Featured image: An illustration of a silhouette of a woman with her hand in the air. Inside her silhouette are starts in outer space. She is in front of a yellow background with different colored lines going across the composition. Illustration by Teshika Silver.
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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.
Created in collaboration with The Visualist, Chicago’s leading visual arts calendar. Click here to get our Art Picks and latest articles delivered to your inbox monthly. This is a growing list, so check back often with new additions.
To learn more about this month’s featured illustrator Teshika Silver, read her recent interview!
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If you are an arts worker or cultural worker, we encourage you to take the Chicago Arts Census, the first comprehensive, cross-discipline data collection effort in the city created by and with the art workers of Chicago. The Census is a collaboration between ACRE and Annas in partnership with Sixty Inches From Center, DataMade, and C.A.M.P.
Sixty is excited to be an editorial partner for the Chicago Arts Census and will be producing a series of articles to explore the living, labor, and material realities of art workers in the city of Chicago. Click here to view our first installment of this editorial series.
February 1-28, 2022
Suspension
Flint Institute of Arts: 1120 E Kearsley St, Flint, Mi
$0-10
Tues, February 1, 7pm
Homeroom Residency: AvreeAYl RA and Dream Stuff
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago, IL
$15
Tues, February 1, 9pm
Mission: Kiss A Boo w/ DJ Ca$h Era, DJ SKOLi, & DJ Cymba
Hideout: 1354 West Wabansia Ave
$5-7
Wed, February 2, 6pm
Lecture in Photography: Zora J Murff
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Wed, February 2, 6pm
Just Help! How to Build a Better World with author U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Chicago Public Library: Online
Free
Wed, February 2, 7-10pm
Homeroom Residency: AvreeAYl RA and Dream Stuff
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago, IL
$15
Thurs, February 3, 11:30am
Layla F. Saad: Me and White Supremacy: Young Readers Edition
The Book Cellar: Online
Free
Thurs, February 3, 6-8pm
Opening Reception – Public Conversation: Printmaking in Public
University YMCA: 1001 S Wright St., Champaign, IL
Free
Thurs, February 3, 1pm
Museum Subjectivities / Subjetividad en los museos
DePaul Art Museum: Online
Free
Thurs, February 3, 5pm
Dr. Jessica Wolfendale presents Philosophy and State Violence
Haggerty Museum of Art: 1234 W Tory Hill St, Milwaukee, WI
Free
Thurs, February 3, 5:30-8:30pm
Anything Can Be A Dragon, Anything Can Be A Snake
NEIU Fine Arts Center Gallery: 5500 N St Louis Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Thurs, February 3, 6-7pm
A Simple Cotton Sack: A Conversation about African American Women, Trauma, and Resistance
Newberry Library: Online
Free
Thurs, February 3, 6-7pm
Judith Brotman Artist Talk
Glass Curtain Gallery: Online
Free
Thurs, February 3, 7pm
Virtual Event: Imani Perry in conversation with Eve L. Ewing
Women & Children First Bookstore: Online
Free
February 4-March 20, 2022
Kris Graves: A Southern Horror
Tube Factory artspace: 1125 Cruft St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
February 4-March 26, 2022
Gabrielle Lajoie-Bergeron: IMPORTANT PAPERS
SPACES: 2900 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH
Free
February 4 – July 2, 2022
Through My Lens: Justin Cooper
Gallery 400: 400 S. Peoria Street, Chicago, IL
Free
Fri, February 4, 4-5:30pm
Abolition. Feminism. Now.
Haymarket Books: Online
$0-$5
Fri, February 4, 7pm
Opening of A View from The Sun : Collective Art Residency Exhibit
The Honeycomb Network: 2659 West Division St., Chicago, IL
Donation
Fri, February 4, 4-6pm
Houses of Tomorrow: Solar Homes from Keck to Today
Elmhurst Art Museum: 150 Cottage Hill Ave, Elmhurst, IL
Free
Fri, February 4, 6-8pm
Honoring Our Mothers: Featuring – Sharing Grandmothers
DuSable Museum of African American History: 740 E 56th Pl., Chicago, IL
Free
Fri, February 4, 6-8pm
Anna McKeown: Stand Up
The Martin: 2500 W Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Fri, February 4, 6-10pm
VANISHING POINT: Black Mask, IWW, Atelier Populaire
Gallery Sabine: 1002 W 18th St., Chicago, IL
Free
Fri, February 4, 7-10pm
Distance Stations: Jonathan Worcester
Belong Gallery: 2712 W North Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Fri, February 4, 8-11pm
Opening Reception: Paul Heyer
Soccer Club Club: 2923 N Cicero Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
February 5 – March 19, 2022
La Vie en Rose
MARIANE IBRAHIM: 437 N Paulina St., Chicago, IL
Free
February 5 – March 19, 2022
Tomokazu Matsuyama: The Best Part About Us
Kavi Gupta Gallery: 219 N Elizabeth St., Chicago, IL
Free
February 5 – March 19, 2022
Megan Greene: Shrimp Eagle Owl
Regards: 2216 W Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
February 5 – April 2, 2022
Judith Roston Freilich and Lilach Schrag: Naturally
Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art: 2320 W Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
February 5 – May 14, 2022
Malika Jackson: Whispers of a World Without Words
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Sat, February 5, 12-4pm
Erol Scott Harris: LORE
Tiger Strikes Asteroid: 2233 S Throop St, Unit 419, Chicago, IL
Free
Sat, February 5, 12:30-1pm
Place and Memory: Art Talks with Block Museum Student Associates
Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University: 40 Arts Circle Dr, Evanston, IL
Free
Sat, February 5, 4-8pm
FEMME
FLXST Contemporary: 2251 S Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Sat, February 5, 6-8pm
Out Loud: Artist’s Reception
Anatomically Correct: 4400 Greenwood St Skokie, IL
Free
Sun, February 6, 11am-3pm
‘Stay-Up’ Opening Session for HERE & NOW
Frame Chicago: 1627 N Clybourn Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Sun, February 6, 1-5pm
Chicago Winter Art Fair
Sleeping Village: 3734 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Sun, February 6, 1-4pm
Dream Activations: “Whose Lakefront?” and “The Dirty Books”
Hyde Park Art Center: Online
Free
Sun, February 6, 1-4pm
Center Days: Dream
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 South Cornell Avenue, Chicago, IL
Free
Mon, February 7, 8-10pm
Poonie’s Cabaret
Links Hall: 3111 N Western Ave., Chicago, IL
$20
Tue, February 8, 6pm
A Site of Struggle: American Art Against Anti-Black Violence – A Northwestern University Panel Discussion
Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University: Online
Free
Tue, February 8, 6pm
Nancy Johnson: The Kindest Lie
American Writer’s Museum:180 North Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Tue, February 8, 6-7pm
Badia Ahad-Legardy: Afro-Nostalgia
57th Street Books: Online
Free
Tue, February 8, 7pm
Virtual Book Launch: COST OF LIVING: ESSAYS by Emily Maloney
Women & Children First Bookstore: Online
Free
Tues, February 8, 9:30pm
Kenneth Leftridge Jr. & Rhea The Second
Hideout: 1354 West Wabansia Ave., Chicago, IL
$12
Wed, February 9, 1pm
Meet This Author! Bernadine Evaristo – Manifesto
Left Bank Books: 399 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO
Free
Wed, February 9, 7pm
February Intro to Printing Workshop
LATITUDE: 1821 W Hubbard St., Chicago, IL
$55-70
Wed, February 9, 6-7:15pm
Cameron Rowland
School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Online
Free
Wed, February 9, 7pm
Austin Channing Brown: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
Dominican University: Online
Free
February 10-April 10, 2022
Ayanah Moor: I Wish I Could Be You More Often
The Cleve Carney Museum of Art and McAninch Arts Center: 425 Fawell Blvd, Glen Ellyn, IL
Free
Thurs, February 10, 6pm
Claire Ashley Artist Talk
Glass Curtain Gallery: Online
Free
Thurs, February 10, 6pm
The American Sector (2020) with filmmaker Courtney Stephens
Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University: 40 Arts Cir Dr, Evanston, IL
Free
Thurs, February 10, 7-10pm
Open Door Reading Series: George Abraham, Diamond Forde, Nabila Lovelace & Fargo Tbakhi
Poetry Foundation: Online
Free
Thurs, February 10, 7pm
Virtual Poetry Reading: Paul Tran with Alison C. Rollins
Women & Children First Bookstore: Online
Free
Thurs, February 10, 6pm
DANCE@30FPS: A festival of dance-film
Wexner Center for the Arts: Online
Free
Thurs, February 10, 8-9pm
Live @ LOW END | Molly Joyce
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: 724 S 12th St, Omaha, NE
Free
February 11-March 12, 2022
CARLA ANDERSON: WANDERINGS
M Contemporary Art: 205 East 9 Mile, Ferndale, MI
Free
Fri, February 11, 1-3pm
Reckless Law, Shameless Order: An Intimate Experience of Incarceration
Krannert Art Museum: 500 E Peabody Dr., Champaign, IL
Free
Fri, February 11, 5-9pm
Flor, Manal Kara, & Caleb Yono: THEM
Roots & Culture: 1034 N Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Fri, February 11, 6-9pm
Micaela Felix: Conditional Beauty
The Martin: 2500 W Chicago Ave
Free
Fri, February 11, 7-10pm
ART INSPIRED BY ARTISTS
Fulton Street Collective: 1821 W Hubbard St., Chicago, IL
Free
Fri, February 11, 7-10:30pm
CLEAT Series: JoVia Armstrong’s Eunoia Society
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave., Chicago, IL
$15
Fri, February 11, 6-8pm
POLYRHYTHMS: Interspecies Sound Performance
Hunter Oaks Equestrian Center: 236 Macallen Lake Rd, Carlock, IL
Free
February 12-April 9, 2022
2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Fort Wayne Museum of Art: 311 E Main St, Fort Wayne, IN
Free
February 12-August 23, 2022
Art Along the River, Grand
MSU Broad: 547 E Circle Dr, East Lansing, MI
Free
Sat, February 12, 4-7pm
Word of Mouth: ARTISTS WALKTHROUGH
Woman Made Gallery: 2150 S Canalport St., Chicago, IL
Free
Sat, February 12, 5-7pm
Yoonshin Park: In/Visible
Beverly Arts Center: 2407 W 111th St., Chicago, IL
Free
Sat, February 12, 7:30pm
Wild & Sublime
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL
$25
Sat, February 12, 6pm
Decolonial Open Mic – All About Love
Chi Resists: Online
Free
February 12 – April 9, 2022
Larger work, (“tea for two” Monk’s version)
Produce Model Gallery: 1918 S Canalport Ave, Chicago IL
Free
Sun, February 13, 1-3pm
Youth Art Month
Sioux City Art Center: 225 Nebraska St, Sioux City, Iowa
Free
Sun, February 13, 4:30-6:30pm
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: IL and Federal Tax Workshop for SWs
SWOP Chicago: Online
Free
February 15- May 15, 2022
Bob Thompson: This House Is Mine
Smart Museum of Art: 5550 S Greenwood Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Tues, February 15, 4:30-5:30pm
The Politics of Home in “Internment,” with Samira Ahmed
57th Street Books: Online
Free
Tues, February 15, 5-6pm
Only the Clothes on Her Back: Meet the Author Laura F. Edwards
Newberry Library: Online
Free
Tues, February 15, 9pm
Orisun & Kiwicha
Hideout: 1354 West Wabansia Ave., Chicago, IL
$12
Wed, February 16, 2022
Equiano.Stories International Watch Day
DuSable Museum of African American History: Online
Free
Wed, February 16, 4-6pm
Hope Wang: The Vacant Plot of Sky
McHenry County College: 8900 U.S. Highway 14, Crystal Lake, IL
Free
Wed, February 16, 6:30-7:30pm
Chicago Poetry Center Blue Hour reading w/Dominique Christina & Ola Faleti
Chicago Poetry Center: Online
Free
Wed, February 16, 8-10pm
Pleiades Series Special Edition: Full Moon Deep Listening with Veronica Anne Salinas
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago, IL
$15
Wed, February 16, 8pm
FORCE! Presents Cadenza Screening with Open Panel Discussion
Open Television: Online
Free
February 17-May 28, 2022
Barbara Stauffacher Solomon: Exits Exist
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts: 4 W Burton Pl., Chicago, IL
Free
Thurs, February 17, 6-7pm
Buffalo Arts & Crafts, Industry vs Artisan
Wrightwood 659: Online
Free
Thurs, February 17, 6pm
Artist Talk: Laylah Ali and Bethany Collins
Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University: 40 Arts Cir Dr, Evanston, IL
Free
Thurs, February 17, 6-7pm
Habiba Ibrahim: Black Age
57th Street Books: Online
Free
Thurs, February 17, 8-10:30pm
Saxofonix Quartet Live at Fulton Street Collective
Fulton Street Collective: 1821 W Hubbard St., Chicago, IL
$15
Thurs, February 17, 12-9pm
ON DRAWING DRAWING ON: Film Screening: Cauleen Smith, Three Songs About Liberation
Logan Center Performance Hall: 915 E 60th St, Chicago, IL
Free
Thurs, February 17, 6pm
RE: Ebony and Jet
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis: 3750 Washington Boulevard St. Louis, MO
Free
Thurs, February 17, 5-6:30pm
Artist Talk: Max Guy
Gallery 400: Online
Free
Fri, February 18, 11:30am-1pm (EST)
Artist Talk with Charmaine Spencer
The Sculpture Center: Online
Free
Fri, February 18, 1-3pm
My Name is Inanna | Reading by Maryam Abdi
Krannert Art Museum: 500 E Peabody Dr, Champaign, IL
Free
Fri, February 18, 6-9pm
Darin Latimer: SuperDeath pt. 1 (Let it Bleed)
Elephant Room Gallery: 704 S Wabash Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Fri, February 18, 6-10pm
Josh Grotto: Heroes & Villains
Grace Jane: 3203 S Halsted St
Free
February 18 – March 19, 2022
Vikesh Kapoork: See You At Home
Filter Photo: 1821 W Hubbard St., Suite 207, Chicago, IL
Free
February 19 – June 5, 2022
Linling Lu: Musical Meditations
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts: 314 S. Park Street, Kalamazoo MI
$2-$5
Mon, February 21, 1-2:30pm
Voices: Raven Chacon
Gallery 400: online
Free
Tues, February 22, 6:30-7:45pm
Trenton Doyle Hancock
School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Online
Free
Wed, February 23, 12-1pm
An-My Lê: On Contested Terrain
Milwaukee Art Museum: Online
Free
Wed, February 23, 6-7pm
Curator Talk: The Life and Death of Charles Williams
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art: Online
Free
Wed, February 23, 7-8:30pm
Afrofuturism, a virtual dialogue
Illinois Humanities: Online
Free
Thurs, February 24, 2:30pm
Maia Chaka: Understanding History to Make HERstory
Dominican University: Online
Free
Thurs, February 24, 5:30pm
A.D. Carson: i used to love to dream: Going Into Language, Rap, & Storytellingly Invention
Krannert Art Museum: 500 E Peabody Dr, Champaign, IL
Free
Thurs, February 24, 6-7pm
Celebrating the Poets of Forms & Features
Poetry Foundation: Online
Free
Thurs, February 24, 6-7pm
Celebrating the Poets of Forms & Features
Poetry Foundation: Online
Free
February 25-26, 2022
Cécile McLorin Salvant: Ogresse: Envisioned
The Walker Art Center: 725 Vineland Pl, Minneapolis, MN
$36-45
February 25-26, 2022
Restoration: Sambizanga
The Walker Art Center: 725 Vineland Pl, Minneapolis, MN
$10-12
February 25-June 25, 2022
Crossings: Mapping American Journeys
Newberry Library: 60 W Walton St
Free
February 25-April 1, 2022
ARTcetera 2022
Sioux City Art Center: 225 Nebraska St, Sioux City, Iowa
Free
February 26-April 2, 2022
Andrew Bearnot
ENGAGE Projects: 864 N Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
February 26-April 9, 2022
Melissa Leandro
Andrew Rafacz: 1749 W Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
February 26-April 9, 2022
Jake Troyli: Slow Clap
Moniquemeloche: 451 N Paulina St., Chicago, IL
Free
February 26 – April 3, 2022
Abstraction as Metaphor: Corey Postiglione & Kathie Shaw
Evanston Art Center: 1717 Central Street, Evanston, IL
Free
Sat, February 26, 1-2pm
DANCE PAMOJA CHALLENGE
Red Clay Dance Company: Online
Free
Sat, February 26, 6:30-8:30pm
Lorraine
Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts: 201 Schaumburg Ct, Schaumburg, IL
Free
Sat, February 26, 8-11pm
AfriClassical Futures: Charles Joseph Smith
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago, IL
$15
Sun, February 27, 4-8pm
Art & Legacy: The Kulture Museum closing reception & Panel on Remembering Mayor Harold Washington
The Kulture Museum: 629 W. Cermak, Chicago, IL
Free
Sun, February 27, 9pm
Sam Weinberg Trio
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL
$25
February 27 – April 9, 2022
Unseen Things Are Still There: Alexandra Antoine, JB Daniel, Kate Ingold, Esau McGhee, and Elsa Muñoz
Riverside Arts Center: 32 E. Quincy St., Riverside, IL
Free
Mon, February 28, 7pm
Meet This Author! Jess T. Dugan – Look at me like you love me
Left Bank Books: 399 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO
Free
Through February 5, 2022
Rui Sha: Non-Decorative Wall Light
Roman Susan: 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago IL
Free
Through February 5, 2022
A New Day
The Alice Wilds: 900 S 5th St, Ste 102, Milwaukee, WI
Free
Through February 6, 2022
Vistas: Visions of China, Japan, and Korea
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts: 314 S. Park Street, Kalamazoo MI
$2-$5
Through February 12, 2022
Diana Gabriel: Permanence
Goldfinch: 319 N Albany Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 12, 2022
Word of Mouth
Woman Made Gallery: 2150 S Canalport St, 4A 3, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 12, 2022
Carris Adams: Get Over, Get Under, Get Easy, Get Greasy
Goldfinch: 319 N Albany Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 13, 2022
Selina Trepp: I’m Thinking About Painting
Space & Time: 3307 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 17, 2022
Kyle Bellucci Johanson: for spacious skies
Chicago Artists Coalition: 2130 W Fulton St., Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 17, 2022
The Rounds
Chicago Artists Coalition: 2130 W Fulton St., Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 18, 2022
GuruShots Photo Exhibition: Chicago Debut
The Bridgeport Art Center, Third Floor Gallery: 1200 W 35th St, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 18, 2022
Soft Allergy
Glass Curtain Gallery: 1104 S Wabash Ave, 1st Floor, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 19, 2022
TL Solien: The Lonesome Dervish
Devening Projects: 3039 West Carroll Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 19, 2022
Greg Breda
PATRON: 1612 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 19, 2022
Dan Gunn: of the land behind them
Monique Meloche: 451 N Paulina St, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 19, 2022
Tricky Passage
Rhona Hoffman: 1711 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 19, 2022
No Body
Cleaner Gallery + Projects: 1856 N Richmond St, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 20, 2022
American Epidemic: Guns in the United States
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 25, 2022
Experiments in Dark Matter
Mu Gallery: 1541 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 26, 2022
Anneke Eussen: Blank Pages
Document: 1709 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 26, 2022
Private Quarters III
Volume Gallery: 1709 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 26, 2022
Land
Beeler Gallery at Columbus College of Art & Design: 60 Cleveland Ave, Columbus, OH
Free
Through February 27, 2022
PEPPI BOTTROP | ROBERT JANITZ
M. LeBlanc: 3514 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 27, 2022
Clifton Henri: Fight or Flight
Jackson Junge Gallery: 1389 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 27, 2022
Adam Augustyn ‘The Sky is Falling’
Vertical Gallery: 2006 W. Chicago Ave. #1R, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 27, 2022
Adeshola Makinde: Is Where It’s At!
Anthony Gallery & Stoney Island Art Bank: 6760 S. Stony Island Avenue, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 27, 2022
All the Pieces We Left Behind
5 Points Gallery + Studios: 3514 N. Port Washington Ave., Milwaukee, WI
Free
Through February 27, 2022
August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean
Goodman’s Albert Theater: 170 N Dearborn St., Chicago, IL
$35+
Through February 27, 2022
Lorna Simpson: Heads
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis: 3750 Washington Boulevard
St. Louis, MO
Free
Through February 27, 2022
Gregory Bae
Julius Caesar: 3311 W Carroll Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Through February 28, 2022
Shonna Pryor: Of Portals and Pathways
Material: 2025 West Belmont Ave, Chicago IL
Free
About the illustrator: Teshika Silver is a freelance illustrator, designer, teaching artist and spiritual cultural worker spending time and living freely in Washington Park, Chicago. Follow her work on Instagram @astratesh.
