August Art Picks
Sixty’s selection of art exhibitions and events in Chicago and the Midwest for August 2023.
Sixty’s Art Picks offers 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 support the art, archives, and writing of diasporic, queer, trans, indigenous, and disability communities in Chicago + 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. All times are listed in Central Standard Time unless otherwise noted. Any events highlighted in green are shows and events the editorial team is excited to see.
Click a button below to jump to a specific week of events.
In solidarity with and in support of an open letter to the Chicago party scene we published last year, we’d like to share this you in hopes that you read and consider while looking through the events listed below. The letter was cowritten by a group of disabled queers with the goal of reaching organizers who plan events and cultivate spaces for queer community building and joy.
See Art Picks from previous months here.
August 2023
Today is a Retrospect
The Athenaeum: 401 E MICHIGAN ST, INDIANAPOLIS, IN
Free
Wed, August 2, 10am-12pm
Rigo Saura | Research Lab: Workshop
High Concept Labs: 2233 S Throop St, Chicago
Free
Wed, August 2, 7-9pm
Parrish Lewis: You Got Soul: Panel Discussion
Blanc Gallery: 4445 S King Dr, Chicago
Free
August 3-5, 2023
Thick Like Me
Urban Arts Space: 50 W Town St, Suite 130, Columbus, OH
Free
August 3-September 2023
GUMBO
Anthony Gallery: 1360 W Lake St
Free
Thurs, August 3, 5-6:30pm
Gravity Pleasure Switchback Curatorial Talk
Gallery 400: Online
Free
Thurs, August 3, 5-7pm
Shift: Music, Meaning, Context: Closing Reception
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave, Chicago
Free
August 4-11, 2023
Caitlin Metz: Feel Something, Make Something
Wildfruit: 4704 Virginia Ave. St. Louis, MO
Free
August 4-18, 2023
Meandering North
Urban Arts Space: 50 W Town St, Suite 130, Columbus, OH
Free
August 4-21, 2023
Beckmann Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition 2018-2023
Gallery 924: 924 N. Pennsylvania St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
August 4-September 9, 2023
Communal Design Collective Futures
Annex Gallery: 333 Midland, Highland Park, MI
Free
August 4-September 24, 2023
Justin Cooper-Archetypes
Tube Factory artspace: 1125 Cruft St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
August 4-September 24, 2023
Brian DePauli: Not Sorry We’re Closed
Tube Factory artspace: 1125 Cruft St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
Fri, August 4, 5-8pm
Thresholds
Chicago Artists Coalition: 2130 W Fulton St, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 4, 5-8pm
Sarah Paulsen: Mother(ing) as Meditation
High Low: 3301 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO
Free
Fri, August 4, 5-9pm
Double Blessings
Povos Chicago: 1541 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 4, 5-9pm
Conflicts of Freedom
Roots & Culture: 1034 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 4, 6-9pm
MIRROR, MIRROR: a reflective group exhibition
The Martin: 2500 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 4, 6-10pm
Shelby Robertson & Sierra Swift
Art House 310: 310 S Laura, Wichita, KS
Free
Fri, August 4, 6:30-9:30pm
Chicago Audio Maker Reconvening
Haymarket House: 800 W Buena Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 4, 7-10pm
Edith Copp: Experiments in Manifestation
Positive Space Studios: 3520 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 4, 7-11pm
Queer Narratives Festival
THE BLACK BOX in the West Bottoms: 1060 Union Avenue Kansas City, MO
$15-35
Fri, August 4, 8pm-1am
Datafruits World Expo
Digital Art Demo Space: 2515 S Archer Ave, Suite 2, Chicago
Free
August 5-6, 2023
VERY BAD ART SHOW!!!!
Public Space One: 538 S Gilbert St, Iowa City, IA
Free
Sat, August 5, 11am
Braids and Beads
Kido: 1137 Delano Ct, Chicago
$20
Sat, August 5, 11am-1pm
writing arts grants & proposals — full!
Public Space One: 538 S Gilbert St, Iowa City, IA
$20
Sat, August 5, 12-5pm
Wag Your Tail!
Vertical Gallery: 2006 W Chicago Ave, #1R, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 5, 2-3:30pm
Recapturing Memories of the Black Ark, Dorian Sylvain and Family
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 5, 5:30pm
A Dreamhouse of Our Own: Queer Barbie Exhibit
Gerber Hart Library and Archives: 6500 N Clark St 2nd Fl, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 5, 6-9pm
Diana Solís: Contigo
Co-Prosperity: 3129 S Morgan St, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 5, 7-9pm
Parrish Lewis: You Got Soul: Panel Discussion
Blanc Gallery: 4445 S King Dr, Chicago
Free
Sun, August 6, 3-5pm
OPTION: Shanta Nurullah
Experimental Sound Studio: 5925 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago
Free
Sun, August 6, 4-7pm
Isaac Couch: There are Ghosts in These Walls…
Comfort Station Logan Square: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
August 8-22, 2023
Anna Johnson et al.: MEMBRANE VARIATIONS
Roman Susan: 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago
Free
Tue, August 8, 6pm
Latino Writers Initiative
National Museum of Mexican Art: Online
Free
Tue, August 8, 7-8:30pm
The Black Arcade: Grief in Stereo | Skill Share/Jam Session #1
High Concept Labs: 2233 S Throop St, 4th Floor, Chicago
Free
August 9-27, 2023
2023 MKE BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL
Multiple Community Locations
Free
August 10-12, 2023
Bibliomancy
Urban Arts Space: 50 W Town St, Suite 130, Columbus, OH
Free
Wed, August 9, 5:30-7:30pm
Gender Expansive Artistry
Black Hills Center For Equality Inc.: 713 7th St, Rapid City, SD
Free
August 10-13, 2023
Life, Color, Action
Split Gallery: 2561 Leavenworth St, Omaha, NE
Free
Thurs, August 10, 2023
Roy Kinsey & The Kinfolk
Dorian’s: 1939 W North Ave, Chicago
Free
August 11-October 13, 2023
Illegal Art
Cultivate: 620 Wealthy St SE, Grand Rapids, MI
Free
August 11-November 10, 2023
PAUSE/CONNECT: Photography in the WAM Collection
WAM: 1635 W St Paul Ave, Milwaukee, WI
Free
Fri, August 11, 6-8pm
Amigas Latinas Forever
Chicago Art Department: 1926 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 12, 12-10pm
Brother El’s Sandbox Symphony VIII
Oakwood Beach: 41st Street @ Lake Michigan, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 12, 5-9pm
Opening Reception: A thread through a past life
Middle Child Gallery: 2233 S. Throop St. Unit #950, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 12, 5-9pm
Tethered en el Barrio
Location Shared with RSVP
$11, RSVP
Sat, August 12, 6-10pm
INGRID BAARS : DONNA
Nych Art Gallery: 2025 S. Laflin St, Chicago
Free
Sun, August 13, 2-10pm
Carlos Cortéz 100 AÑOS
National Museum of Mexican Art: 1852 W 19th St, Chicago
Free
Sun, August 13, 2-10pm
Brother El’s Sandbox Symphony VII
Oakwood Beach: 41st Street @ Lake Michigan
Free
Tue, August 15, 6-8pm
Partition Anti-Memorial Project & Borders and Boundaries Redefined: End of Partition Event
The Art Center Highland Park: 1957 Sheridan Rd, Highland Park, IL
Free
Wed, August 16, 7-10pm
Get Lit. Open Mic Night
Lit. on Fire Books: 712 West Main St, Peoria, IL
Free
August 17- September 26, 2023
Jesse Howard: America Unrest Sole
Harold Washington College President’s Gallery: 30 E Lake St, Chicago
Free
August 17- December 22, 2023
LOVE: Still Not the Lesser
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave, Chicago
Free
August 17, 2023- January 14, 2024
Teo Nguyen: Việt Nam Peace Project
Teo Nguyễn: Giấc Mơ Hòa Bình
Sioux City Art Center: 225 Nebraska St, Sioux City, IA
Free
Thurs, August 17, 5:30pm
Esmeralda Santiago Book Launch of “Las Madres”
National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture: 3015 W Division St, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 18, 9pm-2am
HEAVENSWARE V
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave #208, Chicago
$10-$15
Fri, August 18, 7-11pm
James Mahu: Into the Mystic
Freeport Art Museum: 121 N Harlem Ave, Freeport, IL
Free
August 19, 2023-May 5, 2024
Entre Horizontes: Art and Activism Between Chicago and Puerto Rico
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 19, 12-3pm
WAVE POOL POOL PARTY and PARKING LOT ART FAIR
Camp Washington: 2940 Colerain Ave, Cincinnati, OH
Free
Sat, August 19, 12-3pm
Black August: Solidarity Quilting Workshop
Logan Center Exhibitions: 915 E 60th St, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 19, 7pm
Jes Tom: Less Lonely
Color Club: 4146 North Elston Ave, Chicago
Free
August 25-December 31, 2023
Made to Order 2023
Trout Museum of Art: 111 W College Ave, Appleton, WI
Free
Sat, August 26, 9am-12:30pm
Riso Basics: Discover Risography with BEARBEAR
The Bindery: 347 E Ward St, Milwaukee, WI
Free
Sat, August 26, 1-4pm
2023 Evanston + Vicinity Biennial Exhibition
Evanston Art Center: 1717 Central St, Evanston, IL
Free
Sat, August 26, 5-9pm
Mark Banks: In the Fields of Rotting Giants
Ford Calumet Environmental Center at Big Marsh Park: 11555 S Stony Island Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 26, 7-9pm
Side Yard Sounds: Mute Duo + Norman Long
Compound Yellow: 244 Lake St, Oak Park, IL
Free
Sat, August 26, 7pm
Freedom From and Freedom To
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave #208, Chicago
$15
August 28-September, 2023
Sarah Nguyen: Untrim
East Central College: 1964 Prairie Dell Rd, Union, MO
Free
Wed, August 30, 11am-12pm
At the Precipice: Artist Talk: Art + Climate Justice
Design Museum of Chicago: Online
Free
August 31-September 3
The Fly Honeys
Thalia Hall: 1807 S. Allport St. Chicago
$50-$150, RSVP
August 31-September3
Butter Art Fair
The Stutz:1060 North Capitol Ave, Indianapolis, IN
$20-$120, RSVP
August 31-December 2, 2023
The Prints of Marie Watt
Krannert Art Museum: 500 E Peabody Dr, Champaign, IL
Free
Ending August 4
Maggie Cappelletti | Lydia Smith | Chantal Wnuk | Eva Antebi-Lerman
ROY G BIV Gallery: 435 W Rich St, Columbus, OH
Free
Ending August 5
Derrick Woods-Morrow: Gravity Pleasure Switchback
Gallery 400: 400 S Peoria St, Chicago
Free
Ending August 5, 2023
Mrs. x DOCUMENT
DOCUMENT: 1709 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Ending August 6
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund FELLOWSHIPS FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS 2022
Haggerty Museum of Art: 1234 W Tory Hill St, Milwaukee, WI
Free
Ending August 12
Dreamwork: Meredith Morrison
PLAYGROUND DETROIT: 2845 Gratiot Ave, Detroit, MI
Free
Ending August 12
Elements of Style
The Neo-Futurist Theater: 5153 N Ashland Ave, Chicago
$4.99-24.99
Ending August 13
Phillip Chen: No Ideas but in Things
University Galleries of Illinois State University: 11 Uptown Circle, Suite 103, Normal, IL
Free
Ending August 13
Collective Impact: Building Beautiful Community
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis: 3750 Washington Blvd, St. Louis, MO
Free
Ending August 18
Body Defiance
Generator Space 1804 Vinton St, Omaha, NE
Free
Ending Aug 19
Esthetic Local
Rupture and Public Works: 2141 W North Ave, Chicago
Free
Ending August 25
Larry Torno
Houska Gallery: 4728 McPherson Ave, St. Louis, MO
Free
Ending August 27
Jerry Jordan: Expressions for a New Renaissance
MOWA | West Bend Hours: 205 Veterans Ave, West Bend, WI
Free
About the photographer: Tonal Simmons, they/them, is a Black queer non-binary artist who is a writer, photographer and painter. Their photography and painting seeks to examine the similarities between flowers, growth, and Black queerness. While their writing explores the idea of DEI within art, creating w/chronic conditions, & lack of access to art for Black and brown creatives. You can check out their personal work at www.tonalscorner.com