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.
May Art Picks
May 1-31, 2019
Jenny Lam (for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month)
Bessie Coleman Library: 731 E 63rd St
Free
May 1-31, 2019
May Butoh Non festival !
Various Locations
Various Costs
Wed, May 1, 4:30-6pm
Vivek Shraya: Trisha
The Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality: 5733 S University Ave
Free
Wed, May 1, 5-7pm
Robert Pruitt: Art and Afrofuturism
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W Fullerton Ave
Free
Wed, May 1, 6-9pm
Frontier in Body
Outerspace: 1474 N Milwaukee Ave
$200
Thur, May 2, 8am-5pm
Centennial Colloquium on Dewey: Then and Now
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools: 1362 E 59th St
Free
Thur, May 2, 4:15-6pm
SAIC Fire Sale Spring 19
School of the Art Institute of Chicago MacLean Ballroom: 112 S Michigan Ave
Free
Thur, May 2, 6-7pm
Chicago Stories: Unpacking Segregation in Chicago, Then and Now
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave
Free
Thur, May 2, 7-8pm
The Voice Within Us
Poetry Foundation: 61 W Superior St
Free
Thur, May 2, 6-7:30pm
Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford: Artist Talk & Activation
The Arts Club of Chicago: 201 E Ontario St
Free
Thur, May 2, 7-8pm
Parched: Stories of Water, Pollution and Theft
Free Street Theater: 1419 W Blackhawk St
Free or Pay-What-You-Can at the door
Fri, May 3, 10am-3pm
National Veterans Art Museum Triennial and Veteran Art Summit
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St
Free
Fri, May 3, 7-10pm
Prospect No. 1: Figure and Gesture featuring K.C., Jared Brook, Siyoung Yang, and Emma Akins
Extra Projects: 3551 W Diversey Av
Free
Fri, May 3, 5-8pm
Spring Show
Yollocalli Arts Reach: 2801 S Ridgeway Ave
Free
Fri, May 3, 5-8pm
Joel-Peter Witkin: From the Studio
Catherine Edelman Gallery: 1637 W Chicago Ave
Free
Fri, May 3, 6pm
Chicago Antiquarian Map, Book & Ephemera Fair
Newberry Library: 60 W Walton St
$5-30
Fri, May 3, 6-8pm
Rosé Hernandez
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free with admission
Fri, May 3, 6-8pm
Act I: Play as Production
ACRE: 1345 W 19th St
Free
Fri, May 3, 6-10pm
PUBLIC SPACES
Jackson Junge Gallery: 1389 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Fri, May 3, 6-10pm
Skeemer Chorné: Keepin it Indigenous
Pilsen Outpost: 1637 W 18th St
Free
Fri, May 3, 7pm
…Is Never Done: Films on Gender and Labor
Block Museum of Art: 40 Arts Circle Dr, Evanston
Free
Fri, May 3, 7:30pm
Lisa B. Thompson: Single Black Female
Eta Creative Arts: 7558 S South Chicago Ave
$25-35
Fri, May 3, 9pm-12am
Let’s Get Shady!!
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave
Free- $50
Sat, May 4, 11am-5pm
Chicago Print Crawl
Various Venues around Chicago
Free
Sat, May 4, 1-3pm
Migration and Housing: A Century of Color Lines
DRW College Prep: 931 S Homan Ave
Free
Sat, May 4, 2-4pm
Meg Duguid and Melissa Potter in conversation
Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago: 2233 S Throop St
Free
Sat, May 4, 3-4:15pm
Charlene Carruthers and adrienne maree brown: Energizing Change
Columbia College Chicago: 1104 S Wabash Ave
Sold Out
Sat, May 4, 4-6pm
Root & Rise
Roman Susan: 1224 W Loyola Ave
Free
Sat, May 4, 5-8pm
Connected Culture
Chicago State University: 9501 S King Dr
Free
Sat, May 4, 6-9pm
Deleay Lashay: Dysfunctional Beauty
Connect Gallery: 1520 E Harper Ct
Free
Sat, May 4, 6-9pm
Jose Santiago Perez: Passsivities
Ignition Project Space: 3839 W Grand Ave
Free
Sat, May 4, 7-11pm
ChiQ 2019
South Shore Cultural Center: 7059 S South Shore Dr
$100-200
Sat, May 4, 7pm-12am
Our House: Heaven Gallery 19th Annual Benefit
Heaven Gallery: 1550 N Milwaukee Ave
$20-25
Sun, May 5, 2-3:30pm
Eric J Garcia: The Bald Eagle’s Toupee: Artist Talk and Book Signing
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W Fullerton Ave
Free
Sun, May 5, 2-4pm
South Side Sisterhood: As Seen in Home Movies
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts: 915 E 60th St
Free
Sun, May 5, 3-5pm
Haley Funk & Dylan Pashke: Grey Area
Project 1612: 1612 W Margaret Avenue, Peoria
Free
Mon, May 6, 4:30-6pm
Evren Savci: Queer in Translation: Sexual Politics under Neoliberal Islam
The Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality: 5733 S University Ave
Free
Mon, May 6, 6-7pm
Zachary Cahill: The Black Flame of Paradise
The Seminary Co-op Bookstores: 5751 S Woodlawn Ave
Free
Tue, May 7. 6-8pm
Prisoner of Love, Roundtable with Free Write Arts & Literacy
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free
Tue, May 7. 6:30-8:30pm
An Evening with CPS Lives-Documenting Chicago Public Schools
Dodd Camera: 2840 W Armitage Ave
Free
Tue, May 7, after dark
Streetlight
Roman Susan: 1224 W. Loyola Ave
Free
Tue, May 7, 8pm-8am
We Series Festival: A Ritual For Sleep
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave
$0-200
Wed, May 8, 6pm
OTV Presents: The Haven, Searching for Isabelle, Catch Desire EP
Reunion Chicago: 2557 W North Av
Free
Thurs, May 9, 5:30-7:30pm
NEW MONUMENTS FOR NEW CITIES
Boathouse Cafe: 1301 N Humboldt Dr
Free
Thurs, May 9, 6-7:30pm
Public Newsroom 107: Building Collective Manifestos
Harold Washington Library: 400 S State St
Free
Fri, May 10, 6pm (Runs through June 14)
COYABA: A Solo Exhibition of work by Sadie Woods
Connect Gallery: 1520 E Harper Court
Free
Fri, May 10, 6-8pm
Panel Discussion: Fruiting Bodies w/ Danielle Rosen, James Murray, and Andrew Bearnot
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave
Free
Fri, May 10, 12:30-1:30pm
Library Book Club: Jacob Saenz
Poetry Foundation: 61 W Superior St
Free
Fri, May 10, 2-4pm
Tonika Johnson: Folded Map
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave
Free
Fri, May 10, 6pm
Constructed Comfort
M.G. Nelson Gallery, 420 S 6th St, Springfield
Free
Fri, May 10, 6pm
Yoko Ono: Poetry, Painting, Music, Objects, Events, and Wish Trees
Poetry Foundation: 61 W Superior St
Free
Fri, May 10, 6-10pm
Ayodele African Dance Conference & Concert
Sherman Park: 1301 W 52nd St
Free
Fri, May 10, 7pm
Jefferson Pinder
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St
Free
Fri, May 10, 7-9pm
GRUNT Festival Chicago
Links Hall: 3111 N Western Ave
$20
Fri, May 10, 10pm
Leon Vynehall
Smartbar: 3730 N Clark St
$12-20
Sat, May 11, 12-4pm
Butoh: Body + Imagination
Outerspace: 1474 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Sat, May 11, 2-3:30pm
Hoda Katebi: Resistance Through Self-Representation
Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co.: 1276 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Sat, May 11, 3-6pm
Kate Conlon: Book That Is Also a Bookend
Goldfinch: 319 N Albany Ave
Free
Sat, May 11, 3-6pm
Carris Adams: Double-talk
Goldfinch: 319 N Albany Ave
Free
Sat, May 11, 7-9pm
Bye Bye America
gallery no one: 1579 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Sun, May 12, 4pm
Calcium Deposits
DfbrL8r: 1029 W 35th St
Free
Tue, May 14, 6-7pm
Noura Erakat: Justice for Some
The Seminary Co-op Bookstores: 5751 S Woodlawn Ave
Free
Tue, May 14, 6-8pm
In Progress: AJ McClenon
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free
Tue, May 14, 7-9pm
Celeste Ng in conversation with Eve L. Ewing
Swedish American Museum: 5211 N Clark St
$20
Wed, May 15, 6pm
OTV Presents: For Better
Reunion Chicago: 2557 W North Av
Free
Thur, May 16, 6-7pm
Gregg Bordowitz: On Harm Reduction through Media
The Art Institute of Chicago: 111 S Michigan Ave
Free
Thur, May 16, 7pm
Morgan Parker in Conversation with Jamila Woods
Women & Children First Bookstore: 5233 N Clark St
Free
Thur, May 16, 7pm
A Conversation with Silver Room Block Party & The Chosen Few
The Promontory: 5311 S Lake Park Ave
Free
Fri, May 17, 5-8pm
As gesture
Chicago Artists Coalition: 2130 W Fulton St
Free
Fri, May 17, 6-8pm
Between Vision + Principle
Arts Incubator: 301 E Garfield Blvd
Free
Fri, May 17, 7-11pm
Breach Of Contract
Heaven Gallery: 1550 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Fri, May 17, 7-11pm
Strained Glass
Heaven Gallery: 1550 N Milwaukee Ave
Free
Fri, May 17, 6-9pm
Mie Kongo and Norman W. Long: Without Within
Experimental Sound Studio: 5925 N Ravenswood Ave
Free
Sat, May 18, 9am-3pm
Dance in the Midwest
Newberry Library: 60 W Walton St
Free
Sat, May 18, 2-8pm
D6da12: DOCK 6 Collective
Dock 6 Collective: 2100 N Major Ave
Free
Sun, May 19, 11am-3pm
Dykes With Drills in Chicago: An Introduction to Tools Workshop
Rebuilding Exchange: 1740 W Webster Ave
Free
Sun, May 19, 1-3pm
Body as Resource
Awakenings: 4001 N Ravenswood Ave
$30
Sun, May 19, 2-4pm
Doug Johnson: Here and Now
Jan Brandt Gallery, LLC: 1305 Morrissey Drive, Bloomington
Free
Sun, May 19, 6-7pm
Franny Choi: Soft Science
Women & Children First Bookstore: 5233 N Clark St
Free
Wed, May 22, 6-8pm
OTV Presents: Granny Ballers, Uneverything, Femme Queen Chron
Reunion Chicago: 2557 W North Av
Free
Wed, May 22, 5-8pm
Windy City Times Benefit — Tracy’s 35th Year in LGBTQ Press
Sidetrack The Video Bar: 3349 N Halsted St
$75
Thur, May 23, 6pm
2019 Chicago House Music Conference and Festival
Millennium Park: 201 E Randolph St
Free
Thur, May 23, 6:30-8:30pm
Anatomy Of A Groove: House In Borrowed Spaces
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St
Free
Fri, May 24, 7pm
BADco.
Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E Washington St
Free
Sat, May 25,12-4pm
Home Video Day
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 E Chicago Ave
Free
Sat, May 25, 9pm-1am
ONO, Buck Gooter, Lilac
Hideout Inn: 1354 W Wabansia Ave
$10
Wed, May 29, 6-8pm
OTV Presents: Freaky Phyllis, i – Love/ME, Fck Stan
Reunion Chicago: 2557 W North Av
Free
Fri, May 31, 7-10pm
Elastic Arts’ Second Annual Benefit
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave
$40-500
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Featured Image: A hand reaches into the frame from the left and is touching a piece of white fabric, moving it to the side to reveal a white wall. From Zuri Washington’s Root & Rise, an installation that creates space for healing and celebration as we move into the new moon in Taurus, opening at Roman Susan on May 4, 4-6pm. Find out more here.
