October 2026
Conversation Piece: Rebekah Israel Cross
@ Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago
5550 S Greenwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60637
Opening Friday, October 30th, from 12:30PM - 1PM
Zombie
@ Chicago Artists Coalition
1431 W Hubbard St, Ste 201, Chicago, IL 60642
Opening Friday, October 30th, from 5PM - 8PM
On view through Thursday, December 10th
Grace Spee: The Feminine Gothic Narrative in Survival Horror
@ Chicago Gamespace
2418 W Bloomingdale Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Opening Thursday, October 29th, from 2PM - 5PM
On view through Sunday, December 20th
Samuel Schwindt: Leather: A Problem of Context
@ Robert F. DiCaprio Art Gallery at Moraine Valley Community College
9000 College Pkwy, Palos Hills, IL 60465
Opening Thursday, October 29th, from 11AM - 1PM
On view through Sunday, December 13th
Richard Deutsch and Susan Kraut: The Conversation
@ Riverside Arts Center's Freeark Gallery
32 E Quincy St, Riverside, IL 60546
Opening Sunday, October 25th, from 3PM - 6PM
On view through Saturday, November 28th
Side Yard Sounds: Kouri Hall + Velvet Penny
@ Compound Yellow
244 Lake St, Oak Park, IL 60302
Opening Saturday, October 24th, from 7PM - 9PM
The Missing Game Warden
@ Compound Yellow
244 Lake St, Oak Park, IL 60302
Opening Saturday, October 24th, from 2PM - 5 PM
On view through Saturday, December 5th
Pretty Good Fest 2026
@ Chicago Athletic Association
12 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603
Opening Saturday, October 24th, from 11am - 6PM
Pigmented: Chicago to the World A Black Fine Art Convening
@ Logan Center for the Arts, The University of Chicago
915 E 60th St, Chicago, IL 60637
Opening Friday, October 23rd, from 11:30AM - 5PM
Conversations at the Edge | An Evening with Lilli Carré
@ Gene Siskel Film Center
164 N State St, Chicago, IL 60601
Opening Thursday, October 22nd, from 6PM - 8PM
Where Are You: Two Films by Camille Billops & Maren Hassinger
@ Gallery 400
400 S Peoria St, Room 3226, Chicago, IL 60607
Opening Thursday, October 22nd, from 5:30PM - 7PM
The Aurora Film Society Presents: “After Hours”
@ The Venue
21 S Broadway Ave, Aurora, IL 60505
Opening Wednesday, October 21st, from 6:30PM - 10PM
Ronald Rael Lecture
@ Fullerton Hall, The Art Institute of Chicago
111 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603
Opening Monday, October 19th, from 6PM - 7:30PM
Minor Gestures and Grammatical Propositions, or One location of the lacunae in which sits the massive capacity for concurrent possibilities of this real: an incomplete field guide to particular subtexts of the magical as articulated in conversation with Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s concept of flesh
@ Coming Soon
3701 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60651
Opening Sunday, October 18th, from 4PM - 8PM
On view through Sunday, November 8th
Architect’s Roundtable 2026
@ Lawndale Pop-Up Spot, Chicago Sukkah Design Festival
3615 W Douglas Blvd, Chicago, IL 60623
Opening Sunday, October 18th, from 1PM - 2PM
Tangere
@ LVL3
1542 N Milwaukee Ave, Fl 3, Chicago, IL 60642
Opening Saturday, October 17th, from 6PM - 9PM
On view through Sunday, December 6th
Body – Space – Time: Movement and Coding Workshop by Codemoves
@ Elastic Arts
3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago, IL 60647
Opening Saturday, October 17th, from 2PM - 4PM
OUT IN COLOR: An Intuit Art Museum Activation with playOUT!
@ Intuit Art Museum
756 N Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL, 60642
Opening Saturday, October 17th, from 1PM - 3PM
ESS 40th Anniversary Celebration
@ Experimental Sound Studio
5925 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60660
Opening Saturday, October 17th, at 8PM
Hui-Min Tsen: After Oakenwald. A Field Guide.
@ Roman Susan at Lake Meadows
E 33rd St and S Rhodes Ave, Chicago, IL 60616
Opening Saturday, October 17th, at 11AM
Kind of Representational: Artist Talk
@ Heaven Gallery
1550 N Milwaukee Ave #2, Chicago, IL 60622
Opening Saturday, October 17th, from 12PM - 1PM
On view through Sunday, November 15th
Documentation Workshops and Open Studios
@ Evanston Art Center
1717 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201
Opening Saturday, October 17th, from 1PM - 3PM
Pleasure Power Portal: A Progressive Performance Experience – Pre Fixe Performance
@ Honey Pot Performance
Location to be disclosed upon ticket purchase
Opening Saturday, October 17th, from 7:30PM - 8:30PM
On view through Sunday, October 25th
Hui-min Tsen: After Oakenwald
@ Roman Susan at Lake Meadows
E 32nd Pl and S Rhodes Ave, Chicago IL 60616
Opening Saturday, October 17th, at 11AM
Sounding/BODY: Philomela Fragments with Terns & Ah Young Hong
@ International Museum of Surgical Science
1524 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60610
Opening Friday, October 16th, at 7PM
Hermetic: A Group Exhibition
@ Evoke Gallery
3040 N Central Ave, Chicago, IL 60634
Opening Friday, October 16th, from 6PM - 10PM
On view through Saturday, October 24th
¡TINTA ARDIENTE! : Igniting Community Through Collective Action
@ National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 W 19th St, Chicago, IL 60608
Opening Friday, October 16th, from 6PM - 8PM
On view through Sunday, February 21st
13th Annual Beautiful Souls Coffin Show
@ Pilsen Arts & Community House
1637 W 18th St, Chicago, IL 60608
Opening Friday, October 16th, from 6PM - 9PM
Curator Lecture: Mary Trent on “Cutting and Pasting a World”
@ Intuit Art Museum
756 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60642
Opening Thursday, October 15th, from 6PM - 7PM
Anthony Dunn: The Anomaly
@ Dorothea Thiel Gallery
15800 S State St, South Holland, IL 60473-1200
Opening Thursday, October 15th, from 6PM - 9PM
On view through Thursday, November 12th
Mike Rea: Post Wet
@ UIS Visual Arts Gallery
Public Affairs Center (115,) 2200 Ernest Hemingway Dr, Springfield, IL 62703
Opening Thursday, October 15th, from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
On view through Thursday, November 19th
Beyond the Covers: Gender-Affirming Pelvic Health, One Book at a Time
@ Gerber/Hart Library & Archives
6500 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60626
Opening Thursday, October 15th, from 6PM - 8PM
Alana Ferguson: Follow the Leader, Artist Talk
@ NEIU Fine Art Center Gallery
5500 N St. Louis Ave, Building E, Chicago, IL 60625
Opening Thursday, October 15th, at 12:15PM
On view through Friday, October 23rd
Jeff Kimmel and Matthew Mallinger: Drone Rodeo Chicago
@ Guild Row
3130 N Rockwell St, Chicago, IL 60618
Opening Thursday, October 15th, from 8PM - 9:30PM
Alexa Frangos: (Re)arranging, artist talk
@ Perspective Gallery
online
Opening Thursday, October 15th, at 7PM
On view through Sunday, November 1st
Professional Development: Effective Exhibition Proposals
@ Chicago Artists Coalition
1431 W Hubbard St, Suite 201 Chicago, IL 60642
Opening Wednesday, October 14th, from 6PM - 8PM
Festival del Arte Popular 2026
@ National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 W 19th St, Chicago, IL 60608
On view through Sunday, October 18th
SCA Public Program: Ei Arakawa-Nash
@ Fullerton Hall, Art Institute of Chicago
111 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603
Opening Monday, October 12th, from 6PM - 7PM
Side Yard Sounds: Scorpio Celebration
@ Compound Yellow
244 Lake St, Oak Park, IL 60302
Opening Sunday, October 11th, from 7PM - 9PM
Dorian Sylvain – Building a generation of Culture Keepers Lecture
@ Evanston Art Center
1717 Central St, Evanston, IL 60201
Opening Sunday, October 11th, from 3PM - 4:30PM
Chicago Processing Community Day 2026
@ Mana Contemporary 5th Floor
2233 S Throop St, Chicago IL 60608
Opening Sunday, October 11th, from 2PM - 6PM
Harvesting Hope
@ Lawndale Pop-Up Spot, Chicago Sukkah Design Festival
3615 W Douglas Blvd, Chicago, IL 60623
Opening Sunday, October 11th, from 1PM - 3PM
Kindred Spirits: Margaret Wharton and Betsy Odom – Free Family Day
@ Lubeznik Center for the Arts
101 W 2nd Street, Michigan City, IN 46360
Opening Sunday, October 11th, from 1 PM CT - 3 PM CT
On view through Sunday, October 25th
Cinemanita Spooky Screening: House (1977)
@ Mouse Arts and Letters Club
555 W 31st St, Chicago, IL 60616
Opening Saturday, October 10th, from 7PM - 10:30PM
Museum of What Will Have Been
@ The Labyrinth Club
3658 N Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL 60641
Opening Saturday, October 10th, from 3PM - 4PM
Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman: Domestic Disruptions Artists Talk + Closing Reception
@ Riverside Arts Center's Freeark Gallery and Sculpture Garden
32 E Quincy St, Riverside, IL 60546
Opening Saturday, October 10th, from 2PM - 5PM
On view through Saturday, October 10th
Daniel Hojnacki: Continuous Exchange
@ Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago
2233 S Throop St, 4th Floor, #419, Chicago, IL 60608
Opening Saturday, October 10th, from 1PM - 4PM
On view through Monday, November 23rd
BARELY THERE: micro art showcase
@ OAK PARK ART LEAGUE
720 Chicago Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302
Opening Saturday, October 10th, from 1PM - 3PM
On view through Sunday, December 20th
2026 Healing Arts Chicago: An Arts x Health x Wellness Summit
@ Malcolm X College
1900 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60612
Opening Saturday, October 10th, at 10:30AM
Chicago Zine Fest 2026
@ Harold Washington Library Center
400 S State St, Chicago, IL 60605
Opening Saturday, October 10th, from 11AM - 4PM
Halyna Nazarenko: Petrykivka — The Soul of Ukraine
@ Ukrainian National Museum
2249 W Superior St, Chicago, IL 60612
Opening Friday, October 9th, from 7PM - 9PM
On view through Thursday, October 22nd
Tara Sabini and Jeremy Plotkin Wong: Pleasure Spread
@ Oliva Gallery
3816 W Armitage Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Opening Friday, October 9th, from 5 PM - 9 PM
On view through Saturday, November 7th
Our Changing City: The Obama Presidential Center
@ The Block Museum of Art
40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL 60208
Opening Friday, October 9th, from 12:30PM - 2PM
The Revolution is My Boyfriend: The Films of Bruce LaBruce
@ FACETS
1517 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL 60614
On view through Saturday, October 10th
Conversations at the Edge | Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil: Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild]
@ Gene Siskel Film Center
164 N State St, Chicago, IL 60601
Opening Thursday, October 8th, from 6PM - 8PM
ID Show: Oakton Annual Art Faculty Exhibition
@ The Koehnline Museum of Art
1600 E Golf Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60016
Opening Thursday, October 8th, from 5Pm - 8PM
On view through Friday, November 20th
Mavra Offsite for APOCALYPSE DRAWINGS
@ The Theosophical Society of America
1926 N Main St, Wheaton, IL 60187
Opening Thursday, October 8th, from 1PM - 6PM
On view through Friday, November 6th
F.E.K. Draw
@ Leather Archives & Museum
6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago, IL 60626
Opening Thursday, October 8th, from 7PM - 9PM
Curator’s Tour of “Style is the Body Thinking” with Michelle Grabner
@ SAIC Galleries
33 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602
Opening Thursday, October 8th, from 12PM - 1PM
On view through Saturday, December 5th
Learn With Media Burn! Spooky Edition
@ Media Burn Archive
348 N Ashland Ave #1D, Chicago, IL 60607
Opening Thursday, October 8th, from 5PM - 7PM
Art City Showcase: An arts fundraising event
@ Art City
1400 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60642
Opening Thursday, October 8th, from 5PM - 9PM
On view through Friday, October 16th
WAITING: Stand in Solitary to protest the closure of the DePaul Art Museum
@ DePaul Art Museum
935 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL 60614
Opening Thursday, October 8th, from 5PM - 6PM
On view through Thursday, October 8th
Sound Bath meditation: BelleAime
@ Heaven Gallery
1550 N Milwaukee Ave #2 Chicago, IL 60622
Opening Wednesday, October 7th, from 7PM - 8PM
Film Screening – “Street Signs: Murals in Chicago” (1990) with filmmaker in person
@ Epiphany Center for the Arts
201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607
Opening Wednesday, October 7th, from 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Share this event Patchbent: Sonic Resonance DJ Panel
@ Experimental Sound Studio
5925 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60660
Opening Wednesday, October 7th, at 6PM
Brick of Chicago Walking Tour: Will Quam
@ The Richard H. Driehaus Museum
50 E Erie St, Chicago, IL 60611
Opening Tuesday, October 6th, from 5PM - 6:15PM
FREE FILM SCREENING: Bulky Trash
@ Goethe-Institut Chicago
150 N Michigan Ave, Suite 420, Chicago, IL 60601
Opening Monday, October 5th, at 6PM
Behind Us We Are You: An Artist Talk and Exhibition by Atlan Arceo-Witzl
@ Archer Heights Branch Library - Chicago Public Library
5055 S Archer Ave, Chicago, IL 60632
Opening Monday, October 5th, from 6PM - 7PM
On view through Saturday, October 31st
The Dylan Jones Animation Tape & Y’all So Stupid Screening
@ Mavra
5338 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago IL 60630
Opening Sunday, October 4th, from 7PM - 10PM
On view through Friday, November 6th
Northwestern University Day Fall 2026
@ Northwestern University
633 Clark St, Evanston, IL 60208
Opening Sunday, October 4th, from 11AM - 7PM
Documentation Workshops and Open Studios
@ Evanston Art Center
1717 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201
Opening Sunday, October 4th, from 10am - 12PM
Side Yard Sounds: Dan Petry & Mark Snyder
@ compound yellow
244 Lake St, Oak Park, IL 60302
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 7PM - 9PM
Panel Discussion: A DIY History of Chicago DIY
@ KIOSK, Chicago, IL
3054 N. Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, at 7PM
Diskussionsrunde: Punk Night
@ KIOSK, Chicago, IL
3054 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL 60657 USA
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 5PM - 9PM
Alexa Frangos: (Re)arranging
@ Perspective Gallery
1310 1/2 Chicago Ave, Evanston, IL 60201
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 5PM - 7PM
On view through Sunday, November 1st
Dreaming in Blue
@ Purple Window Gallery
2233 S Throop St, Unit 845, Chicago, IL 60608
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 5PM - 8PM
On view through Saturday, October 31st
Where I Sleep, Closing Reception and Special Performance
@ Forum 301
301 W Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60654
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 5PM - 8PM
On view through Saturday, October 3rd
National Portfolio Day and Saturday with SAIC
@ School of the Art Institute of Chicago
280 S Columbus Dr, Chicago, IL 60603
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 3 PM - 6 PM
On view through Sunday, October 4th
Watershed Cairns: Marking the Mississippi River Watershed: Libby Reuter and Joshua Rowan
@ Watershed Art & Ecology
1821 S Racine Ave, Chicago 60608
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 2PM - 7PM
On view through Saturday, October 31st
Liz Weinstein: Freaky Fungi
@ Edgewater Branch, Chicago Public Library
6000 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60660
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, at 1PM
Archiving Artist-Built Environments: A Conversation with Jo Farb Hernández and Debra Kerr
@ Intuit Art Museum
756 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 1 PM - 2 PM
“Drawing with Metal” Activation with Artist Bill Brady
@ Intuit Art Museum
756 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL, 60642
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 12:30 PM - 1 PM
meditation on: sculptural portals, a visual lecture by ebere agwuncha
@ Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St. Chicago, IL 60602
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 12:30PM - 2PM
The Great Art Tailgate with Bad at Sports
@ Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago — Anne & John Kern Terrace Garden
220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 11AM - 3PM
Woodstock Art Fair on the Square
@ Woodstock Square Historic District
121 W Van Buren St, Woodstock, IL 60098
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 10AM - 5PM
On view through Sunday, October 4th
AFw 2026: Xavi burgos, Black warrior angel (part one) staged reading and talkbalk
@ La Escuelita Bombera de Corazón
3505 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, at 3PM
Pleasure Power Portal: A Progressive Performance Experience – The Aperitif
@ Honey Pot Performance
Location to be disclosed upon ticket purchase
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 1PM - 4PM
On view through Sunday, October 4th
AFROFUTURIST WEEKEND 11: Mike monford j dilla tribute; RAP PANEL & J BAMBII Film
@ Elastic Arts
3429 W Diversey Ave, #208, Chicago, IL 60647
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, at 5PM
Listening to Nature Soundwalk
@ Sagawau Environmental Learning Center
12545 W 111th St, Lemont, IL 60439
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 1PM - 2:30PM
Fall Exhibition Opening
@ Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago
5550 S Greenwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60637
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 2PM - 5PM
Queer History Symposium
@ Center on Halsted
3656 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60613
Opening Saturday, October 3rd, from 9AM - 4PM
Audre Lorde: The Life, Legacy & Power of a Black Feminist Icon
@ Sisters in Cinema Media Arts Center
2310 E 75th St, Chicago, IL 60649
Opening Friday, October 2nd, at 7PM
On view through Saturday, October 3rd
Rob Mazurek: Exploding Star Orchestra: Astral Pastorales
@ Yerkes Observatory
373 W Geneva St, Williams Bay, WI 53191
Opening Friday, October 2nd, at 7:30PM
On view through Saturday, October 3rd
Annual Open House and Huge Art Exhibit at Hubbard Street Lofts
@ Hubbard Street Lofts
1821 W Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60622
Opening Friday, October 2nd, from 6PM - 10PM
Amay Kataria/Abhishek Narula/David Jones
@ Ignition project space
3839 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60651
Opening Friday, October 2nd, from 6PM - 9PM
On view through Sunday, October 25th
Black, White and Gray
@ Fulton Street Collective
1821 W Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60622
Opening Friday, October 2nd, from 6PM - 10PM
On view through Wednesday, October 28th
Something Wicked…
@ Side Street Studio Arts
15 Ziegler Court, Elgin, IL 60120
Opening Friday, October 2nd, from 6PM - 9PM
On view through Sunday, November 1st
People’s Choice Fall Exhibition
@ Hairpin Arts Center
2810 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
Opening Friday, October 2nd, from 6PM - 9:30PM
