MCA Chicago Announces ‘Collection in Conversation with Pablo Helguera’ Opening August 2, 2025
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) recently announced the opening of Collection in Conversation with Pablo Helguera, a community-informed exhibition running from August 2, 2025, to July 5, 2026, in the MCA’s stairwell galleries.
For this exhibition, the MCA invited artist and educator Pablo Helguera to draw a selection of works from the museum’s permanent collection, inspired by conversations with Chicago artists, writers, activists, and educators. In the fall of 2024, the MCA invited twenty individuals with different backgrounds and life experiences to meet and discuss the role of art in moments of uncertainty and possibility.
Curated by Helguera and representatives from the MCA’s curatorial and learning teams in response to the group’s discussions, the exhibition will be organized by theme throughout the three floors of the MCA’s stairwell galleries, confronting trauma, resistance, complicity, and the power of individuals and movements during times of uncertainty. Each floor of the exhibition will be accompanied by the voices of individuals whose unique perspectives from the conversations informed the selection of works.
With this exhibition, the MCA experiments with a new mode of presenting its permanent collection—in conversation with the people it is meant to serve. Chicago participants include Olivia Gude, Tempestt Hazel, Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford, Ankit Khadgi, Maira Khwaja, S. Y. Lim, Stephanie Manriquez, Magdalena Moskalewicz, Nissa Rhee, Monica Rickert-Bolter, Mérida M. Rúa, Pia Singh, Carlos Salazar-Lermont, Sufyan Sohel, and several others who wish to remain anonymous.
Collection in Conversation with Pablo Helguera is organized by guest curator Pablo Helguera with Miguel Aguilar, Manager of Learning, School Partnerships and Curriculum, and Iris Colburn, Curatorial Associate.
Pablo Helguera (b. 1971, Mexico City, lives in New York) is an artist working in installation, sculpture, photography, drawing, socially engaged art, and performance. Helguera’s work focuses on a variety of topics ranging from history, pedagogy, sociolinguistics, ethnography, memory, and the absurd, in formats that are widely varied including the lecture, museum display strategies, musical performances, and written fiction.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The MCA interweaves exhibitions, performances, collections, and educational programs while providing a place for audiences to contemplate and discuss contemporary art in pursuit of a creative and diverse future.
Find more information about MCA’s exhibitions, programs, and special events at mcachicago.org or at 312.280.2660
