If you’ve followed us for a while, you know that our Art Picks offer a wide scope of events that are relevant to our audiences because we and the artists, cultural workers, curators, spaces, and projects we support live full lives that know no boundaries. We maintain expansive practices and work toward justice for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and disability communities in Chicago and the Midwest.
If this is your first time coming across this list, welcome. We’re glad you’re here and we hope this list sparks discovery, curiosity, and a demand for justice if you weren’t openly demanding that already.
Created in collaboration with The Visualist and adapted for social-distancing due to COVID-19, this list offers online exhibitions, streaming events, a list of online collections from Black and LGBTQIA+ archives, and other ways to spend time in the virtual space.
Also, in support of our friends, our communities, ourselves, and abolition/liberation efforts, we’re prioritizing events that uplift and fight for Black Lives and celebrate Black Queer Lives because the fight for Black Lives is the fight for Black artists, our Black Trans family, our Black Queer family, and the many branches of these communities.
With the health of the communities and artists we love in mind, the only in-person events listed are ones associated with protests happening across Chicago.
Featured image: Artists Run Chicago 2.0 installation view of artwork by Thomas Kong curated by 062 Gallery. Hyde Park Art Center. Image courtesy of S.Y. Lim.
This is a growing list, so check back often for new additions.
Chicago Protest Listings
Chicago Protest Calendar
Protest Chicago
Note: If you’re attending any protests or events, here are some tips from The Blackivists archivist collective on how to document thoughtfully with the care and safety of our coummunites in mind.
Ongoing/Watch Anytime
Chicago Onscreen | Films
Chicago Park District: Online
Free
Ongoing/Watch Anytime
The Black National Convention 2020: Online
Free
Ongoing/Watch Anytime
Open TV Originals
Open TV: Online
Free Trial Available
Ongoing
Ordinary Relic by Matthew Wilson
Industry of the Ordinary: Diversey Brown Line Station
Free
Ongoing
Quarantine Times
Public Media Institute
Free
Ongoing
The Quarantine Concerts
Experimental Sound Studio
Suggested donation of $5
Ongoing
HELLO NEIGHBOR PURPLE WINDOW
Free
Ongoing
Cooperation for Liberation Study & Working Group
#LetUsBreathe Collective, The Kola Nut Collective, & Cooperation for Liberation Study & Working Group
Free
September 1- November 1, 2020
Artists Run Chicago 2.0
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave
Free
September 1 – September 29, 2020
Iris Bernblum: Petite Mort
Aspect/Ratio: 864 N Ashland
Free
Through September 25, 2020
Existing Between Line and Space: The Exhibition
South Side Community Arts Center: 3831 S Michigan Ave
Free
Through September 4, 2020
HOOPS: Culture Reclaimed Exhibition presented by AMFM
The Silver Room: 1506 E 53rd St
Free
Tue, September 1, 12-12:30pm
Virtual Studio Visit: Brandon Breaux
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: Online
Free
Tue, September 1, 4-5pm
Virtual Tour | Pilsen Murals
Chicago History Museum: Online
$5
Tue, September 1, 4-6pm
Hayley Negrin: Fugitive Lands
Institute for the Humanities, UIC: Online
Free
Tue, September 1, 5:30-6:30pm
Tuesdays on the Terrace: At-Home Edition with Isaiah Collier
COLLABORACTION: Online
Free
Tuesdays, September 1- October 27, 6-7pm
Becoming: Unlearning White Supremacy and Creating a Path to Active Anti-racism
American Writers Museum: Online
Free
Tue, September 1, 6-7pm
OnWord 2020
American Writers Museum: Online
Free
Tue, September 1, 7-8pm
The Story of America Through the Lens of Labor History
Tinley Park Public Library: Online
Free
Wed, September 2, 7-8pm
Virtual Author Conversation: Margot Livesey & Gish Jen
Women & Children First Bookstore: Online
Free
Wed, September 2, 7-9pm
In conversation: Kalisha Buckhanon and Jenny Milchman
Volumes Bookcafe: Online
Free
September 3-6,2020
Joelle Mercedes and Amina Ross: Delight
Roman Susan: 1224 W Loyola Ave
Free
Thurs, September 3, 7-8pm
Meditation for Imagination: Virtual Meditation with Todd Mattei
Heaven Gallery: Online
Free
September 4-27, 2020
LOSS, A Virtual Exhibition
Woman Made Gallery: Online
Free
Fri, September 4, 5-5:45pm
MUD TALKS: E. Saffronia Downing
GnarWare Workshop: Online
Free
Fri, September 4, 4-7pm
Dove Drury Hornbuckle: Earth, My Likeness
Roots & Culture: 1034 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Fri, September 4, 6-7pm
Virtual Author Reading: HEARING HAPPINESS by Jaipreet Virdi
Women & Children First Bookstore: Online
Free
September 5-6, 2020
African Festival Of The Arts – Chicago 2020 Virtual Fest
African Festival Of The Arts: Online
Free
September 5, 2020- January 18, 2021
Monet and Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago: 111 S Michigan Ave
$7 + Admission
Sun, September 6, 2-4pm
E. Saffronia Downing: Cloverstack
The Franklin: 3522 W Franklin Blvd
Free
Sun, September 6, 2-4pm
Open Sheds Used for What?
The Franklin: 3522 W Franklin Blvd
Free
September 7- December 20, 2020
Victoria Woodhull, Belva Ann Lockwood, Abigail Scott Duniway, Laura Clay, Cora Wilson Stewart, Gracie Allen, Anna Milburn, Ellen Linea Jensen, Mary Kennery, Agnes Waters, Margaret Chase Smith, Fay T. Carpenter Swain, Charlene Mitchell, Shirley Chisholm…
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W Fullerton Ave
Free
September 8- October 30, 2020
Third Coast Disrupted: Artists + Scientists on Climate
Glass Curtain Gallery: 1104 S Wabash Ave
Free
Tue, September 8, 7pm
Krista Franklin and Nate Marshall on Black Futures
Chicago Humanities Festival: Online
Free
Tue, September 8, 6-6:30pm
Plena Combativa Virtual Concert
Museum of Contemporary Photography: Online
Free
September 9- December 12, 2020
Balkrishna Doshi: Architecture for the People
Wrightwood 659: 659 W Wrightwood Ave
Free
Wed, September 9, 6:30-8:30pm
Anger as Currency: a participatory performance lecture and writing workshop with Christian Cruz
Chuquimarca: Online
Free
September 9-13, 2020
Filter Photo Festival
Filter Photo: Online & in-person @ 1821 W Hubbard St, Suite 207
Virtual festival events are free, other festival events require a fee
September 10- October 24, 2020
Amoako Boafo: I STAND BY ME
Mariane Ibrahim: 437 N Paulina St
Free
September 10- October 31, 2020
McArthur Binion: DNA:Work and the Under:Conscious Drawings
Gray Warehouse: 2044 W Carroll Ave
Free
September 10- December 26, 2020
Deborah Kass: Painting and Sculpture
Kavi Gupta Gallery: 219 N Elizabeth St
Free
September 10-12, 2020
Elastic Arts 3rd Annual Benefit
Elastic Arts: Online
$10-25
Fri, September 11, 7-8:30pm
Social Poetics Launch: Mark Nowak, Tara Betts & Daniel Borzutzky
Pilsen Community Books: Online
Free
September 11- 24, 2020
Ross Hansen: Super Natural
Volume Gallery: 1709 W Chicago Ave
Free
September 11- October 31, 2020
MIKVA! DEMOCRACY IS A VERB
Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Online
$6-12
September 11- October 31, 2020
Elijah Burgher: Until the beasts and all the mountain are wild with divinity
Western Exhibitions: 1709 W Chicago Ave
Free
September 11- October 31, 2020
Spencer Finch: looking around, gazing intently, beholding
Rhona Hoffman Gallery: 1711 W Chicago Ave
Free
September 11- December 19, 2020
Anthem
Weinberg/Newton Gallery: 688 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Fri, September 11, 12-7pm
What is Home?
Catherine Edelman Gallery: 1637 W Chicago Ave
Free
Fri, September 11, 5-8pm
Erin Jane Nelson
Document: 1709 W Chicago Ave
Free
Fri, September 11, 6-9pm
WE LIKE SMALL THINGS V.3
Filter Photo: 1821 W Hubbard St
Free
Fri, September 11, 6-9pm
INTERIOR LIFE
Filter Photo: 1821 W Hubbard St
Free
September 12- October 31, 2020
New Work by Anna Kunz
McCormick Gallery: 835 W Washington Blvd
Free
September 12- October 31, 2020
Jake Troyli: Don’t Forget to Pack a Lunch!
Moniquemeloche: 451 N Paulina St
Free
September 12- November 7, 2020
Noé Martínez: las presencias dormidas
PATRON: 673 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
September 12- November 15, 2020
Nine Lives
The Renaissance Society: 5811 S Ellis Ave
Free
Sat, September 12, 10am (also on September 19 and October 3)
What is Home?: Gallery Tours
Catherine Edelman Gallery: 1637 W Chicago Ave
Free
Sat, September 12, 1-6pm and Sun, September 13, 1-5pm
Field Measure
LVL3: 1542 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Sat, September 12, 2-4pm
Caroline Liu: Touch
Gallery Studio Oh!: 4839 N Damen Ave
Free
Sat, September 12, 5:30-8pm
Roberto Jamora: Where were we?
FLXST CONTEMPORARY: 2251 S Michigan Ave
Free
Sat, September 12, 8:30pm
Sima Cunningham
Constellation Chicago: 3111 N Western Ave
$0-15
September 13- October 11, 2020
Rana Siegel: Slack (The Gallery)
Material: 2025 W Belmont Ave
Free
Sun, September 13, 12-2pm
Screening: Sci-Fi Sessions
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free
Sun, September 13, 12-4pm
Caroline Kent: Victoria/Veronica: The figment between us
Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago: Mana Contemporary: 2233 S Throop St
Free
Mon, September 14, 8pm
Option: Gerald Cleaver
Experimental Sound Studio: Online
$0-10
Wed, September 16, 7-8pm
Jill Lepore: Data and Control
Chicago Humanities Festival: Online
Free
September 17, 2020 – Summer 2021
Richard Hunt: Scholar’s Rock or Stone of Hope or Love of Bronze
The Art Institute of Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free
Thurs, September 17, 5-6pm
Art After Work: Henry Darger
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art: Online
Free
Thurs, September 17, 7-8pm
Poetry Reading: Chakraborty, Corfman, Johnson, LoTempio
Women & Children First Bookstore: Online
Free
Fri, September 18, 7-8pm
Reading & Conversation: Khadijah Queen & Elisa Gabbert
Women & Children First Bookstore: Online
Free
September 19 – October 25, 2020
Leasho Johnson: Only when it’s dark enough can YOU see the stars
FLXST CONTEMPORARY: 2251 S Michigan Ave
Free
Sat, September 20, 12-2:30pm
The (Im)possibilities of Moving Freely
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: Online
Free
Mon, September 21, 8pm
Option: John Hébert
Experimental Sound Studio: Online
$0-10
Thurs, September 24, 7-8pm
Claudia Rankine: Just Us: An American Conversation
Chicago Humanities Festival: Online
Free
Thurs, September 24, 6-8pm
Artist Run Chicago: Ignition Project Space Performance
Hyde Park Art Center: Online
Free
Thurs, September 24, 4-5:30pm
Public Newsroom 133: Managing Trauma in Your Work for Better Mental Health
City Bureau: Online
Free
September 25- October 3, 2020
West Town Art Walk
West Town
Free
Sat, September 25, 8-10pm
Community Control of the Police – NOW more than ever
Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression: Online
Free
Sat, September 26, 8:30pm
Shi-An Costello
Constellation Chicago: 3111 N Western Ave
$0-15
Sat, September 26, 7pm
Virtual Arts Fundraiser Gala 2020
Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art: Online
Free – donations appreciated
Mon, September 28, 8pm
Option: Jasmine Mendoza
Experimental Sound Studio: Online
$0-10
Sat, September 30, 11am-12:30pm
My America: Juan Felipe Herrera
American Writers Museum: Online
Free
