Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

12/05/2023

"Every generation has a precious few artists whose works come to embody the very heart and soul of the time. Faith Ringgold is one of those artists."—Newcity.

Don't miss the chance to experience her work up close. On view through February 25.

This exhibition is an expansive review of Ringgold's poignant artworks contextualized by the political climate of the time and her own political beliefs. If you want to understand Black art history, its roots, and its evolution, this exhibition is a must-view.

12/05/2023

This Saturday, the MCA welcomes Pocket Con to Family Day!

"It’s going to be super-diverse even with our artists that we chose this year, which is what I am super excited about too.”—Elgin Bokari T. Smith, Pocket Con organizer.

by Isi Frank Ativie

12/05/2023

It's National Sock Day and we think you need these in your collection. 🐀
Find a full collection of enviable socks on our website and in person at the MCA Store.
https://mca.social/3uQBjhr
📸Transit Tees

12/04/2023

"Whether you’re an aficionado or visiting the museum for the first time, you’ll undoubtedly find plenty of inspiration, and there’s no time like the present to make the MCA a part of your holiday season and beyond." visit.mcachicago.org

Established in 1967, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is one of the world’s premier institutions celebrating the work of leading contemporary artists. Located just off Michigan Avenue near the historic Chicago Water Tower and the John Hancock Building, the 220,000-square-foot venue was desig...

12/03/2023

"She’s really a living legend." - MCA Curator Jamillah James on MCA's presentation of "Faith Ringgold: American People" with WBEZ.

🎧 Hear more in the latest episode of "The Rundown" and make plans to see the show in person. https://mca.social/46VA4v7

📸 Opening Dinner. "Faith Ringgold: American People." 2023. Photos by Jeremy Lawson.

12/03/2023

Holiday shopping doesn't have to be hard!

The MCA Store has the perfect gifts for:

🏠 The hosting extraordinaire

🧸 The plushie collector

👟 The fashion-forward friend

And more! Shop our full collection:
https://mcachicagostore.org/collections/gifts

12/02/2023

Family Day is December 9!
FREE REGISTRATION: https://mca.social/47RBNSU

Join us as we host Pocket Con for a special day of programming.
Pocket Con, Chicago’s only comics convention for children and youth, is coming to Family Day at the MCA!

Meet creators, attend workshops and panels, play teen-created video games, and try out costuming and art in a space that celebrates and welcomes diversity.

*Admission is free to Family Day attendees.
Spanish and English facilitation; ASL interpretation provided

12/01/2023

❄️ This December, two new shows open at the MCA! Save this list to see what else is going on all month long!

🎥 12/3 – Join us for a screening of “Everyone I Know is Sick” with Visual AIDS. https://mca.social/3R4uOzh

🎉 12/6 – Members-Only Holiday Party https://mca.social/3uuDbwf

👾 12/9 Family Day with Pocket Con!
https://mca.social/47RBNSU

⚡ 12/16 – Zine Fest returns with Teen Creative Agency at MCA Chicago! https://mca.social/3RlgkfF

🛍️ Check out the MCA Store for your holiday shopping needs! Enjoy free gift wrapping for purchases over $150. https://mca.social/46z9TKh

🎨 12/16 – Opening | “Descending the Staircase” https://mca.social/46xZfUT

🥪 Through January – Try the latest Marisol Chicago Chef Collab with Chef James Martin of Bocadillo Market. https://mca.social/3uE4zIx

🖌️12/20 – Opening | “Chicago Works: Maryam Taghavi مریم تقوی”
https://mca.social/3uFJg9l

💻 See everything that's coming up at the MCA on our website!
https://mca.social/3Jw51ge

11/30/2023

Happy Birthday to artist and filmmaker Arthur Jafa, who has across three decades, developed a singularly dynamic practice comprising films and videos, photographs, and sculptures.

Next year, we're looking forward to presenting "Arthur Jafa: Works from the MCA Collection" which surveys Jafa’s artistic practice over roughly the last decade through a selection of artworks held in the MCA’s collection. https://mca.social/3Rnn8cI

11/30/2023

"Art comes from the idea of inversion, from the change you want to make to what you see and wherever you find it. - Sam Gilliam in The Brooklyn Rail.

Today we remember artist, Sam Gilliam on his birthday.

Sam Gilliam, whose draped canvases took his paintings to a three-dimensional realm, passed in June. Gilliam's "Cartouche" (1981) is in our collection. Gilliam was the first Black artist to represent the U.S. at the Venice Biennale.

11/29/2023

Explore a collection of 50 incredible gifts by African-American artists via this list from
Culture Type!
Included are new items from our recently opened exhibition, "Faith Ringgold: American People." LEARN MORE: https://mca.social/FR

From stationery and home goods to clothing and accessories, African American artists have inspired a bounty of new products, great finds, and ideal gifts.

11/28/2023

“A vivid and revealing show that is not only rare — it’s must-see.”—WTTW - Chicago PBS on "Faith Ringgold: American People"

You don’t see 60 years of Ringgold every day. Now on view. http://mca.social/FaithRinggold

11/27/2023

30 years ago this month in 1993, the MCA presented “In The Spirit of Fluxus” —the first comprehensive overview of , the radical and experimental movement of the 1960s that aimed to dismantle the barriers between art and its public through works that celebrated humor, chance and the ephemera of everyday life. Organized by the Walker Art Center and exhibited in our former location.

https://mcachicago.org/Exhibitions/1993/In-The-Spirit-Of-Fluxus

11/27/2023

Take a closer look at Faith Ringgold's story quilt, "Tar Beach II." What details do you notice?

Explore all of the works included in "Faith Ringgold: American People" in person.
Visit our website to find out how.https://mca.social/FR

📸 Member's Opening, "Faith Ringgold: American People." 2023. Photo by Ricardo Adame

11/27/2023

The MCA is looking forward to being the host to these dance-makers next Spring!

Meet the winners of the 2024 Winning Works Choreographic Competition, Manoela Gonçalves, Jainil Mehta, Martha Nichols, Xavier Núñez, and Houston Thomas. We are so happy to welcome this new generation of emerging artists to the Joffrey.

The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, presents five world premieres in the culmination of Joffrey's national call for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American) artists to submit applications for the Joffrey Academy's Winning Works Choreographic Competition. In addition to an added weekend of performances, new to this year's program is the selection of a first-ever Chicago-based choreographer as a fifth candidate, set on the students of the Joffrey Conservatory Program, a preliminary training program for aspiring Trainee dancers ages 14 – 18.

See ‘Winning Works’ March 8-10 and 15-17, 2024 at Museum of Contemporary Art’s Edlis Neeson Theater. Tickets are on sale now at joffrey.org/winningworks.

11/26/2023

"The single most important exhibit I've seen."- A visitor after experiencing "Faith Ringgold: American People"

TICKETS: https://visit.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/faith-ringgold-american-people/

📸: ricardoeadame on Instagram

11/26/2023

Happiest of birthdays to , the Chicago-based photographer and educator known for his large-scale art photography and street photography portraits.

Five of his works are in the MCA Collection including “The Birmingham Project: Mathes Manafee and Cassandra Griffin" (2012) — currently on view as part of the "Affinities" section of "Faith Ringgold: American People.”

Enjoy your special day and we’ll see you back at the MCA soon!

[📷: Ricardo Adame]

11/25/2023

We are blushing reading Jason's review of their visit! 😊

"The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (MCA) is a must-visit for anyone looking to experience bold, innovative art in an inspiring setting...The MCA does an excellent job curating their collection into thought-provoking exhibits that provide new perspectives on contemporary art...The museum's sleek, modern building designed by Josef Paul Kleihues is itself a work of art worth admiring...If you love contemporary art and architecture, the MCA is a must-see when in Chicago. The exceptional collection and constantly changing exhibits make each visit unique. It's an ideal outing for art enthusiasts and anyone seeking exposure to new, avant-garde works."

11/24/2023

This season, the MCA is your destination for art, dining, and shopping.

🖼️ Several galleries open for viewing including “Faith Ringgold: American People."

🍽️ Marisol Chicago is open for Lunch, Dinner, and Weekend Brunch and the Counter is open for coffee and nosh during museum hours. 🥤

🛍️ MCA Store is your one-stop destination for holiday shopping.

11/23/2023

The MCA is closed today, but you can explore it through the eyes of shawnmpridgen on Instagram.

We're back open on November 24.
Explore what's waiting for you here ▶ https://mca.social/49JEckn

11/22/2023

“A vivid and revealing show that is not only rare — it’s must-see.”— WTTW - Chicago PBS on "Faith Ringgold: American People"

🌻 On view through February 25, 2024: https://mca.social/faithringgold 🌻

The new exhibition “American People” is the first solo retrospective of artist Faith Ringgold in Chicago. This vivid and revealing show is not only rare — it’s must-see.

11/22/2023

"This exhibit is absolutely incredible. Unforgettable."—MCA Visitor

Don't miss the inspiring "Faith Ringgold: American People”—On view through February 25!

This exhibition encompasses 60 years of Faith Ringgold's revolutionary body of work, which bears witness to the complex American experience.

11/21/2023

"I’m so excited! She is one of my favorite living artists. Her work's scale and scope and contributions to American culture are astounding. Seeing so much of her work in one place will be a privilege." —MCA Visitor on "Faith Ringgold: American People."

LEARN MORE: https://visit.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/faith-ringgold-american-people/

11/20/2023

The MCA is elated to announce our next iteration of our Chicago Works series that will present the first solo museum exhibition of artist Maryam Taghavi (b. Tehran, Iran; based in Chicago, IL).

Taghavi’s practice insists on positionality: where one stands determines what—and how—one sees. For the past several years, her work with talismans, calligraphy, and the Islamic occult has coalesced into a series of sculptures and paintings that strive to signify the unseen. In her upcoming MCA exhibition, Taghavi creates new works that expand her interest in perception by interrogating the space between the illusive vanishing point of the horizon and the immutability of distance.

Opening December 20, one month from today, Taghavi’s exhibition will take over the MCA’s Turner Gallery on the fourth floor, culminating in an immersive installation that invites audiences to close one eye and peer with the other, to adjust their gaze to new spatial possibilities, and to imagine a relationship with what is imperceptible.

📷Maryam Taghavi. Photo: Shelby Ragsdale, © MCA Chicago

11/19/2023

“Faith Ringgold: American People” is a cant-miss exhibition!

Explore her decades long career at the MCA Store!

Tap to shop: https://mcachicagostore.org/collections/faith-ringgold

11/19/2023

NOW OPEN—"Faith Ringgold: American People"

Faith Ringgold is one of the most influential cultural figures of our time, renowned for her body of work that bears witness to the complexity of the American experience.

Explore Ringgold's works of art from over six decades in this exhibition of the iconic artist's paintings, soft sculptures, and story quilts. This retrospective provides a timely opportunity to experience the art of an American icon.

LEARN MORE—https://mca.social/FaithRinggold

11/18/2023

"Faith Ringgold: American People" is now on view through February 25, 2024.

Bringing together fifty years of Ringgold's work, this is the most comprehensive exhibition of hers to date. Throughout her career, Ringgold has drawn from personal and collective histories to both document her life and amplify the struggles for justice and equity. Long overdue, this retrospective provides a timely opportunity to engage with the art of an American icon. Plan your visit: https://mca.social/FR

[Installation views of "Faith Ringgold: American People" Photos: Shelby Ragsdale, © MCA Chicago.]

11/17/2023

Zine Fest 2023 is coming on December 16!

Teen Creative Agency at MCA Chicago is celebrating 12 years (and counting) of DIY publications by teens! This event showcases the original artwork, activism, and social practice of Chicago-area youth, as captured in zine form. TCA highlights teen ideas and perspectives in the museum space. Its members gather at the MCA from all over the Chicagoland area to collaboratively create public responses to relevant contemporary issues. In doing so, they build relationships alongside other cultural institutions, organizations, and professionals in Chicago’s vibrant art scene.

We are excited to have partnered with the Newberry Library in developing this year’s zines, which focus on the history and evolution of traditional Mexican foods including:

Corn
Watermelon
Mole

11/17/2023

Five years ago today we opened "West by Midwest."

"West by Midwest" offered a messier alternative to the hyper-independence and individualism of America—one that illuminates the ways that contemporary art practices spread and develop by tracing the intersecting lives of artists who have migrated from the American Midwest to the West Coast since the mid-20th century.

Lured by career opportunities, warmer weather, and the prospect of a better life promised by the postwar boom, artists in this exhibition attended art schools together, shared studios, exhibited work in the same galleries, collaborated on projects, engaged in activism, and dated.

Following these crisscrossing lines of kinship, "West by Midwest" reveals social, political, artistic, and intellectual networks of artists and their shared experiences of making work and making a life.

[Images]
Installation view, "West by Midwest," MCA Chicago November 17, 2018–January 27, 2019.
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

11/17/2023

MCA Members enjoy first-look access to the MCA’s newest major exhibitions alongside curators, staff, and fellow art enthusiasts.

Join the MCA today and you and a guest can RSVP to attend tonight’s Members’ Preview for "Faith Ringgold: American People" from 7-9 PM.

We can’t wait to welcome our MCA Members and their guests for cocktails and complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Accompanying musical stylings will be provided by while being among the first to view the MCA’s newest exhibition.

JOIN/RENEW/RSVP: https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/members-preview-faith-ringgold-american-people/

Bonus: All MCA Members get 20% off at MCA Store through Sunday November 19!

[📷: ]

11/16/2023

Opening on December 16 at the MCA: "Descending the Staircase."

This exhibition considers novel artistic approaches to representing the human body. Spread across two floors of the museum, the exhibition presents figures of all kinds, from the fragmented, absurd, and surreal to the curated, self-aware, and media savvy.

Puppets, masks, and automatons merge bodies with objects, juxtaposing the animate and inanimate, while abstract sculptures evoke the human form through soft and fleshy materials such as nylon, wax, hair, and latex.

The exhibition is curated by Jadine Collingwood, Associate Curator, and Jack Schneider, Assistant Curator.
More Info: https://mca.social/46xZfUT

11/16/2023

"I hope people will be inspired by my art and find the courage as I did to do whatever they feel moved to do – whether it’s in art, science, or any discipline. It takes courage to be free and express one’s own vision. Everyone is important and has a unique story to tell." — Faith Ringgold in Wallpaper* magazine.

Experience the work of one of the most important living artists this Saturday, November 18 at the opening of "Faith Ringgold: American People."
TICKETS: https://mca.social/FaithRinggold


[Image]
Faith Ringgold (b. 1930, New York, NY), "Early Works #25: Self-Portrait," 1965. Oil on canvas; 50 × 40 in. (127 × 101.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Elizabeth A. Sackler, 2013.96. © 2023 Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York.

11/15/2023

FIRST LOOK: "Faith Ringgold: American People"

See nearly sixty years of ’s life in art through February 25. Only at the MCA!
TICKETS: https://mca.social/47tbKBm

11/15/2023

Each spring the MCA presents a suite of performances that are shaped by a rigorous curatorial theme reflecting our contemporary moment. The 2024 series focuses on the concept of “resonance,” and features works by four artists who explore the physicality of sound and voice: Anna Martine Whitehead, Samita Sinha, Laura Ortman, and 7NMS | Marjani Forté-Saunders and Everett Saunders.

Tickets and more info: https://visit.mcachicago.org/on-stage-resonance/

These performances question how sound resonates in, through, and out of the body. How does an individual voice their lived experience in society with sonorous force? How does sound reverberate in the space between oneself and others? Engaging with themes of futurity, grief, empathy, and spiritual becoming, these four performances invite audiences to consider sound as an introspective force for greater understanding, compassion, and change.

11/14/2023

“I wanted to show the essence of black people in any place that I could. The dancing, the party time. These people are dancing. When you’re on the floor dancing, there’s no up and down anymore, and I wanted to reflect it in that painting.” — Faith Ringgold

This Saturday, we're excited to host this timely retrospective. "Faith Ringgold: American People" opens. Tap the link to experience the work of an American icon. https://mca.social/FaithRinggold



[Image]
Faith Ringgold (b. 1930, New York, NY), "Black Light Series #12: Party Time," 1969. Oil on canvas; 59 3/4 × 85 1/2 in. (152 × 217 cm). Glenstone Museum, Potomac, Maryland. © 2023 Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York. Photo: Ron Amstutz.

11/13/2023

Sneak Peek! 👀

"I wanted to make a contribution to America. I thought, 'I have something to say about the American People.' And what's great about it is that I could say it. I've got freedom of speech." — Faith Ringgold speaking with PBS NewsHour.

"Faith Ringgold: American People" opens this Saturday, November 18. Members see it first on November 17! Join the MCA today and catch the first glimpses of this incredible exhibition. Tap the link to join today! https://mca.social/FaithRinggold

11/11/2023

🗯 "Ideas are my freedom, and freedom is why I became an artist." —Faith Ringgold

The wait is almost over!
"Faith Ringgold: American People" opens in one week on Saturday, November 18.

Opening Day Tickets: https://mca.social/3QC6zbk
Members can see it early on November 17. Join the MCA today for first looks at our upcoming exhibitions.

11/10/2023

📢 Save big as an MCA Member!
Members save 20% from November 10–19 at the MCA Store.

Get started on your holiday shopping and explore our gift guide! Enjoy free gift wrapping and free shipping on orders over $75.

Tap to shop!🛍
https://mcachicagostore.org/collections/holiday-gift-guide-2023

11/10/2023

Join us tomorrow from 11 am–3 pm for Family Day!
FREE REGISTRATION: https://mca.social/45UZJn3

Learn about art and science with educators from the Field Museum of Natural History, and create cave drawings with artist Assaf Evron.

[Images]
Portrait of Assaf Evron. by FOX & WILDS photography

Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

11/10/2023

Make way for Faith Ringgold! 📢
Check out this list of art shows opening this month that feature African-American artists from Culture Type.
Join us for the opening on November 18: https://mca.social/FaithRinggold

Exhibitions opening in November focus on Betye Saar, Dawoud Bey, Simone Leigh, Kehinde Wiley, Charles White, and Faith Riggold's first solo show in Chicago.