Hyperallergic is hosting an online member event on April 15 featuring a conversation with social justice artist and 2025 MacArthur Fellow Tonika Lewis Johnson. The event will focus on her community-driven projects, including the "Folded Map Project," and will include readings from her 2024 book, *Don’t Go: Stories of Segregation and How to Disrupt It*.
Chicago artist [Artist Name] is showcasing recycled book art at the Springfield Museum, as reported by WWLP. The exhibition features works created from repurposed books, transforming discarded materials into visual art pieces.
Marquette University held its fourth annual Student Art Exhibition on April 23, 2026, at the Lemonis Center for Student Success, featuring ten student artists each awarded a $500 stipend to create works around themes such as “Culture & Career,” “Defining Success,” “Belonging at Marquette,” and “Expanding Horizons.” The event, organized by Career Center director Courtney Hanson, included pieces by Jessica Wrobel and Salo Aristizabal, among others, and was sponsored by the Career Center, the Division of Belonging and Student Affairs, the Lemonis Center, Raynor Library, and Enterprise Mobility.
The Pharmacy Gallery and Art Space in Springfield, Illinois, is set to participate in the international Slow Art Day on April 11. This grassroots event encourages visitors to move away from the typical museum-going experience of rushing through exhibits, instead focusing deeply on a small selection of works. The Springfield location will feature concurrent exhibitions by Bob Waldmire and photographer David Schwartz, whose work will be featured on upcoming Route 66 Centennial stamps.
Chicago is experiencing a surge in "Sidewalk Joy Spots," miniature art-sharing stations modeled after the "Little Free Library" concept. These small, community-maintained boxes allow residents to exchange handmade jewelry, miniature paintings, and sculptures, effectively turning residential sidewalks into decentralized public galleries.
The Glory! Glory! art exhibition, organized by Pigment International, is currently on display to commemorate Black History Month. The showcase features a diverse array of powerful works by Black artists, including featured artist Reggie McFly, and aims to highlight the depth and resilience of Black creative expression.
The Bridge at 909 art exhibit recently held a reception in the lobby of Evanston’s City Hall, featuring a dialogue between the works of established local artist Chris Froeter and emerging Chicago artist Gabi Bozeman. Curated by Juelle Daley, the exhibition juxtaposes Froeter’s large-scale, monochromatic portraits of activists from his “Voices” series with Bozeman’s vibrant, surrealist canvases focused on young Black women. The pilot program aims to transform public municipal spaces into accessible galleries that engage passersby in their daily routines.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Sharp Museum will open “Here We Are,” an exhibition of recent bronze sculptures and paintings by nationally acclaimed sculptor and SIU alumnus Preston Jackson, on December 5, 2025. The show, running through June 26, 2026, features 17 paintings and nine sculptures, including works from Jackson’s public commissions. A separate closing reception on December 12 will highlight local artists Sue Gindlesparger and Nicki Rathert from the Oak Street Art Collective.
Hyde Park youth artists Via McEwen and Asha A. Edwards showcased their paintings at the annual Marwen Art Fair, held on October 17, 2025, at Marwen, a downtown Chicago nonprofit offering free art classes to low-income students. The exhibition featured over 400 works from more than 150 young artists. McEwen, a 16-year-old Jones College Prep student, displayed intimate scenes including a portrait with her girlfriend and a figure painting from a Marwen class. Edwards, 23, presented sunset depictions inspired by Promontory Point, reflecting her experiences in Hyde Park and Bronzeville.
The Times of Israel reports that a series of portraits titled 'Chutzpah Girls' will be showcased in art exhibits across the United States. The series features portraits of Jewish women who exemplify boldness and resilience, created by an unnamed artist or collective. The exhibits are set to tour multiple venues, bringing these empowering images to a wide American audience.
Visual artist and actress Teala Stampley has opened Creative Minds Center of the Arts in Oak Park’s Southtown District, a live/work space where mental health and art intersect. The center hosts events such as The Painted Tongue: Open Mic and Art Exhibition and Let’s Talk About It Paint and Conversation, combining art-making with licensed therapy. Stampley, who also acts in the Chicago-based drama The Chi and other productions, began painting a year and a half ago as a form of healing for her own anxiety and depression, inspired by her uncle.
The New York Times reports on a city in the southwestern United States that has transformed itself into a significant art destination. Through strategic investments in museums, galleries, and public art initiatives, the city has attracted major exhibitions, international collectors, and a growing creative community, positioning itself as an essential outpost for contemporary art beyond traditional coastal hubs.
This article features a studio visit with London-based artist Dima Rebus, offering an intimate look into his creative process, workspace, and recent works. The piece includes photographs of the studio and Rebus at work, providing insight into his artistic practice and the environment that shapes his output.
An art exhibition in southern Israel brought together religious and secular artists to process the trauma of the October 7 Hamas-led massacre. Held at the Shafir Youth Center, the event was part of the Herzog Center for Promoting Inclusive Creativity's yearlong "Creating Space" initiative, curated by Israeli designer Zohar Yerom. Works spanned movement, poetry, painting, sculpture, and video art, with interactive installations including Avivit Shaked's "The Womb" and Avital Ora Fishwait's "The Birth Room." Audience members participated by writing pre-October 7 memories and painting images of healing.
Mike Fredrickson, a Riverwest-based painter and musician, has released a new album titled *Sunken Treasure* and is showcasing his paintings at two Milwaukee venues. The album, recorded in Chicago with collaborators including drummer Dave Braun and guitarist Scott Ligon, features 13 songs blending catchy grooves with introspective lyrics. His vibrant cityscape and portrait paintings are on display at The Daily Bird and Beans and Barley through mid-May.
Art conservator Julian Baumgartner, who runs Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago, received an anonymous portrait that arrived severely damaged—folded inside a mangled parcel with substantial creases, tears, and worn-away paint. Using reversible, archival materials and meticulous attention to detail, Baumgartner painstakingly restored the neglected painting, giving it a second chance at life.
Colossal has reached a significant milestone by funding 100 K-12 classroom projects across the United States through its partnership with the nonprofit DonorsChoose. Supported by a portion of Colossal Membership fees, the initiative has contributed over $13,000 to provide essential art supplies, sketchbooks, and equipment to students. The program places a special emphasis on supporting schools in Chicago, ensuring that young learners have the tools necessary for creative expression and artistic education.
The article describes an artist's exhibition that celebrates the colors of springtime. The show is presented as a seasonal event, likely featuring vibrant, spring-themed artworks. The specific artist, venue, and location are not identifiable from the provided text due to a security verification wall that blocks access to the full article content.
Artist Auudi Dorsey's recent exhibition, 'What's Left, Never Left,' at the Jonathan Carver Moore gallery in San Francisco, focuses on Black leisure and collective joy through paintings of Lincoln Beach in New Orleans. The works, which depict Black families and community members, use a surrealist visual vernacular to archive and celebrate Southern Black experiences and the building of self-esteem.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has opened 'Dancing the Revolution: From Dancehall to Reggaetón,' a major exhibition exploring dance as a political language. It features over forty artists working across installation, video, sculpture, and sound, tracing the cultural trajectories of dancehall and reggaetón from the Caribbean diaspora to global contexts.
Expo Chicago, the city's major international art fair, has opened its 2024 edition at Navy Pier with a redesigned floor plan intended to improve visitor flow and gallery visibility. The fair features over 170 galleries from 29 countries, with a notable contingent of Chicago-based exhibitors and a special section dedicated to art from the African diaspora.
The article highlights six local art exhibitions taking place across various Chicago neighborhoods in April, moving beyond the city's major art fair. It details shows in areas like Pilsen, Logan Square, and West Town, featuring a mix of emerging and established artists working in diverse mediums.
The Village of Forest Park is launching an open call for its inaugural Earth Day recycled art exhibition, inviting local residents of all ages to submit works created from at least 75% reused or trash materials. Organized by a coalition of local groups including the Forest Park Arts Alliance and the Public Library, the showcase will feature up to 50 pieces limited to 10 inches in size, with a submission window running from April 13 to 19.
Bill Dimitroulas, a prominent restaurateur in downtown Joliet, is opening a new art gallery called Atelier Joliet Art Gallery at the corner of Clinton Street and North Chicago Street, with a grand opening scheduled for December 12. The gallery will feature fine art curated by Deanna Gibson, showcasing artist Iwona Duniec. This development comes as Dimitroulas continues to receive taxpayer-funded Business Continuity Grants from the city, including a recent request for $63,734 for his restaurant CUT 158, part of a program designed to offset losses from the Chicago Street construction project that began in May 2024.
The Daura Museum of Art at the University of Lynchburg is exhibiting works by local artists Laura Reed Howell and the late Georgia Weston Morgan through July 17. Morgan, a pioneering female painter from Lynchburg who studied in Paris and had her portrait accepted into the Paris Salon, is honored in Gallery I with a curated exhibition by museum assistant Thomas Canard. Howell’s award-winning plein air paintings are displayed in Gallery II, and she will give an artist talk on May 22.
The Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis will open a new exhibition, “Consejo Grafico Nacional: Latino Printmakers in the United States,” on May 30. The show features two printmaking portfolios created by Latin American artists from Chicago, California, New York, Texas, and Puerto Rico: “La Huella Magistral,” which pays homage to master printmakers, and “Los Americanos: Same Equals Different,” which explores cultural exchanges across the U.S.-Mexico border. The opening includes a free tour led by Sandra Fernandez, director of the Consejo Grafico Nacional, and a printmaking demonstration by artist Andy Arana Gomez.
The Field Museum in Chicago has opened 'Amerika Samoa,' an exhibition curated by Samoan artists to provide an authentic introduction to Samoan art and culture. The show highlights traditional practices such as tattooing and siapo (painted barkcloth), and features a collaborative barkcloth created during workshops with Chicago's Samoan community, museum staff, and master artists from American Samoa. The exhibition is located in the Halls of the Pacific and will run for two years.
AP Art students from Meridian High School participated in a professional curation and installation master class at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAEX). Led by curator Christina McField, the students transitioned from artists to curators, learning the technical and conceptual requirements for mounting a professional museum exhibition.
The Gallery Lake Forest has unveiled "Wax Poetic," a solo exhibition featuring the encaustic works of Deerfield-based artist Karen Ross. This marks Ross’s first solo showcase in Lake Forest, highlighting her mastery of the ancient and technically demanding medium of encaustic painting, which involves using heated beeswax and pigments. The exhibition focuses on themes of emergence and the seasonal transition of spring, drawing parallels between the natural world and the physical process of layering and revealing wax.
Brazilian conceptual artist Daniel de Paula is set to make his Expo Chicago debut with a solo presentation hosted by gallery Yehudi Hollander-Pappi. The installation features industrial thousand-liter water tanks filled with water from the San Francisco Bay, a site chosen for its symbolic and material convergence of neoliberal history and digital infrastructure. The water contains both the scattered ashes of economist Milton Friedman and chemical effluents from Silicon Valley data centers, creating a visceral link between economic theory and environmental reality.