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

&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hyde Park Art Center</a>, the renowned non-profit hub for contemporary art located on Chicago’s vibrant South Side, announces&nbsp;Ground Floor, the ninth iteration of the Art Center’s biennial program showcasing select work by recent graduates from each of Chicago’s five MFA (Master of Fine Art) programs, on view from&nbsp;August 9 – November 1, 2026.&nbsp;The exhibition opens on the Art Center’s quarterly open house day,&nbsp;Center Day, with free public programs including artmaking from&nbsp;1-4 p.m.The exhibition offers a single destination to view some of Chicago’s most promising emerging talent who graduated in 2025-26 from one of Chicago’s five MFA programs: Columbia College Chicago, Northwestern University, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, The University of Chicago, and The University of Illinois at Chicago. Artists represented in&nbsp;Ground Floor&nbsp;include&nbsp;<a href="http://lamiaabukhadra.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lamia Abukhadra</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://gabriellebanks.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gabby Banks</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://claireburkedain.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Claire Burke Dain</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://ricardodelima.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ricardo De Lima</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://emmadifani.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Emma Difani</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://naakitafk.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">naakita f.k.</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://aidanannefrierson.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aidan Anne Frierson</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.laveengammie.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Laveen Gammie</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://laurelhauge.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Laurel Hauge</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://lianghestudio.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Liang He</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://xingyuhuang.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Xingyu Huang</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://susanjablonski.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Susan Jablonski</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://yingfeiliang.wixsite.com/fayeliang" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Faye Yingfei Liang</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://mauriciolopezf.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mauricio López F.</a>, Isaiah McDaniel,&nbsp;<a href="http://tepalandjian.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Te Palandjian</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.breannarobinson.studio/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Breanna Nannette Robinson</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://reneeroyale.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Renee Royale</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kianashahnia.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kiana Shahnia</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://nanakokono-rolly.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nanako Wagley</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.judsonwomack.com/#1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Judson Womack</a>.Ground Floor&nbsp;presents the work of select graduates made in the past two years to articulate conceptual and stylistic trends coming out of Chicago art schools right now. Their modes of making range the full spectrum in media, from painting and printmaking to film and sculpture.&nbsp;The artists share their excitement about the opportunity and why it is meaningful at this moment in their practices: "Over the years, I’ve known many artists whose careers and practices have been deeply impacted by this exhibition, and I’ve always seen it as an incredible resource and opportunity for artists navigating life after graduate school. I’ve been connected to the Art Center in many ways—as a South Sider, a visitor, an artist, and coordinator of the Center Program—long before this exhibition. To now have the honor of exhibiting my own work alongside so many other artists feels like a homecoming moment," says&nbsp;Aidan Anne Frierson.&nbsp;And&nbsp;Emma Difani&nbsp;shared: “While graduate school was a period of tremendous growth, it was also a bit of a bubble. This is an exciting opportunity to build relationships outside of the academic setting in a place for art-as-lived that celebrates artists of all ages and stages.”&nbsp;Xingyu Huang&nbsp;said, “For me, this opportunity to show my work on the building facade is an invitation to reimagine the boundaries we build between ourselves and the living world. My work challenges the idea that urban environments and ecological processes are separate by bringing attention to aquatic systems within exhibit spaces. It’s incredibly exciting to create a space at HPAC where audiences can physically confront these invisible, shared dependencies and realize we are entirely continuous with our environment.”The exhibition opening day overlaps with the summer installment of the Art Center’s quarterly series&nbsp;Center Day, an all-ages program offering free public access to art viewing and artmaking, from&nbsp;1-4 p.m.&nbsp;The August 9 programming includes exhibition receptions for three exhibitions (Jeff Carter: The Singer Pavilion Project&nbsp;and&nbsp;OFF THE WALL!, in addition to&nbsp;Ground Floor) from 1-4 p.m., a mural workshop from 1-4 p.m., Chicago Housing Authority mural unveiling from 1-1:30 p.m., a teen artist panel from 1:30-2 p.m., a basket weaving workshop led by Art Center resident artist ebere agwuncha from 1-3 p.m., and open studios from 1-4 p.m. with resident artists (ebere agwuncha, Carlos Flores, Cydney M. Lewis, Pooja Pittie, Fidencio Fifield-Perez, Anwulika Anigbo, D. Lammie-Hanson, Jess Atieno, Laveen Gammie, and Tongji Philip Qian). About Ground Floor 2026Ground Floor—so named because it provides a crucial platform for rising artists and traverses the entire lower level of the Art Center—gives exhibiting artists a major public venue in which to display their works at a critical juncture in their careers, helping to build, support, and ensure a strong and vibrant community of artists in Chicago.The 21 artists in the exhibition were selected by the Art Center’s&nbsp;Ground FloorSelection Committee from a competitive pool of applicants who were nominated by respected Chicago-based artists, curators, and administrators. The 2026 jury committee includes nationally and internationally renowned artists, curators,&nbsp;and educators Cecilia Beaven, Amber Ginsburg, Sherwin Ovid, Lorelei Stewart, and Jade Yumang. The exhibition is curated by Director of Exhibitions and Residency, Mariela Acuña, and Exhibitions and Residency Manager, Tran Tran. The exhibition is enriched with further insight into these artists’ practices by didactic text by writer and curator Nicky Ni. A few notable Ground Floor alumni include Jonathan Castillo, Hai-Wen Lin, Tony Lewis, Maria Gaspar, Norman Teague, and Melissa Leandro.This exhibition is generously supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Illinois Arts Council, and The Joyce Foundation. ABOUT THE HYDE PARK ART CENTERHyde Park Art Center, at 5020 South Cornell Avenue on Chicago’s vibrant South Side, is a hub for contemporary arts in Chicago, serving as a gathering, production, and exhibition space for artists and the broader community to cultivate ideas, impact social change, and connect with new networks. Since its inception in 1939, Hyde Park Art Center has grown from a small collective of artists to establishing a strong legacy of risk-taking and experimentation, emerging as a unique Chicago arts institution with social impact. Today, the Art Center offers a diverse suite of programs for artists and art lovers of all backgrounds, ages, and stages in their careers including: contemporary art exhibitions in six galleries; open-access community-based school with 2,000 annual enrollments; weekly arts education to 1,000 elementary school students in public schools; weekly and summer teen programs for 100 teen artists; professional-advancement programs for artists; a local and international artist residency; and public programs that connects residents with Chicago art and artists. The Art Center’s Oakman Clinton School + Studio is the nation’s first fully contribute-what-you-can visual art school for all ages. The Art Center functions as an amplifier for creative voices of today and tomorrow, providing the space to cultivate new work and connections.For more information, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.hydeparkart.org</a>.

Ground Floor

Opening Reception:&nbsp;Saturday, September 12, 2026, 4pm — 7pm (the gallery will be open 12pm — 7pm)Artist Talk: 4pm&nbsp;About the exhibitionThe Renaissance Society and Fondazione In Between Art Film present&nbsp;Tendered, a solo exhibition by Karimah Ashadu, whose moving-image practice examines the conditions under which bodies are rendered legible within contemporary systems of labor and value, especially within the cultural context of Nigeria and its diaspora.Karimah Ashadu: Tendered&nbsp;will be on view at the Renaissance Society in Chicago from September 12 - November 1, 2026.&nbsp;Working across film and installation, Ashadu develops close, sustained encounters with people whose lives unfold within informal economies, attending to how aspirations are negotiated under material constraint.&nbsp;The exhibition marks the U.S. debut of&nbsp;MUSCLE,&nbsp;a new moving image installation co-commissioned and co-produced by the Renaissance Society, Fondazione In Between Art Film, and Camden Art Centre. Centered on bodybuilders training in the heart of Lagos’s slums, the work situates bodybuilding within a broader field of exertion: the body as site of labor, autonomy, and self-fashioning.&nbsp;MUSCLE&nbsp;is accompanied by a series of new sculptural works,&nbsp;Pure Rugged Water (2025),that draw directly from the film’s environments.Having grown up between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, the artist situates her point of view within a constant negotiation of distance. In&nbsp;MUSCLE, she works with a sympathetic—and sometimes visceral—proximity to the subjects of the film, eschewing the documentary point of view. As she gathers the stories of men in this film, she extends an ongoing inquiry present in earlier works, including&nbsp;Machine Boys&nbsp;(2024) (on view at the Art Institute of Chicago from September 11&nbsp;—&nbsp;November 1, 2026),Plateau&nbsp;(2022), and&nbsp;Red Gold&nbsp;(2016).&nbsp;The exhibition is organized within the framework of&nbsp;Unison, a biennial initiative established by the Fondazione In Between Art Film to commission and produce moving image-based exhibitions in collaboration with international institutions.&nbsp; PublicationTendered9.76 x 12.79 inches168 Pages&nbsp;ISBN: 9788867497089&nbsp;&nbsp;Tendered&nbsp;is accompanied by the first reference monograph dedicated to the artist, edited by Bianca Stoppani,&nbsp;curator for the editorial and discursive programmes&nbsp;at&nbsp;Fondazione In Between Art Film, with Alessandro Rabottini and Leonardo Bigazzi. Published by Mousse, the monograph&nbsp;features contributions from Karimah Ashadu; Myriam Ben Salah, director and chief curator at The Renaissance Society,&nbsp;Chicago; Leonardo Bigazzi, curator at Fondazione In Between Art Film; Gina Buenfeld-Murley, curator at Camden Art Centre,&nbsp;London; Martin Clark, director at Camden Art Centre, London; Dr Clive Chijioke Nwonka, associate professor in film, culture&nbsp;and society, UCL, London; Alessandro Rabottini, artistic director at Fondazione In Between Art Film; Bettina Steinbrügge,&nbsp;director at Mudam Luxembourg; and Arese Uwuoruya, assistant curator at Camden Art Centre. About the ArtistKARIMAH ASHADU (b. London 1985) is a British-born Nigerian artist and film director living and working between Hamburg and Lagos. Her work has been exhibited and screened at institutions internationally, including the 60th Venice Biennale, where she was awarded the Silver Lion for a Promising Young Participant in the International Exhibition. Other Institutional shows and screenings include Camden Arts Centre, London, Canal Projects, New York, MoMA PS1, New York, Kunsthalle Bremen,&nbsp;Tate Modern, London, Secession, Vienna, Kunstverein in Hamburg, South London Gallery, London, Museum of Modern Art, New York and Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève.&nbsp;Current&nbsp;solo shows include the Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover.&nbsp;Credits&nbsp;Tendered&nbsp;is curated by Alessandro Rabottini and Leonardo Bigazzi of Fondazione In Between Art Film with Myriam Ben Salah and Karsten Lund for its iteration at the Renaissance Society.&nbsp;Supported by Sadie Coles HQ, LondonPure Rugged Water (2025)&nbsp;was produced with additional support of the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung.Renaissance Society programs are supported by Teiger Foundation and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.&nbsp;EventsConversations at the Edge: An Evening with Karimah AshaduThu, Sept 10, 6PMSiskel Film Center164 N. State Street, Chicago, IL 60601Presented in collaboration with the School of the Art Institute and Gene Siskel Film Center, this screening presents three other films by Karimah Ashadu—Plateau,Brown Goods, and&nbsp;King of Boys—and will be&nbsp;followed by a conversation with the artist.&nbsp;Opening Reception&nbsp;Sat, Sep 12, 4-7pm&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Screening by the African Film InstituteWith a conversation between Christian Nyampeta and Natacha NsabimanaThu, Oct 15, 7PMLogan Center for the Arts, 2nd&nbsp;Floor&nbsp;In 2019, artist and filmmaker Christian Nyampeta, who is based in New York, launched the African Film Institute, housed at e-flux. In conjunction with Karimah Ashadu’s exhibition, Nyampeta and anthropologist Natacha Nsabimana will show a film and be in conversation as part of their ongoing collaboration on the question of what is African cinema?Visit&nbsp;<a href="http://renaissancesociety.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(35, 31, 32);" target="_blank">renaissancesociety.org</a>&nbsp;for more information. Image: Karimah Ashadu,&nbsp;Tendered, 2026, installation view. Photo by Robert Chase Heishman for Bob.&nbsp;

Karimah Ashadu: Tendered 

The IHSAE Educator Show is scheduled to take place from September 18 to November 6, 2026, spanning a duration of 7 weeks in Room 3A. The event will commence with Open Studios on September 18, 2026.

IHSAE Educator Show

Una Vuelta a Mis Raíces (A Return to My Roots): Monochromatic Pigment Paintings by Robert Lipton SEP 18-NOV 6, 20263rd FLOOR GALLERY Inspired by the powerful materiality of abstract expressionism and contemporary masters such as Antoni Tàpies, Anselm Kiefer, and Bosco Sodi, Robert Lipton presents a series of richly textured mixed-media paintings that explore color, surface, and transformation. Built through layers of pigment and organic processes, these works invite viewers to slow down, look closely, and discover shifting landscapes of texture, depth, and form. Image: Untitled 2025 -Mixed media on canvas 66” x 41”

Una Vuelta a Mis Raíces (A Return to My Roots): Robert Lipton

Art Educator &amp; Alumni Exhibition Presented by ArtConnectED Sept 18 – Nov 6. 3rd Floor Gallery ArtConnectED understands the importance of building community and the role the arts play in bringing people together. Art Connection: Past Meets Present celebrates the enduring connections between art educators and their former students, honoring the shared creative journey that begins in the classroom and continues throughout a lifetime. This exhibition showcases the impact of mentorship, inspiration, and the lasting influence that teachers and students have on one another. Through a variety of media and artistic voices, the show highlights how creative dialogue and exploration can span years, evolve, and continue to inspire new perspectives. Awards:Awards are generously provided by BLICK Art Materials and by donations from partnering art schools, colleges, and universities. Opening ReceptionBridgeport Art Center, 3rd Floor Gallery on September 18th from 7:00-10:00P Image:Natalie Pivoney – Creekside Elementary SchoolMillennial Park – Oil on Canvas 2026 – 30W” x 20H”

Art Connection: Past Meets Present

In Full View is an exhibition scheduled to take place from October 10 to November 7.

In Full View

ABOUT THE EXHIBITIONWoman Made Gallery presents&nbsp;In Full View, a juried group exhibition of work by 47 women and non-binary artists age 65 and older. Selected by Jerry Zbiral, the exhibition explores visibility and invisibility as they relate to identity, aging, memory, and the legacy of a fully lived life.&nbsp;Working across a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, fiber, and mixed media, the artists consider what it means to be seen, overlooked, remembered, or revealed, and how those experiences shape both life and art. The work speaks to presence, resilience, personal history, and the evolving power of creative expression over time.Opening Reception:&nbsp;October 10, 2026 | 4–7 p.m.Artist Walkthrough &amp; Closing:&nbsp;November 7, 2026 | 2–4 p.m.Exhibiting Artists:&nbsp;Pánne Ally, Loraine Anderson, Laura Balombini, Jane Barrow, Marian Berg, Lindsey Berkun, Carrie Betlyn-Eder, Mary Ann Bucklin, Kathy Castleton, Laura Cerf-Dahl, Margaret Colarelli, Marie Corfield, Susan Fecho, Viktoria Ford, Tammi Franke, Amanda Freymann, Anne-Bridget Gary, Mary Gingrich, Shari Gullo, Pam Hamilton, Deborah Hirshfield, Pamela Hobbs, Ellen Holtzblatt, Judith Huacuja, Frederica Huff, Mama Coco, Jude Kallok, Ruth A. Keitz, Katherine Kraus, Phyllis Lear, Sylvia Lorraine, Darcy Lynn, Maureen May, Angela McElwain, Erin McNamara, Karen Mosbacher, Karen Musgrave, Moni Olguin, Linda Popp, Cherry Rahn, Jane Rieso, Paulette Schermerhorn, Beth Shadur, Carol Spindel, Paola Tavoletti, Mary Jane Tenerelli Janet Tsakis<a href="https://us.list-manage.com/Vdu3cazbpHK?e=a3993dd90f&amp;c2id=31024f3b516cbeaa8db35c380455cf8f" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SEE THEIR WORK AND STATEMENTS</a>

Woman Made Gallery presents&nbsp;In Full View, a juried group exhibition of work by 47 women and non-binary artists age 65 and older. Selected by Jerry Zbiral, the exhibition explores visibility and invisibility as they relate to identity, aging, memory, and the legacy of a fully lived life.&nbsp;Working across a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, fiber, and mixed media, the artists consider what it means to be seen, overlooked, remembered, or revealed, and how those experiences shape both life and art. The work speaks to presence, resilience, personal history, and the evolving power of creative expression over time.Opening Reception:&nbsp;October 10, 2026 | 4–7 p.m.Artist Walkthrough &amp; Closing:&nbsp;November 7, 2026 | 2–4 p.m.Exhibiting Artists:&nbsp;Pánne Ally, Loraine Anderson, Laura Balombini, Jane Barrow, Marian Berg, Lindsey Berkun, Carrie Betlyn-Eder, Mary Ann Bucklin, Kathy Castleton, Laura Cerf-Dahl, Margaret Colarelli, Marie Corfield, Susan Fecho, Viktoria Ford, Tammi Franke, Amanda Freymann, Anne-Bridget Gary, Mary Gingrich, Shari Gullo, Pam Hamilton, Deborah Hirshfield, Pamela Hobbs, Ellen Holtzblatt, Judith Huacuja, Frederica Huff, Mama Coco, Jude Kallok, Ruth A. Keitz, Katherine Kraus, Phyllis Lear, Sylvia Lorraine, Darcy Lynn, Maureen May, Angela McElwain, Erin McNamara, Karen Mosbacher, Karen Musgrave, Moni Olguin, Linda Popp, Cherry Rahn, Jane Rieso, Paulette Schermerhorn, Beth Shadur, Carol Spindel, Paola Tavoletti, Mary Jane Tenerelli Janet Tsakis

Artist Walkthrough & Closing

Cutting East to West celebrates the diversity and enduring creativity of papercut art from around the world. Originating in Asia, papercutting has traveled across cultures and generations, evolving into distinct regional traditions, techniques, and contemporary forms. Featuring 48 artists from across the United States and abroad, the exhibition presents both time-honored practices and innovative new approaches. Participating artists are Aaron Reser, Amanda Humpage, Amy M. Bennett, Barbara Schreiber, Beatrice Coron, Benjamin Feinstein, Bethany Ricks, Bianca Levan, Carolyn Guest, Charles Kubly, Daniela Yew, David Friedman, Deborah Brewer, Dena Bach, Frances Halley, Gillian Jackson, Irena Boobyer, Janelle Washington, Jennifer Kaplan, Jerise Fogel, Karen Aldrich, Karen Bell, Kathleen Rupff, Kathleen Trenchard, Kory Sutherland, Leah Korican, Liu L, Lorraine Bubar, Lucrezia Bieler, Lucy P. Liu, Marie-Helene Grabman, Melanie Kehoss, Nancy Keyes, Peter Weideli, Randall Williams, Reni Gower, Richard Schuchman, Rosa Daragan-Powers, Sam Wróbel, Sara McMahon, Shruti Satish Amritkar, Sue Gettlin, Tiffany Budzisz, Volha Palunisa (Baburyna), William Carroll, Yang Cuevo, YS Liu, and Yun Xie. Presented in collaboration with members of the Guild of American Papercutters (GAP), Cutting East to West invites visitors to discover the precision, imagination, and cultural stories held within a single sheet of paper. Papercutting on Stage: Kamishibai 紙芝居 Workshop Oct 16, 2:00 - 4:00 PM | $45 Opening Reception : Cutting East to West Oct 16, 6:00 - 8:00 PM | free Papercutting Art Live-Demonstration Oct 17, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM | free Oct 18, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM | free One Sheet, Many Stories: Chinese Papercutting Across Cultures Oct 24, 2:00 - 4:00 PM | $45 Intro to Wycinanki - The Polish Folk Art of Papercutting Oct 25, 2:00 - 4:00 PM | $45 Event Registration: https://www.heritageasianart.org/2026gap

Cutting East to West: Guild of American Papercutters Members' Exhibition

<a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192);" target="_blank">Hyde Park Art Center</a>, the renowned non-profit hub for contemporary art located on Chicago’s vibrant South Side, hosts its&nbsp;2026 Gala&nbsp;activating the entire building on&nbsp;Saturday, November 14, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with an afterparty that goes till&nbsp;11:30 p.m.&nbsp;The lively event honors American painter&nbsp;Candida Alvarez&nbsp;and Chicago arts leader&nbsp;Nora Daley,&nbsp;and is packed with hands-on art activities, commissioned performances, open studios, art auctions, and DJs from Lumpen Radio. The gala co-chairs are Chicago art patrons&nbsp;Trissa Babrowski and Sundeep Mullangi,&nbsp;Maria Christina and Guy-Karim Caland Puymartin, and Chicago gallerists&nbsp;Monique Meloche and Evan Boris. The Gala after-party is hosted in partnership with Lumpen Radio, with standalone tickets at $75 available for purchase on the Art Center’s website. Guests may RSVP and make donations at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hydeparkart.org/gala." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.hydeparkart.org/gala</a><a href="http://www.hydeparkart.org/gala." rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: black;" target="_blank">.</a> With a “creative cocktail” dress code, the evening will feature a cocktail party running from 5:30-7:00 p.m., followed by a seated dinner with remarks by Art Center leadership and artists. With a reputation as one of the city’s most “hands-on” art parties, the Gala will feature an after-party in collaboration with Lumpen Radio from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. that includes the popular Interactive Artist Interventions, resident artist open studios, performances, DJs, late-night bites, and more.&nbsp; Interactive Artist Interventions have been a highlight of past Art Center Galas, where guests were engaged in inventive interactions, such as getting inked by a tattoo artist and eating cake off a wall.&nbsp;This year’s participating artists will be announced soon at&nbsp;<a href="http://hydeparkart.org/gala" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hydeparkart.org/gala</a>. Gala tickets are available for $750 with host committee sponsorship levels beginning at $2,500. Guests may RSVP and make donations at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hydeparkart.org/gala" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hydeparkart.org/gala</a>. For more information on sponsorship levels, please contact Destinee Johnson at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:djohnson@hydeparkart.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">djohnson@hydeparkart.or</a><a href="mailto:djohnson@hydeparkart.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" target="_blank">g</a>. About the honoreesCandida Alvarez&nbsp;is widely regarded as one of her generation’s most highly innovative and experimental painters. Her work has been collected by the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Whitney Museum, San Jose Museum of Art, El Museo del Barrio, among others. She has been granted the Anonymous was a Woman Award, Trellis Art Fund Award, Arts and Letters Award in Art by the American Academy of Arts and Letters,&nbsp;Mellon Foundation Latinx Artist Fellowship,&nbsp;Helen Frankenthaler Award for Painting, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painter and Sculptors Grant. Alvarez is an alum of Yale School of Art, and held the F.H. Sellers Professorship in Painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she is now Professor Emerit. In Fall 2024 Alvarez was the Alex Katz Chair in Painting at The Cooper Union. Her career-spanning solo exhibition at El Museo del Barrio titled Circle, Point, Hoop was on view until August 2025, running concurrently with Real Monsters in Bold Colors:Bob Thompson and Candida Alvarez, GRAY New York. Alvarez is represented by GRAY New York and Monique Meloche Gallery. Nora Daley&nbsp;has focused on helping people and tirelessly strengthening communities throughout her life. In 2025, she was named the board&nbsp;co-chair of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the largest exhibition of architecture and urbanism in North America. She was appointed Chair of the Illinois Art Council Agency by Governor JB Pritzker in September 2022, and continues to work with other agencies throughout the state to partner and provide access and opportunity for the creative sector. She has been in leadership as chairman of the Board of Trustees and executive committee member of multiple organizations, including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the Terra Foundation for American Art, After School Matters, Navy Pier, Inc., Frances Xavier Warde School and the Richard J. Daley Global Cities Forum. Daley has served as an advisor to and active participant in various organizations, including the Illinois Justice Project, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, Hyde Park Art Center, University of Illinois Chicago and Harris School of Public Policy University of Chicago. From 2011-2019 she chaired the City of Chicago’s Cultural Advisory Council under Mayor Rahm Emanuel. In 2022 Daley established Raven Partners, a strategic advisory firm, to continue to build upon her work with various businesses and organizations. As a former Managing Director of Wonderworks, an immersive experiential art museum that disrupts the traditional nonprofit model, she led the relaunch, rebuild and rebrand of the museum. From 2002-2014 Daley worked as a Senior Advisor and Director of Outreach for Metropolis Strategies, an initiative from the Commercial Club of Chicago that created a civic organization focused on the growth of the regional economy to promote sustainable development and create safer communities throughout the Chicago region. Daley received a BA in Art History from Fairfield University. She lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.

Hyde Park Art Center’s 2026 Gala

Becoming Words brings together Japanese calligrapher Hekiun Oda and Iranian calligrapher and visual artist Bahman Panahi. Their works begin with the calligraphic traditions of East and West Asia and take them somewhere distinctly their own. Both are interested in what happens when a word becomes an experience rather than a symbol, when calligraphy moves beyond representation and begins to embody concepts. Oda’s practice grows from Shodō, where brush, ink, body, and breath come together in a singular act. His work explores how written language can become a universal architecture of connection, while his engagement with natural phenomena transforms these words into states of movement, atmosphere, and presence. Panahi draws on the Persian tradition of Nastaliq, opening its forms toward abstraction, sound, and music. His concept of Musicalligraphy brings calligraphy and music into conversation, engaging words and ideas such as mehr—love, longing, and peace—not simply as subjects, but as ways of being. Though their vocabularies and cultural lineages are distinct, both artists treat the word as a portal into experience. Love, rain, water, and music can all become conditions of experience. The calligraphic act does not simply write the word, but becomes it. The exhibition is accompanied by live performances by both artists on the reception night, where calligraphy unfolds as a singular act, made in the moment and impossible to repeat. ​Additional artist talks and workshops will take place on separate dates throughout the exhibition. This exhibition is made possible through a collaboration between the Seldon Institute and the Heritage Museum of Asian Art, supported by the Research House for Asian Art. Program Series: Opening Reception and Calligraphy Performance​​ October 16, 5 - 8 PM​ | $​40​ Research House for Asian Art 3217 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60608 Artist-led Tour During Open House ChicagoOctober 17, 1 - 3 PM | free Research House for Asian Art 3217 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60608 Musicalligraphy: Immersive Workshop October 18, 1 - 4 PM | General Admission $80 Seldon Institute Calligraphic Dialogues October 18, 11 AM - 1 PM | free Seldon Institute Event registration: <a href="https://www.heritageasianart.org/2026becomingwords" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.heritageasianart.org/2026becomingwords</a>

Becoming Words: A Joint Calligraphy Exhibition

Neurologist, Professor, and Director of the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics Anjan Chatterjee and glass artist Judith Schaechter discuss how the brain perceives, creates, and responds to art.

Anjan Chatterjee & Judith Schaechter on Neuroaesthetics

Fundraiser, 4th Annual Bowling Fundraiser for the Ren in Hyde Park Please join the team of the Ren and our host committee of seasoned bowlers—Daniel G. BairdBrian BlackBethany CollinsDavid FrejChanelle LacyEmma McKeeSundeep Mullangi—for our fourth annual evening of strikes, spares, suds, and sliders, as we raise critical support for 2026–27 exhibitions and programs.All bowling ticket buyers have the opportunity to bowl on a team. Lane Sponsors can bring their own teams. Don’t bowl? Get a Cheering Section ticket and join us to watch the competition and root for your favorite bowlers!All proceeds from the evening will provide critical support for the Ren’s exhibitions, performances, and concerts.Lane SponsorIncludes game for 8, food and drinks: $5,000Single Bowling TicketIncludes game for one, food and drinks: $500Cheering SectionIncludes food and drinks: $350Artist SponsorIncludes single bowling ticket benefits: $350Please note: per IRS regulations, $50 per ticket is non-tax-deductible.<a href="https://us.list-manage.com/PVdyj4jlTj5?e=375d06b725&amp;c2id=a1543766333e29b2a96f10cba6d25902" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Purchase a ticket or make a donation.</a>

4th Annual Bowling Fundraiser for the Ren

Dipesh Chakrabarty, Christine Laquet, Jennifer Pitts, &amp; Zachary Cahill on the Climate Crisis. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, December 1st, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Zachary Cahill, Director of Programs and Fellowships at the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry, will moderate a discussion with the 2026-2027 Gray Fellows.

Dipesh Chakrabarty, Christine Laquet, Jennifer Pitts, & Zachary Cahill on the Climate Crisis

The Small Works Members Show is an upcoming exhibition scheduled to take place from November 21 to December 19.

Small Works Members Show

Curated by Julie Patarin-Jossec4th Floor Gallery November 20 – December 30, 2026 This anniversary exhibition aims to celebrate four decades of visual sociological practice while fostering dialogue about the future of research, creativity, and social engagement. Through photography, film, mixed media, installation, performance documentation, digital works, and other experimental forms, the exhibition seeks contributions that question established canons and imagine new ways of seeing, knowing, and creating. The exhibition will be presented at Bridgeport Art Center as part of IVSA’s 40th Anniversary celebration, bringing together an international community of artists, researchers, and scholars dedicated to expanding the role of visual practice in understanding social life. Opening receptionFriday, November 20th from 7-10pm&nbsp;

Reflections, Distortions, Subversions: International Visual Sociology Association Exhibition 2026

November 20, 2026 – January 1, 2027 4th Floor Gallery Opening Reception: Friday, November 20, 6:00–9:00 p.m. concurrent with Bridgeport Art Center’s monthly 3rd Friday event! CAVA artists bring their unique perspectives to this juried exhibition, exploring multitudinous contemporary issues through every imaginable artistic method and material. Don’t miss this outstandingand thoughtful showcase of fine art. <a href="https://www.wearecava.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" target="_blank">www.WeAreCAVA.org</a>

Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists: 2026 Year-End Exhibition

Hyde Park Art Center is excited to partner with the Veteran Art Movement, Chicago Cultural Center, Elmhurst Art Museum, and Walls Turned Sideways for the 2026 Veteran Art Triennial and Summit. The Hyde Park Art Center chapter&nbsp;Shifting Horizons&nbsp;considers land, migration, and decolonization through ideas informed by thinkers like Frantz Fanon and Harsha Walia. The exhibition invites reflections on how borders shape experience, how people navigate systems of control and resistance, and the uncertain landscapes that emerge amid ongoing struggles. The 2026 Veteran Art Triennial and Summit,&nbsp;Resisting the Long Wars, organized by curators Aaron Hughes, Mohamed Mehdi, Meranda Roberts, and Amber Zora, highlights artists’ creative defiance of war and militarism.

Veteran Art Triennial - RESISTING THE LONG WARS: Shifting Horizons 

For his first solo museum exhibition in Chicago, Tony Lewis offers an introduction to his various uses of shorthand notation as a catalyst for drawing. Serving as a lively primer to his practice across more than a decade, the exhibition brings together works from multiple series, including new works. Gregg shorthand is a stenographic language that transcribes speech into quick, fluid strokes based on its sounds. Lewis carries its kinetic quality into his drawings as they become complex explorations of meaning, abstraction, and form. Often working at a large scale, Lewis has steadily developed an inventive practice that has drawing at its core, using his chosen materials in different ways to feel out what the medium can do. Taking&nbsp;off from the original uses of shorthand in settings beyond art, Lewis’s drawings take us to unexpected places as language and gesture converge in his marks on the page.&nbsp; Curated by Karsten Lund <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/E4gDv_ExIrJ?e=d43a594e95&amp;c2id=a15cbe831e17b3baf871f3826312c6eb" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank">Learn more</a> Image: Tony Lewis,&nbsp;Plunder&nbsp;(detail), 2017. Courtesy of the artist.

Tony Lewis: The Long and Short of It

The Smart Museum of Art is honored to present&nbsp;<a href="https://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/exhibitions/teamlab-everything-exists-in-infinite-continuity/?mc_cid=7d709976d5&amp;mc_eid=a6ad3ea4a5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity</a>. The exhibition marks the international art collective’s first major institutional presentation in the midwestern region. &nbsp;<a href="https://uchicago.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aba2086a45b4ee8391b89447b&amp;id=660a8f7cbb&amp;e=a6ad3ea4a5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1789673932/rzuvsaat8bpowdnsoqjn.jpg" height="auto" width="612"></a> The art collective teamLab is renowned for creating immersive digital art installations exploring themes of perception and consciousness. Based in Tokyo, teamLab’s artworks draw upon wide ranging experimentation with art created through digital technology. Central to teamLab’s work is their aim to explore the relationship between the self and the world and using technology in new ways to explore perception, with an emphasis on individualized perception in a collective experience. Founded in 2001 by Toshiyuki Inoko, teamLab has grown into an international collective comprised of hundreds of artists, scientists, computer programmers, mathematicians, and architects, among others. teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity&nbsp;is the first exhibition of teamLab in the Midwest and traces the collective’s artistic trajectory over the last twenty-five years. It presents some of teamLab’s most iconic artworks as well as new work made specifically for this exhibition. In doing so, it explores how teamLab has experimented with and expanded their use of digital technologies to create environments that blur the boundary between the viewer and the artwork. Fall Exhibition OpeningSaturday, October 3rd2:00–5:00 pm Celebrate the Smart's new fall exhibitions,&nbsp;teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity,&nbsp;Nina Chanel Abney: Between Us, and&nbsp;How Do We Heal?. The opening reception will include music, hors d’oeuvres, and a themed cocktail.&nbsp; This program is free and open to all; RSVP is encouraged.&nbsp; <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/jGc6cNTyz27?e=a6ad3ea4a5&amp;c2id=3a4d5daac20b4519a6f4b77114bff5af" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="_blank">Register Here</a> <a href="https://uchicago.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aba2086a45b4ee8391b89447b&amp;id=306ff82845&amp;e=a6ad3ea4a5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read the Exhibition Listing</a>

teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity

The triennial program, created by Hyde Park Art Center in the mid-1990s, facilitates a fun and accessible commissioning process that builds lasting relationships between artists and patrons, creates a new base of support for artists, and invests in the vitality of Chicago’s cultural community.&nbsp;Not Just Another Pretty Face&nbsp;cultivates collectors, who are essential to the ecosystem that artists need to thrive, by embracing and encouraging the concept of patronage in contemporary art. Artists need not only collectors but also a community of people who know, support, and value what they do. To date, the Art Center has raised nearly&nbsp;$2,000,000&nbsp;through this program—half of which goes directly to artists, with the other half supporting Art Center programs. Through&nbsp;Not Just Another Pretty Face,&nbsp;375+&nbsp;original works&nbsp;of art have been commissioned by&nbsp;275&nbsp;new and established collectors&nbsp;interested in investing in Chicago’s artists. This exhibition will showcase the nearly&nbsp;100 new artworks&nbsp;made in this year’s iteration of this popular program.

Not Just Another Pretty Face

What can artworks tell us about how people have sought to heal from past traumas and grief? How can the process of making art become therapeutic? In what ways can objects facilitate healing and protection? The exhibition How Do We Heal? addresses the connections between art and healing.

How Do We Heal?

The Smart Museum of Art is honored to present a site-specific installation entitled&nbsp;Between Us&nbsp;by artist Nina Chanel Abney, on view from September 22, 2026, through July 11, 2027.Commissioned as part of the Smart’s ongoing Threshold series, which brings large-scale installations of contemporary art annually to the Eunice Ratner Reception Gallery in the Museum’s lobby.Nina Chanel Abney&nbsp;takes the most familiar images of American life, drawn from advertising, sports, cartoons, and the news, and turns them against themselves, using humor and accessibility to draw viewers in before the harder questions surface. For the commission at the Smart, Abney created a large-scale 70-feet-wide and 40-feet-high mural, entitled&nbsp;Between Us,&nbsp;that borrows the visual language of childhood instruction, such as diagrams, wall charts, and educational puzzles. The forms stay recognizable, but their reassurances curdle the longer one looks.This site-specific installation will&nbsp;form the opening of Nina Chanel Abney’s major solo exhibition&nbsp;at the Smart,&nbsp;While Supplies Last, which will be on view March 23, 2027, through July 11, 2027.

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