Featured Events in Chicago in August 2025 (March Updated)

Join us for an extraordinary art show that will take place August 9th 2025 at the renowned ODDxSHAD Gallery. Join us for an extraordinary art show that will take place August 9th 2025 at the renowned ODDxSHAD Gallery. This immersive exhibition features 9 art pieces titled The Devine 9. Attendees will be captivated by stunning installations, thought-provoking, and vibrant paintings that challenge perceptions and spark dialogue. Opening night ALL ATTENDEES will have to dress in all Black Formal attire. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience art that transcends boundaries and ignites the imagination! Information Source: ODDxSHAD Gallery | eventbrite

The Savannah Bananas are a member of the Coastal Plain League, and they compete in regular baseball games within the league on weekdays. In the off-season, they will hold their own banana ball exhibition games. "I know we will never win the World Series, and we will never be the best baseball team on the planet, but we can be the most entertaining baseball team in the world. This is our mission and our vision," said Jared Orton, the club's president. The rules include: a two-hour game time limit, no bunts, the batter can choose to steal first, no walking out of the box, no on-base, and a scoring system, where the team with the most runs in each inning gets one point. In addition to the rules, the team brings a series of entertainment performances to almost every field, including choreographed dances, bizarre skits, and players walking around the stands to interact with fans.

System Of A Down, Avenged Sevenfold, and Polyphia are set to electrify Chicago with an unforgettable performance at Soldier Field Stadium on August 31, 2025, at 17:30. This highly anticipated event promises to be a monumental gathering for rock and metal enthusiasts. System Of A Down, known for their unique blend of alternative metal and thought-provoking lyrics, will headline the show, delivering a powerful and dynamic performance. Avenged Sevenfold, with their signature heavy metal sound and captivating stage presence, will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression. Polyphia, the instrumental progressive rock band, will showcase their intricate guitar work and innovative compositions, adding a distinct flair to the lineup. Soldier Field Stadium, located in the heart of Chicago, provides the perfect backdrop for this epic event, ensuring an immersive and memorable experience for all attendees. Don't miss the chance to witness these iconic bands come together for a night of unparalleled music and energy.

Jitish Kallat’s site-specific installation, Public Notice 3, returns to the Art Institute of Chicago’s Grand Staircase this fall after a 14-year hiatus. Initially unveiled on September 11, 2010, the work connects two significant historical events separated by 108 years: the First World’s Parliament of Religions which began on September 11, 1893, and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. At the earlier event, the World Parliament of Religions, held in an auditorium that encompassed the area that today includes both the museum’s Fullerton Hall and Woman’s Board Grand Staircase, a young Hindu monk, Swami Vivekananda electrified audiences with a powerful speech calling for an end to religious fundamentalism, intolerance, and bigotry.

Jitish Kallat’s site-specific installation, Public Notice 3, returns to the Art Institute of Chicago’s Grand Staircase this fall after a 14-year hiatus. Initially unveiled on September 11, 2010, the work connects two significant historical events separated by 108 years: the First World’s Parliament of Religions which began on September 11, 1893, and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. At the earlier event, the World Parliament of Religions, held in an auditorium that encompassed the area that today includes both the museum’s Fullerton Hall and Woman’s Board Grand Staircase, a young Hindu monk, Swami Vivekananda electrified audiences with a powerful speech calling for an end to religious fundamentalism, intolerance, and bigotry.

Wafaa Bilal: Indulge Me is the first major survey of internationally renowned artist Wafaa Bilal (b. 1966, Najaf, Iraq; lives in New York, NY). Working in performance, sculpture, and with online and interactive technologies, Bilal’s interdisciplinary practice investigates the dynamic between international and interpersonal politics while highlighting the tension between his home in the United States, which he has deemed the “comfort zone,” and the “conflict zone” of Iraq. The exhibition covers the breadth of Bilal’s versatile career by exploring his performance practice, the use of power in Saddam Hussein’s regime, and Iraqi history and antiquity. It will feature archival displays of his iconic month-long performance Domestic Tension (2007) and year-long performance 3rdi (2010–11), as well as two new works including a sculptural commission for the MCA.

This exhibition focuses on a single artwork by Pipilotti Rist (b. 1962, Grabs, Switzerland; lives and works in Zürich), the 2001 video installation Supersubjektiv. Rist filmed the video footage featured in Supersubjektiv using a handheld digital camera during a month-long trip to Japan in December 2000. The hallucinatory video, presented in the Turner Gallery as a multichannel installation accompanied by sheepskin seating and an artist-made pillow, offers viewers a dream-like space for contemplation and curiosity. Paired with an ambient electronic soundtrack with lyrics sung in English and Japanese, the artwork examines nature, the built environment, and technology with wide-eyed wonder. Visitors are encouraged to relax and lose track of time as they take in Rist’s audiovisual meditation on longing for connection in our vast, globalized society.

Iman Issa’s Heritage Studies are displays based on historical artifacts, which attempt to communicate their significance to the present moment. In her process, the objects are altered: Issa changes their materials, scale, and color to a degree that the resemblance between the historic artifact and Issa’s work can be difficult to discern. Despite these dissimilarities, the artist insists on the equivalence of these objects, almost like the equivalence between a photograph and its subject.

Iman Issa’s Heritage Studies are displays based on historical artifacts, which attempt to communicate their significance to the present moment. In her process, the objects are altered: Issa changes their materials, scale, and color to a degree that the resemblance between the historic artifact and Issa’s work can be difficult to discern. Despite these dissimilarities, the artist insists on the equivalence of these objects, almost like the equivalence between a photograph and its subject.

Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom presents 25 years of work from artist Paul Pfeiffer (b. 1966, Honolulu, HI; lives in New York, NY), whose practice interrogates ideas of spectacle and mass culture. By repurposing the tools and systems of media production—including editing, staging, and outsourcing—Pfeiffer recontextualizes global celebrities such as pop stars, film actors, and athletes to reveal relationships between audiences and athletes. icons. As the artist puts it, “who’s using who? Is the image making us, or do we make images?”

H. C. Westermann’s work combines a graceful mastery of materials, rough and tumble physicality, commonsense philosophizing, acrobatic wit and wordplay, and a sensitive worldview shaped in equal measure by the horrors of wartime and the devotions of love. He used a wide-range of materials but was most dedicated to woodworking, once stating that wood was his “whole life.”

Impressionist artist Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894)—known and beloved by many Art Institute visitors for his monumental painting Paris Street; Rainy Day—takes center stage in this major exhibition exploring the very personal interests and relationships that shaped his world.

Impressionist artist Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894)—known and beloved by many Art Institute visitors for his monumental painting Paris Street; Rainy Day—takes center stage in this major exhibition exploring the very personal interests and relationships that shaped his world.

City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago is an intergenerational group exhibition that highlights Chicago’s essential, yet often underacknowledged, role in the story of queer art and activism. The exhibition examines this history from the mid-1980s, when activists radically mobilized in response to the US government’s disastrous handling of the AIDS crisis. In this moment of change, activists reclaimed the historically pejorative epithet “queer” as a liberatory term, encompassing all who purposefully deviate from heteronormative society. Drawn from the MCA’s collection and other local collections, City in a Garden follows this paradigm shift in LGBTQ+ history by bringing together work from over 30 artists and collectives working in Chicago from the 1980s to the present.

City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago is an intergenerational group exhibition that highlights Chicago’s essential, yet often underacknowledged, role in the story of queer art and activism. The exhibition examines this history from the mid-1980s, when activists radically mobilized in response to the US government’s disastrous handling of the AIDS crisis. In this moment of change, activists reclaimed the historically pejorative epithet “queer” as a liberatory term, encompassing all who purposefully deviate from heteronormative society. Drawn from the MCA’s collection and other local collections, City in a Garden follows this paradigm shift in LGBTQ+ history by bringing together work from over 30 artists and collectives working in Chicago from the 1980s to the present.

Since 2007, Pixy Liao (廖逸君) has collaborated with her partner, Takahiro Morooka (諸岡高裕, nicknamed Moro), on a series of staged, often humorous self-portraits. These works wryly examine the power dynamics between artist and muse, prod at conservative gender roles, and document the evolution of their relationship.

Linkin Park and PVRIS are set to electrify Chicago with an unforgettable performance at the UnitedCenter on August 11, 2025, at 7:30 PM. This highly anticipated event promises a night of unparalleled musical synergy, bringing together the iconic sounds of Linkin Park and the dynamic energy of PVRIS. Fans can expect a diverse setlist that spans Linkin Park's legendary discography, from their groundbreaking debut album "Hybrid Theory" to their latest releases. PVRIS, known for their powerful vocals and genre-blending style, will undoubtedly complement the evening with their own captivating performance. Tickets for this must-see concert range from $55 to $700, catering to a wide array of fans eager to experience the magic live at the UnitedCenter. With such a stellar lineup, Linkin Park, PVRIS Chicago is poised to be one of the standout events of the year, drawing music enthusiasts from all corners to the heart of Chicago.