Due to the unprecedented, precarious state we are all in due to COVID-19, this month’s Art Picks reads a bit differently. As the nation practices social-distancing, we can no longer attend the events normally listed here. Exhibitions, performances, lectures–you name it–are being postponed or cancelled. As a result, artists, musicians, and performers are doing what they always do–they become even more resourceful, miraculously organizing virtual events and alternative ways to engage with their work. As the ways in which we experience the arts have recently changed, so must this list of Art Picks. Below, you will find three categories: arts events that have been postponed or cancelled, virtual streaming events, and online resources from regional arts organizations.
Art Picks is a monthly event calendar 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.
The featured image was created by one of Sixty’s talented illustrators, Teshika Silver, who is a freelance illustrator, designer, teaching artist and spiritual cultural worker spending time and living freely in Little Village, Chicago. Follow her work on Instagram @astratesh.
This is a growing list, so check back often for new additions.
April 2 – POSTPONED
Work in Progress: Annual Benefit 2020
Chicago Artist Coalition, 2130 W. Fulton Street
April 4 – CANCELLED
Christina Quarles: Opening Talk
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
April 5, 1-5pm – POSTPONED
Artists Run Chicago 2.0: Opening Reception
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave
April 9 – CANCELLED
Poetry Off The Shelf: Christina Pugh
Poetry Foundation: 61 W Superior
April 9, 6-7:15pm – CANCELLED
Talk: Deana Lawson with Naomi Beckwith
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E. Chicago Ave
April 11, 8-8:45pm – POSTPONED
The Pyrotechnic Performance: The Last Judgement
Gallery 400: 2800 S. Sacramento Ave.
April 11, 6-10pm – RESCHEDULED for September
Echoes in Rain: Emily Endo, kg, and Hyun Jung Jun
LVL3: 1542 N Milwaukee Ave , 3rd Floor
April 17 – CANCELLED
Opening Reception: Tromarama
DOCUMENT: 1709 W Chicago Avenue
April 18, 5-8pm – POSTPONED
Miho Dohi: Opening Reception
The Renaissance Society: 5811 S. Ellis Ave
April 24, 7pm-12am – POSTPONED
Closing Celebration & Performance: Butterfly In You. Walking Miracle. Living Wonder
Co-Prosperity Sphere: 3219 S. Morgan St.
April 25, 12:30-1:30pm – CANCELLED
Chicago Public Library Poetry Fest Reading
Harold Washington Library: 400 S State St.
April 26, 11am-3pm – POSTPONED
Yollo Art Market
National Museum of Mexican Art: 1852 W. 19th St.
TBD – POSTPONED
Clotilde Jiménez: The Contest
Mariane Ibrahim: 437 N. Paulina St.
Virtual Streaming Events
April 7, 1-2:30pm
Lighting at Home Workshop
LATITUDE: 1821 Hubbard St. Suite 207
From $20
April 7, 7:45-9pm
Virtual Release Party: George Abraham’s Birthright & Sahar Mustafah’s The Beauty of Your Face
Online
Free
April 9, 7pm
Thirsty Thursday: Live Painting with Nancy
Brown and Proud Press
Free
April 15, 2pm
“I work with what I have” A Conversation with Selina Trepp
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W. Fullerton
Free
April 16, 7pm
Racial Disparities & COVID-19
The Movement for Black Lives
Free
April 19, 4:00-5:30pm
Krista Franklin’s Too Much Midnight book launch
Haymarket Books
$0-$5 / donations optional
April 25, 6-10pm
Cumbia & Stanzas National Edition: Live Poetry and DJ Sets
Brown and Proud Press
Free
April 25, 12:30-1:30pm
The Amazon: Daniel Beltrá in conversation with Jerry Adelmann/Openlands
Catherine Edelman Gallery
Free
April 29, 2pm
Badass Cross Stitch with Shannon Downey
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W. Fullerton
Free
Wednesdays @ 3pm
Workshop: Move, Connect, Reflect
Mana Contemporary: 2233 S Throop St.
$10 suggested donation
Various Dates
Free Virtual Workshops
Steppenwolf Theater: 1650 N. Halstead St
Free
Various dates: Live Streaming
The Quarantine Concerts
Experimental Sound Studio: 5925 N Ravenswood
Free
Various dates: Live Streaming
Photos at Zoom
Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago: 600 S Michigan Ave
Free
Various dates: Live Streaming
QTVC Live!
Online
Free
Online Archives/Resources
PATRON: Partings, Swaying to the Moon: Virtual Walk-Through
Kavi Gupa: Virtual Exhibition Tour of Roger Brown: Hyperframe
The Renaissance Society
Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago
Poetry Foundation
Richard Gray Gallery
Catherine Edelman Gallery
The Arts Club
The Social Distancing Festival
For information on resources and funding opportunities for artists, please see our previously published article “In Case of Emergency: Artist Resources For You, For Us.”
