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MCA 50th Wordmark - White MCA Stories
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Omar Kholief. © MCA Chicago.

A Bold Move to the MCA

Omar Kholeif
Omar Kholeif explains his decision to move across the world to work at the MCA.
Chicago Curatorial Global Staff
Pipilotti Rist, Sip My Ocean (Schlürfe meinen Ozean), 1996. Audio/video installation; overall dimensions variable. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Bernice and Kenneth Newberger Fund and restricted gift of Carol and Douglas Cohen, 1996.39. © 1996 Pipilotti Rist. Photo: Michael David Rose, © MCA Chicago.

Playful Pairing: Joseph Cornell and the MCA Collection

Michael Darling
Michael Darling discusses some of the curatorial choices behind Pandora's Box: Joseph Cornell Unlocks the MCA Collection.
2010s Collection Curatorial Exhibitions Staff
Aaron Hughes, Tea Performance in the Commons during MCA Hearts Chicago, Oct 22, 2017. Photo: Michael Courier, © MCA Chicago.

Changing with the Times

Madeleine Grynsztejn
Madeleine Grynsztejn describes how, as audiences change, the museum is changing with them.
Community Directors Renovation Visitors
Installation view, This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s, MCA Chicago, Feb 11–Jun 3, 2012. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago.

Our Civic Responsibility

Anne Kaplan
Anne Kaplan shares her thoughts on a contemporary art museum's purpose.
2010s Board Chicago
Women's Board, 1980. Photo: © MCA Chicago

Women with Bright Ideas

Dorie Sternberg
Dorie Sternberg reminisces about the beginning of the Women's Board.
Board Community Founders Joe Shapiro Women
Comment card from Dan Flavin: Pink and Gold: "Charging admission to view this exhibition is a swindle exceeded only by the white man's purchase of the island of Manhattan for $23." Image courtesy of the MCA Library and Archives.

Reflecting on Dan Flavin

Rhona Hoffman
Rhona Hoffman discusses Dan Flavin's first museum exhibition.
1960s Artists Controversies Exhibitions Jan van der Marck
Two females hold handbells over their heads as a blue balloon floats above them.

Sensitive Equipment

Alberto Aguilar
Chicago-based artist Alberto Aguilar talks about the origin of one of his projects for the MCA.   In 2013, I was asked to create an interactive installation for Homebodies, an. . . more
2010s Artists Exhibitions
Exterior view, Christo: Wrap In Wrap Out, MCA Chicago. Photo © MCA Chicago.

Choosing Contemporary Art

Richard Armstrong
Richard Armstrong, now the Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, talks about his first encounter with contemporary art.   In the autumn of 1967, I moved to. . . more
1960s Christo Exhibitions Firsts

Launching a Museum Career

Ann Goldstein
Ann Goldstein, now the Deputy Director, and Chair and Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, talks about her first museum job.   The MCA holds. . . more
1980s Community Curatorial Firsts Staff
Interior view, Christo: Wrap In Wrap Out, MCA Chicago. Photo © MCA Chicago.

Sex in the Museum

Christo
Christo talks about one of his favorite moments from his wrap of the museum in 1967.
1960s Artists Building Christo Controversies

The Lifeblood of the Museum

Jack Guthman
Jack Guthman speaks to the importance of convergent programming, where the events we host are as important as the art we put on our walls.
Exhibitions Performance

Mixing Parties and Education

Daryl Gerber Stokols
Under Daryl Gerber Stokols, the New Group, once devoted to partying, shifts its focus to education and learning.
Community Education Parties

Kicking and Screaming

King Harris
King Harris describes how he got involved with the MCA.
Board Directors Firsts Founders

“The Last Thing on My Mind Was Art”

Stefan Edlis
Stefan Edlis describes his earliest encounters with the MCA.
1960s Board Firsts Founders
Installation view, Merce Cunningham: Common Time, MCA Chicago, Feb 11–Apr 30, 2017. Work shown: Charles Atlas, MC9, 2012. 9-channel synchronized video installation. Courtesy of Luhring Augustine, New York, and Charles Atlas. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago.

“Man, I got played”

Josh Rodriguez
SPACE student Josh Rodriguez reflects on an experience that changed his perception of museums.
2010s Education Exhibitions Youth

Experimental Learning

Raven Rezendiz
SPACE, School Partnership for Art and Civic Engagement, allows students like Raven Rezendiz to explore different creative processes.
Education Youth
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