Created in collaboration with The Visualist, Chicago’s leading visual arts calendar, Sixty’s Art Picks is a wide selection of Midwest arts events, handpicked for our audience of artists, cultural workers, and curators, prioritizing the spaces and events of historically marginalized peoples. Our list is broad but by no means comprehensive; please look at venue calendars to find more events.
All times are listed in Central Standard Time unless otherwise noted. Click here to get our Art Picks and latest articles delivered to your inbox monthly. You can find Art Picks from previous months here.
Before attending any in-person events, we hope you’ll read this open letter cowritten by a group of disabled queers to the Chicago party community, demanding COVID-safe protocols and mindful gathering to protect the most vulnerable members of our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this letter is to reach organizers who plan events and cultivate spaces for queer community building and joy. Please remember to mask; the pandemic is on-going.
Click a button below to jump to a specific week of events.
August 1-2, 2026
Suttons Bay Art Festival 2026
Suttons Bay Marina Park: 326 Front St, Suttons Bay, MI
Free
August 1-22, 2026
Screenprinting with Natural Dyes & Modifiers on Fabric
IC Press Co-op at Public Space One: 225 N Gilbert St, Iowa City, IA
$70-345
August 1, 2026-January 3, 2027
Sadie Barnette
Joslyn Art Museum: 2200 Dodge St, Omaha, NE
Free
Saturday, August 1, 10-11AM
Conversation with Holly Wong
Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts: N50W5050 Portland Rd, Cedarburg, WI
$10-15
Saturday, August 1, 2-4PM (EST)
Metamorphosis Opening Reception
Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery: 77 S High St, First Floor Lobby, Columbus, OH
Free
Saturday, August 1, 2-4PM
Territorial Practices: A Conversation About Art, Sound, Land, and Fire
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: 724 S 12th St, Omaha, NE
Free
Saturday, August 1, 4-6PM
Practice What You Preach: Milwaukee Artists Who Teach
Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts: 926 East Center St, Milwaukee, WI
Free
Saturday, August 1, 4-7PM
Sage Lin: Handle with Care
Comfort Station: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Sunday, August 2, 4-7PM
Sungho Bae: Apotropaia
4th Ward Project Space: 5338 S Kimbark Ave, Chicago
Free
Tuesday, August 4, 6-8PM
Transexual Menace | Free Film Screening
Goethe-Institut Chicago: 150 N Michigan Ave, Suite 420, Chicago
Free
Wednesday, August 5, 6-8PM
Here + Now
Green Line Performing Arts Center: 329 E Garfield Blvd, Chicago
Free
Thursday, August 6, 3-4PM
Glaciers & Climates: Jenny Kendler and Meghana Ranganathan on Cryospheres
Gallery 400: Online
Free
Thursday, August 6, 6PM
Anthony Olusina – 10 Portraits
Harper Court: 5235 S Harper Ct. Chicago
Free
August 7- September 2, 2026
3-D SHOW
Pendleton Artists Society: 119 W State St, Pendleton, IN
Free
Friday, August 7, 5-8PM
Azul: Quinn Antonio Briceño
Foundry Art Centre: 520 N Main Center, St. Charles, MO
Free
Friday, August 7, 4:30-7:30PM (EST)
Held Together: A Collective Reflection on Resilience: Helen Geglio, Carol L. Myers and Pat DaRif
South Haven Center for the Arts: 600 Phoenix St, South Haven, MI
Free
Friday, August 7, 5-9PM
First Friday: Closing Reception for Dialogues & Conversations
Pulitzer Arts Foundation Museum: 3716 Washington Blvd, St. Louis, MO
Free
Saturday, August 8, 12-4PM
IC Press Co-op Open Studio
IC Press Co-op at Public Space One: 225 N Gilbert St, Iowa City, IA
Free
August 8-9, 1-5PM
Living Systems Exhibition Weekend
Living Systems Gallery: Pilsen, Chicago
Free
Saturday, August 8, 2PM
Every Artist Matters
Cedarburg Art Museum: W63N675 Washington Ave, Cedarburg, WI
Free
Saturday, August 8, 2PM
when i think about time
Compound Yellow: 244 Lake St, Oak Park, IL
Free
Saturday, August 8, 6-9PM
Authentic: A Hollie Davis Solo Exhibition
The Block House Gallery: 11137 S Langley Ave, Chicago
Free
Sunday, August 9, 1-4PM
Ground Floor
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave, Chicago
Free
Sunday, August 9, 7-8PM
Soundbath Sessions featuring Taalib-Din Ziyad, Art Turk Burton, Dushun Mosley
The First Presbyterian Church of Chicago: 6400 S Kimbark Ave, Chicago
Free
Thursday, August 13, 7-8:30PM
Nervous Laughter: a comedy show at Dorothy
Dorothy: 2500 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
$12-17
Thursday, August 13, 8:30PM
Improvised Music Series: Ken Ueno, BananaAcid
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago
$10-15
Friday, August 14, 6-10PM
Midwest Rave Culture Archive
200OK: 1835 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Friday, August 14, 8-9:30PM
Nasty, Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret
Constellation Chicago: 3111 N Western Ave, Chicago
$10-35
August 15-16, 2026
44th Lubeznik Arts Festival
Lubeznik: 101 W 2nd St, Michigan City, IN
Free
Saturday, August 15, 9:30-10:30AM
Donuts, Coffee, and Printmaking with Katie Calfee
St. Louis Artists Guild: 12 N Jackson Ave, St. Louis, MO
Free
Monday, August 17, 6PM
Artist Leticia Pardo in Conversation with Scholar Deanna Ledezma
The Arts Club of Chicago: 201 E Ontario St, Chicago
Free
August 18, 2026-January 10, 2027
Art and Care in Education Across Kansas
Spencer Museum of Art: 1301 Mississippi St, Lawrence, KS
Free
Thursday, August 20, 6-8PM
Dust That Lay: Closing Reception
Chicago Artists Coalition: 1431 W Hubbard St, Ste 201, Chicago
Free
Thursday, August 20, 6-10PM
NMC 68th Season Kickoff
The Royale: 3132 S Kingshighway, St. Louis, MO
Free
August 21-23, 2026
Yankton Area Arts 42nd Summer Arts Festival
Riverside Park, Yankton, SD
Free
August 21-September 25, 2026
SQUARED
Soulard Art Gallery: 2028 S 12th St, St. Louis, MO
Free
Friday, August 21, 7-10PM
WORKROOM: Closing Reception
Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education: 1010 W 35th St, Ste 697, Chicago
Free
August 22-December 23, 2026
Shared Art: Yáng Yǒngliáng
Allen Memorial Art Museum: 87 N Main St, Oberlin, OH
Free
Saturday, August 22, 1-3PM
Author Talk with John D’Emilio
Gerber/Hart Library & Archives: 6500 N Clark St, Chicago
Free
Saturday, August 22, 6PM
Book Launch: Apology to Kelp
Yes Project Space: 3705 W Division St, Chicago
Free
Wednesday, August 26, 6-9PM
Block Printing Workshop
Francine’s: 1210 W Granville Ave, Chicago
Free
August 28, 2026-July 25, 2027
Lie. Sit. Stand. Be Still.
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art: 4420 Warwick Blvd, Kansas City, MO
Free
August 28-November 7, 2026
Still Crazy: 40 years of the Crazy IN Style Artists
South Shore Arts: 1040 Ridge Rd, Munster, IN
Free
August 29-December 20, 2026
The Photographic Reflex: The Lee Marks and John C. DePrez Jr. Collection
Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art: 1133 E 7th St, Bloomington, IN
Free
August 29, 2026-June 30, 2027
Carlos Flores: A ChicagoRican Story
Puerto Rican Arts Alliance: 3000 N Elbridge Ave, Chicago
Free
Sunday, August 30, 12-1PM
Knots: Artist Talk
Heaven Gallery: 1550 N Milwaukee Ave #2, Chicago
Free
Sunday, August 30, 3-6PM
Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman: Domestic Disruptions
Riverside Arts Center’s Freeark Gallery and Sculpture Garden: 32 E Quincy St, Riverside, IL
Free
August 14, 2026
Above, Below, Within
Bronzeville Center For The Arts: 507 W North Ave, Milwaukee WI
Free
August 15, 2026
To Avoid Drowning, Become The Ocean: Sam Hamilton
The Luminary: 2701 Cherokee St, St. Louis, MO
Free
About the image maker: na forest lim (they/them) is an autistic, queer, and trans artist, film director, and photojournalist from South Korea. They practice sustainable poetic living in Waawiyaatanong and use visual storytelling to tenderly lift up the resilience of marginalized individuals and communities.
