Museum of Contemporary Art News

WTTW, as a part of the yearlong Art Design Chicago initiative, is developing a new four-part documentary series and website in partnership with the Terra Foundation for American Art.

From October 7, 2018, to January 6, 2019, The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) presents John Waters: Indecent Exposure, the first major retrospective of the artist's visual art in his hometown of Baltimore. Through more than 160 photographs, sculptures, soundworks, and video made since the early 1990s, Waters' renegade humor subverts mainstream expectations of representation and reveals the ways that mass media and celebrity embody cultural attitudes, moral codes, and shared tragedy. Waters freely manipulates images of less-than sacred, low-brow references-Elizabeth Taylor's hairstyles, Justin Bieber's preening poses, his own self-portraits, and pictures of individuals brought into the limelight through his films-to entice viewers to connect to his astute and provocative observations about society.

Not only is Canal Convergence moving to November, expanding to 10 consecutive days and dramatically increasing the amount of artwork, programming and performances, it's also extending its atmosphere beyond the Scottsdale Waterfront to the Old Town Scottsdale businesses south of the Arizona Canal through a new initiative called Local Light.

Scottsdale Arts is excited to announce a 66 percent increase in the annual award pool for its Community Arts Grant Program, which provides funding to Scottsdale and Valley nonprofit arts and cultural organizations for projects that serve the Scottsdale community. The grants are funded by the City of Scottsdale through Scottsdale Arts' management services agreement.

The Neighborhood House program of Christ Church Preservation Trust, a catalyst for the arts at historic Christ Church, presents five free world premiere performances of In Plain Air, a work in multiple movements by composers Nathan Davis and Phyllis Chen that marks the culmination of the International Contemporary Ensemble's year-long residency in celebration of Christ Church's new C.B. Fisk pipe organ,Opus 150. Performances will take place at Christ Church on Saturday, September 22 at 1pm, 3:30pm, and 6pm and on Sunday, September 23 at 3:30pm and 6pm. Movements employing Christ Church's historic bells, custom instruments, and itinerant musicians will convey audiences across the entire Christ Church campus before introducing them to Opus 150. Presented in partnership with FringeArts, all performances of In Plain Air will be free. Major support for In Plain Air has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

David Castillo Gallery presents Sundown, Xaviera Simmons' fifth solo exhibition with the gallery. The show features all new text paintings, photography, and sculpture.

Pivot Arts presents Charged Spaces/Changing Bodies, a series of site-specific performances in two historic Uptown spaces in conjunction with Chicago Architecture Foundation's Open House Chicago weekend. Performances are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 11, Friday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 14 at 4 p.m.

Derrick Adams: Patrick Kelly, The Journey is based on Brooklyn-based artist Derrick Adams's extensive research into the archive of the influential African-American fashion designer Patrick Kelly (1954-1990), housed at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Featuring abstract collage works on paper framed with glazing, the first show in this series was first presented by The Studio Museum in Harlem.

The Curious Theatre Branch begins its 30th season with the world premiere of (Not) Another Day, a sung non-opera with video, written and directed by Jenny Magnus, playing September 7 - October 6 at Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston Ave. Opening night/press performance is Friday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and tickets are $15 or pay what you can.

The Frist Art Museum presents Do Ho Suh: Specimens, an exhibition of astonishingly detailed sculptures, installations, and drawings that poetically reflect on the meanings and messages contained in domestic spaces, both real and imagined. The exhibition will be on view from October 12, 2018, through January 6, 2019.

From October 19, 2018 through February 17, 2019 the Art Institute of Chicago will present an exhibition of thirty extraordinary works by London-based artist Tomma Abts (German, born 1967), marking the artist's largest exhibition to date. This selection, featuring paintings from 2002 to 2018, is the first solo museum exhibition of Abts's paintings in the United States in ten years.

Just when Seattleites thought they'd experienced all the magic of the holiday season, The Buttcracker returns in a haze of sweat, glitter, and hairspray for the fourth year in a row. This city's beloved modern-dance variety show salutes the glory of '80s hair metal with a festive 'mix of professional dance and raunchy satire,' (The Seattle Times).

Performance Space New York kicks off its second themed season of performances and events-the Posthuman Series-with the world premiere of Annie Dorsen's The Slow Room (September 27-29). Dorsen has taken the idea of technological theater further than most artists.

The Neighborhood House program of Christ Church Preservation Trust, a catalyst for the arts at historic Christ Church, presents five free world premiere performances of In Plain Air, a work in multiple movements by composers Nathan Davis and Phyllis Chen that marks the culmination of the International Contemporary Ensemble's year-long residency in celebration of Christ Church's new C.B. Fisk pipe organ, Opus 150. Performances will take place at Christ Church on Saturday, September 22 at 1pm, 3:30pm, and 6pm and on Sunday, September 23 at 3:30pm and 6pm. Movements employing Christ Church's historic bells, custom instruments, and itinerant musicians will convey audiences across the entire Christ Church campus before introducing them to Opus 150. Presented in partnership with FringeArts, all performances of In Plain Air will be free. Major support for In Plain Air has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts' acclaimed film series, Talk Cinema, which gives audiences sneak previews of new independent and foreign films from Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and other internationally ranked film festivals, returns to the Virginia G. Piper Theater on Sept. 25.

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art presents Double Agents: Carla Fernández and Pedro Reyes, a two-part exhibition that envisions an alternative future through distinct artistic practices.

The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art will host Nkame, a solo exhibition dedicated to the work of the late Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayon (1967-1999), who, during her short but fertile career, produced an extraordinary body of work central to the history of contemporary printmaking in Cuba and abroad.

Take a peek back in time with Historic Scottsdale: Live, Work and Play in the Early 20th Century, a newly curated photo exhibition opening Tuesday, Sept. 4, at the Gallery @ Appaloosa Library.

Lucky Plush Productions is thrilled to announce it has been awarded a National Theater Project Creation and Touring Award from the New England Foundation of the Arts (NEFA) to support Rink Life, the newest dance/theater work by Lucky Plush.

Lucky Plush Productions returns to Steppenwolf's LookOut series this fall for a three-week run of The Better Half.