March Artist News

published: March 10, 2026

Hedda Gabler produced by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company at Theater Wit 

Showing now through March 8, Hedda Gabler, directed by Artistic Director Marti Lyons, is the “Broadway adaptation of Ibsen’s timeless drama presenting a powerful Hedda Gabler as she desires to escape from a loveless, ordinary existence.”  

 

2nd Annual Black History Festival of the Arts Rephrasis en Noir at Zhou B Art Center

On view now through March 15, Coco Elysses performs, and Renee Baker, Jennifer Hodges, Candace Hunter, Dorian Sylvain, Norman Teague, Sadie Woods, and Arthur Wright exhibit work in the 2nd Annual Black History Festival of the Arts Rephrasis en Noir at Zhou B Art Center.” Rephrasis en Noir brings the written brilliance of Black literature into visual form—an act of translation, homage, and expansion. This exhibition explores how artists draw upon the literary canon that has long examined, interpreted, and fortified Black culture.”  

 

Imagination Doctors at Gallery 400

On view now through March 21, Imagination Doctors, featuring work by Alberto Aguilar, Maria Gaspar, and William Estrada, “is the first presentation on the long arc of the Pros Arts Studio ensemble and its influential legacy on Chicago’s art and education scene.” Centering the collective’s history of free, diverse artistic workshops and performances, the exhibition “incorporates materials from their archive—print ephemera, photographs, videos, handmade performance sets—with newly commissioned works by contemporary artists, former collaborators, and students.”  

 

Im/migration and Self-Taught Art in Chicago at Intuit Art Museum

On view now through March 22, the exhibition Im/migration and Self-Taught Art in Chicago at the Intuit Art Museum features work by Pooja Pittie. The exhibition focuses on “the importance of immigration and migration in the genre of self-taught art…underscoring the creative contributions of migrants and immigrants, broadening the scope to include artists deserving of greater attention, while posing questions about access to the art world…” 

 

AQUÍ O ALLÁ: a circus story at The Actors Gymnasium 

Showing now through March 22, AQUÍ O ALLÁ: a circus story features circus direction by Actors Gymnasium Artistic Director Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi. The show follows a group of misfit clowns’ search for a new home. “Surviving the urban jungle proves harsher than imagined, but with play and warmth, they face the reality of where they came from and where they’re meant to be…ultimately finding belonging in each other!”  

 

The Heresy of Legacy at Volume Gallery 

On view now through March 28, The Heresy of Legacy is the first exhibition at Volume Gallery’s new, expanded space at 1700 W Hubbard St. Featuring work by Selva Aparicio, the exhibition explores “the cyclical nature of movements and currents in art, architecture, and design—how innovation emerges in friction with established legacies, and how heresy becomes the foundation for new canons.”  

 

Chair-ish at the Cleve Carney Museum

On view now through April 11, Chair-ish, a new exhibition by Alex Chitty and Norman Teague is featured at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art. The works “create a conversation between the two artists who ‘examine the intimacy of objects we interact with daily.’” The artists’ practices “exist in the gray area where fine art and functional design overlap,” and the exhibition emphasize freedom and exploration as common themes.   

 

Winifred Haun & Dancers present FIRST DRAFT 2026 at Visceral Dance Center

On March 1, Winifred Haun & Dancers presents FIRST DRAFT 2026, featuring new dance works by Chicago-area dancemakers, including founder Winifred Haun, Regina Perry- Carr, and many more. Experienced dancers are also invited to attend a master class prior to the March 1 performance.  

 

Poetic Body: A Movement Practice by Chih-Jou Cheng at Clinard Dance

On March 1, Chih-Jou Cheng leads Poetic Body: A Movement Practice by Chih-Jou Cheng at Clinard Dance, founded by Wendy Clinard. “Poetic Body is an embodiment-based movement master class that explores how the body carries emotion, memory, and cultural inheritance. Rooted in Chih-Jou Cheng’s creative practice and inspired by her ancestral traditions, this class approaches movement as a living system—where body, breath, story, and spirit are interconnected.”  

 

Improvised Music Series: Joe Rauen and Dammann/Berman/Ra/Wilkerson at Elastic Arts

On March 5, Avreeayl Ra and Christopher Dammann play in a double bill set including Dammann/Berman/Ra/Wilkersonand Joe Rauen. As part of the Improvised Music series, Joe Rauen’s set will feature musical instruments made from household items, and Dammann/Berman/Ra/Wilkerson bring an innovative set of bass, percussion, reeds, and cornet to their home base of Chicago. 

  

Party at the Palace featuring Tommy Carroll's Harmony of Rhythm 

On March 7, musician Tommy Carroll will be performing at the Palace (1620 N Fairfield), a long-time house venue in Humboldt Park with his Harmony of Rhythm project which showcases percussion as a melodic voice. The band for March 7 features Tommy on congas and electronic percussion, Chandler Browne on a custom hand drum set, Erez Dessel on synthesizers, and Fred Jackson Jr. on alto sax and flute. The night will also feature sets from members of the palace community including the drums-synthesizer duo of Phil Hunger and Jimmy Bennington. The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $15 suggested donation. 

 

Ballet Unboxed Classes at Movement on Montrose 

On March 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, and 29, Tuli Bera presents Open Level Ballet as part of their 3AP-funded Ballet Unboxed project. Open Level Ballet is a class rooted in non-hierarchical values, welcomes all experience levels into a shared learning space.  

 

Theater of the Mind at Goodman Theatre 

Showing March 11 through May 31, 2026, Theater of the Mind, featuring Em Modaff, Shariba Rivers, and Kelli Simpkins, is an “intimate and immersive journey inside how we see and create our worlds.”  

 

MUDRA at Steppenwolf Theatre Company as part of the Lookout Series 

Showing on March 13 & 14 MUDRA, by Shalaka Kulkarni and featuring guest artist Rika Lin, is a 60-minute dance-theatre work that unfolds through mythical short stories carried by sand, water, breath, and gesture. Rooted in Bharatanatyam and Kathak and shaped by contemporary movement, the piece explores desire not as longing, but as an inner current that guides, spills, transforms, and leads us toward what is alive and present. 

 

African Drums & Djembe Class at Lead with Love

On March 14, Victoria Djembe and the Chicago Warriors Drum Class lead African Drums & Djembe Class at Lead with Love. This event is intended for the autism and disability to community to learn fun African history along with the basic sounds and rhythms of the Djembe and Dundun Drums.