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, 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.
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 recently published here at Sixty, we’d like to share this with 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.
This month’s featured image-maker is Tonal Simmons.
June 1- 3, 2023
PrideFest
Henry W. Maier Festival Park: 200 N Harbor Dr, Milwaukee, WI
Free
June 1- August 27, 2023
Jerry Jordan: Expressions for a New Renaissance
MOWA | West Bend Hours: 205 Veterans Ave, West Bend, WI
Free
Thurs, June 1, 4pm
Circuitous Matter: Living With Photography and Print Publications
Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago: Online
Free
Thurs, June 1, 5:30pm
Poetry and Conversation: Luther Hughes, Sasha Debevec-McKenney, and Natasha Oladokun
A Room of One’s Own: 2717 Atwood Ave, Madison, WI
Free
June 2- 3, 2023
Var Gallery Presents: Prez Harris with special guest Foreverxx
Var Gallery, 643 S 2nd St, Milwaukee, WI
Free
June 2- July 23, 2023
Haykidd &Thee Black Card-Hey Black Kidd
Big Car: 1125 Cruft St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
June 2- July 23, 2023
Nasreen Khan: Cic·a·trix
Big Car: 1125 Cruft St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
June 2- August 6, 2023
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
Fri, June 2, 5-7pm
Meetup Event for Artists with Disabilities
Central West Center: 2102 W Ogden Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 2, 5-8pm
Richard Bellia
Tamarkin Camera: 213 W Institute Pl, #403, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 2, 5-8pm
Dog Show
Circle Contemporary: 2010 W Carroll Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 2, 6-7:30pm
In-Session | Wayfinding: Collective Love Rituals
North Park Nature Village (Field House): 5801 N Pulaski Rd, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 2, 6-8pm
Xie Hongdong: The Third Compass
ENGAGE Projects: 864 N Ashland Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 2, 6-9pm
Julia Klein: Procession
Roman Susan: 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 2, 6-9pm
Galen Odell-Smedley: PEACH PEACH and Cain Baum: Warbling
Ignition project space: 3839 W Grand Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 2, 7-8pm
AMY PEARL LANG: OBJECT PERMANENCE
SULK CHICAGO: 525 S Dearborn St, Apt 209, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 2, 7:30-9pm
Ofrendas en Sinestesia; experiments in shared dance rituals
Links Hall: 3111 N Western Ave, Chicago
$16-42
June 3-July 15, 2023
Lucas Simões: Luscofusco
PATRON: 1612 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
June 3-July 15, 2023
Dianna Frid: pre-knowing / un-knowing
PATRON: 1612 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 10am-6pm
Hyde Park Community Art Fair
Bixler Park Chicago: 5641 S Kenwood Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 11am-5pm
57th Street Art Fair
57th Street: 57th Street, Hyde Park, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 12-2pm
El Diseño: On LatinX Design in Public Space
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 1-2pm
Artist Talk: Dr. Charles Smith
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art: 756 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 1-4pm
Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire
Comfort Station Logan Square: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 1-4pm
Bringing Peace to the City Open Mic & Market
2240 Gallery: 2240 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL
Free
Sat, June 3, 1-7pm
Well Fest 2023
Soulside Healing Arts: 1311 SW Adams St. Suite D, Peoria, IL
Free
Sat, June 3, 5-8pm
THE BODY OF EVIDENCE: A CONVERSATION ABOUT REPARATIONS
Lawndale Pop-Up Spot: 3601 W Douglas Blvd Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 5-9pm
Outmoded Shapes
Blanc Gallery: 4445 S Martin Luther King Dr, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 6-8pm
El Chiquito Big Book Publication Release
Pilsen Community Books: 1102 W 18th St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 6-10pm
Sebastian Sandu: Beauty Marks
NYCH Gallery: 2025 S Laflin St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 6-11pm
Full Moon Performances
Co-Prosperity Sphere: 3129 S Morgan St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 7pm
Hidden Voices Writers: Poet Fabu, Sherry Lucille, and Catrina J. Sparkman
Arts + Literature Laboratory: 111 S Livingston St, Suite 100, Madison, WI
Free
Sat, June 3, 7-9pm
Destination
W. gallery: 600 W Van Buren St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 3, 8:30pm
Relative Intensity Noise ft. Meredith Haines, Toni Kunst, Helen Lee, Rin Peisert, and Kezia Waters
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago
$15
Sat, June 3, 10pm-2am
Drag Wars
Guido’s Bar & Grill: 2 E Main St, Champaign, IL
Free
Sun, June 4, 1-3pm
Maggie Bridger | Lab E: Training Group
Experimental Station: 6100 S Blackstone Ave, Chicago
Free
Sun, June 4, 7pm
Queer Dance Freakout
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago
$5-40
June 5- August 13, 2023
Phillip Chen: No Ideas but in Things
University Galleries of Illinois State University: 11 Uptown Circle, Suite 103, Normal, IL
Free
Mon, June 5, 6pm
Poetry @ The Green at 320: June 2023
The Green at 320: 320 S Canal St, Chicago
Free
Tues, June 6, 4-5pm
Rest and Labor: A Gravity Pleasure Switchback Tour
Gallery 400: 400 S Peoria St, Chicago
Free
Tues, June 6, 7pm
OUTspoken! LGBTQ+ Storytelling
Sidetrack The Video Bar: 3349 N Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Tues, June 6, 7:30-8:30pm
Soundtrack | JazStarr
MCA Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Wed, June 7, 6-8pm
Zine 101 Workshop
Skunk Cabbage Books: 2826 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 8, 10:30-12pm
SPARK!
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum: 700 North 12th St, Wausau, WI
Free
Thurs, June 8, 6-7pm
When the News Broke: Chicago 1968 and the Polarizing of America
Newberry Library: 60 W Walton St, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 8, 6-9pm
Dreaming of a Future: Opening Soiree
Central Standard Rooftop: 231 S La Salle St, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 8, 7pm(EST)
AMP SEED SERIES: MY BODY, MY MOVEMENT
MOCAD: 4454 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
$10
Thurs, June 8, 7-9pm
Northern Valley Labor Council – Film – Stand
Empire Arts Center: 415 Demers Ave, Grand Forks, ND
Free
Thurs, June 8, 7pm
I AM ACE Panel with Cody Daigle, Bruce Owen Grimm, Ashabi Owagboriaye, & Adam Rhodes
Women & Children First Bookstore: 5233 N Clark St, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 8, 8-9pm
Live @ LOW END | Salami Rose Joe Louis
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: 724 S. 12th St, Omaha, NE
Free
June 8-10
Rest.Rise.Move.Nourish.Heal
Red Clay Dance Company: 119 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago
$15-$150
June 9-11, 2023
2023 PrideFest
2643 Beaver Ave, # 170, Des Moines, IA
$45-150
June 9-July 15, 2023
PHILIP VON ZWECK
65GRAND: 3252 W North Ave, Chicago
Free
June 9-July 29, 2023
Antonius-Tín Bui: There are many ways to hold water without being called a vase
moniquemeloche: 451 N Paulina St, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 9, 5-8pm
A Lone Slant of Light
Real Tinsel: 1013 W Historic Mitchell St, Milwaukee, WI
Free
Fri, June 9, 5-9pm
Vani Aguilar & Juan Arango Palacios: El Brillo en Sus Ojos
Roots & Culture: 1034 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 9, 5-9pm
Corinne D. Peterson and Pinar Aral: Truth Be Told
Oliva Gallery: 3816 W Armitage Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 9, 6pm
Marta Turk, Anthropologist- gallery talk
El Museo Latino: 4701 S 25 St, Omaha, NE
Free
Fri, June 9, 6-9pm
Yuqing Zhu: To Create Yourself a Soul
Elephant Room Gallery: 704 S Wabash Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 9, 7-8:30pm
2023 Co-Mission Festival of New Works: Rika Lin
Links Hall: 3111 N Western Ave, Chicago
$16-42
Fri, June 9, 7-8:30pm
Juke 4 Liberation
Links Hall: 3111 N Western Ave, Chicago
$16-42
Fri, June 9, 7-9pm
Quentin Yang: Soft Telling
Parlour and Ramp Gallery: 2130 W 21st St, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 9, 7:30pm (EST)
DAMIEN JURADO
MOCAD: 4454 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
$25-35
Sat, June 10, 1-3pm
A Queer Bronzeville History Tour
South Side Community Art Center: 3831 South Michigan Ave
Free
Sat, June 10, 6pm-10pm
Abolition is Radical Imagination: Photographs by Sarah-Ji
33WF: 3248 W Montrose Ave, Chicago
Free
June 10- 11, 2023
Motor City Pride Festival
Hart Plaza: Detroit, MI
Free
June 10- September 17, 2023
Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe
South Dakota Art Museum: 1036 Medary Ave, Brookings, SD
Free
Sat, June 10, 1-4pm
The Art of Critique with the Peoria Guild of Black Artists
Sunbeam Building: 923 N. Sheridan Rd, Peoria, IL
Free
Sat, June 10, 10am-12pm(CST)
2023 Indy Pride Parade
Indianapolis, IN
Free
Sat, June 10, 11am
JeeYeun Lee: Shore Land – Berger Park to Belmont Harbor
Berger Park Cultural Center: 6205 N Sheridan Rd, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 10, 11am-1pm
Forms & Features with Giulia Ottavia Frattini
The Poetry Foundation: Online
Free
Sat, June 10, 12-2pm
Weavers from Oaxaca will demonstrate weaving on a Back-Strap
El Museo Latino: 4701 S 25 St, Omaha, NE
Free
Sat, June 10, 2-4pm
Library Experimental w/ [star] and Pastel Fractal
Jefferson Park Library: 5363 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 10, 4pm
Men of a Certain Age
Wrightwood 659: 659 Wrightwood Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 10, 4-8pm
The Role Of Blue
Purple Window Gallery: 2233 S Throop St, #845, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 10, 5:30pm
Clearly Indigenous Exhibition Preview Party
Wichita Art Museum: 1400 W Museum Blvd, Wichita, KS
$175
Sat, June 10, 5-8:30pm
Genevieve Ramos: Crip Paint Power
Curb Appeal Gallery: email: info@curbappeal.gallery for address
Free
Sat, June 10, 6pm
THE MAGICIAN: PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Gene Siskel Film Center: 164 North State Street, Chicago
$13
Sat, June 10, 2pm
QP (aka QUEEN POEM): JARED BROWN AND REGINA MARTINEZ
Graham Foundation: 4 W Burton Pl, Chicago
Free
Sun, June 11, 10am-12pm
GRID in the Prairie
The Prairie in Millwork Commons: 1229 Millwork Ave, Omaha, NE
Free
Sun, June 11, 12-1pm
Costume Designing Black History with Ruth E. Carter
Music Box Theatre: 3733 N Southport Ave, Chicago
$0-20
Sun, June 11, 12-1pm
Inch Wide/Mile Deep: Artist Talk
Heaven Gallery: 1550 N Milwaukee Ave, #2, Chicago
Free
Sun, June 11, 2-5:30pm
Overview
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art: 227 State St, Madison, WI
Free
Sun, June 11, 3-7pm
Building Our Archives: Pilsen Design and Lettering Workshop
Pilsen Arts & Community House: 1637 W 18th St, Chicago
Free
Mon, June 12, 6pm
Poetry @ The Green at 320: June 2023
The Green at 320: 320 S Canal St, Chicago
Free
Mon, June 12, 7pm
PAGEBOY: An Evening with ELLIOT PAGE
The Barrymore Theatre: 2090 Atwood Ave, Madison, WI
Free
Mon, June 12, 8pm
NOSTALGIA & MEMORIA: LO QUE DEJAMOS ATRÁS (NOSTALGIA & MEMORY: WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND)
Gene Siskel Film Center: 164 North State Street, Chicago
$13
Tues, June 13, 8pm
Notes on Masculinity: A Drag-Centered Cabaret
The California Clipper: 1002 N California Ave, Chicago
$10
Tues, June 13, 11am-2pm
The Mix: A Sculpture show
Christopher Art Gallery at Prairie State College: 202 S Halsted St, Chicago Heights, IL
Free
Tues, June 13, 7-9pm
Fetish and Kink Figure Drawing
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
$10
Wed, June 14, 7pm
All Told: Films by Paige Taul
Arts + Literature Laboratory: 111 S Livingston St, Suite 100, Madison, WI
Free
Wed, June 14, 8:30-10pm
The Films of Maya Deren
Comfort Station: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 15, 12pm
Emeka Ogboh and Bani Abidi: Remaking the Anthem
Goethe-Institut Chicago: Online
Free
June 15-June 18
ADIFF CHICAGO 2023
Gene Siskel Film Center: 164 North State Street, Chicago
$13-20
Fri, June 16-Sat, Aug 19
Esthetic Local
Rupture and Public Works: 2141 W North Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 17, 6pm-8pm
Summer Concert Series: JoVia Armstrong Trio
Kenwood Gardens: 6929 S Kenwood Ave
Free
Fri, June 16, 6pm
Satrangi: a desi queer open mic and storytelling event
South Asia Institute: 1925 S Michigan Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 16, 7:30pm
Celebrating Juneteenth ft. avery r young + de deacon board
Old Town School of Folk Music: 4544 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 16, 11am-4pm
JUNETEENTH
Flint Institute of Arts: 1120 E Kearsley St, Flint, MI
Free
Sat, June 17, 10:30am-2pm
Daniel Minter: In the Healing Language of Trees, a natural act of transformation restructured for curing many ills
Lynden Sculpture Garden: 2145 West Brown Deer Rd., Milwaukee
Free
Sat, June 17, 12-4pm
3831 JUNETEENTH
South Side Community Art Center: 3831 South Michigan Ave, Chicago
Free
June 17-Oct 29
Eneida Sanches: MATERIAL TRANCE
Lynden Sculpture Garden: 2145 West Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee, WI
Free
June 17- February 25, 2024
Rose B. Simpson: Counterculture
John Michael Kohler Arts Center: 608 New York Ave
Sheboygan, WI
Free
June 17, 2023 – September 24, 2023
Sonya Clark: We Are Each Other
Cranbrook Art Museum: 39221 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Free
Sat, June 17, 3-5pm
Spoken Dialogues: Testimonies on Paper (A Poetry Reading)
South Asia Institute: 1925 S Michigan Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 17, 4:30-9:30pm
Collaboration as Critique & Open Mic with the Peoria Guild of Black Artists
Sunbeam Building: 923 N. Sheridan Rd, Peoria, IL
Free
Sat, June 17, 11am-4pm(EST)
Juneteenth and Jazz Community Celebration
Eiteljorg Museum: 500 W Washington St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
Sat, June 17, 2-5pm
Jesse Howard Artist Talk
Riverside Arts Center FlexSpace: 32 E Quincy St, Riverside, IL
Free
Sat, June 17, 2-5pm
Sip and Stitch: Vulgar Mixed Media Embroidery at Shoppes at Grand Prairie
Peoria Art Guild: 203 Harrison St, Peoria, IL
$40
Sat, June 17, 6:30pm
GoldGrrl Fest
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208
Free
Sun, June 18, 2pm-3:30pm
Yaw Agyeman Sings at the Stony Island Arts Bank
Stony Island Arts Bank: 6760 S Stony Island Ave
Free
Sun, June 18, 2:30-9:30pm
Juneteenth Celebration of Black American Music
Arts + Literature Laboratory: 111 S Livingston St, Suite 100, Madison, WI
Free
Mon, June 19, 7-8pm
The Graphic History Collective celebrates Mr. Block: The Subversive Comics and Writings of Ernest Riebe
Pilsen Community Books: 1102 W 18th St, Chicago
Free
Wed, June 21, 7-10pm
Get Lit. Open Mic Night
Lit. on Fire Books: 712 W Main St, Peoria, IL
Free
Thurs, June 22, 5pm
VGA Fireside READER EDITION
VGA Gallery: Online
Free
Thurs, June 22, 5:30pm
Tami Neilson
City Green: 710 New York Ave, Sheboygan, WI
Free
Thurs, June 22, 6pm
Green Roof Poetry Curated by All My Relations Arts’
Walker: 725 Vineland Pl, Minneapolis, MN
Free
Thurs, June 22, 7pm
Movie Night with DayLong Film Festival
Dorothy: 2500 W. Chicago Ave
$10-20
June 23-August 5, 2023
Mrs. x DOCUMENT
DOCUMENT: 1709 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 23, 6-9pm(EST)
KALEIGH BLEVINS // CAILYN DAWSON
M Contemporary Art: 205 East 9 Mile, Ferndale, MI
Free
Fri, June 23, 5-7pm
Black is Beautiful: Photographs by Tony Smith (Artist Reception)
Cafe Logan: 915 E 60th St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 24, 1pm-10pm (EST)
Larchmere Porchfest
Larchmere Blvd, Shaker Heights, OH
Free
Sat, June 24, 5-8pm
Respair Production & Media Launch Party
Haymarket House: 800 W Buena Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 24, 9pm-12:30am
“How I Show My Pride” LGBQT+ Pride Month Drag Show
The Aquarium: 226 Broadway N Fl 2, Fargo, ND
$10-15
Sun, June 25, 3pm-5pm
Celebrating Tamir
Stony Island Arts Bank: 6760 S Stony Island Ave, Chicago
Free
Tues, June 25, 4-6pm
FREE Film at the Figge: Joyland (2022)
FIGGE ART MUSEUM: 225 W Second St, Davenport, IA
Free
Mon, June 26, 6pm
Poetry @ The Green at 320: June 2023
The Green at 320: 320 S Canal St, Chicago
Free
Mon, June 26, 3:30-5pm
Surviving the Long Wars: Index of the Disappeared Activation and Discussion
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 East Washington St
Free
Mon, June 26, 7pm
THE TERRAFORMERS by Annalee Newitz
Women & Children First Bookstore: 5233 N Clark St, Chicago
Free
Wed, June 28, 9pm
ADI OASIS W/ KYRA HORTON
Sleeping Village: 3734 W Belmont Ave
$18
Wed, June 28, 6pm
Queer & Trans Open Mic
A Room of One’s Own: 2717 Atwood Ave, Madison, WI
Free
Thurs, June 29, 5-6:30pm
K Anderson: Fissures of Displeasure
Gallery 400: 400 S Peoria St, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 29, 6pm
Community Opening: Kahlil Robert Irving
Walker: 725 Vineland Pl, Minneapolis, MN
Free
June 30- October, 2023
Sculpture Milwaukee
Various Locations: Milwaukee, WI
Free
Closing June 2, 7-9pm
The Pilsen Open – Closing Reception
Parlour and Ramp: 2130 W 21st St, Chicago
Free
Closing June 2
MAMÁ SAID: A REFLECTION ON MATERNAL FIGURES
Latino Arts, Inc: 1028 S 9TH ST. MILWAUKEE, WI
$25
Closing June 3
Mikey Mosher: Biofeedback: Closing Reception
Compound Yellow: 244 Lake St, Oak Park, IL
Free
Closing June 10
Craig Deppen Auge, CJ Charbonneau, Sam Haan, Mary Clara Hutchison, Cesar Lopez
GRANITE CITY ART & DESIGN DISTRICT: 1800 block of State Street, Granite City, IL
Free
Closing June 18
Voices & Visions
Contemporary Arts Center Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art: 44 E 6th St, Cincinnati, OH
Free
Closing June 18
KeepIt500
Gallery 924: 924 N. Pennsylvania St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
Closing June 24
Pat Kroth: Saved, Salvaged and Stitched
Arts + Literature Laboratory: 111 S Livingston St, Suite 100, Madison, WI
Free
Closing June 24
Zoe McGuire: Earthshine
Library Street Collective: 1274 Library St, Detroit, MI
Free
Closing June 24
SITE Seeing
Charlotte Street: 3333 Wyoming St, Kansas City, MO
Free
Closing June 25
re:mancipation
Chazen Museum of Art: University of Wisconsin, 750 University Avenue, Madison, WI
Free
Closing June 25
Native America: In Translation
Milwaukee Art Museum: 700 N. Art Museum Drive Milwaukee, WI
$22
Closing June 26
Through Her Eyes: Mama Representation Project
Contemporary Arts Center Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art: 44 E 6th St, Cincinnati, OH
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