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.
NTS Resident – Noel Spiva
September 21, 9am on NTS RADIO (St. Louis, MO)
Call-for-Artists
Omaha Payphone Project, Call ends October 1st (Omaha, NB)
*Local Shout Out*
Calling All Creatives | a new local creative agency (Omaha, NB)
Click a button below to jump to a specific week of events.
Wednesday, September 3, 6pm
Sisters in the Wind: Angeline Boulley in conversation with Ari Tison
300 Nicollet Mall, MINNEAPOLIS CENTRAL LIBRARY – POHLAD HALL, 2ND FLOOR Minneapolis, MN
Free
Wednesday, September 3, 7pm
He Never Dies: Films from Kalil Haddad and Luther Price
Elastic Arts: 3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago
Free
Wednesday, September 3, 7pm
Every Fire Needs a Little Bit of Help: Jarrod Shanahan in Conversation with Lake Effect Collective
Pilsen Community Books: 1102 W 18th St, Chicago
Free
Wednesday, September 3, 7-8:30pm
Erotic Hypnosis: a class and demonstration
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
Free
Thursday, September 4, 4:30-7pm
Channeling: body ←Image→ viewer
Museum of Contemporary Photography: 600 S Michigan Ave, Chicago
Free
Thursday, September 4, 6-7pm
Artist Talk with Saturn Dougherty and Ruth Keyes
Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum: 3001 Central St, Evanston, IL
Free
Thursday, September 4, 6-10pm
Marina Resende: Ground Value
Watershed Art and Ecology: 1821 S Racine Ave, Chicago
Free
Thursday, September 4, 7pm
Sparklmami and BSA Gold: Sonorous Somatics 005
Blanc Gallery: 4445 S Martin Luther King Dr, Chicago
Free
September 5-October 26, 2026
Undercurrents
LUX Center for Arts: 2601 North 48th St, Lincoln, NE
Free
Friday, September 5, 11am(CST)
Wonder Walk: Ink and Imagination
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts: 314 S Park St, Kalamazoo, MI
Free
Friday, September 5, 5-8pm
All the World is a Stage
LUX Center for Arts: 2601 North 48th St, Lincoln, NE
Free
Friday, September 5, 5-8pm
Hương Ngô
ENGAGE Projects: 864 N Ashland Ave, Chicago
Free
Friday, September 5, 6-8:30pm
BDSM History & Memories: Notes from the Sexual Underground exhibit and talk
Leather Archives & Museum: 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago
Free
Friday, September 5, 6-9pm
Art And The City: A Benefit for Woman Made Gallery
Morningstar’s 7th floor venue & patio: 22 W Washington St, Chicago
$95+
Friday, September 5, 6-9pm
2025 Selena Tribute Concert
Millennium Park: 201 E Randolph St, Chicago
Free
Friday, September 5, 8-11pm
Reimagined: Night of Illusion
Joslyn Art Museum: 2200 Dodge St, Omaha, NE
$35-120
Friday, September 5, 7-10pm
Resurge Chicago: Queer Performance Uprising
Co-Prosperity Sphere: 3219 S Morgan St, Chicago
Free
September 6-27, 2025
DJing, for those who care
Cloud House at PS1 Close House: 538 S Gilbert St, Iowa City, IA
Free
Saturday, September 6, 10am-2pm
Destyni “Desi” Swoope: Abuela’s House
The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture: 3015 W Division St, Chicago
Free
Saturday, September 6, 12-4pm
One of Us
PS1 Close House: 538 S Gilbert St, Iowa City, IA
Free
Saturday, September 6, 2-3pm
Artist Talk: Jennie C. Jones
Pulitzer Art Foundation: 3716 Washington Blvd, St. Louis, MO
Free
Saturday, September 6, 6-8pm
Funeral at the Movies (Week 4: Maxi Cohen, Gerhard Richter, Julie Zando)
Bodenrader: 1620 W Carroll Ave, Chicago
Free
Saturday, September 6, 6:30-7:30pm
Eric Leonardson with Negin Almassi: Singing Insects Soundwalk
Jackson Park Wooded Island: 6147 S Evans Ave, Chicago
Free
Sunday, September 7, 11am-2pm
Workshop: Pinch a Friend with Sydnie Jimenez
Joy Machine: 4148 N Elston Ave, Chicago
Free
Sunday, September 7, 1-2pm
Curator Tour: unbecoming
MSU Broad Art Museum: 547 E Circle Dr, East Lansing, MI
Free
Sunday, September 7, 2-3pm(EST)
Artist Talk with John Bakker: The Old Town Portrait Project
Near North Branch, Chicago Public Library: 310 W Division St, Chicago
Free
Sunday, September 7, 2-4pm
Shift Notes: Writing About Work with Katie Kiesewetter
Richard J. Daley Branch, Chicago Public Library: 3400 S Halsted St, Chicago
Free
Sunday, September 7, 7-8pm
New Music Circle presents Irreversible Entanglements
Pulitzer Art Foundation: 3716 Washington Blvd, St. Louis, MO
$10
Sunday, September 7, 7-10pm
Katy Pinke / Tommy Santee Klaws / Lex Leto
PS1 Close House: 538 S Gilbert St, Iowa City, IA
Free
Tuesday, September 9, 5:30pm
Sculpture Milwaukee Tours: Wisconsin Avenue
Museum Center Park: 910 E Michigan S, Milwaukee, WI
Free
September 10, 2025-January 11, 2026
Henry Payer: Appliqué sur le terrain
The Joslyn: 2200 Dodge St, Omaha, NE
Free
Thursday, September 11, 6-7:30pm
CATACOMBS: a world premiere production by Katherine Gwynn
Dorothy: 2500 W Chicago Ave, Chicago
Free
Thursday, September 11, 6:30-7:30pm
Guided Tours: And I Will Tell You Mine and The Clover Finder
John Michael Kohler Arts Center: 608 New York Ave, Sheboygan, WI
Free
Thursday, September 11, 6-8pm
Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle: A Want for Nothing
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago
Free
Thursday, September 11, 6-8pm
Tengo Lincoln Park en mi corazón: Young Lords in Chicago
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago
Free
September 12-14, 2025
Warroad Community Potluck
Warroad Riverplace: 103 State Ave, Warroad, MN
Free
September 12, 2025-January 11, 2026
Aliza Nisenbaum: Día de los Muertos
Des Moines Art Center, A.H. Blank Gallery: 4700 Grand Ave, Des moines, IA
Free
Friday, September 12, 6-8pm
Fragility Performance by Ciarra K. Walters
Hyde Park Art Center: 5020 S Cornell Ave, Chicago
Free
Saturday, September 13, 11am-5pm
Animal Well
Chicago Gamespace: 2418 W Bloomingdale Ave, Chicago
Free
Saturday, September 13, 1-3pm
Conversation and Book Signing: Rosemary Ollison and Dr. Sharbreon Plummer
Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts: N50W5050 Portland Rd, Cedarburg, WI
Free
Saturday, September 13, 1-4pm
Liberation Lab: Screenprint with us!
Walls Turned Sideways: 2717 W Madison St, Chicago
Free
Saturday, September 13, 1-4pm
José Santiago Pérez: ShimmeRings
Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago: 2233 S Throop St, #419, Chicago
Free
Saturday, September 13, 6-10pm
Abiotic
Evoke Gallery: 3040 N Central Ave, Chicago
Free
Saturday, September 13, 6-10pm
NEPO
Lewis Bag: 3808 S Ashland Ave, Chicago
Free
Sunday, September 14, 1-2pm(EST)
Curator Tour: Mekong Voices (Opening Day!)
MSU Broad Art Museum: 547 E Circle Dr, East Lansing, MI
Free
Sunday, September 14, 3-6pm
Carlos Javier Ortiz: Inherit America
Riverside Arts Center Freeark Gallery: 32 East Quincy St, Riverside, IL
Free
Sunday, September 14, 3-6pm
Renee Robbins: Expedition Spectrum
Riverside Arts Center’s FlexSpace: 32 East Quincy St, Riverside, IL
Free
Sunday, September 14, 3-6pm
Erik L. Peterson: Oasis: Apparition in Blue
Riverside Arts Center’s Sculpture Garden: 32 East Quincy St, Riverside, IL
Free
Tuesday, September 16, 4-7pm
James Schenck: Handle With Care
Material: 2025 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
Free
Wednesday, September 17, 5:30-7:30pm
Art Unifies
Dahl Arts Center: 713 7th St, Rapid City, SD
Free
Wednesday, September 17, 6:30-7:30pm
The Loft Presents: Alexis Pauline Gumbs on Survival is a Promise–The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde
The Loft at Open Book: 1011 Washington Ave. S, MN
$13.50-15
Wednesday, September 17, 7:30pm
Werk: Chicago’s Premiere Queer Comedy Show
The Lincoln Lodge: 2040 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
$14.39
September 18-30,2025
Open Hours
Roman Susan: 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago
Free
Thursday, September 18, 5:30-8pm(EST)
Adult Workshop: Botanical Prints
Grand Rapids Art Museum: 101 Monroe Center St NW, Grand Rapids, MI
Free
Thursday, September 18, 6-8pm
Luminarts x Artadia Artist Salon
The Driehaus Museum: 50 E Erie St, Chicago
Free
Friday, September 19, 10am-12pm
Mather at DuSable: The Art of Mindful Movement
DuSable Museum of African American History: 740 E 56th Pl, Chicago
Free
Friday, September 19, 5-8pm
Alayna N. Pernell: A layin’ on of hands…
Filter Photo: 1821 W Hubbard St, Ste 207, Chicago
Free
Friday, September 19, 6-9pm
Lumpia Fusion: Filipino Americans at a Crossroads
Epiphany Center for the Arts: 201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago
Free
Friday, September 19, 6-10pm
Día de Muertos: A Celebration of Remembrance
National Museum of Mexican Art: 1852 W 19th St, Chicago
Free
September 20-21
Pat Bishop – Ragged and Real
Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts: N50W5050 Portland Rd, Cedarburg, WI
Free
Saturday, September 20, 11am-1pm
Prison Trauma Healing Circle
Walls Turned Sideways: 2717 W Madison St, Chicago
Free
Saturday, September 20, 6-7pm
Fady Joudah and Eman Abdelhadi
Pilsen Community Books: 1102 W 18th St, Chicago
Free
Saturday, September 20, 7pm
Unboxing Queer History LIVE AGAIN! The Gerber/Hart Fall Benefit
Gerber/Hart Library & Archives: 6500 N Clark St, Chicago
Free
Saturday, September 20, 7:30pm
Monster Mosh
Color Club Tavern: 4146 N Elston Ave, Chicago
$15
Sunday, September 21, 10am-6pm
Chicago Art Book Fair Presents: Preface
Chicago Art Book Fair: 400 N Peoria St, Chicago
Free
Sunday, September 21, 3-4pm
In Context: A Docent Tour of Mexican Identity
National Museum of Mexican Art: 1852 W 19th St, Chicago
Free
Sunday, September 21, 6-7:15pm
Cheech Marin: Culture, Comedy, and Chicano Art
Apollo’s 2000: 2875 W Cermak Rd, Chicago
Free
Wednesday, September 24, 6:30pm
Community Cinema: Cooley High 50th Anniversary Screening
Kennedy-King College: 6301 S Halsted St, 2000, Chicago, 60621
Thursday, September 25, 11am-3pm
Floriography Pop-up
Loaves and Witches: 6034 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60660
Friday, September 26, 5-7pm
The Ghosts that Linger: Annual Juried Exhibition
South Haven Center for the Arts: 600 Phoenix St, South Haven, MI
Free
Saturday, September 27, 12-6pm
Art x Aid
Co-Prosperity Sphere: 3219 South Morgan Street Chicago, IL
From $12.51
Saturday, September 27, 2-3pm
Walking Tour: Lincoln Park and the Young Lords
DePaul Art Museum: 935 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago
Free
September 29 – October 31, 2025
Air Crash Report
Cochrane-Woods Art Center: 5540 S. Greenwood Avenue, Chicago
Free
Tuesday, September 30, 5:30-7:30pm
Community Talkback Series
Bronzeville Center for the Arts, Bader Philanthropies: 3300 N Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr, Milwaukee, WI
Free
Through September 7, 2025
Light Within Ourselves: Haitian Art in Iowa
Des Moines Art Center: 4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA
Free
Through September 14, 2025
From the Great Lakes to the Great Plains: The Visible Currents of Climate Change
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: 724 S 12th St, Omaha, NE
Free
Through September 21, 2025
Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the US
Cranbrook Art Museum: 39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Free
Through September 28, 2025
Over a Hundred Thousand Images Later: Dan Kane, a Retrospective
South Dakota Art Museum: 1036 Medary Ave, Brookings, SD
Free
About the image maker: Ian Carstens (he/him) is a writer, filmmaker and curator based in the Midwest. His work explores temporality, non-human aliveness, multiplicity, as well as critiques of the archive, lens-based art forms and cultural institutions. He is the lead curator/filmmaker of Glass Breakfast, an ongoing archival project. His work has been published with Burnaway, Sugarcane, The Pulp, Ruckus Journal, Fugue Literary Journal and Sixty Inches From Center.
