Explore accessible events!
Filter events by typing keywords into the search field below,
or click on a keyword in an event to filter all events by that
category.
Select "Submit an Event" to have your cultural organization's
accessible event added to the Access Calendar.
Join us for a reading and conversation with Renee Gladman, Eileen Myles, and Simone White as they celebrate their new book releases. In Renee Gladman’s Plans for Sentences, Eileen Myles’s […]
The Chicago Poetry Center presents BLUE HOUR, a free, public monthly in-person reading series and generative writing workshop. Blue Hour is in-person for this season! Each event takes place at […]
The MCA Advisory Partner organization Bodies of Work invites you to Access Praxis, a collaborative and participatory event in The Commons. Combining theory and practice, “praxis” is ideas in action. For this iteration, we are joined by disabled artist-researchers Alana Ackerman, Stephanie Alma, Tommy Carroll, Justin Cooper, and Nic Wyatt as they explore their embodied […]
We are delighted to be hosting Maggie Bridger on April 15 as part of her Crafting Care series. In anticipation of her performance “Scale”, Maggie is holding open crafting sessions centered around collectively creating objects of care—including masks, blankets, and cushions. The culmination of our care work, made visible in the items we craft together, […]
Join us for a panel on art writing with Camille Bacon, Amarie Cemone Gipson, Daria Simone Harper, and Jessica Lynne during the weekend of EXPO CHICAGO. Taking up the question of “poetics in practice,” the panel will consider the function and responsibility of art writing in the contemporary moment, the lineages we draw from and […]
Susanna Hoffs is a legend in the music industry. As the co-founder of the Bangles, she produced three platinum-selling albums and is the voice behind indelible pop hit after pop hit. Now, this famed songwriter has ventured into a new kind of writing with her debut novel, This Bird Has Flown, a story of music, […]
Join the College of Architecture’s Master of Landscape + Urbanism Program on April 12, 2023 at 5pm for the annual Alfred Caldwell Lecture and explore the intersectionality of public space, art, and social justice. Devon Henry, Franklin Cosey-Gay, and Makeba Kedem DuBose will discuss how memory and representation have expanded the narrative about the built […]
Join us for a talk between On Stage: Frictions artist Shamel Pitts and Jafari S. Allen, author of There’s a Disco Ball Between Us: A Theory of Black Gay Life (2021), for a wide-ranging conversation on Pitts’ practice and current project with the MCA, Touch of RED. This event will be held off-site at Wirtz […]
Designed and led by Chicago artists, Family Day is a monthly program at the MCA for all families and youth. Enjoy FREE admission while taking part in workshops, open studio sessions, gallery tours, and performances. Artist-Led Performance Raíces to Roots 1–2 pm 4th-floor lobby Join Raíces to Roots for a performance that celebrates and examines […]
Shamel Pitts and the Brooklyn-based arts collective TRIBE debut an electrifying new live performance in their ongoing Red Series exploring Black multiplicity and human connection. The new work, titled Touch of RED, is a duet for two Black men set inside a contemporary boxing ring—a space that might traditionally suggest an aggressive competition between male […]
Join us in person for a lecture by distinguished alum Athena LaTocha followed by an audience Q&A. Location: The Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall, 111 S. Michigan Ave. Athena LaTocha (BFA 1992) is an artist whose massive works on paper explore the relationship between human-made and natural worlds. The artist incorporates materials such as […]
A surprising new play about how families fall apart—and find each other again—amidst turbulent global and social change. In 2003, newly-wed Layal and her family prepare to immigrate from Baghdad, Iraq, to a Chicago suburb. Seventeen years later, Layal’s life looks unimaginably different from what she had envisioned two decades prior, as she and her […]
LabE is a series of monthly cohort meetings addressing particular needs of disabled dance artists. The LabE gathering on April 2nd is designed to be a safe, disability-centric space where artists can come together to share a work-in-progress, try out new ideas, workshop concepts, and experiment with new scores. Hosted by Maggie Bridger, this inclusive […]
A surprising new play about how families fall apart—and find each other again—amidst turbulent global and social change. In 2003, newly-wed Layal and her family prepare to immigrate from Baghdad, Iraq, to a Chicago suburb. Seventeen years later, Layal’s life looks unimaginably different from what she had envisioned two decades prior, as she and her […]
A surprising new play about how families fall apart—and find each other again—amidst turbulent global and social change. In 2003, newly-wed Layal and her family prepare to immigrate from Baghdad, Iraq, to a Chicago suburb. Seventeen years later, Layal’s life looks unimaginably different from what she had envisioned two decades prior, as she and her […]
Join us for a reading with Raquel Salas Rivera and Angel Dominguez as part of the Poetry Coalition’s annual nationwide programming series. The Poetry Coalition’s theme for 2023 is Poetry & Grief, taking inspiration from these lines in Ed Roberson’s poem “once the magnolia has blossomed:”“and so much lost you’d think / beauty had left […]
Proximity is a gripping, powerful trio of new works that confronts head-on some of the greatest challenges affecting us as a society: yearning for connection in a world driven by technology; the devastating impact of gun violence on cities and neighborhoods; and the need to respect and protect our natural resources. As the story zooms […]
A surprising new play about how families fall apart—and find each other again—amidst turbulent global and social change. In 2003, newly-wed Layal and her family prepare to immigrate from Baghdad, Iraq, to a Chicago suburb. Seventeen years later, Layal’s life looks unimaginably different from what she had envisioned two decades prior, as she and her […]
Join us for a conversation continuing the Poetry Foundation’s celebration of Copper Canyon Press’s 50th anniversary. Executive editor Michael Wiegers will moderate a discussion of Copper Canyon’s legacy and future in the poetry world with panelists Arthur Sze, Chris Abani, Tishani Doshi, and Alison C. Rollins. This is a hybrid event, which will be offered […]
To commemorate Women’s History Month, the Arts & Culture Project at Access Living is partnering to host a virtual film screening and panel discussion of the My Girl Story documentary on Saturday, March 25 from 12-2pm. This event will explore the importance of mental health care among Black girls and resources available to them and […]
Truth is lie; lie is truth. 1920: Jewish writer Isaac Babel begins a journal while serving in war. Ninety years later, this same journal is found in the wreckage of a suspicious plane crash. What did Babel write, and why does it matter? Ensemble member Rajiv Joseph’s epic thriller ricochets through place and time following […]
Charlotte Brontë’s undiscovered gem, Villette, offers a hero unlike any you’ve encountered before. Suddenly without family, friends, or funds, Lucy travels alone to an unfamiliar land, determined to carve a path for herself. An eclectic carousel of characters (and one mysterious ghost!) soon draws Lucy into a complicated maze of multiple doorways leading towards fulfillment […]
Join us for the Chicago celebration of Copper Canyon Press’s 50th Anniversary with readings by Copper Canyon authors Chris Abani, Tishani Doshi, Alison C. Rollins, Arthur Sze, and Javier Zamora. This is a hybrid event, which will be offered in-person and via livestream. Chris Abani is a novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter and playwright. Born in […]
Kohl Children’s Museum was specifically designed to be inclusive of all children and adults regardless of ability. The Museum’s 17 exhibits and 2 acres of outdoor explorations are designed for play with a purpose and encourage linguistic, cognitive, motor, and social skills for children ages birth through 8. The Museum works collaboratively with community organizations […]
The immortal tale of the restless, free-spirited heroine (Carmen) and Don José, the soldier who’s drawn to her in a truly “fatal attraction." https://www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2022-23/carmen/
Set on the night in 1940 that Hattie McDaniel made history at the Oscars, a story of dreamers striving to overcome considerable obstacles and fighting for recognition amidst the racism and inequity of Hollywood. IT IS FEBRUARY 29, 1940, the night of the Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. Bartender Arthur Brooks, an ambitious Black man […]
Join us for a reading and celebration of the diverse voices, rich experiences, and powerful words of poets from around the country, and the world. Poets working in the online poetry workshop and discussion, Forms & Features, will share work created in this online creative community. Poetry Foundation’s events are completely free of charge and […]
Raven Theatre presents a new play about privacy in the digital age. A Touch Tour (at 1:30pm) will be available before the performance (at 3:00pm). Contact us ahead of time to reserve your tour spot. The internet never forgets, and Derril Lark’s mistake at 17 haunts him online a decade later. Desperate for a normal […]
Belfast, 1960s: As conflicts between various political factions threaten to tear Ireland apart from the inside, sisters Fianna and Regan Kelly feel compelled to engage in the fight for their homeland. But when they join the ranks of The Provisionals, and find themselves committing acts of brutal terrorism and guerrilla warfare, both young women are […]
Hands Up! Misunderstood Minds is performing lived at the Northeastern Illinois University Stage Center (3701 W. Bryn Mawr) on Saturday, March 11 at 8:00 pm. Tellin’ Tales Theatre’s Hands Up! Misunderstood Minds explores shared experiences around mental illness. Personal stories intertwine into a beautiful and heartwarming account of individual journeys with mental health. The goal […]
Set on the night in 1940 that Hattie McDaniel made history at the Oscars, a story of dreamers striving to overcome considerable obstacles and fighting for recognition amidst the racism and inequity of Hollywood. IT IS FEBRUARY 29, 1940, the night of the Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. Bartender Arthur Brooks, an ambitious Black man […]
Set on the night in 1940 that Hattie McDaniel made history at the Oscars, a story of dreamers striving to overcome considerable obstacles and fighting for recognition amidst the racism and inequity of Hollywood. IT IS FEBRUARY 29, 1940, the night of the Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. Bartender Arthur Brooks, an ambitious Black man […]
Join us in person for a lecture by artist Torkwase Dyson followed by an audience Q&A. Location: The Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall, 111 S. Michigan Ave. Working in painting, drawing, and sculpture, Torkwase Dyson combines expressive mark-making and geometric abstraction to explore the continuity between ecology, infrastructure, and architecture. Dyson deconstructs, distills, and […]