Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists Reveal 2026–27 Programming
Public Works Gallery in Wicker Park will host the return of the film and performance series.
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Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists (RMW&A), led by Chicago-based dancer and choreographer Robyn Mineko Williams, has announced its eleventh consecutive season of contemporary performance programming and site-sensitive choreography. Multiple events through spring 2027, in and beyond Chicago, follow Williams' recent debut as a contemporary visual artist. Her multimedia installation Beams, exhibited by SKF/Konstnärshuset in Stockholm, Sweden in spring 2026, was curated by the organization's artistic director Ashik Zaman with an original soundscape by acclaimed musician and multidisciplinary artist Macie Stewart.
Initiated in 2015 during the artist's Princess Grace Foundation Works in Progress Residency at Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City, Undercover Episodes is Williams' ongoing series of intimate film screenings and live performance events. Prior installments, presented day and night, indoors and out, have brought internationally recognized dancers and attendees face-to-face in galleries, private homes, restaurants, and taverns in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Utah, and Wyoming. Public Works Gallery, located in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood, hosts two back-to-back presentations of Undercover Episodes 019: Public Works, featuring music by Robby Haynes and Tony Lazzara and visuals by Jt Williams, on Saturday, August 8. Space is strictly limited.
On Saturday, August 22, RMW&A appears alongside nine of Chicago's most acclaimed and highest profile dance companies as part of Dance for Life 35th Anniversary honoring choreographer and educator Randy Duncan and benefiting Chicago Dance Health Fund. RMW&A contributes an excerpt from Cloudline (2017), a dreamlike work with a cinematic soundtrack, originally commissioned by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, to be performed on August 22 by Amari Fraser and Morgan Clune, both alumni of Chicago Academy for the Arts, where Duncan serves as dance department chair.
Featuring composer/musician Nate Kinsella (Birthmark, American Football), visual design by Julia Miller (Manual Cinema), and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago alumni Jason Hortin and Jessica Tong, RMW&A's To Leave You was previewed in September 2025 as part of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's annual festival Chicago Performs, with support from the MCA's New Works Initiative. The cast and creative team travel to 29 Palms, California in September 2026 for a production residency at DESERTRADE, founded in 2023 by Emmy Award–winning choreographer Ryan Heffington, prior to a premiere engagement at The Salt Shed's Three Top Lounge on November 10, followed by a March 2027 tour to LED's The Dixon in Garden City, Idaho.
Says Robyn Mineko Williams: “This new season brings together so many treasured, longtime collaborators and opens up exciting opportunities to present the expanding body of work we're making at Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists. I'm excited to build upon the momentum of our 2025–26 season and offer a fresh palette of unique, shared experiences.”
Additional 2026–27 season engagements and special events — including updates about a new work in collaborative development with musician Tim Rutili of Califone — will be announced at later dates.
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Disney's The Little Mermaid The Performing Arts Center (7/18-8/02) |
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Disney's The Little Mermaid Uptown Music Theater Highland Park (7/18-8/02) |
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EWP presents Robbie Fulks & Griffin William Sherry Showcase Raue Center For The Arts (8/07-8/07) |
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Fleetwood Max Raue Center For The Arts (10/03-10/03) |
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The Dave Matthews Tribute Band Raue Center For The Arts (9/25-9/25) |
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Hedwig and the Angry Inch Catalyst Ranch (7/09-8/02) |
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Memphis The Musical Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building (10/24-10/25) |
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for colored girls who considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf eta Creative Arts Foundation (8/01-8/30) |
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Hail Mary/Maria Nova Entertainment Presents “Hail Mary/Maria” by Playwright RJ Silva and Directed by Adam Reed, August 14 - 23 at Theater Wit (8/14-8/23) |
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Bourbon Country Raue Center For The Arts (8/22-8/22) |