April Art Picks

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 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. 

Featured image: An abstract composition of shapes comprosing of pink and blue half circles, yellow squares, and ripped blue paper on a light blue background. Illustration by Ryan Edmund Thiel.

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

Through April 4, 2021
Spring Art Auction
Pilsen Arts & Community House: Online
Free

Through April 4, 2021
Michael K. Paxton: Interpolations
Evanston Art Center: 1717 Central St, Evanston, IL
Free

Through April 9, 2021
The Grilled Cheese Grant (GCG)
The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) and The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Online
Free

Through April 10, 2021
Kareem Davis: A Draftsman’s Dream
Western Exhibitions: 1709 W Chicago Ave
Free

Through April 18, 2021
The Gutter Art of Stephen Varble: Genderqueer Performance Art in the 1970s, Photographs by Greg Day
Iceberg Projects: 7714 North Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL
Free

Through April 28, 2021
Preview 10
Chicago Artist Coalition: 2130 W. Fulton St., Chicago, IL
Free

Through April 28, 2021
Survey 2
Chicago Artist Coalition: 2130 W. Fulton St., Chicago, IL
Free

April 1-30, 2021
Coloured Fire
Circle Contemporary: Online
Free

April 1-30, 2021
Voices Embodied: Extensions
OH Art Foundation: 1029 W 35th St, Chicago, IL
Free

Thurs, April 1, 4-5:15pm
JOSÈ SANTIAGO PÈREZ: Haptic Choreographies
Fiber and Material Studies at SAIC: Online
Free

Thurs, April 1, 7:30pm
For this work we’ve done, a toast of your own choosing
ADDS DONNA, Threewalls, and The Visualist: Online
Free

April 2-9, 2021
2021 MFA Thesis Show One: ​Sidelong Glances
Gallery 400: Online
Free

April 2 – May 30, 2021
Alberto Aguilar and Alex Bradley Cohen
Compound Yellow: 244 Lake St., Oak Park, IL
Free

April 2 – July 24, 2021
¡Viva la Libertad! Latin America and the Age of Revolutions
Newberry Library: 60 W. Walton St., Chicago, IL
Free

April 2-July 2, 2021
In From The Cold
Carl Hammer Gallery: 740 N Wells St, Chicago, IL
Free

April 2-June 4, 2021
Quiet, Cold
Jargon Projects: Online
Free

Fri, April 2, 4-7pm
Renee Baker: COLLECTIVE TIMBRE
TRIANGLE: 42 East Ave, Riverside, IL
Free

Fri, April 2, 5-9pm
This
Compound Yellow: 244 Lake St, Oak Park, IL
Free

Fri, April 2, 1-3pm
KINETIC Healing Circle
KINETIC: Online
Free

Fri, April 2, 6:30pm
Create Art Not Violence Presents…
moCa Cleveland: Online
Free

Fri, April 2, 6-7pm
Cathy Park Hong: Minor Feelings
The Seminary Co-op Bookstores: Online
Free

Fri, April 2-3, 7pm
Freedom From and Freedom To – #4
Elastic Arts: Online
$10 Suggested Donation

Fri, April 2, 8:30pm
The Quarantine Concerts: Spectralina
Experimental Sound Studio: Online
$5 Suggested Donation

April 3-24, 2021
2021 School of Art + Design Master of Fine Arts Exhibition
Krannert Art Museum: 500 E Peabody Dr, Champaign, IL
Free

Sat, April 3, 4-5pm
ERA OF PREPARATION AND DESIRE (NIU MFA Group Exhibition)
ARC Gallery: 1463 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

Sat, April 3, 5pm
Old Traditions, New Narratives: Reflections in Sound
South Asia Institute: Online
$10

Sat, April 3, 5:30-8pm
Leasho Johnson: OUT & BAD
FLXST Contemporary: 2251 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

Sat, April 3, 6pm
Mayumi Lake / Brothers Juguilon
Ignition project space: 3839 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

Sat, April 3, 7pm
The Quarantine Concerts: Teiku Experimental Jazz Improvisation on Ancestral Jewish Melodies
Experimental Sound Studio: Online
$5 Suggested Donation

Sun, April 4, 8pm
The Quarantine Concerts: Collaborative Stream Scape Event – Violation Of Ordinary Values
Experimental Sound Studio: Online
$5 Suggested Donation

April 4-5, 2021
Quaranzine Fest
Marimacha Monarca Press: Online
$20-$25

April 5-May 1, 2021
Irina Zadov: What Time Is It?
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave
Free

Tue, April 6, 3-4pm
Pandemics as a Portal to Change – Teen Creator’s Workshop
Krannert Art Museum: Online
Free

Tue, April 6, 6-7pm
Printmaking Inside the Prison Industrial Complex
Spudnik Press Cooperative: Online
Free

Tue, April 6, 6:30-7:45pm
Ian Cheng
School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Online
Free

Tue, April 6, 7-8pm
Open Door: Mairead Case, Kenyatta Rogers, Erika Hodges, and Israel Solis Jr
Poetry Foundation: Online
Free

Tue, April 6, 8pm
Virtual OUTspoken! LGBTQ Storytelling via Zoom
Sidetrack The Video Bar: Online
Free

Tue, April 6, 8-9pm
Bemis Alumni ARTalks: Blane De St. Croix
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: Online
Free

Wed, April 7, 6-7pm
Tanda Spring 2021: Marronage: Between Freedom and Captivity, Tiffany M Johnson
Chuquimarca: Online
Free

Wed, April 7, 7pm
Hang Abdurraqib On A Little  Devil  in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance
The Wexner Center for the Arts: 1871 North High Street Columbus, OH
Free

Wed, April 7, 6-7pm
Mama Gloria: Luchina Fisher in conversation with zakkiyyah najeebah
Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture: Online
Free

Wed, April 7, 7pm
Artist Talk: Maryam Taghavi
Roman Susan: Online
Free

April 8-12, 2021
EXPO CHICAGO: EXPO CHICAGO ONLINE
EXPO CHICAGO: Online
Free

April 8-12, 2021
Nathan Zearfoss: stems
Chicago Artists Coalition: Online
Free

Thurs, April 8, 6pm
Pablo Helguera: Unrequited (Chicago works) in conversation with Daniel R. Quiles
DePaul Art Museum: Online
Free

Thurs, April 8, 6-8pm
Artists at the Center: A Roundtable
Hyde Park Art Center: Online
Free

April 9-29, 2021
Artists & Model: A Tribute to the South Side Community Art Center
C33 Gallery / Columbia College Chicago: 33 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, 1st Floor, Chicago, IL
Free

April 9-May 2, 2021
Department of Visual Arts BA Thesis Exhibition
Logan Center Exhibitions: 915 E 60th St, Chicago, IL
Free

April 9-May 15, 2021
Kevin Wolff: Never Not Looking
Devening Projects: 3039 W Carroll Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

April 9-May 26, 2021
Seven Openings
062: 1029 W 35th St, Chicago, IL
Free

Fri, April 9, 12pm
Art Talks! Docents in Dialogue – Rory Kahiya Tsapayi (’21)
Block Museum: Online
Free

Fri, April 9, 7pm
“Jane: An Abortion Service” & “Abortion Helpline, This Is Lisa” Screening
Museum of Contemporary Photography: Online
Free

Fri, April 9, 6pm
Erin Peisert and Cynthia Post Hunt Performance
Dispatch Gallery: Online
Free

Fri, April 9, 5pm
Collective Futures Workshop 1
Axis Lab Chicago: Online
Free (Donations Suggested)

April 10-May 8, 2021
JULIA WACHTEL, paul Pfeiffer, AND WENDY WHITE: FADE TO FADE
Library Street Collective: 1274 Library Street (Alley), Detroit, MI
Free

April 10 – May 23, 2021
Figures/Faces
Evanston Art Center: 1717 Central St., Evanston, IL
Free

Sat, April 10, 12-1:30pm
Building Self-Determination: Growing Gardens of Resistance
Chicago Public Library: Online
Free

Sat, April 10, 12:30-4pm
Joanna Pinsky: Now and Then
Evanston Art Center: 1717 Central St, Evanston, IL
Free

Sat, April 10, 2pm
Hands On Advice w/Cara Bean, Sheika Lugtu, and Jarod Roselló
Radiator Comics Studio: Online
Free

Sat, April 10, 1-4pm
Is This Real?
Gallery Studio Oh: 4839 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

Sat, April 10, 1:30-4:30pm
Corran Shrimpton: Surface Tension
Lillstreet Art Center: 4401 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

Sat, April 10, 3pm
Book Launch & Reading: 19 in 2021 by Nat Pyper
Chuquimarca Projects: Online
Free

Sun, April 11, 1pm
Janice Elkins and Gina Lee Robbins: Not Afraid​: Artist Talk
Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art: Online
Free

Sun, April 11, 12-3:30pm
Meet the Artists
Evanston Art Center: 1717 Central St., Evanston, IL
Free

Sun, April 11, 12pm
Black Lunch Table Live w/Anne Martine Whitehead
Black Lunch Table: Online (Instagram Live)
Free

Sun, April 11, 2:30pm
In Conversation with the Driehaus Museum’s A Tale of Today: Emerging Artist Fellows
Driehaus Museum & EXPO Chicago: Online
Free

April 12-June 6, 2021
Maggie Crowley: Playmate
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave
Free

Mon, April 12, 1-2:30pm
Voices: Caroline Kent
Gallery 400: Online
Free

Mon, April 12, 4-6pm
CAPE Dialogue: What is the Body?
Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education: Online
Free

Tue, April 13, 7pm
Visiting Artist Lecture: Tiff Beatty
Illinois Galleries of ISU: Online
Free

Tue, April 13, 3pm
Chicago’s Archive Collective Reuse Competition: Kick-off: Who is in the Archive Collective, why do we archive, and what is reuse?
Studs Terkel Radio Archive: Online
Free

Wed, April 14, 6-8pm
Tanda Spring 2021: Making Visible the Invisible: Labor of Mothering as Immigrants in the Contemporary Culture and What Acquiring a New Language Provides, Karen Dana Cohen
Chuquimarca: Online
Free

Wed, April 14, 8-9pm
AMATEUR HOUR
Chicago Film Archives + The Hideout: Online
$10

Wed, April 14, 6-7pm
Curator Conversations: Cortney Lederer & Yasmin Spiro
21c Museum Chicago: Online
Free

Wed, April 14, 7pm
Grace Tenneh Kromah & Sierrah Floyd in Conversation
Concerned Black Image Makers: Online
Free

Thurs, April 15, 6-7pm
Open Education Info Session
LATITUDE: Online
Free

Thurs, April 15, 11am
Black Aesthetics and the Art Therapies
Black Music Therapy Network: Online
Free

Thurs, April 15, 7pm
Virtual Author Conversation: Quiara Alegría Hudes & Esmeralda Santiago
Women & Children First Bookstore: Online
Free

April 15 – May 15, 2021
Art Drips From Each of Her Fingers
Roots & Culture: 1034 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

April 15 – May 15, 2021
Boundaries
Woman Made Gallery: 2150 S Canalport Ave, 4A-3, Chicago, IL
Free

April 16-23, 2021
2021 MFA Thesis Show Two: Ordinary Horrors
Gallery 400: Online
Free

April 16-May 14, 2021
Sensory Overload: 2021 Loyola Fine Art Senior Exhibition
Ralph Arnold Gallery: Online
Free

April 16-May 29, 2021
Paul Mpagi Sepuya: Stage
Document: 1709 W Chicago Ave
Free

April 16 – May 22, 2021
Towering
Monaco: 2701 Cherokee Street, St. Louis, MO
Free

Fri, April 16, 4-9pm
Maryam Faridani & Li-Ming Hu: Art Drips From Each Of Her Fingers
Roots & Culture: 1034 N Milwaukee Ave
Free

Fri, April 16, 4pm
Chicago’s Archive Collective Reuse Competition: South Side Home Movie Project Orientation
Studs Terkel Radio Archive: Online
Free

Fri, April 16, 7pm
With A Vengeance Screening
Museum of Contemporary Photography: Online
Free

April 17-July 4, 2021
Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition
Museum of Science & Industry: 5700 S Lake Shore Dr. Chicago, IL
Free

Sat, April 17, 1-6pm
Long Braids, Strong Backs
LVL3: 1542 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

Sat, April 17, 7pm
The Quarantine Concerts: Ithaca Underground Presents
Experimental Sound Studio: Online
Free

April 17 & 18, 2021
Milwaukee Zine Fest
Milwaukee, WI (Multiple Locations & Virtual)
Free

April 17 – May 29, 2021
Damon Locks: Then X Enters
Goldfinch Gallery: 319 N. Albany, Chicago, IL
Free

Mon, April 19, 6:30pm
Flowers for Ourselves with Verónica Casado Hernandez
Sixty Inches From Center: Online (Instagram)
Free

Sun April 18, 1pm
Max Guy & Lili Huston-Herterich in Conversation
Apparatus Projects: Online
Free

April 18- August 14, 2021
SPACES Spotlight: Gregg Blasdel + Clarence Schmidt
John Michael Kohler Arts Center: 608 New York Ave, Sheboygan, WI
Free

April 19- August 22, 2021
Behold, Be Held
Block Museum: 40 Arts Circle Dr, Evanston, IL
Free

Mon, April 19, 3pm
Chicago’s Archive Collective Reuse Competition: Archival Research and Fair Use
Studs Terkel Radio Archive: Online
Free

Mon, April 19, 1-2:30pm
Voices: Jamal Cyrus
Gallery 400: Online
Free

Tues, April 20, 6:30-8pm
And the Beat Goes On: Passing House Music Culture to the Next Generation
Honey Pot Performance: Online
Free

Wed, April 21, 7pm
Seeing Family in Latinx Art: A Conversation with Diana Solís, Nicole Marroquin, and Deanna Ledezma
DePaul Art Museum: Online
Free

Wed, April 21, 8:30pm
Flowers for Ourselves with EdVetté Jones
Sixty Inches From Center: Online (Instagram)
Free

Wed, April 21, 6pm
Grad Performance Showing
University of Michigan: Online
Free

Wed, April 21, 6-8pm
Tanda Spring 2021: Bloodletting as Embodied Ritual: Latinx Tattoos, Clau Rocha
Chuquimarca: Online
Free

Wed, April 21, 7pm
Asian Women Speak Out: Anjali Enjeti, R.O. Kwon, and Suchitra Vijayan
Pilsen Community Books: Online
Free

Wed, April 21, 7-8pm
Virtual Author Reading: MAKE YOUR ART NO MATTER WHAT by Beth Pickens
Women & Children First Bookstore: Online
Free

Wed, April 21, 5-6:15pm
Teaching and Learning for Freedom: Visions, Study, and Practice
Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project: Online
Free

Wed, April 21, 7-9pm
Film Screening: With Drawn Arms
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis: Online
Free

Thurs, April 22, 7pm
Opening Reception: Black Plant-It
Art West: 50 S California Ave, Chicago, IL 
Free

Thurs, April 22, 7pm
Flowers for Ourselves with Natalia Villanueva
Sixty Inches From Center: Online (Instagram)
Free

Thurs, April 22, 5:30pm
Chicago’s Archive Collective Reuse Competition: Video and Audio Production/Editing
Studs Terkel Radio Archive: Online
Free

Thurs, April 22, 6pm
Artists in Conversation: High Touch
John Michael Kohler Arts Center: Online
Free

Thurs, April 22, 6-8pm
Celebrating the Poets of Forms & Features
Poetry Foundation: Online
Free

Fri, April 23, 7pm
Birth On The Border Screening
Museum of Contemporary Photography: Online
Free

Sat, April 24, 2-3pm
22nd Annual Poetry Fest Featuring Nate Marshall
Chicago Public Library: Online
Free

Sat, April 24, 7pm
pt.fwd presents Allen Moore
McLean County Museum of History: Online
Free

April 24, 2021
Liz Flores: In Between
All Star Press Chicago: Online
Free

April 24 – June 5, 2021
Carter Mull
Regards: 2216 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

April 24 – June 5, 2021
Hood Ornament
M. LeBlanc: 3514 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL
Free

April 24 – June 12, 2021
Ebony G. Patterson: she is land…she is the mourning…
Moniquemeloche: 451 N Paulina St, Chicago, IL
Free

April 24 – June12, 2021
Brittney Leeanne Williams: How Far Between and Back
Moniquemeloche: 451 N Paulina St, Chicago, IL
Free

April 24-July 3, 2021
Manuel Mathieu: Negroland: A Landscape of Desires
Kavi Gupta Gallery: 219 N Elizabeth St, Chicago, IL
Free

April 26-July 18, 2021
Faheem Majeed: Planting and Maintaining a Perennial Garden: Shrouds
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

April 26-July 18, 2021
The Metamorphosis of Gabriel Villa
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave, Chicago, IL
Free

Mon, April 26, 12pm
Chicago’s Archive Collective Reuse Competition: Collecting Oral Histories
Studs Terkel Radio Archive: Online
Free

Wed, April 28, 6-8pm
Tanda Spring 2021: Challenging Biometrics, AI, and Facial Recognition Technologies, Alex Santana
Chuquimarca: Online
Free

Wed, April 28, 7pm
Flowers for Ourselves with Alexander Martin
Sixty Inches From Center: Online (Instagram)
Free

Thurs, April 29
If/Then online sharing #1: Honey Pot Performance with Norman W. Long
Honey Pot Performance: Online
Free

Thurs, April 29, 4-5pm
Bloom: Youth Power
Allied Media Conference: Online
Free

April 30-May 21, 2021
2020 MFA Thesis Show: ​This World Should Be More Wonderful
Gallery 400: Online
Free

Fri, April 30, 7pm
The Motherhood Archives Screening
Museum of Contemporary Photography: Online
Free

Write For Us:
Sixty welcomes writers and artists to contribute through traditional and experimental arts writing around ideas, topics, and practices that are relevant to Chicago’s cultural landscapes. Priority will be given to writing by, about, and for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists, artists with disabilities, and the long list of writing, art-making, and cultural practices that have been neglected in mainstream conversations and canons about art and culture. If you are interested in pitching an idea or covering one of the listed art events, contact us at WriteForSixty@sixtyinchesfromcenter.org. See full pitch guidelines here.