• Talk
• General Public

Theaster Gates & Martin Nesbitt in Conversation

Tue. November 18 • 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

SOLD OUT. Join Theaster Gates and Martin Nesbitt for a conversation on arts and entrepreneurship. Co-presented by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

• Tour
• General Public

Tour: The Hardware Store and Arts + Public Life

Wed. November 19 • 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

SOLD OUT Join us for a special tour of one of Theaster Gates's largest land-based sculptural projects, The Hardware Store. Followed by a guided-tour of the Arts Block.

• Talk
• Conversation Pieces

Conversation Piece: Allyson Nadia Field and Tina Post

Fri. November 21 • 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

Allyson Nadia Field, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies, continues this year’s "Conversation Piece" series, discussing in-depth one work on view in Theaster Gates: Unto Thee.

• Tour
• General Public

Friday Tour: Unto Thee

Fri. November 21 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Join a 1-hour guided tour of Theaster Gates: Unto Thee, led by Smart Museum Fellow, Ian Brundige. Please arrive 10 minutes early to check in. Free; RSVP encouraged as space will be limited.

• Performance
• Families

Bedtime Stories with Chicago Public Library

Fri. November 21 • 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Wear your comfiest pajamas, grab your favorite stuffed animal, and join us for an after-hours story time experience, in partnership with the Chicago Public Library.

• Talk
• General Public

Day With(out) Art 2025: Meet Us Where We’re At… With Artist Mary Patten

Mon. December 1 • 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

A film series, curated by Visual AIDS NYC, and conversation with Chicago-based artist and activist Mary Patten on this international day of action and mourning in response to the AIDS crisis.

• Special Event
• General Public

Collections Pop-Up Curated by CeCe Rodriguez

Fri. December 5 • 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM

The Smart's education study room transforms into an extension of the galleries for a one-day-only, pop-up exhibition, curated by Smart Education Intern CeCe Rodriguez.

• Tour
• General Public

Tour: The Land School

Sat. December 6 • 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Join a guided tour of Theaster Gates's and Dorchester Projects' newest artistic project, The Land School.

• Screening
• General Public

An Unto Thee Film Screening at The Land School

Sat. December 6 • 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

A screening of Theaster Gates's recent moving-image work at The Land School (formerly St. Laurence Elementary).

• Tour
• General Public

Friday Tour: Unto Thee

Fri. December 12 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Join a 1-hour guided tour of Theaster Gates: Unto Thee, led by Smart Museum Fellow, Ian Brundige. Please arrive 10 minutes early to check in.

• Art Making
• Families

Family Day: Community Ties

Sat. December 13 • 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

In collaboration with Obama Presidential Center, families will explore the theme “community” through mixed-media collages that reflect their own personal and collective stories.

• Art Making
• Families

Family Day: In with the Old

Sat. January 10 • 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Families will reclaim, repurpose, and reimagine seemingly unusable objects from home, transforming them into unique works of art or restoring their functionality.

• Talk
• Conversation Pieces

Conversation Piece: Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi

Fri. January 16 • 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Join Pouneh Shabani-Jaddidi for a conversation about Mohammad Hossein Mosavvar-ol-Molki’s print “The Allied Powers Routing the Axis Powers."

• Tour
• General Public

Friday Tour: Unto Thee

Fri. January 16 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Join a 1-hour guided tour of Theaster Gates: Unto Thee, led by Smart Museum Fellow, Ian Brundige. Please arrive 10 minutes early to check in.

• General Public

Friday Tour: Unto Thee

Fri. January 23 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Join a 1-hour guided tour of Theaster Gates: Unto Thee, led by Smart Museum Fellow, Ian Brundige. Please arrive 10 minutes early to check in.

• General Public

Friday Tour: Unto Thee

Fri. January 30 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Join a 1-hour guided tour of Theaster Gates: Unto Thee, led by Smart Museum Fellow, Ian Brundige. Please arrive 10 minutes early to check in.

• Tour
• General Public

Friday Tour: Unto Thee

Fri. February 6 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Join a 1-hour guided tour of Theaster Gates: Unto Thee, led by Smart Museum Fellow, Ian Brundige. Please arrive 10 minutes early to check in.

• Tour
• General Public

Friday Tour: Unto Thee

Fri. February 13 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Join a 1-hour guided tour of Theaster Gates: Unto Thee, led by Smart Museum Fellow, Ian Brundige. Please arrive 10 minutes early to check in.

• Art Making
• Families

Family Day: Rooted in Clay

Sat. February 14 • 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

In collaboration with Hyde Park Art Center and with guidance from artist Malika Jackson, families will create 3-D art objects using air-dry clay.

• Tour
• General Public

Friday Tour: Unto Thee

Fri. February 20 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Join a 1-hour guided tour of Theaster Gates: Unto Thee, led by Smart Museum Fellow, Ian Brundige. Please arrive 10 minutes early to check in.

• Performance
• UChicago Students

Poetry Open Mic Night @ The Smart

Thu. February 26 • 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Join us for an open mic night of poetry readings and performances. Co-organized with the UChicago core sequence “Poetry and the Human.”