Join us at the Chicago Art Department for Contra Corriente, an annual festival that brings together artists, environmentalists, and community organizers to resist ecological racism through exhibitions and interactive programs. 

Festival Exhibition:

Arturo Fresan - Tzompantli (June 13 - July 25)
Tzompantli draws parallels between the ancient Aztec skull racks and contemporary sacrifices driven by industrial, environmental, and socio-political exploitation. The exhibition reflects on the devastating impact of corporate greed, military-industrial power, and organized crime, which fuel environmental destruction, perpetual conflict, and mass displacement. As industries poison ecosystems and nations wage endless wars under the guise of security, entire communities are uprooted, and countless lives are lost. Tzompantli serves as a stark memorial to those sacrificed in the name of profit and power, urging a collective reckoning with humanity’s role in perpetuating destruction.

Join us at the Chicago Art Department for Contra Corriente, an annual festival that brings together artists, environmentalists, and community organizers to resist ecological racism through exhibitions and interactive programs. 

Festival Exhibition:

Eden Through A Glory Hole (June 13 - July 25)
As political pundits ponder the “eradication” of trans lives from public space, Eden Through A Glory Hole conjures and asserts an expansive, ecstatic vision of gay and trans belonging to community, culture, and cosmos. Peeking through portals, key holes, glory holes, and sweaty pores, we see glimpses of a fantastical parallel reality that is already thriving, hidden in plain sight.

Telling stories across print, textile, and ceramic mediums, together we re-appropriate, invert, and extravagantly elaborate on symbolic vocabularies of power and hegemony, making way for a new world to emerge through the cracks in the concrete. Drawing from our divergent formative mythologies, carried through time and diaspora, we meet in the erotic, imaginal dreamspace and reveal the secret portal to the city’s underground.

Diagrams, Systems, and Collective Power examines the ways artists, designers, and educators use diagramming as a tool to map, question, and disrupt systems of power. In a time of heightened political and social unrest, the exhibition explores how visualizing power structures can expose hierarchies, shift narratives, and offer collective strategies for resistance. Featuring CAD resident artists Oscar Solis, Eric Von Hayes, Dud Lawson, Silvia Ines Gonzalez, Fabrizzio Subia, Sarah Whyte, and others, the show presents diagrams not just as representations but as interventions—dynamic frameworks that challenge meaning, value, and history while imagining new possibilities for collective power.

Jassiel Serna - Tilichero & Artist Market (Sep 12 - Oct 27)

Tilichero is a market-style exhibition celebrating rasquache, a Chicano art aesthetic that embraces resourcefulness, defiance, and invention through simple materials. Blurring the lines between gallery and open-air market, Tilichero pays homage to the tianguis of Mexico and Latin America, creating a space for art, trade, and community. In partnership with POCAS, the event centers BIPOC vendors, artists, and musicians, fostering accessible, community-driven commerce where vendors keep 100% of their sales and all programming remains free to the public.

Living Madness reframes mental illness beyond stigma, exploring it as a raw, complex, and deeply human experience. Curated by CAD residents Catie Burrill and Aespyne Alix, the exhibition confronts systemic violence, societal expectations, and existential dread while celebrating resilience, humor, and connection. Through paintings, installations, and soft sculptures, the artists weave personal narratives that embrace both anguish and joy, challenging traditional psychiatric models.

And The Spaces Between explores the complexities of identity through the lens of adoptee artists, reflecting on the love, loss, and liminality that come with navigating multiple cultures, histories, and geographies. Expanding on Adopted Territory, first shown at the Chinese American Museum, this exhibition considers migration as both a physical and emotional journey, questioning what is lost, gained, remembered, and forgotten along the way. Embracing the uncertainties of identity, it invites community engagement as a means of understanding the spaces in between.

“Seeds” is an annual CAD initiative centering BIPOC voices and celebrating Chicago neighborhoods. This program supports artists, performers, storytellers, and other creative practitioners from across the city. Now entering its 5th year, Seeds has highlighted the work of artists from Pilsen, South Shore, Little Village, North Lawndale, Englewood, McKinley Park, and more. Stay tuned for our 2025 cohort and neighborhoods to be announced this Fall!