Celebrate the historic and ongoing role that art and design played in growing communities and strengthening neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side.

This all-day festival of art, music, film, and food kicks off a series of Art Design Chicago exhibitions and projects happening on the South Side, including the Smart Museum’s special exhibition The Time Is Now! It ends with a special concert with Maggie Brown and the Columbia College Jazz Ensemble at the Roundhouse at the DuSable Museum of African American History.

FREE and open to all.

Trolleys

Free trolleys circulate between venues from noon–5pm, with stops at each location approximately every 20 minutes. For pick-up locations, look for the Celebrating South Side Stories sign in front of each venue.

Parking

Free parking is available at Kenwood High School, 5015 South Blackstone Avenue (near Hyde Park Art Center). Trolleys will stop at the lot.

Partners

Presented by Art Design Chicago, Diasporal Rhythms, DuSable Museum of African American History, Floating Museum, Hyde Park Art Center, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Museum of Vernacular Arts and Knowledge, Smart Museum of Art, South Side Community Art Center, South Side Projections, and Stony Island Arts Bank.

Schedule of activities at the Smart

See the full schedule of activities and venues at ArtDesignChicago.org

12–2 pm
Tours: The Time Is Now!
A series of thematic tours of The Time Is Now! Art Worlds of Chicago’s South Side, 1960–1980 addressing African symbolism and materiality in the works on view. The tours were developed and will be led by exhibition researchers Lamar Reginald Gayles and Naomi Etsehiywot.

12–3 pm
Sticks and Tape with Floating Museum
A collaborative building exercise for all ages, the Floating Museum team guides participants through the process of creating temporary, large-scale sculptures relying on humble materials.

3–4:30 pm
The Alley LP: Perspectives & Recollections Listening Party
This limited release LP features interviews about The Alley, a space on the South Side that for decades hosted regular Sunday gatherings of musicians, artists, poets, and neighbors. Join the project organizers—Sojourner Scholars alumni and Smart Museum of Art docents—for an intimate listening party featuring recorded interviews and albums related to The Alley.