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.
Thurs, August 1, 12:30-1:30pm
Emerging Artist Project: New Generation Jazz Collective
Harold Washington Library Center: 400 S State St, Chicago
Free
Thurs, August 1, 6pm
the tower*
Roman Susan: 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago
Free
Thurs, August 1, 6-7pm
Bollywood, Bhangra and South Asian Folk Dance with Old Town School of Folk Music
Albany Park: 3401 W Foster Ave, Chicago
Free
Thurs, August 1, 6-7pm
Collage With Artist Susan Gomez
North Pulaski Branch Library: 4300 W North Ave, Chicago
Free
Thurs, August 1, 7pm
Spirit in Sonic Art: AMDUAT
Charlotte Street: 3333 Wyoming St, Kansas City, MO
Free
Thurs, August 1, 7-8:30pm
Gay Bar Books: a panel exploration on their importance with Gerber/Hart
Dorothy: 2500 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
August 2-4, 2024
2024 Chicago Archives + Artists Festival
Experimental Station: 6100 S Blackstone Ave, Chicagogo
Free
Fri, August 2, 11am-12pm
Bilingual Music and Culture Concert with Son Chiquitos
Harold Washington Library Center: 400 S State St, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 2, 1-4pm
Mahjong: Forward Chicago
Sulzer Regional: 4455 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL
Free
Fri, August 2, 5-8pm
August First Friday
LUX Center: 2601 N 48th St, Lincoln, NE
Free
Fri, August 2, 6-9pm(EST)
Priya Wittman: Hold Lightly
Indy Arts: 924 N Pennsylvania St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
Fri, August 2, 6-10pm
OUR HOUSE
The Plan: 610 N Albany Ave, Chicago
Free
August 3-10, 2024
Butoh Summer Festival
Co-Prosperity Sphere: 3219 S Morgan St, Chicago
Free
August 3-November 10, 2024
Weaving a Legacy: Ho-Chunk Black Ash Basketry
MOWA | West Bend: 205 Veterans Ave, West Bend, WI
Free
August 3, 2024 – February 2, 2025
Chicago Works | Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago: 220 East Chicago Ave., Chicago
$19 (Chicago residents); $22 (non-Chicago residents)
Sat, August 3, 10:30-11:30am(EST)
Drag Story Hour with Prince Brentlee and Aqua Marie!
Indy Reads: 1066 Virginia Ave, Indianapolis, IN
Free
Sat, August 3, 11am-7pm
North Lawndale Arts Fest
Douglass Park Cultural & Community Center: 1401 S Sacramento Dr, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 3, 12-4pm
Village Vibes: A House Music Gathering
Little Village Library: 2311 S Kedzie Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 3, 12-8pm
AREA 22: Arts, Crafts, & Oddities Fair
Riverside Drive/Downtown Elgin: 71 S Riverside Dr, Elgin, IL
Free
Sat, August 3, 1-4:30pm
Actor Talk + Film Screening – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
South Shore Library: 2505 E 73rd St, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 3, 6-10pm
Anne-Joelle Tan: POUND
Agitator Gallery: 3851 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 3, 7-9pm
Erotic Photography Workshop: Using Kink Toys As Props
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
$10
Sat, August 3, 7-10pm
Bridgette Bramlage: Future Memories
Yes Project Space: 1029 W 35th St, Chicago
Free
Sun, August 4, 1-4pm
Screening Acts: Spike Lee: BAMBOOZLED (2000)
Logan Center for the Arts, The University of Chicago: 915 E 60th St, Chicago
Free
Sun, August 4, 2-4pm
chi-soul workshops with avery r. young
Austin Library: 5615 W Race Ave, Chicago
Free
Sun, August 4, 3-4:30pm
Soapbox: Asante Owusu-Brafi
Comfort Station Logan Square: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Sun, August 4, 3-5pm
OPTION: Brittany Karlson
Experimental Sound Studio: 5925 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago
Free
Mon, August 5, 2-3pm
Coffee & Conversation: How to Identify Disinformation and Misinformation on Social Media
Woodson Regional Library: 9525 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Mon, August 5, 2-3pm
Mellow Mondays: Self-Care Strategies for Teens
Woodson Regional Library: 9525 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Tues, August 6, 6-8pm
Art/Access Lab: Work in Progress Showing
Experimental Station: 6100 S Blackstone Ave, Chicago
Free
Wed, August 7, 5-8pm
Howard Simmons: My Camera Tells: Once Upon a Chicago
Epiphany Center for the Arts: 201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago
Free
Wed, August 7, 6-9pm
Preserving the Heritage of the Black Panther Party in Illinois
Epiphany Center for the Arts: 201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago
Free
Wed, August 7, 6:30-7:30pm
Pretty in Paperback: WELLNESS
City Lit Books: 2523 N Kedzie Blvd, Chicago
Free
Wed, August 7, 8pm
Jack Langdon & Andrew Maxbauer: music for miniature organ
Tritriangle: 1550 N Milwaukee Ave, Fl 3, Chicago
Free
Thurs, August 8, 8:20pm
Rooftop Cinema: Chicken for Linda!
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art: 227 State St, Madison, WI
Free
Thurs, August 8, 6:30-9pm
Film Screening | Love Letter to the West Side
Chicago History Museum: 1601 N Clark St., Chicago
Free
August 9-September 6, 2024
Arron Foster | Bryn Reagan | Kirstin Willders | Rebecca Arp
ROY G BIV: 435 W Rich St, Columbus, OH
Free
Fri, August 9, 5:30-8pm
Echoes of Ferguson
Chicago Justice Gallery: 1344 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 9, 6-9pm
Multi Maintenance
Roots & Culture: 1034 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 9, 7-10pm
SPARKER: Uncaged
Positive Space Studios- Mundelein: 620 E Hawley St, Mundelein, IL
Free
August 10-September 8, 2024
Cheryl R. Riley and Tracie D. Hall: Migrations in Black and White | 2.0
Evanston Art Center: 1717 Central St, Evanston, IL
Free
Sat, August 10, 3pm (EST)
The Story of a Three Day Pass
Detroit Institute of Arts: 5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
Free
Sat, August 10, 9am-4:30pm
Kinky Rummage Sale Kinky Rummage Sale
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 10, 4-5:30pm
Summer Soundwalk Series: Josh Rios
Harrison Park: 1824 S Wood St, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 10, 6-7pm
Three Way Fight: Revolutionary Politics and Antifascism
Pilsen Community Books: 1102 W 18th St, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 10, 6-9pm
Whitney Bradshaw: OUTCRY
Epiphany Center for the Arts: 201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 10, 7-9pm
Side Yard Sound Presents: Ephemeral Improvisations vol.3: David Boykin and Makeba Kedem-DuBose
Compound Yellow: 244 Lake St, Oak Park, IL
$15
Sat, August 10, 7-10pm
Seventh Evening Festival: Chinese Valentine’s Day- All My Love
Comfort Station: 2579 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Free
Mon, August 12, 4-5pm
Cinnamon Apple Body Scrub
Gage Park: 2807 W 55th St, Chicago
Free
Wed, August 14, 11:45am-12:45pm
Book Fiesta Story Time / Fiesta de Libros
Albany Park: 3401 W. Foster Ave, Chicago
Free
Wed, August 14, 6:30-7:30pm
Poppy & the Pen: You Exist Too Much
City Lit Books: 2523 N Kedzie Blvd, Chicago
Free
Wed, August 14, 6-9pm
Opening Passages: a discussion with zakkiyyah najeebah dumas-o’neal and Elizabeth Cummings
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E. Washington St., Chicago
Free
Thurs, August 15, 5-8pm
Closing Event: the urban+nature sonic pavilion
Millennium Park: 201 E Randolph St, Chicago
Free
August 16-17, 7pm(EST)
Crossing
Detroit Institute of Arts: 5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
Free
Fri, August 16, 6-8pm
Bryana Bibbs: Unforeseen
21c Museum Hotel Chicago: 55 E. Ontario St, Chicago
Free
August 17-18, 12-4pm(EST)
Workshop: Creative Compositions with Elonte Davis
Detroit Institute of Arts: 5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
Free
Sat, August 17, 11am-3pm(EST)
Colors in Conversation
Cleveland Museum of Art: 11150 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH
Free
Sat, August 17, 2-5pm
Tough Kids Book Launch
Logan Center for the Arts, The University of Chicago: 915 E 60th St, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 17, 7-10pm
Fetish Film Forum – Body of Evidence (1993)
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 17, 10pm
Werk: Chicago’s Premiere Queer Comedy Show
The Lincoln Lodge: 2040 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
$9-13
Sat, August 17, 1-3pm
The Existence of Black Art
Hyde Park Art Center: 020 South Cornell Ave., Chicago
Free
Sat, August 17, 2-3pm
Sala: A Living Room of Ideas (S3Ep2)
(virtual/audio) 105.5FM Chicago or lumpenradio.com
Sat, August 17, 5-7pm
Calling Home: An Evening of Poetry & Prose
Comfort Station: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Free
Sun, August 18, 8pm
Ask That*
Roman Susan: 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago
Free
Sun, August 18, 9:30pm
John Christensen Record Release Show
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$15
Wed, August 21, 6:30-7:30pm
Poetry Salon
City Lit Books: 2523 N Kedzie Blvd, Chicago
Free
Wed, August 21, 7pm
A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces that Shaped Queer Women’s Culture by June Thomas
Women & Children First Bookstore: 5233 N Clark St, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 24, 5:45-9pm
Divination: The Dancing Souls of Black Folk
Millennium Park – Jay Pritzker Pavilion: 201 E Randolph St, Chicago
Free
Sat, August 24, 7-9pm
“Making Pictures is How I Talk to the World” book-release
Tangible Books: 3326 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Sun, August 25, 1-4pm(EST)
Welcome Back, SpARTans!
MSU Broad Art Museum: 547 E Circle Dr, East Lansing, MI
Free
Mon, August 26, 4-5pm
Poetry Workshop
Legler Regional: 115 S Pulaski Rd, Chicago
Free
Wed, August 28, 4-7pm
Loft Writers of Color and Indigenous Writers Mixer + Open Mic
The Loft at Open Book: 1011 Washington Ave S, #200, Minneapolis, MN
$5
Wed, August 28, 11am-12pm
Art Design Chicago Talk Series / Serie de Conversatorios Arte Diseño Chicago: Arte Diseño Xicago II
(virtual/audio) 105.5FM Chicago or lumpenradio.com
Thurs, August 29, 7pm
Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration by Alejandra Oliva
Women & Children First Bookstore: 5233 N Clark St, Chicago
Free
August 30-December 20, 2024
Dawit L. Petros: Prospetto a Mare
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, August 30, 7pm
AUTONOMOUS ARCHIVING: A Special Event with the Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago
Chicago Filmmakers: 1326 W Hollywood Ave, Chicago
$10
Sat, August 31, 5-7pm
Millie Wilson: The Museum of Lesbian Dreams
Krannert Art Museum: 500 E Peabody Dr, Champaign
Free
Sat, August 31, 9pm
Christian Dillingham Quartet
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$15
Sat, August 31, 2-4pm
Chicago Narratives: Artists Navigating South Asian Identities
South Asian Institute: 1925 South Michigan Ave., Chicago
Free
Wed, Aug 21
Tanya Lukin Linklater: Inner blades of grass (soft) inner blades of grass (cured) inner blades of grass (bruised by the weather)
Wexner Center for the Arts: 1871 N High St, Columbus, OH
Free
Sat, Aug 24
Hangama Amiri: A Homage to Home
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art: 4420 Warwick Blvd, Kansas City, MO
Free
Sun, Aug 25
Motion Capture: Recent Acquisitions in Media and Performance
Walker Art Center: 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis, MN
$0-18
Sat, Aug 31
Jonas N.T. Becker: Holographic Mountain
Wexner Center for the Arts: 1871 N High St, Columbus, OH
Free
Sat, Aug 31
Of Her Becoming: Elizabeth Catlett’s Legacy in Chicago
Arts + Public Life at the University of Chicago: 301 E. Garfield Blvd., Chicago
Free
About the illustrator: Gaby FeBland is a multidisciplinary artist working in puppetry, illustration, playwriting, and performance. She is a proud co-founder of Foreshadow, an experimental shadow puppetry company. Her original plays and puppetry have been performed off-Broadway and at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Dixon Place, Green-Wood Cemetery, Coney Island U.S.A., Jalopy Theatre, the Owl Music Parlor, and the Coney Island Mermaid Parade.
As an actor, she is represented by Big Mouth Talent. For five years, she was the accordionist for Friends of the Bog. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.
Gaby attended Northwestern University, where she majored in Theatre Arts and Spanish. She holds a Graphic Design Certificate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Her illustration and design work is featured on trains, newspapers, magazines, websites, event posters, albums, band shirts, greeting cards, buttons, and wedding venues across the world. You can find more of her work at her website.
