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Evanston, The North Shore, Northern, Western and Southern Suburbs

Suburbs

Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, Rogers Park

North Side

Michigan Avenue, Streeterville, The Gold Coast, The Loop, and South Loop

Michigan Avenue

Pilsen, Bridgeport, Chinatown, plus Hyde Park, Jackson Park/Dorchester, and Bronzeville

South Side

Superior and Franklin streets, West Chicago Ave, and down to Merchandise Mart and the River

River North

Join us Tuesday, April 15th at 1pm in the Belushi Auditorium for a special lecture by visiting artist ANDI CRIST. Andi Crist's sculptural practice is deeply influenced by her career as a professional art handler and fabricator. She works with a diverse range of media, including woodworking, ceramics, leather craft, and mold-making/casting, to explore the various roles and representations of the artist as a worker. By pairing humor and skepticism with traditional craft techniques, she critically examines the value systems within the arts economy and the underlying structures that sustain them, such as language, architecture, and social economics. The interplay of absurdity and utility in her work challenges intellectualism, reflecting a serious dedication to craftsmanship and a belief that being a “master of none is better than a master of one.” Grounded in real-world iterations, her work navigates the blurry boundaries and integral relationships between work, play, and practice. With a keen sense of self-awareness and a sardonic approach to the gallery as a neutral place, her practice incites critical examinations of contemporary industrialized studio practices. In doing so, she fosters a dialogue that questions and redefines traditional art values while acknowledging the architectural frameworks that shape creative labor. Crist was just named a Breakout Artist for 2025 by New City magazine. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Visiting Artist Lecture: Andi Crist

Join us for&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=5d41995cfd&amp;e=7d7a84135f" target="_blank">a conversation and making activity with Pooja Pittie</a>, a self-taught painter and fiber artist based in Chicago. Access Praxis is an annual event that brings ideas about disability culture into reality.

Access Praxis: Pooja Pittie

Mariane Ibrahim is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition in Chicago by artist duo Mwangi Hutter, entitled&nbsp;You Begin to See the Signs. The show will be on view from March 4 to April 16, 2025, and will mark the artists' third solo exhibition with the gallery and first in Chicago.&nbsp;The exhibition will be on view in tandem with the group exhibition&nbsp;Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica&nbsp;at the Art Institute Chicago, which includes&nbsp;Static Drift&nbsp;(2001),&nbsp;part of the museum's permanent collection.&nbsp; <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://marianeibrahim.com/exhibitions/93-mwangi-hutter-you-begin-to-see-the-signs/overview/" target="_blank">Details</a>

Mwangi Hutter: You Begin to See the Signs

American Art, Wed., Apr. 16, 2025, 5&nbsp;– 7 p.m.&nbsp;&nbsp;Heritage Auctions, 312-260-7200, 222 W. Hubbard St., Chicago, IL&nbsp;60654&nbsp;Also available to view April 14-15, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.&nbsp;Free and Open to All&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://forms.monday.com/forms/02fb46969a26dbd8f551811f742e4307?r=use1" target="_blank">Register Here</a> &nbsp;Join&nbsp;Heritage Auctions for a guided tour of highlights from the remarkable <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://fineart.ha.com/c/search/results.zx?dept=1544&amp;mode=live&amp;auction_name=8200&amp;type=surl-8200" target="_blank">American Art Signature Auction</a> to take place on May 16. Iconic <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://fineart.ha.com/c/search/results.zx?dept=1544&amp;mode=live&amp;auction_name=8221&amp;type=surl-8221" target="_blank">Property</a>&nbsp;from the Boy Scouts of America Settlement Trust will also be presented. From Ernie Barnes to Norman Rockwell, enjoy these impressive, large-scale American classics and masterworks and the stories behind them before the gavel strikes!&nbsp;&nbsp; Image Caption: Cross section,&nbsp;Ernie Barnes (American, 1938-2009),&nbsp;Hold the Pocket,&nbsp;1982,&nbsp;Acrylic on canvas,&nbsp;36 x 60 inches (91.4 x 152.4 cm)

American Art Highlights Guided Tour

Spring Fine Jewelry &amp; Fabergé&nbsp;Jewelry&nbsp;Wed., Apr. 16, 2025, 5&nbsp;– 7 p.m.&nbsp;Heritage Auctions, 312-260-7200, 222 W. Hubbard St., Chicago, IL&nbsp;60654 Free and Open to All&nbsp;<a style="color: black;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://forms.monday.com/forms/1f20d819e0e2b4e95794f4974b92cad2?r=use1" target="_blank">Register Here</a>&nbsp;Join us at Heritage Auctions for&nbsp;a&nbsp;stunning Spring Fine Jewelry Preview&nbsp;Reception,&nbsp;including masterpieces from&nbsp;Imperial Fabergé showcasing the&nbsp;dazzling accomplishments of&nbsp;the&nbsp;craft.&nbsp;Guests can visit with&nbsp;Heritage's Chicago-based&nbsp;fine jewelry&nbsp;specialist, Jamie Henderson,&nbsp;to learn more about&nbsp;this exciting collection, from delicate Cartier enamel works&nbsp;and&nbsp;JAR earrings to iconic Raymond Yard&nbsp;and David Webb&nbsp;pieces.&nbsp;The event highlights Heritage Auctions’ May 5 <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://jewelry.ha.com/c/search/results.zx?dept=2676&amp;mode=live&amp;auction_name=5568&amp;type=surl-5568" target="_blank">Spring Fine Jewelry Signature Auction</a>&nbsp;and May 13&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://fineart.ha.com/c/search/results.zx?dept=1544&amp;mode=live&amp;auction_name=8216&amp;type=surl-8216" target="_blank">Imperial Fabergé &amp; Russian Works of Art Signature Auction</a> Image Caption:&nbsp;Rabbit Waiter&nbsp;by Scoot West for Raymond Yard. Argyle Pink Diamond, Diamond, Multi-Stone, Enamel, Platinum, Rose Gold Brooch.

Spring Fine Jewelry & Fabergé Jewelry

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://hindmanauctions.com/auctions/6311-watches?page=1&amp;per=48&amp;tab=overview" target="_blank">Details</a> Apr 17, 2025&nbsp;10:00AM CT Live / Chicago

Watches

The Real and Imagined:&nbsp;Evanston's Perspective Gallery's April 2025 Exhibition.&nbsp;&nbsp;Steve Geer&nbsp;presents On Chicago Streets, a group of 11 images of interactions between people and their environment on the streets of Chicago. These photographs do not feature special occasions or grand newsworthy events but show snippets of everyday life, scenes that are familiar and that we can identify with. As viewers we become like the photographer, flaneurs. We empathize with the strangers shown in the photographs and try to imagine ourselves in their shoes. Since the images present familiar interactions between people, they ultimately are about human nature and hence about us, the audience. Anthony Iacuzzi's&nbsp;exhibition of AI-augmented photography is titled Imaginings: Exploring the Intersection of Human and Machine. This exhibition presents a series of 15 diptychs, each juxtaposing an original photograph with its AI-augmented counterpart. The project delves into the evolving relationship between human creativity and artificial intelligence, exploring how these technologies can both enhance and challenge our perceptions of reality.By employing AI prompts and other tools within Photoshop, the artist has invited the "machine" to reimagine the visual world, offering unexpected interpretations and unforeseen aesthetic possibilities. The results are a blend of the familiar and the fantastical, where recognizable scenes are transformed by the software algorithm and the imagination of the artist.This exhibition invites viewers to contemplate the role of the artist in the age of AI. Is the human touch diminished or amplified by this collaboration? How do these augmented images challenge our understanding of authenticity and authorship?

Artists' Talk: Steve Geer and Anthony Iacuzzi

Free&nbsp;with registration.&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://iicchicago.esteri.it/en/gli_eventi/calendario/film-io-capitano-by-matteo-garrone/" target="_blank">Register</a>The Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago and the Block Cinema present a screening of the movie&nbsp;Io Capitano&nbsp;by Matteo Garrone (2023). The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with with Professors&nbsp;Domietta Torlasco&nbsp;and&nbsp;Massimiliano Delfino&nbsp;of Northwestern University, and Professor&nbsp;Federico Faloppa&nbsp;of the University of Reading.In this acclaimed film which won top directing and acting prizes at the Venice Film Festival, writer-director Garrone presents a “reverse shot” of the immigration experience while unfurling an epic, cinematographically magnificent odyssey from West Africa to Italy. The story is told through the mind’s eye and experiences of two Senegalese teenagers living in Dakar who yearn for a brighter future in Europe. Yet between their dreams and reality lies a treacherous journey through a labyrinth of checkpoints, the scorched Saharan desert, a fetid North African prison and the vast waters of the Mediterranean where thousands have died packed inside vessels barely fit for passage.“A grand, honestly felt emotional sweep… Garrone’s most robust, purely satisfying filmmaking since his international breakthrough with&nbsp;Gomorrah&nbsp;15 years ago'” -Variety

Io Capitano by Matteo Garrone

Join us for an electrifying evening at Bridgeport Art Center's Monthly Open Studios, where creativity knows no bounds. Immerse yourself in a vibrant creative ecosystem where artists, designers, and innovators converge to showcase their latest works, ongoing projects, and groundbreaking processes. Walk through multiple studios, engage directly with talented professionals, and experience the dynamic artistic energy that makes our community truly unique. <a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://bridgeportart.acemlnb.com/lt.php?x=3DZy~GDMV6Gh65F5zADMgRVw2nNSut~wj~hhjqTHI3Gi7p37zEy.zuFy2I2iitY~ju5AXHbFJk" target="_blank">RSVP - FREE EVENT</a>21+ for Alcohol Consumption

Open Studios

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://potterauctions.com/auctions/upcoming" target="_blank">Celestial &amp; Terrestrial Exploration</a> April 18, 2025 This auction will feature fine books and documents regarding human exploration of the land, sea, and sky. Chronicles of and relics from polar, north American, European journeys of the last three hundred years, as well as other areas of exploration will cross the block, alongside books and ephemeral objects related to American and Russian space exploration.

Celestial & Terrestrial Exploration

Fri, Apr 18, 7pm, Swift Hall, 3rd&nbsp;Floor, 1025 E 58th&nbsp;St.&nbsp;On the occasion of Wakaliga Uganda's exhibition at the Renaissance Society, join us for an expansive discussion with novelist and scholar Akin Adesokan and other participants to be announced. In his multidisciplinary work, Adesokan has explored conceptual patterns in Nollywood and African cinema and the cultural consequences of globalization, among many other subjects. While reflecting on Wakaliga Uganda's movies and methods, this evening program considers the Kampala-based film collective’s work in relation to larger movements in African cinema and grassroots filmmaking.Visit&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://renaissancesociety.org/" target="_blank">renaissancesociety.org</a>&nbsp;for more information.

Discussion: Grassroots Filmmaking and African Cinema

An exorcism in theater,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=286f74e1c9&amp;e=7d7a84135f" target="_blank">KLII</a>&nbsp;explores the nature of evil and what is required to unroot the legacies of catastrophic events. <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=c571ec463a&amp;e=7d7a84135f" target="_blank">Buy Tickets</a>

Kaneza Schaal, KLII

The Art Center Highland Park hosts students from twelve Chicago area high schools as part of the Central Suburban League (CSL) Student Exhibition. Forty VHHS students’ artwork will be displayed at the Art Center to celebrate their creations from this school year. The CSL Student Art Exhibition seeks to unify the CSL schools through the visual arts in this celebration of a select amount of student work representing each school’s Visual Art program. Artwork is also featured from Deerfield, Highland Park, Evanston, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Maine East, Maine South, Maine West, New Trier, Niles North, and Niles West high schools.

Central Suburban League Student Art Exhibition

The Kim Storage Gallery is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition&nbsp;Connections&nbsp;featuring&nbsp;Chicago&nbsp;Artist Jordan Scott.&nbsp; Closing Reception: Friday, April 11 from 5 to 9PM (Gallery Night MKE)Artist Talk: Saturday, April 12 starting at 1PM (Gallery Day) Elements, Used U.S. postage stamps and resin on canvas, diptych, 36 x 36"

Jordan Scott: Connections

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to announce our 2025 Earth Day Family Arts &amp; Crafts event on&nbsp;Saturday, April 19, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Join us for an afternoon of creativity and fun, where guests of all ages can engage in hands-on activities celebrating the beauty of nature. Paint and decorate your flower pots, take home seeds to plant, enjoy lively music, and explore other eco-friendly crafts. This event is the perfect opportunity to celebrate Earth Day and explore your creativity. While this event is free, we encourage families to&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/earth-day-family-arts-crafts-tickets-1284287802389?aff=oddtdtcreator" target="_blank">RSVP</a>&nbsp;in advance to help us plan for the best experience possible. <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/earth-day-family-arts-crafts-tickets-1284287802389?aff=oddtdtcreator" target="_blank">Click here to RSVP</a> We can’t wait to see you there and share an evening of creativity and fun!

2025 Earth Day Family Arts & Crafts

Patterns in Nature: Painting a Multi Panel CompositionSaturdays, April 12 &amp; 19, 1-4pmAdults &amp; Teens (Ages 15+)Fee:&nbsp;$108 Explore composition style and learn to edit your work to create stunning artwork based on natural patterns. This class will entail drawing from nature, and will explore ways to abstract these compositions into multiple studies.&nbsp;Known for his graphic compositions utilizing silhouettes and organic patterning, artist Jason Watts will instruct on processes including ways to begin a painting and how to deconstruct and rearrange one’s thoughts to make a painting dynamic and contemporary.&nbsp;The final artwork will be suitable for display as a multiple-panel composition. Painting experience is helpful but not necessary. Members receive 15% off art classes!&nbsp;Want to become a member?&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 153);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org/support/membership/" target="_blank">Visit our website</a>&nbsp;to learn more and register! Contact&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 153);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://eam-shop.myshopify.com/admin/products/membership@elmhurstartmuseum.org" target="_blank">membership@elmhurstartmuseum.org</a>&nbsp;or call 630-834-0202 for your Member discount code to receive 15% off at checkout. For questions call 630-834-0202 or email&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 153);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:education@elmhurstartmuseum.org" target="_blank">education@elmhurstartmuseum.org</a>Refunds will not be accepted within 48 hrs of the start of this program. $12 administration fee is charged for all refunds requests before 48 hrs of the start of this program. No refund or credit will be provided for time that a student may miss.

Patterns in Nature: Painting a Multi Panel Composition

Tickets $20: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1312783925059?aff=oddtdtcreator" target="_blank">https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1312783925059?aff=oddtdtcreator</a>In this workshop, Hannah will guide participants through an improvisational movement exploration responding to the artwork on view in Echo Mutation. Participants will embody some of the visual qualities present in the works, as well as uncover a physical language that teeters between intuitive and conscious processing. This workshop is open to all movement-curious people ages 16 and up; please wear shoes that&nbsp;you can comfortably move in on concrete.&nbsp;Hannah Marcus is a Chicago-based dance artist interested in supporting and deconstructing the materiality of the body. Her research finds form in collaborative performance work, often exploring the nexus between movement and visual design, sound, technology, and language. Hannah has presented work independently through the LookOut Series at Steppenwolf 1700 Theater, DePaul Art Museum, Jello Performance Series at Elastic Arts, Lumber Studios, MOMENTA Dance Company, The Place (London), and University of Michigan Museum of Art. She has performed in exhibitions by Chris Reeves, Makayla Lindsay, and Ray Madrigal in addition to dance work by Maggie Vannucci, Amalia Raye Wiatr Lewis, Noelle Kayser, Rosie Herrera, Russell Lepley, Shay Kuebler, and Shannon Gillen. Hannah holds a BFA in dance with a minor in Performing Arts Management &amp; Entrepreneurship from the University of Michigan. Upon moving back to Chicago in 2021, she started working with House of DOV and Hedwig Dances, the latter of which brought her to Dessau, Germany, for Bauhaus Fest. Hannah currently freelances on projects directed by Drew Lewis &amp; Helen Lee, facilitates improvisation workshops with experimental&nbsp;musicians, and is working on an ongoing&nbsp;project with support from the Bridge Program at Hyde Park Art Center.&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.hannah-marcus.com/" target="_blank">www.hannah-marcus.com</a>

Creative Movement with Hannah Marcus

At RAM’s Wustum Museum Now in its 58th year,&nbsp;Watercolor Wisconsin&nbsp;was started in 1966 to honor the depth and breadth of watercolor in the state. This year’s exhibition features 80 works by 69 artists from across Wisconsin. Jurors Tony Armendariz and Shelley Gilchrist considered 200 pieces submitted by 116 artists and curated the works seen in the 2024 exhibition. Armendariz is a contemporary realist artist living and painting in Palatine, Illinois. His work focuses on figurative subjects rendered in watercolor. Armendariz has won numerous awards in regional and national competitions and has exhibited his work in many group and solo exhibitions. Armendariz is a signature member of many national societies, including the American Watercolor Society and the Illinois Watercolor Society, where he also served as director. Gilchrist is an award-winning abstract artist based in Evanston, Illinois, working in two and three dimensions in a variety of media, including acrylic. In 2006, her work turned toward abstraction when she began to shape her painting surfaces and explore line and color in her designs. Gilchrist has juried shows at Woman Made Gallery and ARC Gallery in Chicago. She is a member of Chicago Sculpture International and the founder of FUSEDChicago, a professional group for artists using encaustic. Similar to previous years, Executive Director and Curator of Collections Bruce W. Pepich used memorial purchase award funds to obtain four works from this exhibition for RAM’s collection holdings. Thanks to generous donors over the years, and the ability to use specified funds to acquire work, RAM can count almost 600 watercolors as part of its works on paper collection.

Watercolor Wisconsin 2024

Tickets $10: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1312789682279?aff=oddtdtcreator" target="_blank">https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1312789682279?aff=oddtdtcreator</a>Using the pieces in the Chicago Grand Gallery as catalysts for inspiration, participants in this workshop will develop&nbsp;a streamlined process for interpreting&nbsp;external stimuli and responding clearly in a unique artistic voice. The evening will help build muscle for improvisation, articulation, and curiosity. Bring your own instruments!D Jean-Baptiste is an artist experimenting with sounds sourced primarily from the body, violin, electronics, and voice. They’ve composed and choreographed for Elastic Arts’ 16-channel CLEAT system, written and recorded an immersive audio collage piece titled&nbsp;Halve, and traveled the country, sharing their solo explorations with attentive audiences. As collaborator, they’ve played with and/or recorded for several groups/artists and currently front their own band: Fruitleather.&nbsp;

Musical Improv with Dani Jean-Baptiste

European Furniture and Decorative Arts <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://hindmanauctions.com/auctions/6334-european-furniture-and-decorative-arts?page=1&amp;per=48&amp;tab=overview" target="_blank">Details</a> Apr 22, 2025&nbsp;10:00AM CT Live / Chicago

European Furniture and Decorative Arts

A new show at the Kavanagh Gallery opens on March 27. It features art from 27 artists, many of them local. Items were required to meet a 16" x 16" or 16" x 16" x 16" display size to be included.&nbsp;Join us on Thursday, March 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. for our show opening. It will include talks by some of the artists attending and awards.

Does it Fit?

Yasmin Spiro leads an exhibition tour as part of EXPO Chicago’s South Side Night.

Artist-led Exhibition Tour

Offered three times a year and dedicated to the most influential and important designs of the 20th century,&nbsp;Design&nbsp;celebrates visionary creators from across the globe. From iconic standards to one-of-a-kind works, this highly vetted sale brings together the quality craftsmanship and ambitious vision that defined the past 100 years and continues to shape the way we live today. <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.wright20.com/design" target="_blank">Details</a>

Design Auction

An Evening to Benefit the Renaissance Society at Vertiport Chicago.<a style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://renaissancesociety.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=28258b64874e626df0979c0de&amp;id=b3b0bdca19&amp;e=375d06b725" target="_blank">BUY A TABLE, TICKETS, OR MAKE A FULLY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION</a> RenBen is the Renaissance Society’s annual gala which raises a significant portion of the museum’s annual budget, enabling new artistic commissions, scholarly discourse, and lasting publications. RenBen is aligned with EXPO ART WEEK.The 2025 edition is shaped by the vision of Meriem Bennani. Known for her sharp humor, resourcefulness, and ability to blend the absurd with the deeply human, Bennani is the latest artist to lead the Renaissance Society’s tradition of artist-conceived galas, following the bold propositions of Piero Golia (2022), Adam Linder (2023), and Kevin Beasley (2024). This year, Bennani’s playful yet incisive approach will transform Vertiport Chicago—a working commercial helicopter facility—into an unexpected gathering space.Please contact Polina Kasian, Associate Director of Development or Joshi Radin Flores, Senior Development Manager, for more information or to secure your table today.

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