CHICAGO, IL.- This November, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presents The Long Dream, a major exhibition inspired by the current moment that gives shape to issues heightened by the pandemic and social unrest. The exhibition features over 70 Chicago artists collaboratively selected by the museum’s diverse team of curators and programmers with different backgrounds and specialties, ranging from the visual arts to performance and public practice. Named after a novel by renowned author Richard Wright, The Long Dream is part reflection on the state of the world after the arrival of COVID-19, and part celebration of Chicago artists and creatives. Blending work by emerging voices with established artists in Chicago, The Long Dream presents many never-before-seen works, along with labels written in collaboration with youth groups and civic practitioners, honoring a multiplicity of perspectives from the community. The final section of The Long Dream is a live arts event that takes place online on the exhibition’s closing weekend. The Long Dream is on view from November 7, 2020 to January 21, 2021 and is overseen by MCA Senior Curator Naomi Beckwith with Chief Curator Michael Darling and Interim Senior Curator January Parkos Arnall.




The Long Dream explores the critical importance of bringing art and artists to the forefront of social issues facing our city and country today. Building this exhibition, the MCA curatorial team reflected on its commitment to and support of Chicago artists and the arts community, and the ways artists have played important roles in actions that advance social justice and racial equity throughout history. The goal of The Long Dream is to advocate for artists’ voices and work in a city grappling with anxiety and social unrest, and to empower them to make an impact during a time of social change. Through the eyes of artists, The Long Dream engages visitors around several core themes: how artists make work in the studio or at home with available materials; the psychological effects of uncertain times; structural inequities in society; and our dreams for a more inclusive future.

The exhibition features a diverse mix of new voices in the Chicago artist community, as well as recognized art leaders in the community who have shaped discourse around arts and creative practices throughout their careers. Well-known Chicago artists such as Dawoud Bey, Nick Cave, Julia Fish, Jim Nutt, William Pope.L, and Amanda Williams contribute timely works that speak to the core themes of the exhibition, including Cave’s Arm Peace (2020) and Williams’ Black Studies (2020). Meanwhile, the artist collective Floating Museum presents their Monument Reassembly (2020), addressing a topic that has surfaced in both mainstream and social media as a crucial piece within the larger context of confronting historical and systemic injustices.

In selecting the roster for The Long Dream, the cross-disciplinary curatorial team tapped into the longstanding relationships the museum has cultivated with artists over time. Visitors recognize artists from previous exhibitions and programs, including Brendan Fernandes, Edra Soto, and Sadie Woods. Another example is the collective Open Television (OTV), that will premiere their new video work Queer Pandemic TV (2020) that was developed in response to current social conditions. Similarly, Alberto Aguilar presents Quarantine Regimen (2020), a set of drawings produced during shelter-in-place that feature his friends and family members, including a portrait of Aguilar drawn by his child. The Long Dream organically developed a focus on representing the work of artists of color, artists of varying abilities, and especially women artists, with works by Candida Alvarez, Kirsten Leenaars, Tonika Lewis Johnson, Riva Lehrer, Claire Pentecost, Cheryl Pope, and Rhonda Wheatley, among others.