At Chicago’s Co-Prosperity Sphere, this travelling exhibition draws links between the Chicago design community and the larger social and political movements of the late 20th century including the civil rights, women’s, and LGBTQ movements impacted every facet of US society, including architecture and design. The exhibition elected not to be listed or affiliated with the Chicago Architecture Biennial due to the funding it receives from BP. Running until 2 October 2019. 3219 South Morgan Street nowwhat-architexx.org

At Theaster Gates’ Stony Island Arts Bank, the exhibition ‘In The Absence of Light: Gesture, Humor and Resistance in The Black Aesthetic’ brings together 20 artists who reveal their personal worlds through ‘laughter, painting gesture and isolation.’ Also see the Tamir Rice gazebo, relocated and reconstructed outside the Stony Island Arts Bank in memory of Tamir, who at 12-years-old was murdered by a Cleveland police officer at the Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland, Ohio in 2014. The gazebo was dedicated in June this year. Exhibition runs 19 September – 29 December. 6760 S. Stony Island Ave rebuild-foundation.org

The Anthony Overton Elementary School was designed by Perkins and Will and opened in 1963. lt closed in 2013, one of 50 public schools closed that year in Chicago. In 2017, with the support of the CAB 19 grant, Borderless Studio stepped in to re-activate the building, and think about the closed schools as sites of potential. A community-led gathering will kick off on 21 September with workshops, neighbourhood tours of Bronzeville, performances and food. Find projects by Biennial contributors Borderless Studio, Herkes İçin Mimarlık (Architecture for All), studioBASAR, and Zorka Wollny here. 13:00-16:00, 21 September 2019. 221 E 49th St creativegrounds.org

Explore the studio practice and philosophy of Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, in the exhibition ‘Tatiana Bilbao Estudio: Unravelling the Modern’ at the Graham Foundation. She is currently designing a brutalist, ethical aquarium in Mazatlán. Can’t wait? Read a Q&A with her here. The exhibition runs from 16 September to 11 January 11 2020. 4 W Burton Pl grahamfoundation.org

Stereoform Slab is an experiential open-air concrete pavilion envisioned by SOM, Sterling Bay, McHugh Construction, Odico, Autodesk in the city’s West Loop. It’s an innovative 1:1 prototype of a research idea which combines advanced robotic technology with current construction methods to reduce material use. Opening reception: 18:00 – 21:00, 17 September, registration required. September 19, 2019 – January 5, 2020 (1245 West Fulton Market). The powerhouse firm will also be showing a bench carved by a robotic arm in the drawing room in the lobby of the Chicago Athletic Association hotel (12 S Michigan Ave).
som.com

An explosion of creativity in the Pilsen neighbourhood, Mana Contemporary Chicago can be found in an enormous landmark building designed by noted local architect George Nimmons. On 22 September, the site will throw open its doors – to artist studios, exhibitions space and cafes – between 13:00 – 16:00, offering a chance for the public to explore. 2233 S Throop St manacontemporary.com

Danish artists Gamborg/Magnussen plant a field of 10,000 cabbages and set up an outdoor garden kitchen in the middle of Garfield Park Conservatory. Commissioned by the Danish Arts Foundation, in collaboration with Garfield Park Conservatory and the Chicago Park District the project is designed to explore how landscapes can shape communities. 300 N Central Park Ave garfieldconservatory.org

While in Chicago, take your chance to check in on progress at Studio Gang’s Vista Tower – the residential and hotel complex soon to be completing in the downtown Lakeshore East area. The three interconnected volumes of differing heights are slowly but surely rising, and at ground level the design features a vital pedestrian connection to the Chicago Riverwalk. We had a first look at it back in 2016 when it launched. See what else is coming up from the pro-active, socially-minded and innovative studio led by Jeanne Gang here. 345 E Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601 studiogang.com

‘Architecture is not neutral; it hurts or it heals’ – says MASS Design Group, the Boston-based studio behind The Gun Violence Memorial project which can be seen at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of CAB 19. For this talk at the Chicago Architecture Center, Jha D. Williams of MASS Design Group will discuss the role of architecture in illuminating important issues such as gun violence. Booking required. 13:30, 21 September, Gand Lecture Hall. 111 E Wacker Dr architecture.org

A new site specific work by artist Assaf Evron titled ‘Collages for the Esplanade Apartments’ wraps around the windows of Mies van der Rohe’s 900 N Lake Shore Drive. The project, commissioned by EXPO CHICAGO as part of the IN/SITU Outside programme, is inspired by Mies’ collages of domestic interiors and American landscapes from 1938. 19 September – 03 October. 900 N Lake Shore Dr expochicago.com

The 8th Chicago EXPO art fair brings 135 galleries from 24 countries and 68 cities across the world to the city. Look out for the IN/SITU programme of large-scale installations across the city and OVERRIDE a city-wide billboard contemporary art take-over. Pictured, Thomas Struth’s Gelatin silver print of Wabash Ave./The Loop/Madison Str., Chicago, 1990. Image courtesy Thomas Struth and Marian Goodman Gallery. September 19 – 22, 2019. Navy Pier Festival Hall, 600 E. Grand Ave expochicago.com

The beaux arts living room of the city, and central location of the Chicago Architecture Biennal ‘And Other Stories’. Find projects by Theaster Gates, MASS Design Group, ConstructLab and Forensic Architecture, and much, much more here. Monday – Friday 10:00 – 19:00; Saturday, Sunday 10:00 – 17:00. 78 E Washington St chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org

Over the past five years, the team at the Sweet Water Foundation has transformed four contiguous city blocks in Chicago into three acres of urban farms, a large community garden and converted disused buildings into education, residencies and workshop spaces. Their CAB 19 project, titled Re-Rooting + Redux, is a new gallery space and installation designed in collaboration with Trillium Dell Timber Frame Construction is inspired by the framing and construction method of Chicago’s worker cottages. Check website for visiting times. 5749 S Perry Ave sweetwaterfoundation.com

The first major museum survey of Julia Fish’s work for more than 20 years explores the work of the American artist (and professor emerita at the University of Illinois at Chicago) where she taught from 1989 to 2015. Her paintings map colour, form and light from her own house, and its vernacular architecture — a Chicago storefront designed by Theodore Steuben in 1922. Also see exhibitions ‘Architectural Annotations’ and ‘Remember Where You Are’ which explore the effect of architecture, geography and place on individual narratives. All opening evening of 12 September, and on view until 23 February 2020. 935 W Fullerton Ave resources.depaul.edu/art-museum

Explore Chicago’s history of housing through a talk and musical performance between Malose Malahela, Jim Duignan and Jeff Kowlkowski at the Little Italy Branch Library (21 September) and, a BBQ dinner and evening of films screened outdoors on the site of the last remaining building of the Jane Addams Homes (25 September). Screenshot pictured from More Than One Thing (1969, 30 mins) to be screened on the night. 625 N Kingsbury St nphm.org

‘In a Cloud, in a Wall, in a Chair: Six Modernists in Mexico at Midcentury’ explores works inspired by local Mexican traditions and modern methods – featuring experimental weaving by Sheila Hicks, design objects by Cuban-born furniture and interior designer Clara Porset and organic sculptures by Ruth Asawa. Exhibition runs until 12 January 2020. Pictured, Lola Álvarez Bravo. Anarquía arquitectónica en la ciudad de México (Architectural Anarchy in Mexico City), about 1954. Collection of González Rendón Family. © Center for Creative Photography. Photography by Rodrigo Chapa, courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago. 111 S Michigan Ave artic.edu

Two architecture-related exhibitions to check out while you’re in Chicago for the biennial this autumn. One: ‘Chicago Works: Assaf Evron’ featuring photographs of architecture in Chicago juxtaposed with photographs from Israel, on view until 16 February 2020. Two: ‘The Shape of the Future’, running 19 October 2019 to 5 April 2020, which visualises a collection of utopian futures including works by Buckminster Fuller, David Hartt, Yto Barrada and Damien Ortega. Photography: Peter McCullough. 220 E Chicago Ave mcachicago.org