Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

03/22/2023

Johnnetta B. Cole

Congratulations to Johnnetta B. Cole for being named one of the 12 awardees of the National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Cole is recognized for her contributions to Afro-Latin, Caribbean, and African communities as a scholar, anthropologist and academic.

On art, Cole has said, "To bring the experience of art into one’s life is to become entangled in, maybe to fall in love with, human creativity.”

Learn more about Cole and all the award winners.

Johnnetta B. Cole National Humanities Medal 2021 Photo caption —Photo courtesy of Johnnetta B. Cole WHITE HOUSE CITATIONJohnnetta Betsch Cole, for being a celebrated leader of sanctuaries of higher learning and culture. A scholar, anthropologist, and academic pace-setter, Johnnetta Betsch Cole’s...

03/22/2023

Daniel R. Quiles on “Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today”

New works that were commissioned for "Forecast Form" contribute to the idea of “the Caribbean as a way of looking at the world.”

Read more on "Forecast Form" which closes on April 23 in Artforum.

Make plans to see it in person online at mcachicago.org.

Curated by Carla Acevedo-YatesAT THE MIDPOINT of “Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today,” there appears, curiously enough, a Filipino artist: David Medalla, whose signature Cloud Canyons, 1963–2014, oozes wormlike strands of soap bubbles from vertical Perspex tubes. By po...

03/21/2023

"Emerge Selections 2023" Gallery views.

Tomorrow is the last day to see "Emerge Selections 2023."

Every year, the Emerge group selects and collectively funds the purchase of one major work by an artist not currently represented in the MCA Collection.

Come see the pieces up for consideration in person at the MCA. The MCA is free today for all Illinois residents. Reserve your ticket online 👉 https://bit.ly/3LCQbXo

03/20/2023

Representation as Liberation: A Review of Duane Linklater’s “mymothersside” at the MCA

"Linklater will not stand for reductive notions of identity. Indigenous culture is greater than the sum of its parts."

Read the full review of "Duane Linklater: mymothersside." in Newcity. 📰

Make plans to visit the exhibition in person at mcachicago.org.

An exhibition deconstructing and reassembling memory, identity and Indigenous myths and misconceptions.

03/20/2023

If you ask us, florals for spring are definitely groundbreaking. 🌷😎

It's the first day of spring and we're revisiting all of the florals in our photography collection. Scroll through to get a burst of green on your feed. 🌼

The MCA is free tomorrow (and every Tuesday) for Illinois residents. Plan your visit online.💻 https://bit.ly/3LCQbXo

[Images]

Jack Pierson
“A good year (for the roses)”
1990

Betty Hahn
“Belladonna”
1980

Jack Pierson
“Neon Baltimore”
1985

“Calla Lily”
Robert Mapplethorpe
1988

Ana Mendieta
“Untitled: Silueta Series, Mexico”
1977-1991

03/19/2023

Ten years ago today, we opened "Chicago Works: Jason Lazarus."

Chicago-based artist Jason Lazarus continues to develop his practice in new directions. Known primarily for his photographic works, Lazarus has expanded his artistic scope in recent years, conflating the role of the artist with that of collector, archivist, and curator.

Above all, Lazarus is a sign-maker—sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically—whose works simultaneously direct attention inward toward the personal and outward toward the historical.

The exhibition was organized around three key components: “Untitled” (2013) is a new project that the artist describes as “a public parable of learning.” Inspired by his experiences as an artist-educator—and reflecting on his own processes of learning, failing, and persevering—the artist presented weekly “performances” by a student of classical piano who will learn Frédéric Chopin's Nocturne in F minor, op. 55, no. 1.

Over the course of the exhibition, the student filled the galleries with the sounds of learning, including mistakes, triumphs, and, inevitably, the student's own stylistic interpretation of the piece.

The second component, “Phase 1/Live Archive” {bio: (2011–present), was a repository of Occupy Wall Street signs, re-created from images culled from print and online media. Lazarus made these signs collaboratively with the public and, in addition to displaying them in the gallery, made the signs available to visitors to wield as they navigate the museum.

This invitation to use and reuse the signs represents a new shift in Lazarus's interest in the ways in which an archive is activated and how such activation contributes to and perhaps even reformulates the archive's relationship to history and the accumulation of historical value.

Finally, Lazarus also debuted new works using photography-centric media that continue to question the intersection of the public and private, the mundane and the marked event. The different strategies employed by Lazarus simultaneously assert, disrupt, and question how photographs can provide alternate ways to consider the use-value and meaning of images in an image-laden culture.

03/18/2023

Sensory-friendly Chicago: 5 places that are autism-friendly | Choose Chicago

The MCA is included on this list of sensory-friendly places in Chicago from
Choose Chicago.

Our next Sensory-Friendly Morning is June 25. This event is a free program for all people who benefit from visiting the MCA without large crowds and other sensitive environmental elements.

Register online at mcachicago.org

Chicago will always and forever be home and exploring the city is one of my passions. I enjoy visiting museums, attending shows, and going to…

03/18/2023

Tap to shop this post! 🛍

The MCA Store is highlighting women-owned businesses all month long.

Explore our full collection online, or shop in person to find your next artsy buy.⭐

Tap the link in our to find even more incredible items. https://mcachicagostore.org/

03/17/2023

What has been your favorite memory at the MCA?

Was there a certain exhibition, talk, or event that stuck with you?

Take the super short survey in our bio to help us continue to be an innovative and compelling center of contemporary art where the public can experience the work and ideas of living artists, and understand the historical, social, and cultural context of the art of our time.

[Image]
Installation view
"David Bowie Is"
MCA Chicago
September 23, 2014 - January 4, 2015
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

https://bit.ly/3ZNDIEw

03/17/2023

Closing soon: "Atrium Project, Firelei Báez."

It's been nearly a year since Báez's, "Untitled (Drexciya)" has been on view in the MCA's atrium. We've enjoyed watching our visitors delight over the intricate details and stop for photos with the piece.

The last day to see it at the MCA is March 26, but you can see more of Firelei Báez's work in "Forecast Form" on our fourth floor.

Tap the link to plan your visit: https://bit.ly/40c1vOh

[Images]
📸 @ sophiebixenman on Instagram
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03/16/2023

Check Out These Free Museum Days Throughout Chicago

Illinois residents can visit the MCA for FREE every Tuesday.
Check out some of the other great museums on this list from NBC Chicago.

With temperatures on the rise, and spring break fast approaching, you may be looking for ideas to get out of the house, and some of Chicago’s most iconic museums are offering free admission on select dates for Illinois residents.

03/16/2023

Spend your spring at the MCA with our next "On Stage" performance series, "Frictions."

Get 20% off when you buy tickets to all three performances in "Frictions." MCA members get an additional 10% off passes.

Book your tickets today! https://mca.social/3J588Le

03/15/2023

/Dialogues - EXPO CHICAGO - Chicago International Contemporary Art Fair

Will we see you at EXPO CHICAGO?

On April 14, Join MCA Director, Madeleine Grynsztejn, and others for a discussion on creating greater access to contemporary art, how collections can impact contemporary institutions, and the role collector/philanthropists can play in advancing artistic practices. Tap the link to learn more!
https://bit.ly/3JgZoSl

Don't forget to help us kick off EXPO Chicago with Vernissage on April 13! Proceeds from Vernissage support the MCA's Learning Department. Tickets and more information are available at mcachicago.org.

Presented in partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), /Dialogues brings together leading curators, artists, designers, and arts professionals for a series of panel discussions, forums, and artistic discourse on topics of the moment, including institution building and publ...

03/15/2023

How do you recreate infinity?

Opening next month at the MCA on April 15: "Endless"

Join us at the MCA for an exhibition that brings together artworks that touch upon the concept of infinity.

Impossible to convey in full, the idea of the infinite prompts artists to reckon with the limits of what they can depict, leading to poetic and open-ended artistic approaches.

This focused exhibition features key works from the MCA’s collection that approach the infinite through painting, sculpture, drawing, and photography. The four artists represented in the exhibition use repetition, abstraction, and processes of change to suggest endlessness—whether spatial, temporal, or spiritual—and to reflect the immeasurable depth of our inner lives.

Tap the link to learn more: https://bit.ly/3YKDsEJ

03/14/2023

Now on view: "Duane Linklater: mymothersside."

Today is the first free Tuesday at the MCA to see this exhibition in person! We're open until 9 PM tonight.

This features sculpture and video that focus on enduring ancestral practices such as hunting and fur trading; digital translations of tribal objects held in institutional collections; and a series of large-scale structures made with teepee poles.

Click to learn more 👉: https://mca.social/3kZczzh

03/14/2023

Which of the works in "Forecast Form" have you come back to?
Revisit the exhibition before it closes on April 23.

The MCA has free admission today (and every Tuesday) for all Illinois residents! 🎟
Tap the link to reserve your tickets.
https://bit.ly/3YO7GqC

📸 mtyrina13 on Instagram.

03/13/2023

"Emerge Selections 2023" opens tomorrow March 14.

This exhibition features three works selected by the Emerge group, one of which will join the MCA Collection after a vote by the group. On view for a limited time until March 22.

This year, in collaboration with the MCA curatorial team, Emerge members proposed works by Kamrooz Aram (b. 1978, Shiraz, Iran; lives in Brooklyn, New York), Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians; b. 1984, Ferndale, WA; lives in Hudson, NY), and Jacolby Satterwhite (b. 1986, Columbia, SC; lives in Brooklyn, NY), for consideration.

Engaging the complicated relationship between Modernism and ornament, Kamrooz Aram’s sculptures set out to renegotiate the art historical hierarchy that values fine art over ornamental art forms. Sky Hopinka layers imagery, sound, and text to create his own cinematic language, which he expresses in short and feature-length films that center the perspectives of Indigenous people. Jacolby Satterwhite uses a range of animation and video software to produce fantastical digital landscapes that explore themes of memory, desire, and personal and public mythologies.

Click the link to learn more: https://bit.ly/3TgKP5Y

03/13/2023

"Forecast Form" is on view in our fourth-floor galleries until April 23.

Make time to revisit the exhibition this week with FREE admission on Tuesday for all IL residents.

Tap the link to reserve your tickets. 👉 https://bit.ly/3YsKYUE

03/12/2023

At what point did you notice the different colors of "Álvaro Barrios', "El Mar de Cristóbal Colón?"

Was it when you made it halfway through "Forecast Form," or was it when you looked up from our second floor?

Learn more about how Barrios' work plays with cartography and perception in this excerpt from "Forecast Form" by Nolan Jimbo.

"Comprising over one hundred silkscreen prints, Álvaro Barrios’s "El Mar de Cristóbal Colón (1971/ 2022) challenges the authority and integrity of the colonial map, enlarging and multiplying the quadrants that make up the nautical chart. Abandoning the traditional flatness and legibility of the map, Barrios reinterprets the practice of cartography through this three-dimensional installation, in which each side of the prints bears a single monochrome square.

These solid planes of color formally recall the aesthetics of minimalism and their specific hues carry metaphoric meaning. While the pure cyan mono-chromes collectively allude to the Caribbean Sea (a visual trope that has been repeatedly used to define the region), the red monochromes surface the histories of violence that are often veiled beneath exported images of the Caribbean’s idyllic land and seascapes.

Here, geometric abstraction operates as a metaphor as well as a method of obfuscation, obscuring any illustrations or texts that we would expect to find on a map and offering instead a visual experience of opacity."

Learn more about the 37 artists included in "Forecast Form" online and make plans to visit before it closes on April 23. https://bit.ly/3AuX3zz

03/11/2023

Today is Family Day!

There's still time to register and join us starting at 11 AM today!
Tap the link to reserve your FREE ticket and join us for a day of creativity at the MCA. 🎨

Use promo code FAMILYDAY. https://bit.ly/3mc0VBe

📸 Ricardo Adame

03/10/2023

Review: ‘Forecast Form’ at the MCA shows the Caribbean is not what you think

"'Forecast Form' is not really even about a place at all but about the movement of people, commodities, money, weather, culture, power, forms, and ideas,"

Read the latest review of "Forecast Form" in the Chicago Tribune. This exhibition is closing soon on April 23! Make your plans to see it in person today at mcachicago.org.

The show is not really even about a place at all but about the movement of people, commodities, money, weather, culture, power, forms and ideas.

03/10/2023

Duane Linklater: mymothersside - Announcements - e-flux

Opening tomorrow at the MCA: "Duane Linklater: mymothersside."

This exhibition features sculpture and video that focus on enduring ancestral practices such as hunting and fur trading; digital translations of tribal objects held in institutional collections; and a series of large-scale structures made with teepee poles.

Read more about this exhibition in this article from e-flux.

Reserve your tickets to join us for the opening at mcachicago.org.

The MCA announces the opening of Duane Linklater: mymothersside on March 11. Linklater’s work interrogates the construct of museums, their conventions, and their historical exclusion of Indigenous content, working across a range of mediums to address the contradictions of contemporary Indigenous l...

03/09/2023

Don't 'get' art? You might be looking at it wrong : Life Kit

"Don't go in and think, 'It's all very heavy, it's art,' it can just be fun. It can just be something that tickles my senses and grabs me."

What advice would you give for visiting an art museum?

Read more on how to look at art via NPR, and put your new skill to use by visiting the MCA. Plan a visit at mcachicago.org.

Everyone can have a profound connection with a work of art. You just need the right mindset and attitude. Art professionals share tips on how to navigate museums and observe paintings and sculptures.

03/09/2023

Hurry before this sale ends on March 12!
Save an additional 20% on already discounted merchandise at the MCA Store.
Members get an additional 10% off. Click to shop this post or view the entire sale online 👉 https://mcachicagostore.org/collections/sale

03/09/2023

Love the MCA?
Do you have thoughts about how we can best serve you in 2023?
Then we want to hear from you!

Click the link to take a quick survey by the American Alliance of Museums.

This survey will provide us with data from our visitors as well as nationwide results for context, helping us be more effective in the coming months and in the communities we serve.

The survey only takes about 9 minutes to complete, but in those 9 minutes, you will help our team make better decisions for our future.

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7118149/mcachicago&source=socmedia

[Image]
Gallery view
"Virgil Abloh: 'Figures of Speech'"
2019
📸 Jeremy Lawson

03/08/2023

For as long as there has been art, there have been women creating it.

For International Women's Day, we’re highlighting some of the works created by women that are currently on view at the MCA.

Celebrate alongside us and see the works in person at the MCA. Tap the link for tickets. https://bit.ly/3KsFkyC

03/08/2023

Advice | Go ahead, take your kid to an art museum

We've got your weekend plans for you and your little ones ♥

Come create with us through activities centering on the themes of "Forecast Form." Then explore everything that's on view at the MCA.

Make plans to join us this Saturday at mcachicago.org

Museums can inspire children, but they can also be an anxiety-producing with little hands around priceless works of art

03/07/2023

Frictions begin next month on April 6 with Shamel Pitts | TRIBE, "Touch of RED."

Performance dates are below 👇:

April 06 | 8:00 pm
April 07 | 8:00 pm
April 08 | 8:00 pm

This performance includes loud pulsing music and moving lights for the duration of the work. The piece runs for 90 minutes with no intermission.

On Saturday, April 8, the performance will include ASL interpretation, audio description, and captioning.

Buy tickets here 👉 https://bit.ly/3F3WK14

[Image]

Shamel Pitts and Tushrick Fredericks, Touch of RED. Performed at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA, October 22, 2022. Photo: The Adeboye Brothers.

03/07/2023

Daniel R. Quiles on “Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today”

"For Carla Acevedo-Yates, a diasporic perspective untethers identity from location but not from history."

Dig deeper into the themes of "Forecast Form" with this piece from Artforum.

"Forecast Form" closes on April 23. Make plans to see it in person at mcachicago.org

Curated by Carla Acevedo-YatesAT THE MIDPOINT of “Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today,” there appears, curiously enough, a Filipino artist: David Medalla, whose signature Cloud Canyons, 1963–2014, oozes wormlike strands of soap bubbles from vertical Perspex tubes. By po...

03/06/2023

Family Day is this weekend!

Register today for activities centered around the themes of "Forecast Form" at the MCA and ASL interpretation is provided.

Admission is free for children and their families. Use promo code FAMILYDAY: https://bit.ly/3mc0VBe

03/05/2023

Forecast Form

"Thoughtfully curated by Carla Acevedo-Yates at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, with curatorial assistant Iris Colburn, and curatorial fellows Isabel Casso and Nolan Jimbo, the exhibition is rhizomatic in its threads of critique and reflection,"

Read more on "Forecast Form" in this piece from The Brooklyn Rail.
Make plans to see the exhibition before it closes on April 23 at mcachicago.org.

Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora 1990s to Today weaves a far richer conversation that explores a multitude of distinct voices.

03/04/2023

Join us as we highlight and celebrate women artists this month! Explore our collection of women artists ranging from Yayoi Kusama to Louise Bourgeois.

Tap to shop this post or view the full collection online. https://mcachicagostore.org/collections/women-artist

03/04/2023

Hi there!
Family Day is next week on March 11!

This month's theme is: "Create." Join us for a morning full of activities for kids and their families.
Attendees can enjoy a live bomba performance with Bomberxs D’Cora, and a literary arts and collaging workshop with 826CHI.

Grab your tickets today! https://bit.ly/3mc0VBe

Admission is free to Family Day attendees; use promo code FAMILYDAY.
ASL interpretation is provided.

03/03/2023

We'll see you tomorrow at Deem Journal's symposium!
Virtual tickets are still available 👉 https://bit.ly/3IiuzvX

Starting today, the Reference Room, which is curated around the themes of the symposium, will be open from March 3—5 at the MCA near the entrance of the Edlis Neeson Theater. Check it out for ~ free with MCA admission.

03/03/2023

21Minus Final Call!

🚨 Today's the day!🚨
Applications for 21Minus close tonight at 11:59 PM CT!

Are you a Chicagoland resident under 21?
Do you have something to say?
Are you excited to engage hundreds of museum visitors, other youth, and artists?

Submit your project for 21Minus!
https://bit.ly/3wCrCkF

03/02/2023

Conversation between Deborah Jack and Carla Acevedo-Yates

"In so many cultures there's this idea that if someone dies an unjust death, their spirit doesn't rest."

Artist, Deborah Jack, one of the artists included in "Forecast Form," and MCA Curator Carla Acevedo-Yates discuss Jack's recent installation, "…wonder at the heartbreak and reassemble the fragments of shattered symmetries, until…” at 150 Media Stream.

Tap the link to listen to the talk, and make your plans to see more of Jack's work at the MCA at mcachicago.org.

Introduction: 00:00 - 04:00 Conversation: 04:02 - 49:14 Conversation between artist Deborah Jack and MCA curator Carla Acevedo-Yates at the public reception of…

03/02/2023

Top Art Exhibits at Chicago Museums | 2023 Guide | Choose Chicago

"Gary Simmons: Public Enemy" is included in this list from Choose Chicago of art exhibits to see in 2023.

Opening on June 11, this exhibition is the first comprehensive career survey of the work of multidisciplinary artist Gary Simmons.

Since the late 1980s Simmons has played a key role in situating questions of race, class, and gender identity at the center of contemporary art discourse.

Tap the link to read the article, and make plans to see the exhibition when it opens at mcachicago.org

Chicago is a city full of history, art, and culture — and you’ll find a lot of all those things in our acclaimed cultural institutions.…

03/01/2023

Changemakers United: Design with Dignity Promises A Symposium with Community as its Axis

“We want people, whether they identify as designers or not, to walk away inspired by what change they can have in their communities and beyond.”
Founder of Deem Journal, Alice Grandoit, chats with Newcity about the upcoming Symposium.

Check out the interview and register for a virtual ticket at mcachicago.org.

“We want people, whether they identify as designers or not, to walk away inspired by what change they can have in their communities and beyond.”

02/28/2023

Family Day is coming up on March 11!

This month's theme is "Create."

Join us for a free program for all kids and their families that includes a live bomba performance and a collaging workshop. ASL interpretation is provided.

Admission is free to Family Day attendees; use promo code FAMILYDAY: https://bit.ly/3mc0VBe

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