gallery events are free and open to the public. Additional information found at the gallery website at&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://bgfa.us./" target="_blank">https://bgfa.us.</a>&nbsp;Please forward to any interested parties. Image: Jesse Howard, Oh Cyrus, Charcoal, 42 x 30”, 2026

Jesse Howard ‘A Woke Diaspora’

Valentine Cards Printmaking Workshop: Carve a printing block and print your own Valentine’s Day cards in this hands-on workshop. The event will take place on Saturday, February 7, from 10 AM to 12 PM.

Valentine Cards Printmaking Workshop

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://experience.mcachicago.org/7252/7257" target="_blank">Get Tickets</a> Admission is free to Family Day attendees. What does your heart beat for? Honor passion, textiles, and those who came before us. Designed for children under 12 and their grown-ups, MCA Family Days invite our youngest visitors to be the museum’s artists, thinkers, and collaborators. Image: Family Day | Screen Time, MCA Chicago, November 9, 2024. Photo: Ricardo Adame.

Family Day | Heartstrings

In this special edition of our Third Wednesday series, violist James Kang presents a program showcasing the versatility and expressivity of the viola in the Driehaus Museum Ballroom.

Third Wednesday: Violist James Kang

<a style="color: rgb(0, 124, 137);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=1ce199c26b&amp;e=95b957c616" target="_blank">Concert | A Birthday Celebration for Yoko Ono</a> Museum of Contemporary Art ChicagoFeb 18, 2026 | 7:30 pm On her 93rd birthday and coinciding with the close of&nbsp;Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind, an array of performers come together for an intimate tribute to Ono's life and legacy. Iconic instruction-based artworks, including&nbsp;Sky Piece to Jesus Christ&nbsp;(1965), will be enacted, culminating in a musical set. Northwestern University's Contemporary Music Ensemble, led by renowned conductor Alan Pierson, will perform.

Concert | A Birthday Celebration for Yoko Ono

Lecture in Photography: Joel SternfeldThursday, February 26, 202612:00 pm Ferguson Lecture Hall600 S. Michigan Ave.Chicago, IL

Lecture in Photography: Joel Sternfeld

Celebrate MoCP and our 50th anniversary at our annual benefit auction party DARKROOM on February 26, 2026. Tickets are on sale now!&nbsp;DARKROOM brings together hundreds of photography enthusiasts, artists, and arts patrons for an evening to support the museum.This year, we honor photographer Joel Sternfeld with the Silver Camera Award while showcasing nearly fifty artists in our auction and offering one-of-a-kind live arts experiences on-site at DARKROOM.Click the button below to visit our website, purchase tickets, or make a donation today.<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=e633f30ff4&amp;e=62775191de" target="_blank">Purchase DARKROOM Tickets</a>

DARKROOM Annual Benefit Auction Party

In this conversation with tattoo artist Beth Mintzer and decorative arts curator Elizabeth McGoey, discover how Tiffany lamps have shaped artistic expression from historic interiors to contemporary tattoo studios.

Ornament & Identity: From Tiffany Studios to Tattoo Studios

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.mocp.org/events/lecture-in-photography-bob-thall/" target="_blank">Lecture in Photography: Bob Thall</a> Thursday, March 12, 20266:00-7:30 pmMoCP600 S. Michigan Ave.Chicago, IL Please join MoCP and Columbia College Chicago School of Visual Arts for a Lecture in Photography with Bob Thall. *Ferguson Lecture Hall is located on the ground level of 600 S. Michigan Ave. For several decades, Bob Thall has been known for his formally rigorous and deadpan portrayals of the urban and suburban landscape in Chicago, photographing in sharp detail a view camera. His new project looks at cities across the US and his long term commitment to black and white large format work. Thall served on the faculty at Columbia College Chicago from 1976 to 2017 and chaired the Photography Department from 1999 to 2011. His work and scholarship have played a crucial role in the museum’s history and the broader educational landscape. Lectures in Photography is co-sponsored in partnership with MoCP and Columbia College Chicago School of Visual Arts.

Lecture in Photography: Bob Thall

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://experience.mcachicago.org/7252/7258" target="_blank">Get Tickets</a> Admission is free to Family Day attendees. This month find lost things and transform them into something new.Designed for children under 12 and their grown-ups, MCA Family Days invite our youngest visitors to be the museum’s artists, thinkers, and collaborators. Image: Family Day | Pocket Con, MCA Chicago, December 9, 2023. Photo: Alexis Ellers.

Family Day | Lost and Found

Artist Oren Pinhassi sculpts anthropomorphic forms at great scale that appeal to the senses and intellect at once. He brings to The Arts Club of Chicago a series of figural/architectural works that occupy the gallery in an encompassing configuration, aiming to trigger the physical engagements of desire and fragility. On a basic level, Pinhassi’s forms address viewers as beings. They stand erect, though full of bulbous protrusions and seductive orifices. Yet, they refuse to be fully explicit, instead, seeking to communicate in the manner of poetry. Pinhassi’s towering or sprawling creatures draw upon such ordinary materials as sand, stone, or vinyl. In a process he has named “erotic construction,” Pinhassi uses sensual appeal, rough texture, suggestive pose, and intimate detail to press against the confines of a restrictive society.&nbsp;He has further explained, “The cavities in my work—windows, holes—simultaneously reference the most intimate cavities of the body and, as recognizable architectural elements, become landscapes for this public exchange.” How do streetscapes or open windows suggest encounters or interpenetrations? What are the boundaries between one and another? Why do we fear contact? And where might mutual understanding&nbsp;be found?Photo:&nbsp;Truth Teller&nbsp;(detail), 2024. Steel, burlap, sand, polymer and rock. 93 x 30 x 24 in (236.2 x 76.2 x 60.9 cm). Photo by Elisabeth Bernstein. Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery.The exhibition is curated by Janine Mileaf, Executive Director and Chief Curator at The Arts Club of Chicago.

Oren Pinhassi

The&nbsp;Driehaus Museum&nbsp;is proud to presentBrendan Fernandes: In the Round&nbsp;as the next iteration of its&nbsp;A Tale of Today&nbsp;series that places contemporary art in dialogue with the art, architecture, and design of the Museum. The Museum’s first&nbsp;artist-in-residence,&nbsp;Fernandes will transform the Museum’s 1926 Murphy Auditorium into a dynamic site for sculptural installation, movement, sound, and dance. Conceived as an evolving, episodic residency,&nbsp;In the Round&nbsp;will unfold throughout 2026 with performance dates and public programs announced at intervals across the year. Organized by guest curator&nbsp;Stephanie Cristello,&nbsp;Brendan Fernandes: In the Round&nbsp;takes place at the Driehaus Museum,50 E. Erie Street, from&nbsp;April 9 to November 14, 2026.&nbsp;Inspired by the&nbsp;pioneering spirit of New York City’s Judson Dance Theater and theirConcerts for Dance,&nbsp;Fernandes will create and present a program of newly commissioned performances called&nbsp;Scores for the Murphy Auditorium. Dancers will interact with minimalist site-specific installations developed in collaboration with&nbsp;AIM Architecture&nbsp;(Antwerp, Shanghai, Chicago) and textile-based works by&nbsp;the&nbsp;Fabric Workshop and Museum&nbsp;(Philadelphia), echoing the multidisciplinary ethos of Judson Dance Theater. Fernandes will invite Chicago’s independent dance community for additional performance activations throughout his residency.&nbsp;Executive Director of the Driehaus Museum&nbsp;Lisa M. Key&nbsp;says, “A Tale of Todayreflects a main tenet of the Driehaus Museum mission: sparking dialogue between contemporary art and ideas, and the art, architecture, and design of Chicago’s Gilded Age. We are delighted to welcome Brendan Fernandes to be the Museum’s first artist-in-residence, where history and the present come full circle.”“In the Round&nbsp;invites us to experience contemporary art and dance as a shared architectural and social space—one shaped by bodies moving together through history,” says Guest Curator&nbsp;Stephanie Cristello. “Reactivating the radical spirit of the Judson Dance Theater within the Murphy Auditorium, Brendan Fernandes asks us to see history itself as something lived, collective, and continually re-made.”The Judson Dance Theater was an influential collective of choreographers, composers, filmmakers, and artists in 1960s New York who revolutionized dance by rejecting classical technique in favor of everyday gesture and shared experimentation. Initially staged in the sanctuary of Judson Memorial Church between 1962 and 1966, the group’s early performances offered a radical blueprint for creative freedom. Decades later, Fernandes reimagines this legacy for the present, re-situating its spirit in the Driehaus Museum’s 1926 Murphy Auditorium, which was modeled after a church in Paris.&nbsp;Brendan Fernandes: In the Round&nbsp;collapses past and present, revealing a shared lineage of artists transforming unconventional spaces into places of expression, experimentation, and community.Designed in partnership with AIM Architecture, Fernandes transforms the Murphy Auditorium with a site-specific, circular platform and mirror-finish benches that echo the Museum’s iconic rotunda. Made from repurposed steel and paired with newly-commissioned textile works Fernandes developed at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, the&nbsp;installation places modern minimalism in dialogue with the Museum’s Gilded Age ornamentation, creating an interactive stage setting for&nbsp;visitors to experience history, performance, and space from multiple perspectives.Lead support for&nbsp;Brendan Fernandes: In the Round&nbsp;is provided by Cari and Michael J. Sacks.Major support is provided by the Driehaus Trust Company, LLC and Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson. ABOUT THE ARTISTBrendan Fernandes&nbsp;(b. 1979, Nairobi, Kenya) is an internationally recognized Canadian artist working at the intersection of dance and visual arts. Currently based in Chicago, his practice addresses issues of race, queer culture, migration, protest, and other forms of collective movement. Constantly seeking to create new spaces and forms of agency, Fernandes’ work often takes on hybrid forms: part ballet, part queer dance party, part political protest always rooted in collaboration and fostering solidarity. Fernandes is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program (2007) and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Robert Rauschenberg Residency Fellowship (2014), a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship (2020), an Artadia Award (2019), a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant (2019), and most recently, the Platform Award (2024). In 2024, he was also honored with the Creative Voice Award by Arts Alliance Illinois. His work has been presented at prestigious venues such as the 2019 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Chicago), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC), among many others. Fernandes is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Theory, and Practice at Northwestern University. He is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago and Susan Inglett Gallery in New York. Recent and upcoming projects include performances and solo presentations at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (St. Louis, MO), the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (Denver, CO), the Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia, PA), and Prospect.6 (New Orleans, LA). ABOUT THE DRIEHAUS MUSEUMThe Driehaus Museum engages and inspires the global community through exploration and ongoing conversations in art, architecture, and design of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its permanent collection and temporary exhibitions are presented in an immersive experience within the restored 1883 Nickerson Mansion, and the 1926 Murphy Auditorium. The Museum’s collection reflects and is inspired by the collecting interests, vision, and focus of its founder, the late Richard H. Driehaus. For more information, visit&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.driehausmuseum.org/" target="_blank">driehausmuseum.org</a>&nbsp;and connect with the Museum on&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Driehaus-Museum/362867207176025" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, TikTok,&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.instagram.com/driehausmuseum/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.

Brendan Fernandes: In the Round

<a style="color: rgb(0, 124, 137);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=2520d7f3f7&amp;e=95b957c616" target="_blank">Vernissage</a>Navy Pier Festival HallApr 9, 2026 | 10 am–12 pm&nbsp; The Women’s Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago invites you to attend this year's spectacular benefit, the Vernissage Champagne Brunch, on the opening day of <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.expochicago.com/" target="_blank">EXPO CHICAGO</a> Contemporary Art Fair at Navy Pier's Festival Hall. The MCA is proud to participate in the 13th year of EXPO CHICAGO, which presents artwork from more than 170 leading galleries from around the world. Proceeds from Vernissage raise significant funds in support of the MCA Learning department, whose programs offer compelling opportunities to explore, challenge, discuss and reflect on the MCA’s exhibitions and programs, as well as the world of contemporary art and culture.

Vernissage

<h4>EXPO CHICAGO</h4><h3>Contemporary Art Fair</h3><h3>April 9–12, 2026</h3>

EXPO CHICAGO 2026

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://experience.mcachicago.org/7252/7259" target="_blank">Get Tickets</a> Admission is free to Family Day attendees. Make yourself big and make yourself little, play with perspective and scale. Join us for a smaller-than-usual Family Day while the rest of the museum opens a new exhibition.Designed for children under 12 and their grown-ups, MCA Family Days invite our youngest visitors to be the museum’s artists, thinkers, and collaborators. Image: Family Day | It’s Alive!, MCA Chicago, April 12, 2025. Photo: Natasha Moustache, © MCA Chicago.

Family Day | Mini Mundo

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.mocp.org/events/talk-and-workshop-reimagining-the-photo-album-with-matthew-finley/" target="_blank">Talk and Workshop: Reimagining the Photo Album&nbsp;with Matthew Finley</a> Saturday, April 11, 202612- 1 pm Lecture1-2:30 pm Workshop MoCP600 S. Michigan Ave.Chicago, IL Join MoCP collection artist Matthew Finley (American, b. 1972) for a lecture and workshop exploring the creative possibilities of family and personal archives. Participants will reimagine the photo album as a space for personal or fictional storytelling, using either their own pictures or provided images to create imaginative, curated albums. This program is inspired by Finley’s series and new book&nbsp;An Impossibly Normal Life, a fictional narrative composed of sourced snapshots from around the world that reimagine his late uncle’s life and their shared experiences of coming out and belonging.&nbsp; This program will be held in the MoCP print study room. It is free but requires registration (link is forthcoming).

Talk and Workshop: Reimagining the Photo Album with Matthew Finley

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is thrilled to announce&nbsp;Dancing the Revolution. This exhibition is the first of its kind to explore and expand the visual, political and spiritual histories of dancehall and reggaetón through contemporary art—two dynamic genres that have transcended their grassroots origins to shape global culture. From Kingston to San Juan through London, Toronto, New York City and Panama,&nbsp;Dancing the Revolutionpositions music and dance as a revolutionary practice for collective liberation rooted in the struggle against colonial oppression.Dancehall and reggaetón are not only musical genres but cultural practices and powerful expressions of resistance and joy—reminders of the Caribbean's centuries-old traditions of dance and music as means of liberation and protest rooted in Black Atlantic history and culture.&nbsp;Dancing the Revolution&nbsp;showcases pivotal moments and themes from these histories, starting with the sound system—a mobile disco that embodies both a community experience and a vital civic institution.&nbsp;Presenting work across varied mediums,&nbsp;Dancing the Revolution&nbsp;includes painting, sound sculptures, installations, photographs, and video, showcasing how artists have been and continue to be inspired by these histories and the visual forms that emerge from them. The exhibition features more than 35 artists, including Isaac Julien, Jean Michel Basquiat, Edra Soto, Alberta Whittle, Carolina Caycedo, supakid and Lee "Scratch" Perry. A special commissioned mixtape project invites visitors to learn about the evolution of these popular genres in Panama and hear iconic songs that have paved the way for the global phenomenon of reggaetón. Audiences also will be able to purchase the exhibition’s bilingual catalogue (Spanish/English), which features scholarship on topics such as sound system and sonic aesthetics in painting, dancing and protest during Puerto Rico's&nbsp;Verano del 19, or Summer of 2019, and Panama’s reggae en español, as well as extensive illustrations reproducing exhibition artworks.Dancing the Revolution&nbsp;considers music and dance as powerful tools for sexual and political liberation. The exhibition’s title is inspired by the shifting RPMs (revolutions per minute) that mark the tempo and history of Caribbean popular music, including historic events like Verano del 19 (which famously included protests attended by singers iLe, Residente, Ricky Martin, and Bad Bunny). At this critical moment of collective action, LGBTQ+ and feminist activists led&nbsp;perreo combativo, or “combative twerking,” on the steps of San Juan Cathedral prior to Governor Ricardo Roselló’s resignation, transforming reggaetón’s characteristic dance into a form of political protest. This reclamation of public space through dance—an act deeply rooted in dancehall history and culture—demonstrates how music and dance can serve as bold acts of collective resistance and emancipation.Dancing the Revolution&nbsp;is curated by Carla Acevedo-Yates, former Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator and Director of Curatorial Initiatives, with Iris Colburn, Curatorial Associate, Nolan Jimbo, Assistant Curator, Cecilia González Godino, former Marjorie Susman Curatorial Fellow, and nibia pastrana santiago, Curatorial Consultant.

Dancing the Revolution

Turner GalleryChicago Works: Mike Cloud&nbsp;is a solo exhibition of new paintings by Mike Cloud (b. 1974, Chicago; lives in Chicago). Over the past two decades, Cloud has developed a practice that challenges historical framings of abstract painting as apolitical and pure, approaching his works instead as objects that circulate within broader systems of commodities, signs and power. As part of his process, he configures canvas stretcher bars into recognizable and often symbolically-loaded shapes—the teepee, the pyramid and the Star of David, among them—only to defamiliarize them through dense layers of oil paint, text and found materials applied to the surface of his canvases. Although Cloud’s paintings appear to be abstract in form, they also hold specific subjects sourced from current events that carry themes of tragedy, suffering and death. Underscoring the objecthood and modularity of his works, the exhibition will include sculptural paintings installed across both the walls and the floor of the gallery.&nbsp;Chicago Works: Mike Cloud&nbsp;is organized by Nolan Jimbo, Assistant Curator.

Chicago Works: Mike Cloud

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.mocp.org/events/lecture-in-photography-carla-williams/" target="_blank">Lecture in Photography: Carla Williams</a>Wednesday, May 6, 20266:00-7:30 pm Ferguson Lecture Hall600 S. Michigan Ave.Chicago, IL&nbsp; Carla Williams (American, b. 1965) is a photographer and curator known for her explorations of identity, race, gender, and representation. In her early work in the 1980s, she used a large-format camera to explore her own image, in work that reflected the lack of visibility of Black women in photographic history. Williams is the co-author of&nbsp;The Black Female Body: A Photographic History&nbsp;(2002) with Deborah Willis. She served as a curator of photography at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and was a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Calendar

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