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One of the nation’s largest facilities devoted to the art of our time, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago offers exhibitions of the most thought-provoking art created since 1945. MCA Chicago documents contemporary visual culture through painting, sculpture, photography, video and film, and performance. Located in the heart of downtown Chicago, the MCA boasts a gift store, bookstore, restaurant, 300-seat theater, and a terraced sculpture garden with a great view of Lake Michigan.
Mission: The MCA is 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. The museum boldly interweaves exhibitions, performances, collections, and educational programs to excite, challenge, and illuminate our visitors and offer insight into the creative process. The MCA engages diverse audiences and creates a sense of community by providing a place to contemplate and discuss contemporary art and culture and issues of our day.
Happy 2020! The MCA Chicago is proud to be part of our city's grid. Keep your resolution to shop local -- at the MCA Store, your purchase supports the museum's exhibitions and programs. Show your Chicago pride with an MCA-exclusive Chicago water bottle or CTA-inspired wearables. Shop Chicago at the MCA Store online: http://bit.ly/2L3W3Lp
Did you make a New Year's Resolution to go vegetarian? Chicago magazine calls the veggie burger at Marisol Chicago as "destination-worthy as any exhibition upstairs at the MCA."
Make a reservation: http://bit.ly/MarisolMCA
From innovations in plant-based protein to soy market dominance, Illinois is poised to feed America’s increasingly vegan diet.
Hyperallergic has named the MCA's "Kerry James Marshall: Mastry" one of the Best Art Shows of the Decade!
What was your favorite art show this past decade?
As we round out the decade and look toward 2020, Hyperallergic’s editorial staff took into consideration the decade-defining art shows that have shaped the past 10 years for their scope, impact, and talent.
Happy New Year - and New Decade! The MCA is closed today, but we're reminiscing over our favorite art moments of the 2010s according to The Chicago Sun-Times, including "David Bowie Is" and "Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats His Own Leg."
From pop culture legend exhibitions to icons of the art world retrospectives, the past decade in Chicago’s visual arts/museum scene was one of the most eclectic.
We're proud to have been featured in this American Alliance of Museums article on "The Best Museum #GivingTuesday Campaigns of 2019!"
Today is the last day you can contribute to our Annual Fund. Donate here: bit.ly/2nheK2D
GivingTuesday is a “global generosity movement” originally founded in 2012 by New York’s 92nd Street Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation. Every year, the Tuesday after T…
New Year's Resolution: Bring your whole self to work!
Check out Director of Curatorial Strategy Claire Ruud's advice in a guest post on the Forté Foundation blog.
When people feel comfortable bringing their whole selves, they contribute more to the work.
However you celebrate the New Year, the MCA Store is ready to party with you! Whether your style of entertaining is sleek and shiny or comfy-cozy, we'll bring the unexpected! Shop party time at the MCA Store online: http://bit.ly/2SymA5Y
Who do you think was the most influential artist of the decade?
There are a lot of artists with MCA connections on this artnet list, including Kerry James Marshall, Theaster Gates, and Kara Walker!
We asked more than 100 art world insiders to tell us which artist made the greatest impact on the decade. Here are there answers.
Congratulations to friend of the MCA Theaster Gates and his Rebuild Foundation on this wonderful new space for artists!
The foundation plans to build “3 artist pods, a wood fired kiln, and open space for outdoor programs like yoga, dance classes, and meditation" to be used seasonally.
Check out photos and other highlights from this year's record-breaking Art Auction in the Chicago Tribune!
The Museum of Contemporary Art’s Benefit Art Auction is one of Chicago’s most anticipated galas.
Happy holidays to all our supporters, artists, and staff!
See our holiday hours: http://bit.ly/VisitTheMCA
Happy holidays! The MCA is open today until 5 pm, and like every Tuesday, free for Illinois residents!
More holiday hours: http://bit.ly/VisitTheMCA
Want to get in on the natural wine trend? Marisol Chicago is one of Eater's 18 Top Places to Drink Natural Wine in Chicago!
Make a reservation: http://bit.ly/36L8K3W
The standout restaurants and bars to find unadulterated wine
Congratulations to all the artists named to Artsy's list of The Most Influential Artists of 2019, including Doris Salcedo, Michael Rakowitz, Kara Walker, and Jeff Koons!
From Kara Walker to Hilma af Klint, 2019’s most influential artists drove massive crowds to museums, incited heated debates, and spurred Instagram sensations.
Happy Solstice! On the longest nights of the year, everyone could use a little illumination. Get glowing with our MIffy Lamp! The MCA Store also has iconic Miffy banks and books, sure to bring light to the eyes of design-lovers at any age. Shop Miffy and more: http://bit.ly/392CT0w
"I always see myself as a community organizer because I feel like my work is really dependent on representing all the people around me that aren’t getting that in other spaces."
DJ Ariel Zetina plays Soundtrack: Ariel Zetina tonight at 6 pm, transforming your MCA experience with music inspired by works on view.
i-D talked to the DJs breaking down barriers in the industry, normalizing gender equality, and asserting their presence in shaping Chicago’s DJ culture.
"Admission for under 18 is always free, so a membership is great for families who know the adults want to spend as much time as the kiddos at the museum."
The MCA is one of Chicago Parent's museum memberships that make the perfect gift! Gift a membership to your friends or family: http://bit.ly/2ttJVLw
Enjoy your favorite museums all year long!
Blast Off with astrally-amazing space-age gifts! MCA members receive free gift wrap and free standard shipping through December 24th. Feel good about each present purchased because it gives twice; all profits support the MCA's exhibitions and programs. Shop the Future at the MCA Store in person or online: http://bit.ly/38QUbxA
In Progress: Darling Shear is tonight! Check out this profile in the Chicago Reader on Shear's piece "Querida," which continues to evolve with tonight's performance.
The artist’s piece Querida is a personal performance presenting sexuality, sensuality, and healing from trauma.
Need a last minute gift idea for the art lover in your life? Check out the ARTnews list of the Best Art Books of the Decade!
Some of the selections are available in the MCA Store. Shop here: http://bit.ly/2RLp1BL
These are the tomes that defined the art world between 2010 and 2019.
Congratulations to Lawrence Abu Hamdan on winning the 2019 Edvard Munch Art Award, an award for rising visual artists under 40 years old.
Earlier this year, he participated in a screening and discussion of his work at the MCA.
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, one of the four winners of this year’s Turner Prize, has won the 2019 Edvard Munch Art Award. The biennial award is given to emerging visual artists, no older than forty years of age, who have demonstrated exceptional talent within the last five years. Abu Hamdan will receive ...
Feel good about each gift purchased at the MCA Store, because each gift gives twice: All profits support the MCA's exhibitions and programs! Check us out for cheery and delightful gifts, plus free gift wrap through December 24th! Members receive 10% off and free ground shipping on orders over $20: http://bit.ly/2XPLBKo
Family Day: Keep it Cozy is one of the Chicago Tribune's picks for things to do with kids in December!
Tomorrow, December 14, free for kids and their grownups from 11 am–3 pm. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2LkAFyq
40 things to do in the Chicago area with the kids in December.
“ . . . a new museum is called for to satisfy public need. In another an no less real sense, it is called for to stimulate public awareness—and not just among lay people; within the art community as well.” - Franz Schulze on the MCA upon its opening.
RIP to Franz Schulze, an esteemed art critic and educator who reviewed many of the MCA's first exhibitions and contributed to many of our first catalogues.
Franz Schulze, a prolific Chicago art critic and educator who chronicled the lives and work of two of the 20th Century’s most consequential architects, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, died Monday at 92
Tonight, join a panel on "Artists and Economies," that will consider the economies and financial structures that support artistic practice.
The panel includes Deana Haggag, the president of United States Artists, an "organization, based in Chicago, [that] gives unrestricted grants of $50,000 to up to 50 artists every year."
Tonight, 6 pm. Get tickets: http://bit.ly/2lsGLEc
Receiving big money is rare for many artists, and it often prompts questions. So some groups provide financial counseling with their awards.
"People have so many different ways of getting to their jobs. There’s no formula."
Tomorrow, join the head of United States Artists and other experts for a panel on Artists and Economies.
December 11. Get tickets: http://bit.ly/2lsGLEc
Fresh out of school, Deana Haggag was tapped to lead the Contemporary, Baltimore's nomadic museum. Now, she is CEO of United States Artists.
What a bananas end to this story!
What did you think about "Comedian," a work by artist Maurizio Cattelan that consisted of a banana taped to a wall?
The work was cleared away on the fair’s final day after scores of people came by to see it.
ARTnews named "Love is the Message, the Message is Death," the video work by Arthur Jafa, the most important artwork of the past decade. Check out the full list of artworks, including Kerry James Marshall and "Grosse Fatigue."
"Love is the Message, the Message is Death" was shown at the MCA this past year in "Prisoner of Love." Learn more: http://bit.ly/2EE4WY5
The editors of ARTnews pick the defining artworks of the past 10 years, from Christian Marclay to Kara Walker.
Feel good about each gift purchased at the MCA Store, because each gift gives twice: All profits support the MCA's exhibitions and programs! Give sleek and elegant presents, with free ground shipping over $20 for members, and free gift wrap through December 24th: http://bit.ly/2Rnum1K
Did you miss Unwrapped, our first-ever holiday artist showcase? Check out pictures from the event in Architectural Digest, including a photo of a giant gingerbread replica MCA decorated by families!
Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art opened its doors this weekend to showcase shoppable work by local makers
Coming to the MCA Store on Saturday, December 7th, a pup-up from @sirdogwood, a Chicago-based curator of the most fetching, high-quality canine clothing! Shop for your perfect pooch in-store or check out our paw-some selection of dog gifts online: http://bit.ly/33TsZum
Congratulations to all the artists selected for the Liverpool Biennial, including past MCA featured artists Judy Chicago and Rashid Johnson, plus Ligia Lewis, who will bring Ligia Lewis, Water Will (in Melody) to the MCA in January!
Tickets are on sale now! Learn more: http://bit.ly/2XadSuK
The Liverpool Biennial announced today that the theme of its eleventh edition, “The Stomach and the Port,” will be the body and how it connects to its surroundings, the port city, and the rest of the world. Curated by Manuela Moscoso and biennial director Fatoş Üstek, the exhibition will inc...
“David gave artists—and not just black artists—a new way of imagining what an art practice could be.” - Naomi Beckwith, Manilow Senior Curator at the MCA
Check out this profile on artist David Hammons in The New Yorker! His piece "Praying to Safety" is part of the MCA Collection.
By eluding the art world, Hammons has conquered it.
It's #GivingTuesday! Looking for a simple way to give back that's also an easy holiday gift? Take someone you love to a museum or get them a membership!
Plan your visit: http://bit.ly/VisitTheMCA
Become an #MCAMember: http://bit.ly/2PL5IrC
Take someone you love to an art museum, whether it’s the Whitney or one in a college town.
It's Cyber Monday at the MCA Store, where your gift gives twice: All profits support the MCA's exhibitions and programs! Give creative and cozy goodies, from the store USA Today called one of the "10 Best Places to Shop for Holiday Gifts in Chicago." Free standard shipping today only and free gift wrap through December 24th: http://bit.ly/35GrLnv
Read more about the enormous economic impact that Chicago's storefront theaters have in this Chicago Tribune piece.
The MCA was proud to partner with Prop Thtr earlier this year for "The Storefront Project." Learn more: http://bit.ly/2ZyX8kt
Comparing the dollars that come from the big theaters in the Loop to the impact of Chicago's small theaters out in the neighborhoods. Can a show for 100 seats make a difference? Yes, do the math. And find a way to pay the actors who fill those seats.
Visiting the MCA this weekend with your family? Check out these printable materials from the MCA Learning team, meant as an invitation to play, connect, and reflect together on contemporary art.
While Virgil Abloh: "Figures of Speech" is no longer on view at the museum, you can still use these tools to channel Abloh’s creative, multidisciplinary approach in your everyday life.
What's your theory on what happened to Maurizio Cattelan's artwork "America," stolen two months ago?
There is still no sign of Maurizio Cattelan’s “America,” which disappeared from a palace in England two months ago. But theories abound.
Feel good about each gift! Your gift gives back at the MCA Store. Enjoy free standard shipping in the contiguous United States through Cyber Monday, plus free gift wrap! As always, members save 10%. Shop stylish and delightful gifts under $25: http://bit.ly/2XPLBKo
Congratulations to Marcella Beccaria, the chief curator of Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, and Humberto Moro, the deputy director of Museo Tamayo, who have been named the curators of the 2020 edition of EXPO CHICAGO.
The MCA looks forward to hosting the opening night celebration of EXPO, Vernissage again next year!
Expo Chicago, the city’s International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, which is returning to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall in September 2020, has selected Marcella Beccaria, the chief curator of Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in Italy, and Humberto Moro, the deputy direct...
Expand your senses in "Mika Rottenberg: Easypieces" on view now!
Did you miss Saturday's Unwrapped cooking demonstration from Michael Rakowitz and Marisol's Chef Jason Hammel? We have copies of Michael's book A House with a Date Palm Will Never Starve in the MCA online store. Shop cookbooks and entertaining: http://bit.ly/2EbeZCj
Thanksgiving is this Thursday! The MCA will be closed, but we'll be watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to see this Yayoi Kusama balloon!
Twenty people will be required to guide the piece through Manhattan's streets. Read More
"Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art has announced it raised $6 million with a benefit art auction, making it one of the most successful fundraisers in the institution’s history." - AP
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art has announced it raised $6 million with a benefit art auction, making it one of the most successful fundraisers in the institution’s history. Museum director Madeleine Grynsztejn says the highest winning bid at the Nov. 16 auction was $1,150,...
220 E Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL
60611
The MCA Chicago is located four blocks east of the Chicago Avenue subway stop on the CTA Red Line and is easily accessible by the #3 King Drive, #10 Museum of Science and Industry, and #66 Chicago Avenue buses, as well as several Michigan Avenue bus routes. Chicago Transit Authority Take the CTA to the MCA. For routes, schedules, and fares, call Chicago Transit Authority Travel Information at 312.836.7000.
| Tuesday | 10:00 - 21:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00 - 17:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00 - 17:00 |
| Friday | 10:00 - 21:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00 - 17:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00 - 17:00 |
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We are live at the Talk with Patti Smith and Lynn Goldsmith! TASCHEN
A morphing and intersecting mass of bodies traverses the MCA’s spaces in Kim Brandt, Level, a series of performances orchestrating the relationships between people and environments and the effect our movements have on our surroundings. Oct 1–3, various times. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2kR0Q6I
Youth Always Wins! This flip book simulates the original video created to launch the sophomore Spring/Summer 2013 collection of Abloh’s first brand, Pyrex Vision. Shop Virgil Abloh at the MCA Store online:
In June, @virgilabloh and the MCA challenged Chicagoland youth to take something boring or broken and transform it into something extraordinary. Thank you to everyone who participated and shared their creativity. Hundreds of entries later, we are thrilled to announce the five winners of the MCA x Virgil Abloh Design Challenge! They are: @greenhoodtusla @spencer.allan @orkhon.exe @zoemeifleur @rainalenn Watch video profiles of the winners and their work: https://mcachicago.org/Learn/Youth/MCA-X-Virgil-Abloh-Design-Challenge
Highlights from Dahlak Braithwaite's performance of poetry at the 95th CTA Red Line Station. "Try/Step/Trip" is ONE NIGHT ONLY! Get tickets for his 7:30 performance tonight: http://bit.ly/2WVN2Fh
FINAL DAY TO SUBMIT! Post your entry to the MCA x Virgil Abloh Design Challenge taking something boring or broken and making it extraordinary before 11:59 pm tonight. Read the rules and requirements here: http://bit.ly/2YAIzJd
Celebrate freedom of expression and enter the MCA x Virgil Abloh Design Challenge this weekend. Open to Chicagoland youth, ages 14 to 21. Info here: http://bit.ly/2YAIzJd
Check out this trailer for "La Medea," a movie created as part of Yara Travieso's award winning immersive multimedia performance. Part latin-disco dance film, part telenovela, and part live NY party, this fast moving feature blows up the centuries-long reading of Medea as a dangerous foreign woman in favor of a powerful, multifaceted contemporary heroine. See the film in a screening and moderated Q&A with Yara Travieso on July 12. Get tickets: http://bit.ly/2IRd0XH
Happy Flag Day! Virgil Abloh's flag "QUESTION EVERYTHING" flies over the MCA Plaza for the duration of his exhibition.
Check out this exhibition trailer for Virgil Abloh: "Figures of Speech". The exhibition is open now until September 22. Learn more and purchase tickets: http://bit.ly/AblohFoS
The MCA Design Challenge is now OPEN! Virgil Abloh is challenging Chicagoland youth to create a video and post it on Instagram in response to this prompt: "Take something boring or broken and turn it into something extraordinary." READ the rules, guidelines, and get your parents' permission if you're under 18. Full terms and conditions here: http://bit.ly/2YAIzJd
Cellist and composer Tomeka Reid is concerned with the reception of jazz and improvised music—how, without advocacy and education, will this music continue to be heard? These topics are addressed and live-streamed from Reid's talk at Stony Island Arts Bank as part of “The Commons Artist Project: Public Fiction with Triple Canopy.”
The last Family Day of the season is TOMORROW! Join us for Family Day: Sugar Rush starting at 11 am, it's FREE.
Check out a trailer for "Chicagoland Shorts, Vol. 5." On Thursday, May 16, Full Spectrum Features premieres their annual collection of Chicago-made short movies in the Edlis Neeson Theater. The screening is followed by a reception with the artists in the Commons. Full Spectrum Features is a Chicago-based organization committed to increasing diversity in the independent film industry by producing, exhibiting, and supporting the work of women, LGBTQ, and minority filmmakers. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2D1HuSk Get tickets (free with RSVP, limit 2 tickets): http://bit.ly/2UxsZeQ
Preview the feminist-focused comedy of Adrienne Truscott: This then join us for the performances starting tomorrow. Tickets: http://bit.ly/2IFuF3t
As part of the Commons Artist Project entitled Parts of Speech, a series of experimental lectures take place at sites of assembly throughout Chicago and address the use of public speech to mold opinion, forge intimacy, marshal authority, and orchestrate movements. What can gestures and expressions convey that language cannot? Artist Steffani Jemison will reflect on this question in a performance that engages with the rich history of mime and the role of mimicry in addressing audiences. To those unfamiliar, mime might seem to impose severe limits on what can be conveyed; in fact, like many forms of dance, ritual, or theater, the practice seeks to liberate communication from speech, establishing bonds that transcend language. Jemison will focus on mime ministry, which combines physical theater and gospel recordings and, in the past two decades, has become a fixture of African American church congregations. Drawing on the work of Étienne Decroux, who popularized mime in the mid-twentieth century and pitted physical movement against language, Jemison will ask how we can use our bodies to amplify and extend the reach of speech, and is accompanied by performer Garrett Gray. Parts of Speech is by Public Fiction (Lauren Mackler) with Triple Canopy. The Commons Artist Project is organized by January Parkos Arnall, Curator of Public Programs, with Christy LeMaster, Assistant Curator of Public Programs. Lectures are presented by Steffani Jemison, Hari Kunzru, Tomeka Reid, Astra Taylor, Christopher Kulendran Thomas, and Julio Torres. The exhibition includes artwork by Rami George, Liz Magic Laser, David Levine, Nicole Miller, Rodney McMillian, and Videofreex.
The Urban Art Pop-Up Trunk Show is now open! Shop during regular MCA Store hours or online now: http://bit.ly/2HR5dZr
A shifting in the light of the lot, where parked cars become containers for a collective estrangement. Don't miss Screening: Zachary Epcar, featuring 4 films and a moderated discussion with the filmmaker.
And you love that humid atmosphere And you look so lush under glass. Don't miss Screening: Zachary Epcar, featuring 4 films and a moderated discussion with the filmmaker.
A constellation of objects, each emerging into the soft peach-light void of an indeterminate condominium space. Don't miss Screening: Zachary Epcar, featuring 4 films and a moderated discussion with the filmmaker.
An expanded view of the lunch crowd at an open-air restaurant, from a bird's-eye of the exterior to the depths of the interior. From Don't miss Screening: Zachary Epcar, featuring 4 films and a moderated discussion with the filmmaker!
Need special plans for tonight? A few spots are still available for the Winemaker Dinner: Martha Stoumen at Marisol Chicago. Call us for reservations at: 312-799-3599
"Parts of Speech," Hari Kunzru "On the Difficulties in Writing the Truth" Tuesday, Mar 12, 2019 7:30 pm Music Box Theatre Novelist Hari Kunzru’s lecture considers truth and distortion in public address. With fascism on the rise in Europe in the mid-1930s, Bertolt Brecht published "Five Difficulties in Writing the Truth," an essay on how readers could be turned into revolutionaries. Brecht asserted that writers must be able to recognize, proclaim, and weaponize the truth, disseminating it to those "in whose hands it will become effective." Kunzru’s lecture will respond to Brecht's essay by considering today’s greatest difficulties in writing the truth. Kunzru's lecture will employ two voices competing for attention: one communicating the truth, the other undermining that effort, challenging the very notion of a known, shared reality. This event is part of the "Commons Artist Project: Public Fiction with Triple Canopy" at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
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