Chicago Performs

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is thrilled to announce the third annual “Chicago Performs” showcase—an intimate festival of live arts highlighting essential local artists on a national platform. The 2024 iteration of “Chicago Performs” includes work by Lynkanthea, Every house has a door, and cat mahari, who will present a variety of performances across the MCA’s grounds, including the Edlis Neeson Theater and the Anne & John Kern Terrace Garden. Their works include lush and environmental musical activations that transform the MCA Stage, a performance inspired by ideas of "play," and an outdoor work inspired by The Carnival of the Animals that addresses climate change.

Each year through the “Chicago Performs” series, the MCA invites three to four artists to share works of performance, including pieces this year that have been developed through the MCA’s In Progress series and the New Works Initiative. Bringing together live arts from across genres, “Chicago Performs” supports artists who are entering a new phase of their practice—whether stepping onto a larger stage for the first time, exploring new directions, or expanding the scale of their projects—and offers the public an unprecedented chance to witness the city’s groundbreaking performance artists in action.

“Chicago Performs” is organized by Laura Paige Kyber, Assistant Curator of Performance.

Schedule
Lykanthea, Some Viscera
September 26, 7:30pm
September 27, 7:30pm

Every house has a door, Broken Aquarium
September 28, 2pm
September 29, 4pm

cat mahari, blk ark: the impossible manifestation
September 28, 7:30pm
September 29, 2pm