Our Art Picks are created in collaboration with The Visualist, Chicago’s leading visual arts calendar, and cross-promoted through Windy City Times, one of the longest locally-published LGBTQ weeklies with a national reach. This is a growing list, so check back often for new additions.
Throughout 2018 we will be highlighting exhibitions and events that are part of Art Design Chicago 
, a year-long celebration of the unique and vital role Chicago plays as America’s crossroads of art and design, creativity and commerce, organized by the Terra Foundation for American Art. As part of an editorial partnership with Illinois Humanities, Sixty will also be highlighting events that are part of Envisioning Justice 
, a 19-month project that looks into how Chicagoans and Chicago artists respond to the the impact of incarceration in local communities and how the arts and humanities are used to devise strategies for lessening this impact.
Click here to get our Art Picks and latest articles delivered to your inbox monthly.
FEATURED
April – June 2018
Honey Pot Performance: Gatherings for “Ways of Knowing”
Various Locations
RSVP Required
Thurs, May 3, 6-8pm
Marcela Torres: Remaining Sharp
Threewalls (2738 W North Ave)
Free
Mon, May 7, 7-10pm
Option: Angel Bat Dawid
Experimental Sound Studio (5925 N Ravenswood Av)
$10
Thurs, May 10, 5:30pm
Out of Easy Reach Artist’s Dialogues: Ayanah Moor, Bethany Collins, Edra Soto
Exhibition runs at DePaul Art Museum, Stony Island Arts Bank and Gallery 400 through Aug 5, 2018, more info here.
Free
Fri, May 11, 6-7:30pm
Common Practice: Legacies in Art and Design
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (220 East Chicago Av)
Free with RSVP
May 11 – 26, 2018
Envisioning Justice Open House
Various Locations, listed below.
Free
LOCATIONS:
- May 11, 5pm | Back of the Yards
The #BreathingRoom Space with #LetUsBreathe Collective (1434 W 51st St)
- May 11, 4pm | Little Village
OPEN Center for the Arts (2214 S Sacramento Av) - May 18 | North Lawndale
BBF Family Services (1512 S. Pulaski Rd) - May 19 | Rogers Park
Circles & Ciphers (1545 W. Morse Av) - May 26 | Bronzeville
Bright Star Community Outreach, Inc. (BSCO) (4518 S Cottage Grove Av)
Fri, May 11, 6-9pm
Chicago Top 5: Larger Than Life
Connect Gallery (1520 E Harper Ct)
Free
Sat, May 12, 12-5pm
Arte Diseño Xicágo: A Neighborhood Fiesta in the Heart of Pilsen
National Museum of Mexican Art (1852 West 19th St)
Free
May 12 – October 28, 2018
Never a Lovely so Real: Photography and Film in Chicago, 1950–1980
Art Institute of Chicago (111 S Michigan Av)
Free with museum admission
Tue, May 15, 6-8pm
The Art and Design of the Doomsday Clock
Weinberg/Newton Gallery (300 West Superior St, Suite 203)
Free
Wed, May 23, 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Celebrating Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon
American Writers Museum (180 N. Michigan Av)
$12
May 25 – June 14, 2018
Opening Reception: Fri, June 1, 6-9pm
The Strange Fields of This City
Featuring Alejandro Waskavich, Haerim Lee, and William Camargo. Curated by Greg Ruffing.
Chicago Artists Coalition (217 N Carpenter St)
Free
May 25 – June 8, 2018
Opening Reception: Fri, May 25, 8pm
Plants & Animals: On Monsters, Cyborgs & Other Hybrid Creatures
The Learning Machine (3145 S Morgan St)
Free
May 24-26, 2018
Kaneza Schaal: JACK &
Museum of Contemporary Art (220 E Chicago Av)
$30
Thurs, May 31, 6-7pm
Marvin Tate and Avery R. Young
Art Institute of Chicago (111 South Michigan Av)
Free with museum admission
May Art Picks
April 26 – May 12, 2018
Until the Flood
Goodman Theatre (170 N. Dearborn St)
$26
April 28 – June 2, 2018
Mobile: Ghaleb Al-Bihani, Robert Chase Heishman, Todd Mattei, and Betsy Odom
Open Space (512 West Franklin St)
Free
May 2 – 10, 2018
2018 First Nations Film and Video Festival
Various Locations (from Mitchell Museum to Comfort Station, American Indian Center to Beverly Arts Center)
Free
May – August 2018
Melissa Potter and Maggie Puckett: The Lucy Flower Self-Reliance Garden
Compound Yellow Gallery (244 Lake St, Oak Park)
Free
Tues, May 1, 5:30-8pm
America Inside Out: The Muslim Next Door
CAIR-Chicago, Azima Center (17 N State St, Ste 1500)
Free
Tues, May 1, 6-8pm
Ridge Park Art Programming Discussion
Ridge Park (9625 S Longwood Dr)
Free
Wed, May 2, 6:03-8pm
In-Session | kevrone. A Panel and Performance
Threewalls (2738 W North Ave)
Free
Thurs, May 3, 6-8pm
Post Now and Post New: Afrofuturist Themes in Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Photography (600 S Michigan Ave)
Free
Thurs, May 3, 6-8pm
Public Newsroom #61: Making TV with Aymar Jean Christian
Build Coffee (6100 S Blackstone Ave)
Free
Thurs, May 3, 6-8pm
Torkwase Dyson and the Wynter-Wells School
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts (4 W Burton Pl)
Free
May 3, May 17, June 7
Afro Fuzion Improv Jam
Powah Houze (2831 N. Broadway)
$5
Thurs, May 3, 6:30-9pm
M I N G L E
The Silver Room (1506 E 53rd St)
Free
Pt 1: May 4-21, Pt 2: May 25-June 10
No Burden For Continuity: 2018 MFA Thesis Exhibition
Logan Center for the Arts (915 E 60th St)
Free
Fri, May 4, 6-9pm
Tara Parambi: You Can Buy Happiness But Eventually You’ll Shit It Out
AMFM Gallery (2151 W 21st St)
Free
Fri, May 4, 7-9pm
Solidarity Economy 101
In These Times (2040 N Milwaukee Av)
Free
Fri, May 4, 10am – 2pm
Intercollegiate Art History Symposium UChicago & SAIC
Cochrane Woods Art Center (5540 S Greenwood Av)
Free
Fri, May 4, 6pm
All Positions Depend
ACRE (1345 W 19th St)
Free
Fri, May 4, 6-9pm
Anahid Ghorbani: The Edge of Shadows
Filter Photo (1821 W Hubbard St, Ste 207)
Free
May 4 – Augusts 5, 2018
Flesh: Ivan Albright at the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago (111 S Michigan Av)
Free with museum admission
Fri, May 4, 6-9pm
Ye Xuanlin and Sun Yi: Gaze in Silence
gallery no one (1579 N Milwaukee Ave, Room 303)
Free
Sat, May 5, 2-4pm
Closing Reception: Love the Giver – A solo project by Dutes Miller / With works by Elijah Burgher and Derrick Woods-Morrow and tarot readings by Alia Walston
curated by Kristin Korolowicz
The Franklin (3522 W. Franklin Blvd)
Free
Sat, May 5, 5-7am
Sadie Woods: It Was a Rebellion
Nichols Tower at Homan Square
Listen to the Live Performance
Free
Sat, May 5, 11am-12pm
Joan Giroux: ecomonopolies
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (220 E Chicago Ave)
Free
Sat, May 5, 4pm
Delicate Cycle
World’s Largest Laundromat (6246 W Cermak Rd)
Free
Sat, May 5, 7-12pm
Latinx Nation – 18th Annual Benefit & Art Auction
Heaven Gallery (1550 N. Milwaukee Av)
$22
Sun, May 6, 5:30pm
Every house has a door: Beautiful Nebraska
Gray Center Lab (929 E 60th St)
Free
Tues, May 8, 6-7pm
Arts + Advocacy Community Conversation
Arts Works Projects (625 N Kingsbury St)
Free with RSVP
Wed, May 9, 8pm
Guest Curator Series: Hiromi Ueyoshi – Black Is…Black Ain’t (1995)
Comfort Station (2579 N Milwaukee Av)
Free
Wed, May 9, 7:02pm
✹humdrumperineum✹
No Nation – Art Gallery and Tangential Unspace Lab (1542 N Milwaukee Av, Fl 2)
Free
Wed, May 9, 6:30-8pm
Artist Crit: Cat Mahari – Violent/Break Vol II
with Guest Moderator Seth Parker Woods
High Concept Labs at Mana Contemporary (2233 S Throop)
Free, RSVP required to billie@highconceptlabs.org
Thurs, May 10, 6-9pm
The Rear View Mirror Sessions: Patti LaBelle
Arts Incubator (301 E. Garfield Blvd)
Free
Thurs, May 10, 7pm
AMFM Presents: The Producer Series
Virgin Hotels Chicago (203 N Wabash Av)
$5
Fri, May 11, 6-9pm
Handles Expenditure by Liz McCarthy
Sector 2337 + The Green Lantern Press (2337 N Milwaukee Av)
Free
Fri, May 11, 5-8pm
Opening Reception: It is two minutes to midnight
Weinberg/Newton Gallery (300 W Superior St, Suite 203)
Free
Fri, May 11, 7:30pm
Spotlight: AJ McClenon
Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative | Rebuild Foundation (1456 E 70th St)
Free
Sat, May 12, 12-9pm
La Cultura Cura: Community Arts and Healing Market in the Hood
La Catrina Cafe (1011 W 18th St)
Free
Sat, May 12, 4pm
An Exquisite Crawl
Sector 2337 + The Green Lantern Press (2337 N Milwaukee Av)
Free
Sat, May 12, 12-3pm
Nascent Things
Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago (319 N Albany)
Free
Sat, May 12, 8pm
Silent Films/Loud Music: Within Our Gates
Elastic Arts (3429 W Diversey #208)
$10
Sat, May 12, 6-9pm
Brian Dovie Golden: Silver Lining
Elephant Room Gallery (704 S Wabash Av)
Free
Wed, May 16, 6-8pm
Resist: Poetry, Politics, and Painting of Tang Chang, Pt 1
Smart Museum of Art (5550 S Greenwood Av)
Free
Thurs, May 17, 6-8pm
Talk: An Expansive Practice – Howardena Pindell
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (220 E Chicago Av)
Free with museum admission
May 17, May 30, June 11, June 23
Firsts and Starts: Art-Making as a New Mother
Roman Susan (1224 W Loyola Av)
Free
May 18 – June 30, 2018
Opening Reception: Fri, May 18, 5-8pm
Whitney Bedford: Numinous
Carrie Secrist Gallery (835 W. Washington Blvd)
Free
Sat, May 19, 2-4pm
Conversation with Dianna Frid and Karen Manchester
Goldfinch (319 N. Albany)
Free
Sat, May 19, 12pm
Film Screening: Brooks People
Illinois Institute of Technology, McCormick Tribune Campus Center (3201 S State St)
Free
Sat, May 19, 6-10pm
Victoria Martinez and Ryan Oskin: Moments in Between
LVL3 Gallery (1542 N Milwaukee Ave, Fl 3rd)
Free
Sat, May 19, 12-3pm
Invisible Podcast Radio Emcee Takeover
Refuge Chicago (416 S Clark St)
Free
Sat, May 19, 7pm
Recycle Renew Release | hybrid memory: Anthony Williams / slowdanger (Anna Thompson & Taylor Knight)
Links Hall (3111 N Western Av)
$15
Sat, May 19, 2pm
Film Screening + Panel: The Chinese Exclusion Act
Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater, 2nd Fl (78 E Washington St)
Free
Sun, May 20, 6-10pm
Celia Calder: Queer Dance Connection: A Workshop Series
Links Hall (3111 N Western Ave)
$5
Mon, May 21, 6pm
ChiResists: A Decolonial Open Mic April 2018
La Catrina Cafe (1011 W 18th St)
$5
Wed, May 23, 5:30-8pm
Inquiry 01
Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership (610 S Michigan Ave)
Free
May 24, 7pm
To Be Seen and Heard Curator Talk
Intuit (756 N Milwaukee Av)
Free
May 24-26, 2018
Chicago House Music Conference and Dance Summit
Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St)
Free
Wed, May 23, 6-8pm
Resist: Poetry, Politics, and Painting of Tang Chang, Pt 2
Poetry Foundation (61 W Superior St)
Free
Tues, May 29, 6pm
Chicagoland Shorts Vol. 4 World Premiere
Featuring Benjamin Buxton, Shayna Connelly, Janaya Greene, Laura Harrison, Elisabeth Hogeman, Hannah Kim, Seith Mann, Frédéric Moffet, Dena Springer, and Latham Zearfoss.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (220 E Chicago Av)
Free, RSVP Required
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Featured Image: From Option: Angel Bat Dawid at Experimental Sound Studio on May 7th, which will featuring two trios for her OPTION debut. Set one includes Lia Kohl on cello and Norman Long on electronics while set two includes Adam Zanolini on saxophone and flute and Xris Espinoza on saxophone and bowed percussion. Photo by Vino Taylor.
