Rec
My recommendation if youāre looking to start going to openings is to sign up for gallery newsletters and plot out who has overlapping art openings (usually on first Fridayās). Organize your gallery-hopping by neighborhood! Grab a friend, plot where youāll get snacks along the way.
West Town / Noble Square: Western Exhibitions Patron Document Paris London Hong Kong Volume ENGAGE projects Rhona Hoffman Andrew Rafacz Monique Meloche Mickey
West Loop / Fulton Market: Corbett v Dempsey Chicago Artists Coalition Kavi Gupta Anthony Gallery Arts of Life Gray
Humboldt Park / Garfield Park: Tusk Patient Info Goldfinch Julius Caesar
Pilsen / McKinley Park: Tiger Strikes Asteroid / MANA Prairie Produce Model
University Galleries (go for BFA and MFA shows!): DPAM Gallery 400 Logan Center for the Arts Renaissance Society Block Museum SAIC galleries
West Town / Noble Square: Western Exhibitions Patron Document Paris London Hong Kong Volume ENGAGE projects Rhona Hoffman Andrew Rafacz Monique Meloche Mickey
West Loop / Fulton Market: Corbett v Dempsey Chicago Artists Coalition Kavi Gupta Anthony Gallery Arts of Life Gray
Humboldt Park / Garfield Park: Tusk Patient Info Goldfinch Julius Caesar
Pilsen / McKinley Park: Tiger Strikes Asteroid / MANA Prairie Produce Model
University Galleries (go for BFA and MFA shows!): DPAM Gallery 400 Logan Center for the Arts Renaissance Society Block Museum SAIC galleries
Feb 15, 2025
Related Recs
Rec
šObv depends on the dates your here. It's easier to mention stuff for a visit, because when you actually move, recommendations will def depend on where you're at. (Like as an example -Everyone could give you a bunch of great Pilsen or Logan things to do, all of which will hold less value if you're living way up the Red Line.)
Jul 1, 2025
Rec
Located at the intersection of Western and Cermak in Chicago, the Western Pole is a makeshift rotating exhibition space on a city-owned light pole. Itās run by the artist and curator Jesse Malmed and is one of the single most delightful things in my life. I get to walk by it on my commute to the train and see the exhibitions change at a seemingly random cadence. Theyāre usually poster-based in format but Iāve seen a very cool sculpture of a birdhouse affixed to the pole and sometimes the work is interactive, using phone numbers, QR codes, and even links to artistās Venmoās. Iām aching to know how artists are picked and what the general āinfrastructureā of running the pole is. But also, Iām addicted to the mystery and in love with the reclamation of The Commons.
Chicago has a gorgeous and historied community of alternative art spaces, including an ecosystem of apartment galleries and non-traditional exhibition spaces. We have Barely Fair, a miniature art fair with tiny booths. Thereās a gallery run out of someoneās purse and a now-closed space that existed inside of someoneās medicine cabinet! One curator commissioned artists to make earrings and used her earlobes and neck as an exhibition space. Iām even in on it. My husband and I ran Curb Appeal Gallery out of our living room for a year and a half!
I guess what Iām trying to say is, be scrappy, be nimble, and be creative. You want to do a show, build up your artist CV, get into curatorial work? Make the spaces you want to be within. They can be as simple as a city light pole.
Chicago has a gorgeous and historied community of alternative art spaces, including an ecosystem of apartment galleries and non-traditional exhibition spaces. We have Barely Fair, a miniature art fair with tiny booths. Thereās a gallery run out of someoneās purse and a now-closed space that existed inside of someoneās medicine cabinet! One curator commissioned artists to make earrings and used her earlobes and neck as an exhibition space. Iām even in on it. My husband and I ran Curb Appeal Gallery out of our living room for a year and a half!
I guess what Iām trying to say is, be scrappy, be nimble, and be creative. You want to do a show, build up your artist CV, get into curatorial work? Make the spaces you want to be within. They can be as simple as a city light pole.
Feb 25, 2025
Rec
šDef can depend on where youāre staying, but these are kinda all over the place things Iād say are good
Art Institute is def one of the top galleries in the world. If youāre an art person itās a 100 you wanna do it.
If you want a deeper cut art museum-Wrightwood 659(even people who live here donāt rep it enough.)
People talk about the hot dogs(Devil Dawgs is the one I usually have), but the Polish Sausage at Jimās Original is very much its own distinct vibe.
Fancyish vibes - Monteverde(Italian hard to get rez for but good) Kumiko(itās in the top 25 bars in the world for a reason but also not fussy)
Day 2 Day vibes - Delilahās, Goose Island(you said beer itās at least local), Ming Hin(Chinatown locale), Charleston(gotta get at least one corner/residential bar in)
Fancyish vibes - Monteverde(Italian hard to get rez for but good) Kumiko(itās in the top 25 bars in the world for a reason but also not fussy)
Day 2 Day vibes - Delilahās, Goose Island(you said beer itās at least local), Ming Hin(Chinatown locale), Charleston(gotta get at least one corner/residential bar in)
Jun 1, 2024
Top Recs from @salad_valet
Rec
iāve been trying to articulate why i enjoy this space so much. yes, the UX is reminiscent of Tumblr and the early days of the internet. and thereās genuine sincerity and vulnerability on here that makes it feel really cozy and real, which i havenāt felt online in at least a decade.
but i think whatās undergirding my love of this space is how anti-capitalist it feels. most of the recs everyone shares are vibe-checks, quality of life shifts, meditations and offers, music and movies, just plain good art. i donāt feel compelled to buy anything when i come here. i feel excited and pumped to be a cheerleader, find connection, find common ground. and FWIW the recs iāve shared that have gotten the most traction are my suggestions for leading a less capitalistic / consumerist life (quitting Amazon, getting off of Spotify, building community to take care of you and your things).
all of this is to say, i love it here and i love you guys.
but i think whatās undergirding my love of this space is how anti-capitalist it feels. most of the recs everyone shares are vibe-checks, quality of life shifts, meditations and offers, music and movies, just plain good art. i donāt feel compelled to buy anything when i come here. i feel excited and pumped to be a cheerleader, find connection, find common ground. and FWIW the recs iāve shared that have gotten the most traction are my suggestions for leading a less capitalistic / consumerist life (quitting Amazon, getting off of Spotify, building community to take care of you and your things).
all of this is to say, i love it here and i love you guys.
Feb 7, 2025
Rec
hear me outāthis one might feel impossible, but i quit purchasing items on Amazon in 2018 and cancelled my GoodReads account shortly after.
i did some serious reflection and realized iād become super reliant upon, and frankly, quite used to the instant gratification of purchasing something and knowing iād have it within a day. thatās not normal. the labor practices, economics, and environmental impacts of getting what you want from the internet delivered quickly and right to your door are skewed. i was filling a void in myself with mindless purchases.
iām aware that they service a huge swath of the internet (Amazon Web Services), own Whole Foods and Abe Books, and will likely take over more businesses we like and rely on. weaning off and avoiding entirely is very very hard, but it can also be a measured decision. that said, i know that it is a privilege to abstain from Amazon. i am able bodied, i donāt have kids, i have access to a car, i live in an urban environment with access to a lot of stuff at my fingertips. but making the choice to break out of the Amazon loop has ultimately been better for my pocketbook and better for my relationship to these mega-tech-companies that have their fingers in everything.
in contrast, iām becoming more interested in alternate economies, like bartering and sharing. i love the idea of having commonly shared tools and items (tool libraries are very cool). we donāt need to own it all, we have each other.
interested in exploring more? the zine pictured below is a great start, and summarizes a much larger book by the same author on how to resist the leviathan that is Amazon.
i did some serious reflection and realized iād become super reliant upon, and frankly, quite used to the instant gratification of purchasing something and knowing iād have it within a day. thatās not normal. the labor practices, economics, and environmental impacts of getting what you want from the internet delivered quickly and right to your door are skewed. i was filling a void in myself with mindless purchases.
iām aware that they service a huge swath of the internet (Amazon Web Services), own Whole Foods and Abe Books, and will likely take over more businesses we like and rely on. weaning off and avoiding entirely is very very hard, but it can also be a measured decision. that said, i know that it is a privilege to abstain from Amazon. i am able bodied, i donāt have kids, i have access to a car, i live in an urban environment with access to a lot of stuff at my fingertips. but making the choice to break out of the Amazon loop has ultimately been better for my pocketbook and better for my relationship to these mega-tech-companies that have their fingers in everything.
in contrast, iām becoming more interested in alternate economies, like bartering and sharing. i love the idea of having commonly shared tools and items (tool libraries are very cool). we donāt need to own it all, we have each other.
interested in exploring more? the zine pictured below is a great start, and summarizes a much larger book by the same author on how to resist the leviathan that is Amazon.
Jan 22, 2025
Rec
i canceled my Spotify account over the summer and have spent the last few months rebuilding my digital music library on a refurbished iPod Touch. reading critiques of the app (and itās enshittification), i realized i wasnāt even sure of my own musical tastes and preferences. i had stopped picking for myself, stopped seeking out new music, ceasing to know how to choose what i wanted or articulate what i like.
breaking free from the algorithm has been such a joy! iām borrowing gobs of music from the library, rebuilding my old playlists, and consuming more music than i have in years. and better yet, my data isnāt being tracked by Spotify and i own whatās in my personal library. further, my receptors are more open when iām out in the world exposed to music, searching for recommendations in an organic way.
breaking free from the algorithm has been such a joy! iām borrowing gobs of music from the library, rebuilding my old playlists, and consuming more music than i have in years. and better yet, my data isnāt being tracked by Spotify and i own whatās in my personal library. further, my receptors are more open when iām out in the world exposed to music, searching for recommendations in an organic way.
Jan 16, 2025