{"article":{"id":10529,"title":"Reflecting on 50 Years: MoCP Celebrates with Darkroom Benefit February 26","excerpt":"","body":"

Darkroom 2025 Benefit committee member Eszter Borvendeg.



By GINNY VAN ALYEA


The Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago (MoCP) is gearing up for a milestone celebration—50 years of championing photography in Chicago—with its annual benefit auction party, DARKROOM, happening February 26, 2026.

A signature MoCP fundraiser and one of the season’s most anticipated photography events, DARKROOM brings together hundreds of artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts for one unforgettable night honoring the city’s vibrant photo community—past, present, and future. Even the event's name is a nod to how long this photography institution has been around and how foundational it is to appreciating the medium. I am curious how many people actually know what a darkroom is and the kind of magic space it can be. How many have been in one to develop photos and know the smell of the the chemicals that reveal images on blank pieces of paper. A medium many are familiar with on an hourly basis today, thanks to smartphones, has a long and rich history that has continually impacted and influenced our lives. All this and more will be celebrated and appreciated on February 26.



Joel Sternfeld, McLean, Virginia, 1978


Silver Camera Award Honoree: Joel Sternfeld


This year, MoCP will honor award-winning photographer Joel Sternfeld with the Silver Camera Award, recognizing his influential career and achievements spanning more than five decades. With a career spanning over fifty years, Joel Sternfeld is regarded as a major influence in contemporary landscape photography, in part as an early proponent of working in color. In the tradition of the New Topographics photographers, Sternfeld documents the American landscape, noting the ironic, often destructive impact of human activity on the land. His photographs balance wry social observation with a poetic sensitivity to light and color.


Ahead of the party, Sternfeld will also present a Lecture in Photography at noon on Thursday, February 26, 2026, part of MoCP’s public speaker series co-sponsored by Columbia College Chicago’s School of Visual Arts.


50 Artworks + One-of-a-Kind Experiences


In celebration of the museum’s 50th anniversary, the DARKROOM auction will feature fifty artworks and unique arts experiences by both rising and internationally celebrated artists who have shaped MoCP’s legacy and the wider field of photography. Featured contributors include: Regina Agu, Uta Barth, Dawoud Bey, Vera Lutter, Abelardo Morell, Aaron Siskind, and Penelope Umbrico (among others).



Ward Miller and David Salkin


Portraits, Music, and More


Darkroom is also set to deliver plenty beyond the bidding. Guests can take part in an exclusive on-site portrait opportunity inside an original installation by Marzena Abrahamik (2025 Guggenheim Fellow and a MoCP permanent collection artist).

The night’s soundtrack will be curated by Alejandro Zerah, Smartbar Talent Buyer and a featured name in Newcity Magazine’s Music 45 (2025).


This is also, of course, a party and a chance to celebrate MoCP in person, surrounded b photography while enjoying food sponsored by Gage Hospitality Group and craft cocktails by Sovereign Brands Half Acre beer. It's good to know these things in advance so you know what to enjoy first!


Supporting museum programming and education initiatives, the Darkroom auction will be available to view in person at the Hokin Gallery February 13–20, 2026, and will be open for in-person and online bidding through the event on February 26, 2026.


Tickets are available online and will also be available for purchase at the door.


Images by Lisa Gottschalk and Z Marciniak.


_________________________________



DARKROOM Auction Preview Exhibition

February 13-20, 2026

Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

Hokin Gallery

623 S Wabash Ave, Fl 1

Chicago, IL

*Free and open to the public.


Lecture in Photography: Joel Sternfeld

February 26, 2026

12:00 pm

Ferguson Lecture Hall

600 S Michigan Ave

Chicago, IL

*Free and open to the public, registration required.


DARKROOM Annual Benefit Auction Party

February 26, 2026

Columbia College Chicago Student Center

754 S Wabash Ave

Chicago, IL


• VIP reception with Joel Sternfeld

5:30-6:30 pm


• Benefit auction party

6:30-9:30 pm


*Ticket purchase required


DETAILS at MoCP.org


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This weekend's art plans can take you across Chicago, into the far suburbs, and north to Wisconsin.


The Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House Chicago opens doors to distinctive spaces, while family activities and an outdoor sculpture tour offer more ways to spend time with art.


Here is a look at what’s on this Saturday and Sunday. Follow the event links for any registration details and updates, and keep an eye on CGN’s calendar as more details are added.


– CGN




Open House Chicago at the Driehaus Museum

Saturday–Sunday, October 17–18; Saturday performance 1–2 p.m.

The Driehaus Museum

Murphy Auditorium, 50 E. Erie St., Chicago


Explore the historic Murphy Auditorium during the Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House Chicago weekend. The landmark, reopened after renovation in 2024, also hosts Hanna DiLorenzo’s Behind Closed Doors on Saturday. Entry is free without reservations; access does not include the museum’s exhibition galleries.




Family Day: Proud to Be Me

Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

Smart Museum of Art

5550 S. Greenwood Ave., Chicago


Exhibiting artist Nina Chanel Abney guides visitors in creating colorful self-portrait collages. A collaborative card-deck project extends the activities beyond the canvas, offering families a chance to explore identity and creativity together.




Open House Chicago: Etching Demonstrations

Saturday–Sunday, October 17–18, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. each day

WING Studio

4883 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago


Add printmaking to your Open House Chicago itinerary. WING Studio welcomes visitors for etching demonstrations on both days, offering a closer look at an art-making process inside a working studio in Lincoln Square.




Guided Tour of theNate with Director and Curator Jeff Stevenson

Saturday, October 17, 1–2:30 p.m.

Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park

Governors State University, University Park


Head outdoors with Jeff Stevenson for a tour of the South Collection, considering visiting artists’ installations alongside familiar works and their connections to the Earth. Admission is $10. Meet at the F Entrance, wear shoes for grass paths, and dress for the weather; parking is free.




Kevin Blake: Sundowning

Saturday, October 17, 2–4 p.m.

Bert Green Fine Art

8 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 620, Chicago


This Saturday event highlights Kevin Blake’s solo exhibition, guest curated by Dan Cameron. Blake’s paintings scrutinize inherited ideas of masculinity, placing familiar social roles in unsettled situations and revealing vulnerability beneath the outward performance of confidence.




*


View the full CGN Calendar here


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This week’s art plans can take you across Chicago, into the suburbs, and north to Wisconsin. Bridgeport is busy with Third Friday festivities and Milwaukee’s quarterly Gallery Night MKE is back. New exhibitions, live calligraphy, and an art sale round out Friday’s choices.


Here is a look at what’s ahead on Friday. Follow the event links for registration and updates, and keep an eye on CGN’s calendar as more details are added.


– CGN




Between Reflection and Revelation: David Dunlop’s Material Alchemy

Gallery Night: Friday, October 16, 5–9 p.m.; Gallery Day: Saturday, October 17, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; exhibition opens October 14

JK Art House

191 N. Broadway, Milwaukee, Wisconsin


Make a Wisconsin art outing part of the weekend. David Dunlop combines traditional translucent oil techniques with metal supports, producing paintings whose surfaces change with light and movement. The opening joins Milwaukee’s quarterly Gallery Night MKE, with a free John Michael Kohler Arts Center workshop also taking place in the gallery.


Also taking place is Treasured Postcards on Friday, October 16, 5–9 p.m. This is a John Michael Kohler Arts Center workshop at JK Art House. Inspired by Lenore Tawney’s correspondence, this free Gallery Night workshop invites participants to make small collage postcards from photographs, printed papers, and other materials. Stop into JK Art House’s Parlor to create an artwork that can travel through the mail.




Out There

Gallery Night: Friday, October 16, 5–8 p.m.; Gallery Day: Saturday, October 17, 11 am. Exhibition on view through November 7

Kim Storage Gallery

207 E Buffalo St., Ste 404, Milwaukee, WI 53202


Out There is a two-person exhibition of new work by Hector Acuna and Andy Paczos. The title borrows the advice a teacher gave Paczos at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago: look out the window, \"there's lots of good stuff out there.\" He took it, and has painted Chicago from direct observation for three decades since. Acuna works the same way, returning to his Wisconsin sites across multiple plein air sessions and staging handmade props to paint in natural light. Both find their subjects by standing in front of them




Recycled 2026

First Look: Friday, October 16, 5 p.m.; opening-night event at 6 p.m.; sale through October 24

The Art Center Highland Park

1957 Sheridan Rd., Highland Park


Rediscovered art finds new homes at The Art Center’s annual sale, with donated works selected and priced for accessible collecting. Opening-night tickets offer an early look; weekend hours are Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., and Sunday, noon–4 p.m. Entry is free October 19–24.




Calligraphy Performance

Friday, October 16, 5–8 p.m.; artist conversation 5–6:30 p.m.; performances begin at 6:30 p.m.

Research House for Asian Art

3217 S. Morgan St., Chicago


The Becoming Words reception brings calligraphy to life through performances by Hekiun Oda and Bahman Panahi. Panahi joins musician Kerry Leung for Musicalligraphy, while Oda demonstrates his distinctive practice. Food reflecting both artists’ cultures accompanies the evening. Admission is $40, plus the ticket service fee.




Structure in Stature

Opening: Friday, October 16, 6–9 p.m.; on view through November 20

Forum 301

301 W. Ohio St., Chicago


Fashion becomes a meeting point for architecture, sculpture, and performance in this group exhibition. The participating artists examine how clothing shapes bodily presence, from protection and concealment to exaggeration and transformation, and how we construct the space we occupy.




Open Studios Third Friday at the Bridgeport Art Center

Friday, October 16, 7–10 p.m.

Bridgeport Art Center

1200 W. 35th St., Chicago


Explore studios and three gallery presentations: Decadence Deux, presented by Pigment International and September Gray Fine Art; Art Connection: Past Meets Present, from ArtConnectED; and Robert Lipton’s Una Vuelta a Mis Raices. The free evening offers opportunities to encounter artists and their work throughout the building.




Bridgeport Third Friday Art Walk

Friday, October 16, 7–10 p.m.

Bridgeport Artist Community

Multiple neighborhood locations in Bridgeport, Chicago


Extend your Third Friday visit beyond a single building. The Bridgeport Artist Community’s route connects more than 45 galleries, studios, shops, and cultural spaces. Use the linked neighborhood map to plan stops, and check individual venues for their evening hours.




Szukalski. The Mythshaper / Szukalski. Rzeźbiarz mitu

Opening: Friday, October 16, 7–9 p.m.; on view through October 2027

Polish Museum of America

984 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago


A major exhibition revisits Stanisław Szukalski’s complex legacy through sculpture, drawing, prints, and photography. Organized with the POLONIKA Institute, it examines his imaginative mythmaking and contested ideas. Opening admission is $25; a Saturday discussion at 1 p.m. is $20, or $40 for both programs.




*


View the full CGN Calendar here

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October 14 and 15","excerpt":null,"body":"

This week’s art plans can take you across Chicago, into the suburbs, and north to Wisconsin. Auctions and museum conversations lead into Lincoln Park Art Night on Thursday, followed by Bridgeport’s Third Friday festivities and Milwaukee’s quarterly Gallery Night MKE. New exhibitions, live calligraphy, and an art sale round out Friday’s choices. Over the weekend, the Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House Chicago opens doors to distinctive spaces, while family activities and an outdoor sculpture tour offer more ways to spend time with art.


Here is a date-by-date look at what’s ahead. Follow the event links for registration and updates, and keep an eye on CGN’s calendar as more details are added.


– CGN




Curated: CALDER

Auction: Wednesday, October 14, 10 a.m. Central / 11 a.m. Eastern

Rago and Wright

online bidding


A midweek auction offers another way to engage with art. Rago and Wright’s current Curated: CALDER sale brings the artist’s work to the auction block, with bidding available online. See the current auction catalog for lots and registration.




European Furniture & Decorative Arts

Auction: October 14–15, 10 a.m. Central each day

Freeman’s

1550 W. Carroll Ave., Chicago


Freeman’s two-day sale spans English and Continental furnishings, decorative objects, and sculpture. Collections from across the country, including Barrington Hills, contribute to a selection ranging from clocks and tapestries to Minton porcelain.




Symposium: Religion, Art, and Provenance in Museums

October 14–16

Smart Museum of Art

University of Chicago | Hyde Park


What happens to religious objects when they enter museum collections? Keynotes, panels, and roundtable conversations consider their changing meanings and histories in this multi-day symposium. Consult the program for individual session times and locations.




Art and Women in Sports: Looking at Amber Morningstar

Wednesday, October 14, 3:30–5 p.m.

Block Museum of Art

40 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston


Northwestern Athletics’ Ava Earl and Associate Provost Michelle Manno consider Cara Romero’s photograph Amber Morningstar through the lens of women in sports and self-representation. The conversation connects art with identity, teamwork, and the power to shape one’s own image.


Coffee and tea begin at 3 p.m.




Becoming Words: A Joint Calligraphy Exhibition

October 15–November 15; opening reception Friday, October 16, 5–8 p.m.

Heritage Museum of Asian Art and Seldon Institute

Exhibition at Research House for Asian Art, 3217 S. Morgan St., Chicago


Japanese calligrapher Hekiun Oda and Iranian artist Bahman Panahi bring different traditions into conversation, moving from written language toward gesture, abstraction, and sound. The exhibition opens Thursday, followed by Friday’s live performance program and a free artist-led tour Saturday, October 17, 1–3 p.m.



The Fine Art of [Madron Gallery]

Opening: Thursday, October 15, 5:30–8:30 p.m.; on view through December 18

Madron Gallery

1000 W. North Ave., 3rd Floor, Chicago


Madron marks its 25th anniversary with twenty-five works by twenty-five artists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The free opening joins the fifth annual Lincoln Park Art Night, making it a lively evening to explore Madron, Leslie Wolfe Gallery, gallery 1871, Art City, and Art on Sedgwick.




Wander and Wallow: Must We Dwell — Brian Lathan

Opening: Thursday, October 15, 6–8 p.m.; artist remarks at 6:30 p.m.; on view through November 20

Kavanagh Gallery, Fine Line Creative Arts Center

37W570 Bolcum Rd., St. Charles


Brian Lathan’s brightly colored prints explore the uneasy relationship between escape and self-care. Figures shelter smaller versions of themselves inside exposed headspaces, inviting viewers to consider the habits and interior worlds that sustain us. Meet the artist at the free opening reception.


*


View the full CGN Calendar here



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