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April Art Picks

A long list of exhibitions, readings, talks, performances, and events happening across Illinois as we thaw out and move into spring.

From Alberto Aguilar's show "moves on human scale" at Gallery 400, opening April 26th.
From Alberto Aguilar’s show “moves on human scale” at Gallery 400, opening April 26th.

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. Click here to get our Art Picks and latest articles delivered to your inbox monthly.

This is a growing list, so check back often for new additions.

April Art Picks

March 30 – June 23
Goat Island Archive: We Have Discovered the Performance by Making It
Chicago Cultural Center 78 E Washington St, Chicago Rooms
Free

March 28- April 11, 2019
35th Chicago Latino Film Festival
AMC River East , Chicago, 322 E Illinois St
$10-110

Up through May 12
Andrew Bearnot: Fruiting Bodies
Leather Archives & Museum 6418 N Greenview Av
Free with admission, Free on Thursdays

Wed, April 3, 6:30-8:30pm
AJ McClenon with Angel Bat Dawid
Threewalls: 2738 W North Ave
Free

Thurs, April 4, 5:30-7:30pm
Undesign the Redline Exhibition
National Public Housing Museum: 625 N Kingsbury St
Free

Thurs, April 4, 6-8pm
Public Newsroom 102: Reporting on Race and Riots—1919 to Today
Experimental Station: 6100 S Blackstone Ave
Free

April 5-17
The 24th Annual Asian American Showcase
Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago: 164 N State St
Free

Fri, April 5, 6-8pm
Genevieve Gaignard: Black White and Red All Over
Moniquemeloche: 451 N Paulina St
Free

Sat, April 6 – May 8
Deathless-ness; 10,000 Works (Eyes & Teeth Dept.)
Elephant Room Gallery: 704 S Wabash Av
Free

Sat, April 6, 5-9pm
GOT IT FOR CHEAP
Western Exhibitions: 1709 W Chicago Ave
Free

Sat, April 6, 6-9pm
Yvette Kaiser-Smith: On seeing: one point
Ignition Project Space: 3839 W Grand Ave
Free

Sat, April 6, 6-9pm
Raul Ortiz: GRID-locked on Grand
Ignition Project Space: 3839 W Grand Ave
Free

Sat, April 6, 7-10pm
Jillian Hansen-Lewis: Borrowed Lamps (applause for my friends)
Roman Susan: 1224 W Loyola Ave
Free

Sat, April 6, 8:30-11:30pm
John Corbett: Pick Up the Pieces
Constellation Chicago: 3111 N Western Ave
Free

Sun, April 7, 10am-8pm
Body + Camera 2019: The Un/Certain Body
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St
Free

Sun, April 7,
Azadeh Gholizadeh: Oh Swallow Where Do You Live In Winter?
Apparatus Projects: 2639 W Ainslie
Free

Sun, April 7, 3-7pm
Nazia Kazi: Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics
The Seminary Co-op Bookstores: 5751 S Woodlawn Ave
Free

Mon, April 8, 7:30-9pm
Sappho’s Salon: 4 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SHOW
Women & Children First Bookstore: 5233 N Clark St
Free

Tue, April 9, 6-7:30pm
Fo Wilson and Chelsea Frazier
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave
Free

Wed, April 10, 5-6pm
Jennifer Reeder
Art Theory and Practice: 1880 Campus Dr, Kresge Hall 1515, Evanston
Free

Wed, April 10, 6-7:30pm
Amina Ross: Black Hair, Intimacy and Touch
Arts Incubator: 301 E Garfield Blvd
Free

Wed, April 10, 6-7:30pm
Aruna D’Souza
Gallery 400: 400 S Peoria St
Free

Wed, April 10, 6-7pm
Laurie Simmons with Genevieve Gaignard, Cyrus Dunham, and Hannah Baer
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
$8-15

Wed, April 10, 6-8pm
Damaged Goods & FOBia
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St
Free

Wed, April 10, 8-10pm
Ça Twiste à Poponguine
Comfort Film: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave
Free

April 11-12, 2019
Black Speculative Arts Movement (BSAM) Chicago
Chicago State University: 9501 S King Dr
Free

Thur, April 11, 5-7pm
Birmingham, Alabama, 1963: Dawoud Bey/Black Star
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave
Free

Thur, April 11, 5-7pm
Carlos Javier Ortiz and David Schalliol: Chicago Stories
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave
Free

Thur, April 11, 6-9pm
Los Adioses
National Museum of Mexican Art: 1852 W 19th St
Free

Thur, April 11, 6-9pm
Rear View Mirror Sessions with Duane E Powell: Eugene McDaniels
Green Line Performing Arts Center: 329 E Garfield Blvd
Free

Thur, April 11, 6-8pm
Contested City: From Lower East Side of NYC to West Side Chicago
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum: 800 S Halsted St
Free

Thur, April 11, 7-8pm
Halal If You Hear Me: Book Launch
Poetry Foundation: 61 W Superior St
Free

Thur, April 11, 7:30-8:45pm
Jacob Tobia Skype Q&A
Volumes Bookcafe: 1474 N Milwaukee Ave
Free

April 12-14, 7pm
GRUNT Festival Chicago
Links Hall: 3111 N Western Ave
$20

Fri, April 12, 12:30-1pm
Library Book Club: Shane McCrae
Poetry Foundation: 61 W Superior St
Free

Fri, April 12, 5-8pm
Danny Giles: The Thing and its Double
Chicago Artists Coalition: 2130 W Fulton St
Free

Fri, April 12, 5:30-9:30pm
Aspartame, Citral & Rayon
LITHIUM: 1932 S Halsted St, STE 200
Free

Fri, April 12, 5:45-10pm
Textured Translations: A Night of Performances
Ground Level Platform: 2001 S Halsted St
$15-30

Fri, April 12, 6-10pm
Sam Kirk: The Alchemy of Us. A Journey of Identity.
Chicago Art Department: 1932 S Halsted St
Free

Fri, April 12, 6-10pm
Joseph Josue Mora: Clearance
Chicago Art Department: 1932 S Halsted St
Free

Fri, April 12, 7-9:30pm
Found God in Myself: Black + Latina Portraiture, Praise Dance and Testimony
Rootwork Gallery: 645 W 18th St
Free

Fri, April 12, 7-10pm
The Right Swipe
Chicago Filmmakers: 5720 N Ridge Ave
Admission is pay what you can

Sat, April 13, 1-7pm
ASIA//TECHNICS
SAIC Maclean Ballroom: 112 S Michigan Ave
Free

On view through April 13
Alejandro Acierto: The Dead Are Not Altogether Powerless
Boundary: 2334 W 111th Pl
Free

Sat, April 13, 4-6pm
Middle Eastern Poetry Festival
Poetry Foundation: 61 W Superior St
Free

Sat, April 13, 6-8pm
Raúl Ortiz: in Nature
One River School Art + Design Evanston: 1033-1035 Davis St, Evanston
Free

Sat, April 13, 6-10pm
Selected Works
Happy Gallery Chicago: 902 N California Ave
Free

Sat, April 13, 7-8pm
Intermissions: Eglė Budvytytė
The Renaissance Society: 5811 S Ellis Ave, 4th Floor
Free

Sat, April 13, 7-10pm
Elena Ailes: mmmmmmummmmmm
Adler & Floyd: 3537 S Western Blvd
Free

Sun, April 14, 3-4pm
Jonathas de Andrade with José Esparza Chong Cuy
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free

Sun, April 14, 2-5pm
In the Company of Black Closing House Party
Chicago Cultural Center 78 E Washington St, Chicago Rooms
Free

Sun, April 14, 4-7pm
Hương Ngô: In the Shadow of the Future
4th Ward Project Space: 5338 S Kimbark Ave
Free

Tue, April 16, 5-7pm
Camila Pasquel: Intimate Discomfort
Transpace Gallery, 468 W Beaufort St, Normal, IL
Free

Tue, April 16, 6pm
Disability Art Showcase and Maker-Space
Access Living: 115 W Chicago Av
Free

Tue, April 16, 6-7:30pm
Fred Wilson: Afro Kismet
The Block Museum: 40 Arts Circle Dr, Evanston
Free

Tue, April 16, 7-9pm
Special Englewood Event / Performances and Memorial Ceremony
Woods Academy Playground: 6206 S Racine
Free

Tue, April 16, 6-8pm
Folayemi Wilson and Norman Teague
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free

Tue, April 16, 8-10pm
16 Story Club South Side x Chicago Zine Fest: Artifact
Co-Prosperity Sphere: 3219 S Morgan St
Free

Wed, April 17, 6-8pm
Low Strung & Border’d
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St, Chicago
Free

Wed, April 17, 6-7:30pm
Decolonizing Museums
DePaul’s Center for Religion, Culture, and Community: 2333 N Racine Ave
Free

Wed, April 17, 7-10pm
Auto-Erotic: Female Sexuality in the First Person
The Block Museum: 40 Arts Circle Dr, Evanston
Free

Wed, April 17, 8pm-12am
Andrei Tarkovsky: The Mirror
Bedsheet Cinema: 1914 N Spaulding Ave
Free

Thurs, April 18, 6-9pm
Saturnine
Chicago Manual Style: 1927 W Superior St
Free

Thurs, April 18, 7-8pm
Last Days of the Man of Tomorrow
Logan Center for the Arts: 915 E 60th St
Free

Thurs, April 18, 7-9pm
Rob Pruitt: The Obama Paintings
Stony Island Arts Bank: 6760 S Stony Island Ave
Free

Thurs, April 18, 7-10pm
Hana-Bi
Filmfront: 1740 W 18th St
Free

Thurs, April 18, 8-10pm
Grown Folks Stories (Hyde Park)
The Silver Room: 1506 E 53rd St
$0-5

Fri, April 19, 6-9pm
Saturnine
Chicago Manual Style: 1927 W Superior St
Free

Fri, April 19, 7:30-9pm
Joel Hall Master Class and Legacy Event
Logan Center for the Arts: 915 E 60th St
Free

Fri, April 19, 7-10pm
CAKE Art Auction 2019
826Chi: 1276 N Milwaukee Av
$10-15

Fri, April 19, 7-9pm
Soledad Fatima Muñoz // ZRL
Comfort Station Logan Square: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave
Free

Fri, April 19, 7-9pm
April Queer Genre Fiction
Gerber Hart Library and Archives: 6500 N Clark St
Free

Fri, April 19, 8-10pm
IMPACT Exhibition 2019
Zhou B Art Center: 1029 W 35th St
Free

Sat, April 20, 6-7pm
History in the Making: An Archival Collaboration between Chicago
Dance History Project and Joel Hall Dancers & Center
Joel Hall Dancers & Center: 5965 N Clark St
Free

Sat, April 20, 10am-5pm
Space Travel for Dancers
Dovetail Studios: 2853 W Montrose Ave
$65-75

Sat, April 20, 1-8pm
Creating Justice: Celebrating Art In People’s Movements
Oakton Community College: 1600 E Golf Rd, Des Plaines,
Free, RSVP

Sun, April 21, 4-7pm
Hương Ngô: In the Shadow of the Future
4th Ward Project Space: 5338 S Kimbark Ave
Free

Tue, April 23, 6-7:30pm
Maria Gaspar: Speech Acts
Gallery 400: 400 S Peoria St
Free

Tue, April 23, 7-9pm
CHIPRC’s Zine Club: Everything’s Gone Green Edition
Quimby’s Bookstore: 1854 W North Ave
Free

Tue, April 23 + 30, 6:30-7:30pm
OTV Screenwriting Workshops
Reunion Chicago: 2557 W North Ave
Free

Wed, April 24, 7-9pm
In the Yard: #LetUsBreathe Open Mic
Breathing Room: 1434 W 51st Street
Free

Wed, April 24, 8-10pm
Agnès Varda: Daguerréotypes
Comfort Station Logan Square, 2579 N Milwaukee Ave
Free

Thurs, April 25, 5-6:30pm
Eve L. Ewing: Into a Daybreak
The Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality: 5733 S University Ave
Free

Thurs, April 25, 5:30-7:30pm
Chicago Dance History Project • Spring Affair
Virgin Hotels Chicago: 203 N Wabash Ave
Free

Thurs, April 25, 6-7pm
Indigenous Prosperity and American Conquest
Newberry Library: 60 W Walton St
Free

Thurs, April 25, 6-8pm
Possible Mediums
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts: 4 W Burton Pl
Free

Thurs, April 25, 7-9:30pm
Black Lab
OGGI, Chicago: 2451 S Oakley St
$10

Thurs, April 25, 6-8pm
Eric J. Garcia: The Bald Eagle’s Toupee
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W Fullerton Ave
Free

Thurs, April 25, 6-8pm
New Age, New Age: Strategies for Survival
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W Fullerton Ave
Free

Friday April 26, 6-8 PM
In The Receiving Room
Flood’s Hall: 1515 E 52nd Place, 3rd fl
Free

Fri, April 26, 8:30-10am
Kristen Kaza: Inclusive
Low Res Studio: 1821 W Hubbard St. #203
Free

Fri, April 26, 9pm-2am
DJ Rashad Memorial Party
East Room: 2354 N Milwaukee Av
$10

Fri, April 26, 5-7pm
Cathy Hsiao: M ㄅ V ㄍ M ㄍ ㄇ ㄒ III: BAD BUDDHA, 嫦娥
McLean County Arts Center: 601 N East St, Bloomington, IL
Free

Fri, April 26, 5-7pm
2019 Emerging Illinois Artists
McLean County Arts Center: 601 N East St, Bloomington, IL
Free

Fri, April 26, 6-8pm
Jan-Henry Gray, Xandria Phillips, mai c doan
Women & Children First Bookstore: 5233 N Clark St
Free

Fri, April 26, 7-8:30pm
Still Here: Torture, Resiliency and the Art of Memorializing: Closing Reception
Arts and Public Life: 301 E Garfield Blvd
Free

Sat, April 27, 10:30am-2:30pm
Annual Book Sale
Gerber Hart Library and Archives: 6500 N Clark St
Free

Sat, April 27, 11-11:30am
Circles and Squares: Natives, Colonists, and Maps
Newberry Library: 60 W Walton St
Free

Sat, April 27, 11am-2pm
ChiTeen Lit Fest Featuring Eve L. Ewing
1104 S Wabash Ave
Free

Sat, April 27, 12-4pm
Chicago Black Social Culture Map: Early Chicago House Edition
DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E 56th Pl
Free

Sat, April 27, 12:30-1:30pm
Marc Lamont Hill and Barbara Ransby: Media and Democracy
UIC Forum: 725 W Roosevelt Rd
$10-26

Sat, April 27, 2-3pm
Tracy K. Smith
Harold Washington Library: 400 S State St
Free

Sat, April 27, 6-9pm
Alberto Aguilar: moves on human scale
Gallery 400: 400 S Peoria St
Free

Sat, April 27, 6-10pm
Bad Ass Women of East Garfield Park
GAG: 3528 W Fulton Blvd, Chicago, IL 60624
Free

Sat, April 27, 7-9pm
Stomping Grounds
National Museum of Mexican Art: 1852 West 19th St
$5

Sat, April 27, 9:30am – 3pm
Borderlands and Latino/a Studies Mini Conference
Newberry Library: 60 W Walton St
Free

Sat, April 27, 7:30-9:30pm
Bi-Queer Poetry and Open Mic
The Hatchery: 135 N Kedzie Ave
Free

Sat, April 27, 9-1am
Black Magic Kickback / Rent Party
Breathing Room: 1434 W 51st Street
$5 donation

Sat, April 27, 8-10pm
James Hoff
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts: 4 W Burton Pl
Free

Sun, April 28, 7-9pm
UIC MFA Thesis Screening
Filmfront: 1740 W 18th St
Free

Sun, April 28, 7-9pm
Danez Smith
Poetry Foundation: 61 W Superior St, Chicago, IL 60654
Free

Tues, April 30, 8pm-12am
America: A Hymnal with Bethany Collins
Smart Museum of Art: 5550 S Greenwood Av
Free

Tues, April 30, 6-8pm
Jonas Becker
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free

Tues, April 30, 7-8:30pm
Frank DeCaro: Drag History
The Den Theatre: 1331 N Milwaukee Ave
$60 for shortlist membership+ ticket cost

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Featured Image: From Alberto Aguilar’s show “moves on human scale” at Gallery 400, opening April 26th. It’s the artist’s first large-scale survey that “explores how his various life roles and surroundings have shaped a searching, inquisitive practice that is grounded in, and produces, a radical everyday.” Photo courtesy of Gallery 400.

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