Puerto Rican Arts Alliance: Studio Arts Program
2025-06-14 10:30 - 14:30, 2025-06-21 10:30 - 14:30, 2025-06-28 10:30 - 14:30, 2025-07-05 10:30 - 14:30, 2025-07-12 10:30 - 14:30 (America/Chicago) | IL
El Rinconcito is a free open art space for creative expression for people ages 12-25. You can meet people like you who are interested in arts, painting, drawing, printmaking, and others. El Riconcito provides a safe and welcoming studio for art making. An artist and a counselor in the studio can guide you in creative experiences, but you can opt to do your own artwork.
Join us! We provide the art supplies, and you bring your creativity.

Constructing Jathi Choreography with Harini Nilakantan
2025-06-14 13:15 - 14:15, 2025-06-21 13:15 - 14:15, 2025-06-28 13:15 - 14:15, 2025-07-05 13:15 - 14:15, 2025-07-12 13:15 - 14:15 | Kalapriya Studio, 2101 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, United States
Weekly Saturdays
1:15 – 2:15 PM
Harini Nilakantan is a student of Aacharya Choodamani Guru Smt. Roja
Kannan, and has over two decades of experience in this art form. In this 90-minute class, dancers will learn new choreography – both how to piece together combinations and increase retention with her for advanced
rhythmic patterns or Jathis.
Class focus: execution, technique, creativity, retention

‘Beyond Closure’: A Screening & Discussion
2025-06-17 08:00 - 17:00 | Kennedy-King College Theater, 740 W. 63rd Street, Chicago, 60621
Join us at Kennedy-King College for a screening of Beyond Closure (2024) and a panel discussion on community responses to Chicago’s 2013 school closures.

The documentary Beyond Closure (2024) by On The Real Film and Borderless Studio recalls the history of Chicago’s 2013 school closures—the largest mass closure in U.S. history—and shares inspirational stories of community reclamation. Join us at Kennedy-King College in Englewood for a screening and panel discussion, in partnership with Go Green on Racine.
Taking a deeper look at three schools in Austin, Bronzeville, and Englewood, Beyond Closure amplifies community voices leading the repurposing of Emmet, Woods, and Overton schools. They reflect on the local impact of these closures, the struggle to reclaim school buildings for the public good, and the intertwined inequity, racism, and injustice that led to shuttering of 50 neighborhood schools all at once, mainly in low-income communities of color.
After the film, a panel discussion will bring together architects and community developers working on “The Regenerator,” a nexus for housing, healthcare, and jobs within the former Woods Academy, to address challenges overcome in the adaptive reuse. Borderless Studio’s Paola Aguirre Serrano moderates.
Watch the trailer.

Stitching Stories: The First Thread
2025-06-18 11:00 - 2025-06-22 17:00 | 3500 S Morgan Street, 3500 S Morgan St 3F, Chicago, IL, 60609, United States
Stitching Stories: The First Thread is a pop-up exhibition that brings together Asian and Black artists whose works explore cultural exchange, storytelling, and visions of shared futures through textile arts. This exhibition marks an inaugural step toward building a coalition of artists and community members committed to cross-cultural connection and solidarity.
The project grew out of an extended planning process and a series of six community workshops, where Asian and Black artists engaged directly with participants through textile-making, storytelling, and relationship building. These collective efforts reflect a broader vision of collaboration, mutual support, and cultural exchange.
Stitching Stories is also an open invitation—for artists, organizers, and all who believe in bridging communities—to take part in deepening understanding across racial and cultural lines.
This pop-up exhibition is free with museum admission. Admission can be purchased online or at the front desk. With purchase of admissions ticket, you are able to view the pop-up exhibition as well as the three open exihibits at the Heritage Museum of Asian Art!
Organizers and Partners
Heritage Museum of Asian Art, Needles and Threads Quilters Guild, HerArt Foundation, and the Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education
Supported by Healing Illinois
Events
Opening Reception: June 14, 2–4 PM
Juneteenth Special Activation: June 19, 2–4 PM
Closing Artist Conversation: June 22, 2–4 PM

Accessibility: The museum is wheelchair accessible. Audio Description will be available for those who need it during events.

Haitian Heritage Month Konpa Sware
2025-06-19 19:00 - 23:00, 2025-07-17 19:00 - 23:00 | IL
Join the Haitian American Museum of Chicago (HAMOC) at its monthly Konpa Sware! The museum is excited to continue this immersive event which includes an evening of Haitian dance and music. Join us at Room43. Food will be available for free and the FIRST 50 GUESTS will recieve 1 FREE DRINK!
FEATURING MUSIC BY: DJ Frantz!
This is a recurring event on the Third Thursday of each month. Keep an eye out for future event registration!
* TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR*

3rd Fridays Free Admission Museum Night
2025-06-20 17:00 - 20:00 | Heritage Museum of Asian Art, 3500 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL, 60609, United States
Free Admission Museum Nights take place every third Friday of each month from 5 pm to 8 pm! The tour will start at 6 PM on time. All tours depart from the reception desk, and please be sure to arrive on time. The event offers wine and appetizers.
This Friday at 7-7:40 PM, our Resident Artist 2024 – Irene Hsiao will perform at the Heritage Museum of Asian Art as part of the project If The Sky Could Dream.
About the Tour –
Learn about Asian Art in the Heritage Museum of Asian Art with a guided hour-long tour around the gallery. Museum-trained interns and volunteers will give a talk on selected artworks. Each word is packed with fascinating insights, information, and stories. During this participatory experience, you’ll connect with works from across the collection and get a close look at highlighting artworks. Visitors of all ages are welcome.
Please note tours may be canceled or postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.
About the project –
IF THE SKY COULD DREAM focuses on the Chinese dragon as a powerful being that fosters harmony. This creature is emblematic of China as well as a mythological being for many Asian and Western cultures and thus evokes a sense of mysticism, and intrigue in many communities. Representing the Chinese Dragon as a water deity, the installation series will feature images and projections of the weather and local bodies of water in Chicago.
If The Sky Could Dream is supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant
About Irene Hsiao
Irene Hsiao creates performances in conversation with visual art in museums, galleries, and public spaces, a practice that includes site-specific interaction with visual artworks and experimental engagement with artists, institutions, and the public. Find out more through our website.
Accessibility
The Heritage Museum of Asian Art’s Entrance is on West 35th Street. Take the elevator to the third floor and turn right to the Museum Reception Desk. Accessible and standard toilets are located on the same floor. Free parking space is available next to the museum via West 35th Street.
If you have any programming questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with info@heritageasianart.org or 312-842-8884.

Stammtisch Open Haus, Every 3rd Friday
2025-06-20 19:30 - 2025-06-21 00:00 | DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, 60625, United States
Feiern Sie mit uns! Our monthly Open Haus Stammtisch is a great way to meet new friends and enjoy a little Gemütlichkeit over some delicious German food and drink!
Theme TBD
Food and drink will be available for purchase.
Free parking at 5/3 Bank after 6:00 PM located at Western and Gunnison

Kino, Kaffee und Kuchen
2025-06-21 10:30, 2025-06-28 10:30, 2025-07-05 10:30, 2025-07-12 10:30 | DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, 60625, United States
Date:
Start
Saturday, January 06, 2024
Time:
Location:
Location
DANK Haus Room 206, 2nd Floor

KINO, KAFFEE UND KUCHEN
Saturdays at the DANK Haus in Room 206
10:30 – 11:00 AM | Kaffee und Kuchen
11:00 – 12:00 PM | Vorfilm
12:00 PM | Feature Film Begins

Join us each Saturday at the DANK Haus in Fall, Winter, and Spring for Kaffee, Kuchen, und Kino. Each week guests will choose the film they want to watch
DANK Members: $5 | Non-Members: $7

Stitching Stories: The First Thread Closing Artist Conversation
2025-06-22 14:00 - 16:00 | 3500 S Morgan Street, 3500 S Morgan St 3F, Chicago, IL, 60609, United States
About this event

Event lasts 2 hours
ALL AGES
Free venue parking

Stitching Stories: The First Thread is a pop-up exhibition that brings together Asian and Black artists whose works explore cultural exchange, storytelling, and visions of shared futures through textile arts. This exhibition marks an inaugural step toward building a coalition of artists and community members committed to cross-cultural connection and solidarity.
The project grew out of an extended planning process and a series of six community workshops, where Asian and Black artists engaged directly with participants through textile-making, storytelling, and relationship building. These collective efforts reflect a broader vision of collaboration, mutual support, and cultural exchange.
Stitching Stories is also an open invitation—for artists, organizers, and all who believe in bridging communities—to take part in deepening understanding across racial and cultural lines.
This pop-up exhibition is free with museum admission. Admission can be purchased online or at the front desk
Organizers and Partners
Heritage Museum of Asian Art, Needles and Threads Quilters Guild, HerArt Foundation, and the Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education
Supported by Healing Illinois

Neighborhood Nights
2025-06-26 19:00 - 23:00 | IL
Date:
Start
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Time:
Location:
Location
DANK Haus, 6th Floor Skyline Lounge

enjoy a beverage with a spectacular EXPERIENCE in our haus
A perfect place to meet your neighbors and socialize! All proceeds support the DANK Haus Museum
WHEN
Each 2nd & 4th Thursday of the month from 7-11 PM.
Location
Winter months – Brauhaus Room (2nd floor)
Summer/Fall months – Skyline Lounge/Terrace (6th floor)
Subject to change. Be sure to check elevator signs when arriving!

Artecito in the Community: Opossums and Sculpture
2025-06-28 10:00 - 13:00 | 2214 Sacramento Ave, 2214 Sacramento Ave, Chicago, IL, 60623, United States
What makes opossums marsupials?

Join us as we explore more about Opossums with the Artecito Team!

In person at OPEN Center for the Arts!2214 S. Sacramento Ave.Chicago, IL 6062310AM-1PM, materials will be provided.____________________________________

¿Qué hace que las zarigüeyas sean consideradas marsupiales?

¡Acompáñanos mientras exploramos más sobre las zarigüeyas con el equipo de Artecito!

¡Presencialmente en OPEN Center for the Arts!2214 S. Sacramento Ave.Chicago, IL 6062310AM-1PM, se proporcionarán materiales.

What is Artecito?

Artecito is a free workshop by OPEN Center for the Arts and Lincoln Park Zoo that uses the arts to engage families with nature in ways that resonate with local holidays, culture, and wildlife. With a related art activity, workshops highlight wildlife and nature to encourage children and families to think about nature and their relationship to it in creative ways.

¿Qué es Artecito?

Artecito es un taller gratuito desarrollado por OPEN Center for the Arts y Lincoln Park Zoo que utiliza las artes para involucrar a las familias con la naturaleza de maneras que resuenan con las festividades locales, la cultura y la vida silvestre. Con una actividad artística relacionada, los talleres destacan la vida silvestre y la naturaleza para alentar a los niños y las familias a pensar sobre la naturaleza y su relación con ella de manera creativa”

Bridging The Divide: Making & Mending
2025-06-28 14:00 - 16:00 | South Asia Institute, 1925 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60616, United States
Join us for a moderated community conversation exploring how artists of South Asia and the diaspora navigate careers at the intersection of art and disability. This event invites participants into a community-building experience that highlights the resilience of artists with disabilities working in creative fields that are often not designed with accessibility in mind. Together, we will engage in critical reflection and discuss how humanities-based institutions can lead the way in fostering more inclusive and accessible spaces.
The conversation will be moderated by Anand Venkatkrishnan, an intellectual historian of South Asian religion and author of Love in the Time of Scholarship: The Bhāgavata Purāṇa in Indian Intellectual History.
Featured speakers include:
Pooja Pittie, a Chicago-based visual artist living with a progressive form of muscular dystrophy, whose work explores the tension between a slowing body and an active, curious mind.
Grishma Shah, a self-taught painter and public health professional whose experience with a physical disability inspires her art and advocacy for disability as a valued identity.
Priya Rama, an Ohio-based artist who channels chronic migraines into vivid, expressive work, encouraging creativity as a response to chronic pain and stress.
ASL interpretation and online participation options will be available. Please RSVP to receive a zoom link morning of the event. Mask-wearing is strongly encouraged in person.
This program is supported by a Healing IL grant from the Field Foundation and Illinois Humanities.

Courage of a Nation
2025-07-02 11:00 - 2025-09-07 16:00 | 2249 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60612, 2249 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL, 60612, United States
For the first time in the United States, the photo exhibition Courage of a Nation by Howard G. Buffett will be open to the public in Chicago.
The extraordinary photo exhibition Courage of a Nation, by Howard G. Buffett, Ukraine’s largest private donor, will be on display at the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago from July 2 to September 7, 2025. Following its museum debut, the exhibition will relocate to a downtown Chicago location, where it will remain on view for several months, offering the public insights into three years of documentation of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Mr. Buffett’s visual journey.
The photo exhibition is a selection of images that show the courage, resiliency, and commitment of the Ukrainian people as they stand strong for democracy and freedom, taken by Howard G. Buffett, photographer and chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The images were taken between April 2022 and January 2025, including more than 63 days along the front lines.
Mr. Buffett crossed the border into Ukraine, camera in hand, about six weeks after Russia began its February 2022 full-scale invasion. Since then, Mr. Buffett has made more than 20 trips to Ukraine, including trips to Bucha, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson, Vuhledar, Slovyansk, and Bakhmut.
“I want to thank the hundreds of Ukrainians from all walks of life I have met over the past three years who have so generously allowed me to take these images and tell their stories. I am regularly awed by their courage and resiliency–on the front lines, on the home front, and everywhere in between. I have had incredible support from many people, and I have been embraced by individuals who have lost everything they have, including, in some cases, their families. I hope this exhibit allows you to join me to bear witness to their struggle, recognize their courage, and offer our collective support as Ukrainians continue to fight for their freedoms.” Said Howard G. Buffett.
The exhibition is curated by the world-renowned photographer and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and changemaker, Muhammed Muheisen.
“I am honoured to be the curator of this powerful and moving photo exhibition by my friend Howard, captured with both his heart and camera. It takes courage to capture courage in a single moment in time. This photo exhibition is all about courage, the courageous people seen in the photographs, and the courage of the photographer who captured the photographs.” Said Muhammed Muheisen.

Constructing Ecological Landscapes: Ukraine Webinar
2025-07-10 08:00 - 17:00 | Virtual, Chicago, IL, United States
Join us for a virtual discussion for the closing of the exhibition Constructing Hope: Ukraine. This program is hosted in collaboration with the exhibition Constructing Hope: Ukraine which is currently on view at the CAC through September 1, 2025.
This panel, the closing event of the public programming for the Constructing Hope: Ukraine exhibition, will feature speakers Asia Bazdyrieva and Darya Tsymbalyuk, whose research and creative practices engage with the environmental, cultural and political dimensions of war and recovery in Ukraine.
In dialogue with the exhibition, the conversation will explore how both natural and built landscapes are shaped by imperial histories, extractive infrastructures, and ongoing ecological violence. It will also reflect on the role of cultural knowledge, grassroots recovery and interdisciplinary research in shaping resistance and imagining more just and resilient futures.
The event will include presentations by the speakers, followed by a conversation with exhibition curators Betty Roytburd, Ashley Bigham, and Sasha Topolnytska, and conclude with an audience Q&A.

Divine Love (Online)
2025-07-10 18:00 - 19:00 | IL
Join us for a panel discussion at the intersection of romance and religion!
Three writers of romance—Sajni Patel, Scarlett St. Clair, and Helene Wecker—talk about incorporating religion into their work in the genre, retelling myth and tradition, and dealing honestly with their characters’ spiritual beliefs.
This is the livestream of an in person program at the American Writers Museum. When you register for this event, you will receive access to the livestream link. If you would like to attend the program in person at the AWM, get your tickets here.
This program is presented in conjunction with the AWM’s forthcoming special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture, opening November 2025. American Prophets is supported by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative.

Neighborhood Nights
2025-07-10 19:00 - 23:00 | DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, 60625, United States

LEGO & Libations with a Tour of the Wild Mile
2025-07-17 17:30 - 19:00 | Wild Mile, 905 W Eastman St, Chicago, 60642
Join us for a very special adult LEGO workshop that includes a tour of The Wild Mile along the Chicago River and then partake in a hands-on LEGO & Libations workshop.
Bring a friend, grab a drink and enjoy a hands-on workshop where you’ll think like a designer and bring your special nature-focused LEGO creation to life. All LEGO materials will be provided. One workshop registration includes one (1) draft beer ticket and one (1) pass for a future visit to the CAC.
Hosted by the CAC, Urban Rivers and Off Color Brewing, this unique workshop combines nature, libations and LEGO in a fun and engaging way.
The Wild Mile is the flagship project of nonprofit Urban Rivers. It is a floating ecopark that takes a wildlife-first approach to public greenspace. Off Color Brewing is an American craft beer brewery and was founded to focus on brewing forgotten styles of beer.
The Wild Mile is ADA-accessible, and participants should be prepared to walk and stand for about half an hour along the river.
The program begins with a tour of the Wild Mild and ends at Off Color Brewing Taproom The Mousetrap.
Meeting point: The Wild Mile, 905 W Eastman St, Chicago, IL 60642
End point: Off Color Brewing Taproom The Mousetrap, 1460 N Kingsbury St, Chicago, IL 60642
The CAC firmly believes that everyone should have the opportunity to discover why design matters. Should the registration fee be a barrier to your participation in this program, we invite you to please contact us at CACLearning@architecture.org to apply for a partial or full scholarship.

11th Annual National Gathering of American Indian Veterans: Stories Told and Untold
2025-07-18 16:00 - 2025-07-19 20:00 | IL
Cost: Free

Event day: July 18-19, 2025

Event address: Trickster Cultural Center, 190 S Roselle Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60193

Website: https://www.tricksterculturalcenter.org

The National Gathering of American Indian Veterans event honors veterans and military personnel of all cultures, eras and branches in a Native Way that is open to all. This is a 2-day event that is held from Friday, July 18th to Saturday, July 19th. This event is free and open to the public.
