Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

06/11/2025

"His work unveils cultural truths only after it leaves us shell-shocked with beauty."

Newcity's review of Paul Pfeiffer is in! 🔗 go.mcachicago.org/newcity-pfeiffer Catch the exhibition, which spans raucously energetic to starkly beautiful, through August 31.

Paul Pfeiffer’s concerns are blisteringly formal. He approaches his subjects like a chemist, adding and removing visual dollops at will until the aesthetic product appears unrecognizable.

06/10/2025

The MCA's Tuesdays on the Terrace was listed on NBC Chicago's list of Chicago festivals to kickstart summer!

Read the full list: go.mcachicago.org/nbc-tot

Visit mcachicago.org/tot to see the full lineup.

06/10/2025

Enjoy a taste of French-inspired cuisine with our 8th chef collaboration, featuring Chef Madalyn Durrant of Bar Parisette! Her charred cabbage dish with ajo blanco, grapes, cilantro, and almonds is now available on our lunch menu. Enjoy it alongside your favorite Marisol dishes; make a reservation today: marisolchicago.com/reservations

06/09/2025

"Let it matter what we call a thing.
Let it be the exquisite face for at least 16 seconds.
Let me LOOK at you.
Let me LOOK at you in a light that takes years to get here."
—Solmaz Sharif, Look

Don't miss this award-winning poet's workshop and talk with renowned artist Wafaa Bilal on 6/21!

Tickets available now:
Workshop—https://go.mcachicago.org/sharif-workshop
Talk—https://go.mcachicago.org/sharif-talk

06/09/2025

🎉 Thank you to everyone who made the 2025 Art Auction an unforgettable success!

We are deeply grateful to the outstanding artists who contributed powerful, thought-provoking works—your generosity and vision drive everything we do. Thanks to you and our passionate community of collectors and supporters, the MCA will continue championing contemporary art and ideas that spark dialogue, challenge perspectives, and build connections.

Your support helps bring bold exhibitions to life, fuels innovative programming, and ensures the MCA remains a space where everyone is welcome.

Here’s to the art, the artists, and the vibrant future we’re building together.

06/08/2025

🌸 Our upcoming "City in a Garden" made Chicago Tribune's top 10 exhibitions to see this summer!

"City in a Garden," opening July 5, shines a light on Chicago's essential, yet often overlooked, role in the story of q***r art and activism.

Visit go.mcachicago.org/ciag to learn more about the exhibition.

📖 Read the full list: go.mcachicago.org/ciag-trib

06/07/2025

The SOAR Farmers Market is back! Visit the MCA plaza every Tuesday from 7 am to 2 pm, rain or shine. Make sure to stop by the Marisol booth for delicious soup and the MCA Store booth for fun food-themed home decor, plushies, and much more! Plus you can shop the farmers market collection online: https://mcachicagostore.org/collections/farmers-market-collection

06/05/2025

In a new feature from Observer, MCA Chicago’s Director Madeleine Grynsztejn shares how prioritizing community access, artist engagement, and inclusivity shapes a more sustainable future for museums.

From bold programming to tomorrow's highly anticipated 2025 Art Auction, discover how these values continue to drive the MCA’s longevity and impact.

Read the full interview: go.mcachicago.org/observer

06/03/2025

Our annual celebration of teen creativity returns on Jun 14! This year, 21Minus explores the nuances, ambiguities, and tensions of time with installations, music, workshops, and more by artists 21 and under.

RSVP today: go.mcachicago.org/21minus-2025

21Minus | TimeJune 14, 20251:00 pm - 6:00 pmGet TicketsFree for anyone age 21 and under and their families, though all are welcome to attend. About the Event Explore the nuances, ambiguities, and tensions of time as a dimension of the universe as artists under 21 take over the MCA with installations...

06/03/2025

Critics are calling Wafaa Bilal's latest exhibition “provocative" and "poetic.”

"Indulge Me" is on view now at MCA Chicago—fusing performance, technology, and personal history to confront how we experience war and media.

📰 Read the full Artforum review: go.mcachicago.org/wafaa-bilal-artforum



All artworks by Wafaa Bilal (b. 1966, Najaf, Iraq; lives in New York, NY) are © Wafaa Bilal, courtesy of the artist. Artwork information is listed in order of appearance.
Wafaa Bilal, "Domestic Tension" video logs, 2007
Wafaa Bilal, "Domestic Tension" chat log, 2007

06/03/2025

The SOAR Farmers Market returns to the MCA Plaza every Tuesday starting today—and it just made the 2025 guide to Chicago farmers markets! 🍓

Read more: https://go.mcachicago.org/cb276c

Our big list of 100-plus markets across the metro Chicago area — freshly updated for 2025.

06/02/2025

Congratulations to our Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, Gwendolyn Perry Davis, who was named one of Crain's Chicago Business Crain's Chicago Business's Notable Leaders in Philanthropy! We’re proud to celebrate her impactful leadership and dedication to community.

🔗 Read more: go.mcachicago.org/gpd-crains

Scope of work: Davis oversees strategic planning and operations, leading 149 employees and managing a $20 million revenue portfolio and a 300,000-square-foot facility.Nonprofit contribution: She's advanced a people-centered strategy that improved compensation equity and institutional culture. She he...

06/02/2025

🌻 June at the MCA Chicago: Art, Music & More!

Get ready for a vibrant month at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago! Here's the lineup:

SOAR Farmers Market Returns Tomorrow! | Every Tuesday | 🕖 7 am–2 pm

June 3 | MCA Store x Ruptur Collaboration Launch | 6–8 pm

June 6 | 2025 Art Auction | 6:30–11 pm

June 12 | Screening: The Price of Everything | 10:30 am & 2:30 pm

June 14 | 21Minus | 1–6 pm

June 17 | Educator Workshop: Color Alchemy | 11 am–1 pm

June 21 | Workshop: Politics of Poetics with Solmaz Sharif | 11 am–12:30 pm

June 21 | Talk: Solmaz Sharif & Wafaa Bilal | 2–4 pm

June 24 | Tuesdays on the Terrace: Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few | 5:30–8 pm

🎟️ Tickets & Info: visit.mcachicago.org/events

05/31/2025

Our Spring sale is here! Shop exclusive apparel from our artist collaborations, exhibition-inspired designs, and so much more. Discover more at mcachicagostore.org/collections/sale

Pictured:
Brown sentrock t-shirt:
https://mcachicagostore.org/products/sentrock-x-mca-t-shirt?_pos=2&_psq=sentrock&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Nicole eisenman crane t-shirt:
https://mcachicagostore.org/products/nicole-eisenman-crane-t-shirt?_pos=1&_psq=crane-t-shirt&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Living End tote bag:
https://mcachicagostore.org/products/the-living-end-tote-bag?_pos=1&_sid=69d653d46&_ss=r

Lee Quinones x new era hat:
https://mcachicagostore.org/products/lee-quinones-x-mca-hat?_pos=2&_psq=lee-qu&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Lee Quinones x new era t-shirt:
https://mcachicagostore.org/products/lee-quinones-x-mca-t-shirt?_pos=1&_psq=lee-qu&_ss=e&_v=1.0

05/30/2025

🎧 Listen now: Our very own Deputy Director and Chief of Curatorial Affairs, Joey Orr, sat down with Bad at Sports for a candid conversation about curating, collaboration, and the evolving role of institutions in contemporary art.

Tune in to hear his insights and behind-the-scenes reflections.

🔗 go.mcachicago.org/real-joey-orr

Episode 905: The REAL Joey Orr! by Christopher Hudgens | May 29, 2025 | Podcast | 0 comments https://traffic.libsyn.com/badatsports/Bad_at_Sports_Episode_905_the_real_Joey_OrrFIN.mp3 download Live from the tailgate lounge at Chicago Architectural Biennial 6’s booth at Expo Chicago, Duncan and Ryan...

05/29/2025

Join us on June 12 for a free screening of "The Price of Everything" featuring Stefan Edlis in honor of what would have been his 100th birthday.

Learn more: go.mcachicago.org/tpoe

05/29/2025

We’re thrilled to see our Pritzker Director, Madeleine Grynsztejn, recognized by and on their prestigious Power List! 💥

“With a hotly anticipated Yoko Ono exhibition on the horizon, the MCA is set to be the talk of autumn ’25.”

Read more: go.mcachicago.org/mg-power-person

05/28/2025

Don’t forget! 🚨 Fast Passes are now available for this summer's Tuesdays on the Terrace performances. Quantities are limited—grab yours now!

🎫

Tuesdays on the Terrace 2025 Get Fast Passes Reservations for individuals and groups are limited. In the event of inclement weather, concerts are held in the Edlis Neeson Theater on the museum’s first floor. Changes are announced on the individual event page. Tuesdays on the Terrace | Rajiv Halim,...

05/28/2025

The wait is over! 🎉 Fast Passes for Tuesdays on the Terrace drop today at noon.

Fast Passes give you access to the expedited entry line, so you can catch more music, and enjoy food & drinks from Marisol.

🎶 Lineup:

Tuesdays on the Terrace 2025 Get Fast Passes Reservations for individuals and groups are limited. In the event of inclement weather, concerts are held in the Edlis Neeson Theater on the museum’s first floor. Changes are announced on the individual event page. Tuesdays on the Terrace | Rajiv Halim,...

05/27/2025

How do you illustrate a creative process? For Dieter Roth and his son Björn, it's a cacophony of paint, musical instruments, and more. As Björn explained, "this piece was like a magnet for whatever was in the studio." Made over the course of 30 years, this installation is now on view on our second floor.

05/27/2025

🎵 Get ready for Tuesdays on the Terrace! MCA Members enjoy an extra perk during our annual free concert series. Your member card gets you into the Fast Pass line for expedited entry. Not a member yet? Join or renew today and save the date for our Members’ Appreciation Night on July 22nd.

Find out more at go.mcachicago.org/join

📷: Tuesdays on the Terrace | Rajiv Halim, Anne and John Kern Terrace Garden, MCA Chicago, August 29, 2023. Photos: Shelby Ragsdale, © MCA Chicago.

05/25/2025

"City in a Garden" was mentioned in Choose Chicago's list on “How to celebrate Pride Month in Chicago.” Check it out! www.choosechicago.com/blog/special-events/how-to-celebrate-pride-in-chicago/

In Chicago, Pride is more than just a month. The city celebrates LGBTQ+ culture all year long with film festivals, art exhibits, drag shows, theatrical…

05/24/2025

From cozy hoodies to the perfect t-shirt, explore our MCA-branded apparel and accessories—now in new colors! 💜 💚 💙 Perfect for any art museum lover or proud MCA supporter. Available in-store and online: https://go.mcachicago.org/shop-mca

05/24/2025

Weekend plans? Enjoy "Pipilotti Rist: Supersubjektiv" on view now at the MCA.

Rist's video installation offers viewers a dream-like space for contemplation and curiosity.

05/23/2025

Congratulations to Candida Alvarez on her feature in The New York Times! 🎉

Her vibrant works lit up our galleries from 2022-2024 in our "Forecast Form" and "entre horizontes" exhibitions, and we’re thrilled to see her getting this incredible recognition.

We’re also honored to include her work, "Night Shade," in our 2025 Art Auction.

Read more about Alvarez's career and artistic journey: go.mcachicago.org/nytca