(Brenna Hernandez / Shedd Aquarium)

If you’re seeking activities that don’t break the bank this winter, look no further than local museums, zoos and gardens. A number have announced free admission days in 2024.

“The Sunflowers Quilting Bee at Arles” by Faith Ringgold, 1991.

The new exhibition “American People” is the first solo retrospective of artist Faith Ringgold in Chicago. This vivid and revealing show is not only rare — it’s must-see.

Joffrey Ballet will stage  “Frankenstein” this fall. (Credit: Todd Rosenberg Photography)

If you need a nudge to get out and enjoy what the city has to offer, here’s a starter list of more than 20 shows to know running across the Chicago area this fall. 

“entre horizontes: Art and Activism between Chicago and Puerto Rico” at the MCA. (WTTW News)

Featuring 18 artists of diverse mediums, the goal of the exhibition is to address the social and political issues that the Puerto Rican community faces — from housing discrimination and migration to bilingual education and health care issues.

Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art. (Celine Harrand / Flickr Creative Commons)

The increases, MCA’s first since 2017, were approved Wednesday by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners and will affect residents and non-residents alike, though the latter is getting hit harder.

(WTTW News)

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has launched its first major bilingual exhibit. The museum plans to present everything, from its website to wayfinding signs, in both Spanish and English by 2024.

(WTTW News)

It’s a full-circle moment for Nick Cave as he looks back at his career in a new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago titled “Forothermore.”

Installation view, Chicago Comics: 1960s to Now is on exhibition June 19 – Oct. 3, 2021. (Credit Nathan Keay /  MCA Chicago)

Artists who used to be on the comics page have now earned a place in museums. A new exhibition makes the case that Chicago has long been a magnet for creative cartooning. We visit “Chicago Comics: 1960s to Now” at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Open Television is a platform for intersectional pilots and series, supporting Chicago artists in producing and exhibiting indie series. (courtesy Open TV)

A Chicago nonprofit aiming to promote more diversity in television is gearing up for its annual artist showcase in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art. 

Laurie Simmons, Orange Hair/Snow/Close Up, 2014. Photo: © Laurie Simmons, courtesy of the artist and Salon 94.

From Meryl Streep to ventriloquist dummies, Laurie Simmons has had some unusual collaborators. We take a look at a career-spanning show by a photographer who populates fantastic worlds.

An art exhibition takes you inside the digital domain of the internet and explores how the internet has changed the way we experience the world. 

Takashi Murakami (Maria Ponce Berre, © MCA Chicago)

The MCA celebrates its 50th anniversary with a new exhibition by a colorful contemporary artist.

(Peter McCullough / MCA Chicago)

Area teens can add one more freebie to their summer to-do lists.

Merce Cunningham, 2008. (Cameron Wittig, courtesy of Walker Art Center, Minneapolis)

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago joined forces with the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis for a dual exhibition about an artist of dance who worked with celebrated artists of other disciplines.

Artist Diana Thater on Friday unveiled immersive views of the natural world in a new show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

A concrete Cadillac goes for a spin. We look at the restoration of this unusual work of art–and how it cemented its reputation.