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.
Sat – Sun, Nov 30 – Dec 1
Connect South Shore Arts Festival
Jeffrey Mall: 7131 S. Jeffery Street
Free
Sun, Dec 1, 10am-12:30pm
Drag Queen Story Time and Brunch: Holiday Edition
Museum Of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free
Sun, Dec 1, 12-2pm
Sanctuary Sunday | Teshika Silver: Tarot & Intention
6018NORTH: 6018 N Kenmore Ave
Free – $40
Sun, Dec 1, 1-3pm
Noname’s Book Club Chicago Meet-Up
Stony Island Arts Bank: 6760 S Stony Island Ave
Free
Sun, Dec 1, 5-8pm
For the Time Being
ACRE Projects: 1345 W 19th St
Free
Mon, Dec 2, 4:30-7:30pm
The Nap Ministry
Smart Museum of Art: 5550 S Greenwood Ave
Free
Mon, Dec 2, 9:30-11:30pm
Susan Sontag: Duet for Cannibals
Doc Films at the University of Chicago: 1212 E 59th St
Free
Tue, Dec 3, 6-7:30pm
Bauhaus: Through Other Stories
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St
Free
Wed, Dec 4, 7:30pm
Queer Asian American/Asian Diaspora Storytelling
National Cambodian Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial: 2831 W Lawrence Ave
Free
Wed, Dec 4, 6-7pm
Abraham Cruzvillegas: The Ballad of Etc.: Curator’s Tour
The Arts Club of Chicago: 201 E Ontario St
Free
Wed, Dec 4, 6-9pm
The Sip Prov 6
South Side Community Art Center: 3831 S Michigan Ave
$15
Wed, Dec 4, 6:30pm
2019-20 Artists in Residence Welcome Reception + Artist Talk
Arts and Public Life: 301 E Garfield Blvd
Free
Wed, Dec 4, 8-10pm
Angela Davis & Yuri: Mountains that take Wing
First Sip Cafe: 1057 W Argyle St
Free
Thur, Dec 5, 6pm
The Midwest as Place
Newberry Library: 60 W Walton St
Free
Thur, Dec 5, 6pm
Wool Work
Graham Foundation: 4 W Burton Pl
Free
Thur, Dec 5, 6pm
Gallery Talk with Anna Martine Whitehead
Logan Center Exhibitions: 915 East 60th St
Free
Thur, Dec 5, 4-6pm
Atefeh Farajolahzadeh: Still Moving
C33 Gallery: 33 E Ida B Wells Dr
Free
Thur, Dec 5, 4-7pm
Restraint | Jenyu Wang: Boyfriend
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave
Free
Thur, Dec 5, 6-7:30pm
New Media + Old Media: Two Leaders’ Perspectives on Innovation
Gray Center for the Arts and Inquiry:929 E 60th St
Free
Thur, Dec 5, 7:30pm
Artists Live: Tiana León with Arif Smith
Logan Center for the Arts, Penthouse: 915 E 60th Street
Free
Thur, Dec 5, 6-8pm
South Side in Focus: A Retrospective
Hallowed Grounds: 5706 S University Ave
Free
Thur, Dec 5, 7-9pm
Inside/Out: Erasure and Politicization of the Colonized Female Body
6018NORTH: 6018 N Kenmore Ave
Free – $40
Fri, Dec 6, 6-8pm
Passion to Profession
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Free
Fri, Dec 6, 6-8pm
An Evening with Lee Bey: Architecture and Community
Chicago Center for Arts and Technology: 1701 W 13th St
Free
Fri, Dec 6, 6-8pm
Chicago Jazz & Blues: A Photographer’s View: Closing
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts: 915 E 60th St
Free
Fri, Dec 6, 7-11pm
The Petty Biennial.2
Heaven Gallery: 1550 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Fri, Dec 6, 7-9pm
Passages: Transmutation through the Borderlands
6018NORTH: 6018 N Kenmore Ave
Free – $40
Fri, Dec 6, 6:30pm
Warming Station Night Market & Open Mic
Experimental Station: 6100 S Blackstone Ave
Free
Sat, Dec 7, 1-3:30pm
The Murder of Fred Hampton
Stony Island Arts Bank: 6760 S Stony Island Ave
Free
Sat, Dec 7,
Modules and Other Nonsense
featuring Elliot Doughtie and Shir Ende
Langer Over Dickie: 1309 N Leavitt St
Free
Sat, Dec 7, 5:30-8pm
Oli Rodriguez: A Familiar Panting
FLXST Contemporary: 2251 S Michigan Ave. Suite 220
Free
Sat, Dec 7, 6-10pm
AMFM Presents: Feast Harvest Dinner
Humboldt Park Field House: 1400 N Humboldt Dr
Free
Sat, Dec 7, 6pm
Homescape
The Franklin: 3522 W Franklin Blvd
Free
Sat, Dec 7, 7-9pm
Threshold Activations: Building Radical Empathy through Performance
6018NORTH: 6018 N Kenmore Ave
Free – $40
Sat, Dec 7, 7-10pm
Chicago Art Department: Crystal Ball
Chicago Art Department: 1932 S Halsted St
$40
Sat, Dec 7, 7-11pm
Friedrich Kunath: Songs Build Little Rooms in Time
Soccer Club Club: 2923 N Cicero Ave
Free
Sun, Dec 8, 12-2pm
Sanctuary Sunday | Rhonda Wheatley, Align & Manifest!
6018NORTH: 6018 N Kenmore Ave
Free – $40
Sun, Dec 8, 12-6pm
The Wildest Flea Holiday Market
Marz Community Brewing: 3630 S Iron St
Free
Sun, Dec 8, 2pm
Tarot Reader Meet-up
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W Fullerton Ave
Free
Tue, Dec 10, 5-7pm
Holiday Photo Book Bazaar
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave
Free
Tue, Dec 10, 6-8pm
Jane Addams’ Day – Making Lineages Visible
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum: 800 S Halsted St
Free
Wed, Dec 11, 6pm
Artists and Economies
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free
Wed, Dec 11, 6:30-7:15pm
Chicago Dancemakers Grant Info Session at J e l l o
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey #208
Free
Wed, Dec 11, 7-8:30pm
Pour One Out: Goodbye, 2019!
Volumes Bookcafe: 1474 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Wed, Dec 11, 7-9pm
Poetry off the Shelf: Willie Perdomo
Poetry Foundation: 61 W Superior St
Free
Thur, Dec 12, 7-9pm
Community Binding with North Branch Projects
6018NORTH: 6018 N Kenmore Ave
Free – $40
Thur, Dec 12, 6pm
Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf
Graham Foundation: 4 W Burton Pl
Free
Thur, Dec 12, 6pm
Poetry Reading and Panel with Anneli Goeller
Mana Contemporary: 2233 South Throop St
Free
Thur, Dec 12, 6pm
The Funambulist by Its Readers: Political Geographies from Chicago and Else
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St
Free
Thur, Dec 12, 7:30
Concert: Roscoe Mitchell and Moor Mother
The Art Institute of Chicago: 111 S Michigan Ave
$15-$25
Fri, Dec 13, 6pm
Art after Dark Chicago: Intuition
Woman Made Gallery: 2150 South Canalport 4A 3
$8
Fri, Dec 13, 6pm
Reminiscence
One After 909: 906 N Ashland Ave
Free
Fri, Dec 13, 6-9pm
Wild Fragility
Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art: 2320 W Chicago Ave
Free
Sat, Dec 13 +14, 7pm
IN THE WURKZ by The Era Footwork Crew
Links Hall: 3111 N Western Ave
$20
Sat, Dec 14, 6pm
Lumpen Drawing Rally 2019
Co-Prosperity Sphere: 3219 S Morgan St
Free
Sat, Dec 14, 12-1pm
Art Speaks: ‘Acts Without Words‘
Catherine Edelman Gallery: 1637 W Chicago Av
Free
Sat, Dec 14, 1:30pm
Force Open Rehearsal / Jam Session
Graham Foundation: 4 W Burton Pl
Free
Dec 14- 15, 12pm
Vends + Vibes 2019: An Arts Marketplace
Arts and Public Life: 301 E Garfield Blvd
Free
Sun, Dec 15, 12pm
Sanctuary Sunday | Jacquelyn Guerrero, Vocalizing Alignment
6018NORTH: 6018 N Kenmore Ave
Free – $40
Sun, Dec 15, 1pm
Loom and Cipher: A Making and History Workshop
Mana Contemporary: 2233 South Throop St
Free
Tues, Dec 17, 6pm
In Progress: Darling Shear
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free
Wed, Dec 19, 6-8pm
Surviving the Mic: Writing Workshop
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave
Free
Thur, Dec 19, 7pm
Platica y Poetry
Pilsen Outpost: 1637 W 18th St
Free
Sun, Dec 22, 2pm
Sanctuary Sunday | Rhonda Wheatley, Group Oracle Experience
6018NORTH: 6018 N Kenmore Ave
Free – $40
Sun, Dec 22, 12pm
Sanctuary Sunday | Silvia Inés Gonzalez, Breath | Body
6018NORTH: 6018 N Kenmore Ave
Free – $40
Sat, Dec 28, 1-8pm
South Side Community Art Center Kwanzaa Celebration 2019
South Side Community Art Center: 3831 S Michigan Ave
Free
