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.
Sat, June 1, 9am-5pm
Grab and Go: Pride Mini Charm Keychain
Harold Washington Library Center: 400 S State St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 9:15am-1pm
Used Book Sale
Roden Branch: 731 E 63rd St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 10am-3pm
Peoria Art Guild Chalk Art Competition at the Shoppes at Grand Prairie
Peoria Art Guild: 203 Harrison St, Peoria, IL
Free
Sat, June 1, 10am-3:30pm
Pride Month BOOKSALE
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives: 6500 N Clark St 2nd Fl, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 10:30-11:30am
Drag Story Time
Coleman Branch: 731 E 63rd St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 10:30-11:30am
Drag Story Hour with Prince Brentlee and Aqua Marie
Indy Reads: 1066 Virginia Ave, Indianapolis, IN
$0-20
Sat, June 1, 11am-3pm (EST)
Indy Gay Market
Monument Circle: 50 Monument Circle, Indianapolis, 46204
Free
Sat, June 1, 11am-6pm
57th Street Art Fair
57th Street between Woodlawn and Kenwood Avenues, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 12-1pm
Taíno Areyto in Humboldt Park
Humboldt Park: 731 E 63rd St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 1-4pm
Searching for Augusta Savage: Screening and Conversation
DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center: 740 E 56th Pl, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 2-5pm
The BLACK Domestic Living & Dining Roomscapes: Closing Reception
The GREYSTONE Collective: 4733 S Forrestville Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 4-7pm
Zulkhairi Zulkiflee and Sheldon Till Campbell: certain places
Comfort Station Logan Square: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 4:30-7:30pm
Words + Wine at 57th Street Wines
57th Street Wines: 448 E 57th St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 7-9pm
Erotic Photography Workshop: Hot Kink Gear Photos
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 1, 8pm
Illusion of Safety, Vertonen, Whisker, SNEK Trio
Tritriangle: 1550 N Milwaukee Ave, Fl 3, Chicago
$10-15
June 2, 9, & 13, 10am-3pm
Beading Workshop
Oglala Lakota Artspace: 7904 Lakota Prairie Rd, Kyle, SD
Free
Sun, June 2, 11am-4pm
Art Fair at IMSS
International Museum of Surgical Science: 1524 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago
Free
Sun, June 2, 1:30-4pm
SPRING FLING
Mae District: 19 E 21st St, Chicago
$25
Sun, June 2, 2-4pm
Sandra Binion: Yellow At Noon
Experimental Sound Studio: 5925 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago
Free
Sun, June 2, 9pm
Lily Finnegan Quartet + Dave McDonnell’s 5th World
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$15
June 3 – Dec 31, 2024
AKITO TSUDA: PILSEN DAYS
Harold Washington Library: 400 S. State St., Chicago
Free
June 4-30, 2024
Retro/Perspective Exhibition
Artists’ Cooperative Gallery: 405 S 11th St, Omaha, NE
Free
Tues, June 4, 7-8pm
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo: Puerto Rico: A National History
Seminary Co-op Bookstore: 5751 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago
Free
Tues, June 4, 7:30-9:30pm
Comfort Music: Li Kohl / Daniel Wyche Duo + Tyresta
Comfort Station Logan Square: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
June 5-July 24, 2024
African American Craft History
James Renwick Alliance for Craft: Online
Free
June 5 & 19, 6-7pm
Wicaglata Circles with Tiana Spotted Thunder
Oglala Lakota Artspace: 7904 Lakota Prairie Rd, Kyle, SD
Free
Wed, June 5, 11am-3pm
Legal Clinic: Bylaws
Lawyers for the Creative Arts: 161 N Clark St, Suite 4200, Chicago
Free
Wed, June 5, 6-7:30pm
Tiffany Johnson: Uncounted and Counting
Rainbow Beach Park Fieldhouse: 3111 E 77th St, Chicago
Free
Wed, June 5, 6:30-7:30pm
Pretty in Paperback: IN MEMORIAM
City Lit Books: 2523 N Kedzie Blvd, Chicago
Free
Wed, June 5, 8pm
Fred Moten / Brandon Lopez Duo
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago
$20
Wed, June 5, 9pm (EST)
Juice – A Pride Party by Dolls Night
Spot Lite Detroit: 2905 Beaufait, Detroit, MI
Free
Thurs, June 6, 12:30-1:30pm
Gallery Talk: Actions for the Earth with Risa Puleo
Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University: 40 Arts Circle Dr, Evanston, IL
Free
Thurs, June 6, 6-7pm
Amin Ghaziani: Long Live Queer Night Life: How the Closing of Gay Bars Sparked a Revolution
Seminary Co-op Bookstore: 5751 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 6, 6-8pm
Artistic Storytelling: Comics and Manga
Peoria Art Guild: 203 Harrison St Peoria, IL
Free
Thurs, June 6, 7pm
Housemates Author Talk with Emma Copley Eisenberg
Women & Children First Bookstore: 5233 N Clark St, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 6, 7:30-9:30pm
Comfort Music: Graciela Gonzalez
Comfort Station Logan Square: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 6, 8-9pm
Live @ LOW END | JIJI
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: 724 S 12th St, Omaha, NE
Free
Thurs, June 6, 8-10pm
Whisper & Shout
Contemporary Art Center of Peoria: 305 SW Water St, Peoria, IL
Free
Thurs, June 6, 9pm
Alvin Cobb, Jr. Trio with Twin Talk
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$15
June 7-22, 2024
Off the Block Print Exhibition
Foundry Art Centre: 520 N. Main Center, St. Charles, MO
Free
June 7-29, 2024
Drake Olmstead: Pocket
South Haven Center for the Arts: 600 Phoenix St, South Haven, MI
Free
June 7-July 7, 2024
Kelley Jordan Schuyler: A Portrait of Motherhood
Tube Factory artspace: 1125 Cruft St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
June 7-July 18, 2024
Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship Exhibition
IndyArts Council: 924 N Pennsylvania St, Indianapolis, IN
Free
June 7-July 21, 2024
Charlie Olson – Quiet Precision
Abel Contemporary Gallery: 524 East Main St, Stoughton, WI
Free
Fri, June 7, 4-7pm
Collage Culture
moniquemeloche: 451 N Paulina St, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 7, 4-7pm
First Friday
Sheldon: 12th & R Streets,Lincoln, NE
Free
Fri, June 7, 5-8pm
Laura Catherwood: All Things Stirring
Vertical Gallery: 2006 W Chicago Ave, #1r, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 7, 5-8pm
Krista Franklin: any bright spark
Western Exhibitions: 1709 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 7, 5-8pm
Erin Jane Nelson: Undersight
DOCUMENT: 1709 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 7, 6-8pm
DO SAY GAY: BANNED BOOKS AND LGBTQ+ FREEDOMS
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives: 6500 N Clark St, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 7, 6-9pm
AI, Smart Lights, and More: Workshop with Giau Truong
Links Hall: 3111 N Western Ave, Chicago
$16-42
Fri, June 7, 6:30-7:30pm
Made in Taiwan: Cookbook Event with Clarissa Wei and Kevin Pang
City Lit Books: 2523 N Kedzie Blvd, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 7, 7pm
CORRESPONDENCE CARTOGRAPHIES: Short Films by Jean-Jacques Martinod & Matthew Wolkow
Chicago Filmmakers: 1326 W Hollywood Ave, Chicago
$10
Fri, June 7, 7pm
Kyaira
Levitt Shell Sioux Falls: 504 N. Phillips Ave, Sioux Falls, SD
$10
Fri, June 7, 8pm
PleiadesFest Day 1 w/ Heet Deth
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago
$15-30
Fri, June 7, 9pm
The Arab Blues
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$15
June 8-July 20, 2024
Nazafarin Lotfi: Vanishing Point
Regards: 2216 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
June 8-September 15, 2024
Thinking Big: Large-Scale Works from the Collection
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art: 410 Third Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Free
June 8-September 22, 2024
Hurricane Season: Caribbean Art + Climate Change
Des Moines Art Center: 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA
Free
Sat, June 8, 9am-4pm
Blanden Art Festival
Blanden Art Museum Grounds: 920 3rd Ave South, Fort Dodge, IA
Free
Sat, June 8, 1-3pm
The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government by David K. Johnson
Contemporary Arts Center Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art: 44 E 6th St, Cincinnati, OH
Free
Sat, June 8, 2-4pm
Poetry Reading + Workshop with Kinsale Drake + Maritza N. Estrada
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: 724 S 12th St, Omaha, NE
Free
Sat, June 8, 2-8pm
ANJANETTE YOUNG: I AM HER
345 Art Gallery: 345 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 8, 4-8pm
Akito Tsuda: Pilsen Days: Opening Reception
Harold Washington Library Center: 400 S State St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 8, 5-8pm
Liza Jo Eilers and Andrew Ordonez: Scorchers
RADAR | Roommate: 912 N Richmond St, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 8, 5-8pm
Naomi Elson & Lauren Iacoponi: There Is No Lack of Void
Purple Window Gallery: 2233 S Throop St. Chicago
Free
Sat, June 8, 8pm
PleiadesFest Day 2 w/ Circuit des Yeux
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago
$15-30
Sat, June 8, 9pm
Luke Stewart, Josh Berman, Mike Reed, & A.R.
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$15
Sun, June 9, 1-4pm
South Side Zine Library Launch Party!
Richard J Daley Branch Chicago Public Library: 3400 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Sun, June 9, 3-9pm
Pink Pony Pride
Ludlow Liquors: 2959 N California Ave, Chicago
Sliding Scale
Sun, June 9, 10am-4:30pm
Collections Viewing: Brooks McCormick, Jr. Collection of Japanese Prints
Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago: 5550 S Greenwood Ave, Chicago
Free
Sun, June 9, 2pm
PleiadesFest Day 3 w/ easygoingtech
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago
$15-30
Sun, June 9, 3-6pm
Bimbola Akinbola: Grief Island
Roman Susan: 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago
Free
Mon, June 10
NATIVE AMERICAN FILM SERIES
Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center: 313 North 13th St, Omaha, NE
Free
Mon, June 10, 6-7pm
Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman: What Are Children For?
Seminary Co-op Bookstore: 5751 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago
Free
Tues, June 11, 7-9pm
FEK Draw: Fetish, Erotica and Kink
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
Free
Wed, June 12, 12-1pm (EST)
Lunch Break Live Peyton Womock
Monument Circle: 50 Monument Circle, Indianapolis, IN
Free
Wed, June 12, 7-9:30pm
Screening and Discussion: One Million Experiments
PO Box Collective: 6900 N Glenwood Ave, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 13, 6pm
Yesterday Girl (Abschied von Gestern)
Goethe-Institut Chicago: 150 N Michigan Ave, #420, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 13, 6-7:30pm
Diana Solís and Victoria Martinez in Conversation, moderated by Risa Puleo
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 13, 6-8pm
2023 VAF Grant Recipients
Midway Contemporary Art Gallery: 1509 NE Marshall St, Minneapolis, MN
Free
Thurs, June 13, 6-8pm
Residency Meet + Eat
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: 724 S 12th St, Omaha, NE
Free
Thurs, June 13, 7pm
Wildermiss
Levitt Shell Sioux Falls: 504 N Phillips Ave, Sioux Falls, SD
Free
Thurs, June 13, 7:30-9:30pm
Comfort Music: DPCD & Bad Posture Club
Comfort Station Logan Square: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Thurs, June 13, 9pm
Ana Everling Quartet
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$15
June 14-26, 2024
Contra Corriente Festival 2024
Chicago Art Department: 1926 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
June 14 – Aug 31, 2024
OF HER BECOMING: ELIZABETH CATLETT’S LEGACY IN CHICAGO
Arts + Public Life at the University of Chicago: 301 E. Garfield Blvd., Chicago
Free
June 14-July 5, 2024
Nicholas Warndorf | Sage Rucci | Steven Mastroianni
ROY G BIV: 435 W Rich St, Columbus, OH
Free
Fri, June 14, 6-8pm
Sharon Louden: PERENNIALS
ENGAGE-Projects: 864 N Ashland Ave, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 14, 6-9pm
Danielle Andress & Hope Wang: Gateways
Roots & Culture: 1034 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
June 15 – December 31, 2024
GAGIZHIBAAJIWAN
Center for Native Futures: 56 W. Adams Street, Suite 102, Chicago
Free
June 15-September 22, 2024
Marco Castillo: The Hands of the Collector
Cranbrook Art Museum: 39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Free
June 15-September 22, 2024
Cuba Dispersa (Cuba Dispersed)
Cranbrook Art Museum: 39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Free
June 15-September 22, 2024
A Modernist Regime: Cuban Mid-Century Design
Cranbrook Art Museum: 39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Free
June 15 – November 15, 2024
LA CASA DE TODOS / EVERYONE’S HOME
Comfort Station: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 15, 9:30-10:30am
Donuts, Coffee and Printmaking
St Louis Artist Guild: 12 Jackson Ave, Clayton, MO
Free
Sat, June 15, 12-4pm
Pit Stop
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 15, 12-6pm(EST)
Juneteenth on the Ave
Maroon Arts Group: 925 Mt Vernon Ave, Columbus, OH
Free
Sat, June 15, 2-5pm
Noelle Africh: Superstition
slow dance: 319 N Albany Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 15, 5-8pm (EST)
Loud & Queer – Teen Pride Fest!
Five Points Alley, Walnut Hills: 2425 Gilbert Ave, Cincinnati
Free
Sat, June 15, 7pm
Werk: Chicago’s Premiere Queer Comedy Show
The Lincoln Lodge: 2040 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
$9-13
Sat, June 15, 7-10pm
Fetish Film Forum – Sebastiane (1976)
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
$10
Sat, June 15, 7-10pm
SPACORE Publication Release Party
939 N California Ave, Chicago
Free
Sat, June 15, 8pm
Donny Mahlmeister, Todd Mattei, Harris/Ali
Tritriangle: 1550 N Milwaukee Ave, Fl 3 Chicago
$10-15
Sun, June 16, 11am-12pm
Summer Soundwalk Series: Hai-Wen Lin
Crickett Hill in Montrose Fields: 1100 E 9th St, Cleveland, OH
Free
Sun, June 16, 11am-5pm (EST)
Mx. Juneteenth
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: 4500 N Lake Shore Dr, Cleveland, OH
Free
Sun, June 16, 9pm
Paul Giallorenzo Trio
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$15
Mon, June 17, 6:30pm
FRUTAS
Berger Park Cultural Center: 6205 N Sheridan Rd, Chicago
Free
June 18-September 1, 2024
The 65th Midwestern, on the theme “The Omnipotence of Dreams: A Century of Surrealism”
The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum: 521 Main Ave, Moorhead, MN
Free
Tues, June 18, 4-7:30pm
Accessible Juneteenth
UIC Quad (behind UIC Student Center East): 750 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Tues, June 18, 6-7pm
OEWBG: Fair Play
City Lit Books: 2523 N Kedzie Blvd, Chicago
Free
Tues, June 18, 7:30-9:30pm
Not So Secret Secret Show: Livia Gazzalo, Molly Coleman, Angela James, and Mackenzie Beyers
Comfort Station Logan Square: 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Free
June 20-September 28, 2024
Chicago Style: Mike Royko and Windy City Journalism
Newberry Library: 60 W Walton St, Chicago
Free
June 20-December 13, 2024
Chinese Quilts Today
International Quilt Museum: 1523 N 33rd St, Lincoln, NE
Free
Thurs, June 20, 8-9pm
Live @ LOW END | aja monet
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: 724 S 12th St, Omaha, NE
Free
Thurs, June 20, 9pm
Radio Outernational with Magic Carpet
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$15
Fri, June 21, 8pm
Wild & Sublime
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$25
June 21-July 21, 2024
Wayne County High School Art Exhibition 2024
Detroit Institute of Arts: 5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
Free
Fri, June 21, 5-9pm
Civic Engagement or Bust! Stories, Songs and a Meal for Collective Joy
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum: 800 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 21, 7-10pm
Dance Sound Sound Dance Party
Miyagi Records: 307 E Garfield Blvd, Chicago
Free
Fri, June 21, 9pm
The Sidepieces
Hungry Brain: 2319 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
$10
Sat, June 22, 12-1:30pm
Summer Soundwalk Series: JeeYeun Lee
Steelworkers Park: E 87th St at Lake Michigan, Chicago
Free
Sun, June 22, 10pm-2am
Bound at Smartbar Bound at Smartbar
Smartbar: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
$16-21
June 26 – August 16, 2024
Teresa Baker: Shift in the Clouds
The Arts Club of Chicago: 201 E Ontario St, Chicago
Free
Wed, June 26, 12-1pm
Art Walk: Biosystems and Ecology
Biorenewables Complex: 617 Bissell Rd, Ames, IA
Free
Wed, June 26, 6:30-7:30pm
Weird & Wonderful: THE CABINET
City Lit Books: 2523 N Kedzie Blvd, Chicago
Free
June 27, 6-8:30pm
Hyde Park Jazz Festival Benefit & Concert
The Promontory: 5311 S Lake Park Ave W, Chicago
$250-2,800
Tues, June 28-September 29, 2024
The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century
Cincinnati Art Museum: 953 Eden Park Dr, Cincinnati, OH
Free with admission
Fri, June 28, 6-9pm
Gear Night @ The Museum Gear Night
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
Free
Sun, June 30, 11am-12pm
Summer Soundwalk Series: Veronica Anne Salines
South Shore Nature Center: 7059 S South Shore Dr, Chicago
Free
Ending June 6
More Beautiful, More Terrible: Humans of Life Row
Co-Prosperity Sphere: 3219 South Morgan Street, Chicago
Free
Ending Jun 7
Moon Healing Escalation
Co-Prosperity Sphere: 3219 South Morgan Street, Chicago
Free
Ending June 8
Chlorine Luck—Leonardo Kaplan
Mickey: 1635 W Grand Ave, Chicago
Free
Ending June 8
Mina Loy: Strangeness Is Inevitable
The Arts Club of Chicago: 201 E Ontario St, Chicago
Free
Ending June 8
Picturing Local History
Galesburg Community Arts Center: 349 E Main St, Galesburg, IL
Free
Ending June 9
DREAM TIME
No Place Gallery: 1 E Gay St, Columbus OH
Free
Ending June 9
WRONG & STRONG: 2024 MFA Thesis Exhibition
Logan Center Exhibitions: 915 E 60th St, Chicago
Free
Ending June 9
SANDRA BINION: AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LOOKING
Experimental Sound Studio: 5925 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago
Free
Ending June 16
ALICE SHADDLE: FULLER CIRCLES
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 South Cornell Ave., Chicago
Free
Ending June 23
Keren Cytter: Ocean
Big Car Collaborative at Tube Factory artspace: 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN
Free
Ending June 23
Rachel Leah Cohn: Mem
Big Car Collaborative at Tube Factory artspace: 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN
Free
Ending June 23
American Gothic: Gordon Parks and Ella Watson
Minneapolis Institute of Art: 2400 Third Ave South, Minneapolis, MN
Free
Ending June 27
Garden of Liminal Bodies
Chicago Artists Coalition: 2130 W Fulton St, Chicago
Free
Ending June 27
Rustle up a Plume of Silt
Chicago Artists Coalition: 2130 W Fulton St, Chicago
Free
Ending June 29
Featured Member Exhibition: Jovanny Hernandez Caballero
Walker’s Point Center for the Arts: 839 S Fifth St, Milwaukee, WI
Free
Ending June 30
Fragile Bodies: The Figure in Glass and Clay
Flint Institute of Arts: 1120 E Kearsley St, Flint, MI
$0-$10
About the illustrator: Summer is a printmaker, illustrator, and graphic designer from Chicago. Her work is inspired by the art nouveau movement, religious/spiritual imagery and concepts, music, and various types of literature. For her, the enjoyment of creation is the patience and trust it requires her to practice.
