Chicago Exhibition Week continues to grow
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Installation view of "OH, YOU'VE GOT TO COME BACK TO THE CITY," Theaster Gates, GRAY Chicago, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Zoey Marciniak and Gertie
Now in its fourth year, Chicago Exhibition Week (CXW) features more than 70 galleries and art spaces, expanding participation in the city's art scene.
Why it matters: CXW offers a curated experience with a focus on accessibility. The week of programs opens the doors to those who have never felt invited while also staying relevant to the city's dedicated art patrons.
Flashback: Abby Pucker launched Chicago Exhibition Weekend in 2023, but says it was too much to cram into three days. Some festgoers missed overlapping events so she and her team decided to stretch it across a week this year.
What's next: Kicking off Sept. 14, CXW runs through Sept. 20 with exhibitions, performances, panel discussions and art-making workshops.
- Participating galleries include Corbett vs. Dempsey, GRAY, M. LeBlanc, Julius Caesar, moniquemeloche, ACRE and more, along with institutions such as the Renaissance Society, Graham Foundation and National Public Housing Museum.
The intrigue: CXW created a map of all the participating galleries and institutions that works like a passport. Festgoers can get a stamp at each place they visit and a certain number of stamps gets them free admission at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Driehaus Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
Zoom in: CXW features well-known galleries, but also platforms new players on the scene.
- Perhaps more importantly, Pucker says, is who CXW brings into those spaces.
- "Either people who can collect right now who just haven't known about [specific artists] or haven't felt like they were invited, or people who might be collecting 10 years from now that they can just start having a relationship with," Pucker tells Axios.
- Plus, people who may never be in a position to collect, but want to appreciate the art and remind artists why Chicago is the place to be.
Between the lines: The "X" can create confusion. CXW partners with EXPO Chicago, the city's major springtime art fair, but each has a different mission.
- EXPO is a marketplace for galleries from around the world to sell their work, while CXW is more about building relationships between collectors and future collectors and Chicago galleries.
If you go: While many events are free, others, like the kickoff party at MCA hosted by Vic Mensa and a traveling dinner party through collectors' homes, are ticketed.