Featured Events in Chicago in March, 2025 (June Updated)

Unveiling Frida Kahlo’s work for the first time in the Art Institute galleries, this exhibition focuses on the celebrated Mexican artist’s first and only trip to Europe and her brief yet pivotal encounter with Mary Reynolds, an American avant-garde bookbinder who stood at the center of a rich Parisian artistic community. Drawing upon the extensive Mary Reynolds Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago and extraordinary Kahlo loans from public and private collections in the US, Mexico, and Europe, the presentation sheds light on this little-known chapter of 20th-century art history, recounting the legacies of Kahlo and Reynolds—both artists themselves and partners of artists—as they navigated Surrealism, identity, and cross-cultural exchange on the eve of World War II.

Renowned multimedia artist Dieter Roth’s preferred form, and the one he spent his lifetime pursuing, was the Gesamtkunstwerk, a German term for “total work of art.” Working across a diverse range of media, disciplines, and creative activities, Roth developed an artistic practice that dissolved the boundaries between art and life, upending traditional categories, hierarchies, and even timeworn notions of singular authorship. Often collaborating with other artists, including his son Björn, Roth produced an ever-expanding body of work that gestured toward the cumulative effects of a life spent making and remaking.

From large-scale figures of gods and goddesses to portraits of emperors and magnificent funerary monuments, this exhibition brings to North America, for the first time, a selection of 58 rarely seen ancient Roman sculptures from Italy’s storied Torlonia Collection.Nearly half of these sculptures, which range in date from the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, have not been publicly displayed in more than 70 years and have been newly cleaned, conserved, and studied specifically for this exhibition, making for a spectacular opportunity to experience their first public presentation in decades. The Torlonia Collection is not only the largest private collection of Roman marble sculptures in Italy, but it is also arguably the most important of such private collections in the world. Comprising 622 works and a wide range of sculptural types and subjects, its holdings rival those of major institutions in Europe, including the Capitoline and Vatican Museums.

Jitish Kallat’s site-specific installation, Public Notice 3, returns to the Art Institute of Chicago’s Grand Staircase this fall after a 14-year hiatus. Initially unveiled on September 11, 2010, the work connects two significant historical events separated by 108 years: the First World’s Parliament of Religions which began on September 11, 1893, and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. At the earlier event, the World Parliament of Religions, held in an auditorium that encompassed the area that today includes both the museum’s Fullerton Hall and Woman’s Board Grand Staircase, a young Hindu monk, Swami Vivekananda electrified audiences with a powerful speech calling for an end to religious fundamentalism, intolerance, and bigotry.

Descending the Staircase considers novel artistic approaches to representing the human body. Spread across two floors of the museum, the exhibition presents figures of all kinds, from the fragmented, absurd, and surreal to the curated, self-aware, and media savvy. Puppets, masks, and automatons merge bodies with objects, juxtaposing the animate and inanimate, while abstract sculptures evoke the human form through soft and fleshy materials such as nylon, wax, hair, and latex. Elsewhere, artists deploy the living body as a medium, setting it in motion with performance and gesture. Together, these artworks delve into fundamental questions about the human body in the contemporary world, including its relationship to labor and machines, its presentation in advertising and social media, and its role within the everyday domestic sphere.

Wafaa Bilal: Indulge Me is the first major survey of internationally renowned artist Wafaa Bilal (b. 1966, Najaf, Iraq; lives in New York, NY). Working in performance, sculpture, and with online and interactive technologies, Bilal’s interdisciplinary practice investigates the dynamic between international and interpersonal politics while highlighting the tension between his home in the United States, which he has deemed the “comfort zone,” and the “conflict zone” of Iraq. The exhibition covers the breadth of Bilal’s versatile career by exploring his performance practice, the use of power in Saddam Hussein’s regime, and Iraqi history and antiquity. It will feature archival displays of his iconic month-long performance Domestic Tension (2007) and year-long performance 3rdi (2010–11), as well as two new works including a sculptural commission for the MCA.

This exhibition focuses on a single artwork by Pipilotti Rist (b. 1962, Grabs, Switzerland; lives and works in Zürich), the 2001 video installation Supersubjektiv. Rist filmed the video footage featured in Supersubjektiv using a handheld digital camera during a month-long trip to Japan in December 2000. The hallucinatory video, presented in the Turner Gallery as a multichannel installation accompanied by sheepskin seating and an artist-made pillow, offers viewers a dream-like space for contemplation and curiosity. Paired with an ambient electronic soundtrack with lyrics sung in English and Japanese, the artwork examines nature, the built environment, and technology with wide-eyed wonder. Visitors are encouraged to relax and lose track of time as they take in Rist’s audiovisual meditation on longing for connection in our vast, globalized society.

Experience Africa Fashion, a one-of-a-kind exhibition celebrating the dynamic voices transforming African style. With over 180 works, including haute couture, ready-to-wear, and multimedia displays, discover how African designers are shaping global fashion. From pioneering icons like Shade Thomas-Fahm to contemporary artists like Thebe Magugu, see bold designs that connect tradition with innovation.

The artist and scholar Tai Xiangzhou masterfully fuses antiquity and contemporary artistry by reinterpreting ancient Chinese jades and bronzes through the meticulous lens of ink painting. Renowned for his deep engagement with classical Chinese painting traditions, the artist shifted his focus from cosmic landscapes—such as those in his 2021 exhibition Cosmoscapes: Ink Paintings by Tai Xiangzhou—to tangible artifacts of China’s rich history. His hyperrealistic paintings magnify the grandeur of ritual vessels and jade ornaments, elevating them to an unprecedented monumental scale, along with the artist’s own inscriptions.

Learn the untold history of four Kumu Hula (master teachers of Hawaiian Hula) who perpetuated, preserved, and protected Hula as a way of life. Listen to the voices of Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) as they tell their own history and learn how their community continues to thrive in Chicago and beyond. Chicago- and Hawai`i-born Native Hawaiians continue these practices together and act as co-curators for this limited-time exhibition.

For this iteration of the Atrium Project series, artist, author, and activist Edie Fake transforms the two-story lobby wall in the museum’s second floor atrium with his mural The Free Clinic for Gender Affirming Care (2024–25). An imagined facade of a clinic for free transgender healthcare, the mural offers a majestic counterview to the present reality in the United States, where transgender and nonbinary people are under constant threat of political repression, restriction, and scapegoating. The mural, with its layered architectural motifs and undulating prismatic colors, invites visitors into Fake’s utopian vision of access and open expression. Following his earlier Memory Palace series—examples of which are included in the exhibition City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago, on view at the MCA from July 5, 2025, through May 31, 2026—wherein Fake reimagined the facades of historic queer and feminist establishments in Chicago, this work underscores the artist’s shift in focus from the past to the future, from what was to what could still be.

Juliana Góngora Rojas is a Colombian sculptor who engages with organic materials, such as soil, salt, stones, or spider threads. Interested in establishing networks of community and spiritual exchange, Góngora collaborates with artisans, farmers, and Indigenous communities in works that emphasize the importance of ordinary materials and daily actions, as well as the ties that intimately bind human beings with nature.

Stunna Girl Gangsta Girly Tour Chicago Come join us for a night of fierce performances at the Stunna Girl Gangsta Girly Tour in Chicago! Get ready to vibe with Stunna Girl and her squad as they bring the heat to the stage. This in-person event promises to be lit, so grab your crew and get ready to turn up! Don't miss out on this epic night of music and fun. See you there! Information Source: YESYES entertainment | eventbrite

Experience the enchanting world of NARUTO like never before at the NARUTO: The Symphonic Experience event in Chicago. Set to take place at the prestigious Auditorium Theatre on March 15, 2025, this immersive concert will transport fans into the epic realm of the beloved anime series through a captivating symphonic performance. Located at 50 E Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, the venue's grandeur will serve as the perfect backdrop for this unique musical journey. Don't miss this opportunity to witness the magic of NARUTO brought to life through the power of live orchestral music.

Access the adventure where science and imagination meet. Explore the iconic cars, gadgets and props of the James Bond film series. 007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond is the first-ever official exhibition to focus on the science and technology behind the world’s longest-running movie franchise. Go behind the scenes to learn how the Bond production teams harness real-world science to craft 007’s on-screen adventures. See fantastical gadgets created for the Bond films alongside the real-life inventions they prefigured—see a prototype jetpack from “Thunderball” and the modern Gravity Industries Jet Suit.

In the early 1970s, Nancy Holt (American, 1938–2014) created her first sculpture, a viewing device that she called a Locator. Made from two pieces of welded steel pipe, with a viewing aperture set at the height of her own eyes, the Locator became a powerful means for Holt to ground her viewer in the conscious process of perception. The first Locators were installed in Holt’s New York studio in 1971. From here she could train a viewer’s eye on overlooked aspects of the urban landscape, focusing attention on found elements, such as ventilators on nearby rooftops or windows on neighboring buildings. She then created site-responsive installations, using the Locator as an apparatus to frame surprising passages in the built environment, which she selected and marked with paint. In this installation, conceived in collaboration with the Holt/Smithson Foundation, two historical works—Dual Locators (1972) and Locator (PS1) (1980)—are presented for the first time out-of-doors on a sculpture terrace, where the interior and exterior architecture of the museum are in constant dialogue with each other and the surrounding city. Drawing awareness to the act of looking, these devices ask us to attend to our individual experience of vision, while challenging the presumption that how we see is in any way self-evident.

What meanings has Earth held for people of African descent, and what can an environmental consciousness grounded in Pan-Africanist perspectives teach all of humanity today? Conceived to accompany the major survey exhibition Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica (on view at the Art Institute December 15, 2024–March 30, 2025), this exhibition, drawn from the museum’s collection, addresses the planet itself. Works by 17 artists in film, photography, and book arts draw attention to three vital and intertwined interactions with the land: as a path to freedom, as a means of spiritual and bodily sustenance, and as a source of enlightenment. Works by artists such as Carrie Mae Weems and Dawoud Bey retrace nocturnal paths to freedom. For example, Weems’s North Star stems from the experience of her grandfather, labor organizer Frank Weems, who made a path from rural Arkansas to Chicago in 1936 by traveling at night and following Polaris, the North Star. Like many others who found their way to freedom, Weems saved his life but lost his family and never could return to his birthplace. Foregrounding the interrelation of food and spiritual wisdom are works by Radcliffe Bailey and Luis Medina as well as the room-filling photo installation Bori (Feed the Head) by Candomblé priest and visual artist Ayrson Heráclito. Bori memorializes a ritual performance in which Heráclito encircled the heads of one dozen initiated participants with mounded ingredients to nourish individual Yoruba deities.

From wild carnivores to domestic companions, cats have their paws in science and culture alike. Learn about the characteristics of cats, big and small; walk through dynamic dioramas with dozens of felines frozen in time; and spot your own furry friends in a fan submission photo gallery. This interactive exhibition is the purr-fect blend of science, history, and pop culture.

Pan-Africanism, first named and theorized around 1900, is commonly regarded as an umbrella term for political movements that have advanced the call for both individual self-determination and global solidarity among peoples of African descent. It has yet to be fully examined as a worldview that takes its force from art and culture.As the first major exhibition to survey Pan-Africanism’s cultural manifestations, Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica gathers together some 350 objects, spanning the 1920s to the present, made by artists on four continents: Africa, North and South America, and Europe. Panafrica, the promised land named in the exhibition title, is presented as a conceptual place where arguments about decolonization, solidarity, and freedom are advanced and negotiated with the aim of an emancipatory future.

Experience a night of non-stop laughter at the highly anticipated "Legends Of Laughter" event in Chicago. Taking place at the prestigious Arie Crown Theater on March 1, 2025, this comedy extravaganza promises to be a memorable evening filled with top comedic talents. Located at 2301 Lake Shore Dr At McCormick PL, Chicago, IL, 60616, the venue offers the perfect setting for an unforgettable night of entertainment. Don't miss your chance to witness some of the biggest names in comedy live on stage at "Legends Of Laughter."

Experience an unforgettable evening with the one and only Matt Mathews on his "Boujee On A Budget Tour" at The Chicago Theatre in Chicago. Mark your calendars for March 1, 2025, and head to 175 N State St to witness this exclusive event. Get ready to be entertained by Matt Mathews as he brings his unique blend of music and style to the stage. Don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind performance in the heart of the Windy City.

Aziz Ansari will be performing on his "Hypothetical Tour" at The Chicago Theatre in Chicago on March 6, 2025. The Chicago Theatre is located at 175 N State St, Chicago, IL, 60601. Fans of Ansari's unique brand of comedy will not want to miss this opportunity to see him live on stage. Get ready for a night of laughter and entertainment as Ansari delivers his witty and insightful humor to the audience. Secure your tickets now for what promises to be a memorable evening full of laughter and fun.

WINTER SIP & CREATE Luxury boutique hotel Pendry Chicago and French brasserie Venteux have debuted their new creative workshop series featuring Chicago-based makers. Coined the Winter Weekend Sip & Create, the Michigan Avenue mainstays will transform Venteux’s beautiful botanical cafe into a pop-up art studio for six weekends from January - March 2025 in partnership with Chicago-based Nest Artisan Guild Makers and with support from the Design Museum of Chicago. Workshops will be held on Saturday evenings in Venteux’s botanically-themed cafe, inviting participants to keep winter blues at bay, get their creative wheels turning and cozy up to create something that sparks joy in the heart of the city. Each ticket will include the cost of the workshop plus a complimentary glass of house wine. Friday, March 7 | Lin Bader, Gemstone Necklace Making Workshop Lin Bader is the founder of Lin Bader Design, a woman- and AAPI-owned design studio specializing in 22k gold and silver granulation, filigree, wax carving, forging and beyond, inspired by the raw design of nature. The workshop includes a brief history of gemstone beads, tips on how to identify natural beads, and different categories of man-made and treated gemstones. Guests will go through a variety of natural gemstones and their healing properties to select two strands with multiple techniques, be guided in prepping the beads and cord, and stringing and securing the necklace. Students will also learn to stamp their own initials on silver or gold-filled discs and attach them to their jewelry. Each student will go home with one finished gemstone necklace with three charms, note cards with their healing properties, and gift boxes. Information Source: Venteux Brasserie, Cafe & Oyster Bar | eventbrite

Disturbed fans, mark your calendars for the highly anticipated Disturbed: The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour coming to Chicago's United Center on March 8, 2025. Celebrate the iconic album that started it all with a night of powerful performances and unforgettable moments at 1901 W Madison, Chicago, IL, 60612. Don't miss this special event commemorating a quarter-century of hard-hitting music from one of rock's biggest names.

Coinciding with the citywide celebration of Panafrica Weekend, artist Cosmo Whyte (whose work is currently in The Arts Club’s galleries) will be in conversation with longtime colleague and scholar Jeremiah M. Davis. The two will discuss Whyte’s archival and architectural approach to artmaking and examine his own familial history’s influence on his chosen materials. Information Source: The Arts Club of Chicago | eventbrite

Disturbed, Three Days Grace, and Sevendust are set to electrify Chicago with an unforgettable concert at the United Center on March 8, 2025, at 6:30 PM. This highly anticipated event promises a night of powerful performances and intense energy, bringing together three of the most iconic names in rock and metal. With ticket prices starting at just $35, fans will experience the raw, unfiltered talent of Disturbed, known for their chart-topping hits and dynamic stage presence. Three Days Grace will deliver their signature blend of post-grunge and alternative rock, captivating the audience with their emotionally charged anthems. Sevendust, renowned for their heavy riffs and soulful melodies, will round out the evening, ensuring a diverse and exhilarating musical journey. Located at the United Center in Chicago, IL, this concert is a must-attend for rock enthusiasts and promises to be a highlight of the 2025 music calendar.

Dream Theater, the progressive metal band, is celebrating their 40th Anniversary with a special tour, with one of the stops being in Chicago. The event will take place at The Chicago Theatre on March 8, 2025. The venue is located at 175 N State St, Chicago, IL, 60601. Fans can expect a memorable night filled with the band's classic hits and possibly some surprises to mark this significant milestone in Dream Theater's career. Make sure not to miss out on this unforgettable experience at The Chicago Theatre.

Aziz Ansari is set to bring his "Hypothetical Tour" to Chicago on March 9, 2025, at The Chicago Theatre located at 175 N State St, Chicago, IL, 60601. Fans can expect an evening filled with laughter and wit as Aziz Ansari takes the stage in this iconic venue. Don't miss out on this opportunity to experience the comedic genius of Aziz Ansari live in Chicago.