Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Art
4
10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The MCA brings artists and audiences together to experience and contemplate contemporary art and culture.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Near North Side
How to get there
- Chicago • 8 min walk
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See what travellers are saying
- Adamj7777London, United Kingdom144 contributionsSmaller than expectedI was surprised that it was much smaller than I had expected. The top floor was closed for a new installation being made but I don’t think that would have added lots more to the space. A few interesting items when I went. A high quality gift shop as well.Visited October 2023Travelled soloWritten 4 October 2023
- Greg K1 contributionGreat for hosting events!We held an event at the MCA and it was a blast. The food was great (had options for vegetarians and vegans) and the team that I worked with was very professional. I would not mind having an event here again if the opportunity allows! We also had access to the museum to view some of the art they had displayed.Visited February 2024Travelled on businessWritten 5 February 2024
- NiniBugLondon, United Kingdom299 contributionsOne of Chicago's best kept cultural secrets.If you have a short time in Chicago, go to the MCA. We visited the museum on a Sunday. It's central location and smaller galleries ensures that you don't get "museum fatigue". After viewing the collections and special exhibits, we decided to have brunch at the excellent cafe on the ground floor. We had a relaxing time at the MCA and look forward to our next visit.Visited June 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 28 July 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
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4.0
914 reviews
Excellent
365
Very good
246
Average
159
Poor
88
Terrible
56
Elfma
Greenwich, CT742 contributions
Aug 2022 • Friends
A great museum, user-friendly and beautifully curated. Lucky to have heard about the summer Tuesdays on The Terrace free jazz concerts(walk ups are welcome) Food and Bev available on site. A place to see and be seen and a terrific way to end the day. Bring a blanket.
Written 11 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NiniBug
London, UK299 contributions
June 2024 • Couples
If you have a short time in Chicago, go to the MCA. We visited the museum on a Sunday. It's central location and smaller galleries ensures that you don't get "museum fatigue". After viewing the collections and special exhibits, we decided to have brunch at the excellent cafe on the ground floor. We had a relaxing time at the MCA and look forward to our next visit.
Written 28 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Adamj7777
London, UK144 contributions
Oct 2023 • Solo
I was surprised that it was much smaller than I had expected. The top floor was closed for a new installation being made but I don’t think that would have added lots more to the space. A few interesting items when I went. A high quality gift shop as well.
Written 4 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Greg K
1 contribution
Feb 2024 • Business
We held an event at the MCA and it was a blast. The food was great (had options for vegetarians and vegans) and the team that I worked with was very professional. I would not mind having an event here again if the opportunity allows! We also had access to the museum to view some of the art they had displayed.
Written 5 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
liverpool1023
London, UK1,203 contributions
Mar 2020 • Couples
I wasn’t bowled over by MICA. The permanent Collection is a bit on the thin side; lots of filler and not much chiller. The consequence of having one Cindy Sherman, one Francis Bacon, etc means it all feels a little random. I think this may one to visit selectively depending on what travelling exhibition is on.
Written 8 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Irina
United States14,017 contributions
Oct 2022
Visiting the exhibition "Forothermore" of modern, unique artworks by a contemporary artist Nick Cave was an unforgettable experience. The exhibition was a mind-blowing, fascinating presentation of the artist's life, his commitment to portray the unsolved, ongoing social issues, his devotion to pay attention and give space to "others", who have been marginalized by modern societies.
Through his stunning paintings, sculptures, found object installations (unbelievable Soundsuits!), the artist finds the way to talk to viewers about the working-class people and the queer people of color. Words "Others Welcome" were on the facade panels of the MCA building, during the four months of the exhibition.
It is next to impossible to describe the artworks -- some have titles, some are unnamed.
In my view, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) has done a fantastic job, organizing this exhibition, accompanied by the detailed comments on the plaques, and also by audio- and video presentation of the artist and his thoughts about the past, present and future, his views, recollections, and comments on his artworks.
As far as the viewers -- the exhibition gave them the absolute freedom to interpret the meanings of the artworks, masterfully created by the artist, and to enjoy the true Power of Art.
The exhibition closed in Chicago MCA a little over two weeks ago, and it has been moved to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
I am very impressed by the unquestionable, powerful artistic talent of Nick Cave. Not only I was lucky to see his works at the MCA exhibition, I also bought some souvenirs and the monograph with color illustrations of the artist's works at the MCA Shop.
Thank You Very Much!
Through his stunning paintings, sculptures, found object installations (unbelievable Soundsuits!), the artist finds the way to talk to viewers about the working-class people and the queer people of color. Words "Others Welcome" were on the facade panels of the MCA building, during the four months of the exhibition.
It is next to impossible to describe the artworks -- some have titles, some are unnamed.
In my view, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) has done a fantastic job, organizing this exhibition, accompanied by the detailed comments on the plaques, and also by audio- and video presentation of the artist and his thoughts about the past, present and future, his views, recollections, and comments on his artworks.
As far as the viewers -- the exhibition gave them the absolute freedom to interpret the meanings of the artworks, masterfully created by the artist, and to enjoy the true Power of Art.
The exhibition closed in Chicago MCA a little over two weeks ago, and it has been moved to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
I am very impressed by the unquestionable, powerful artistic talent of Nick Cave. Not only I was lucky to see his works at the MCA exhibition, I also bought some souvenirs and the monograph with color illustrations of the artist's works at the MCA Shop.
Thank You Very Much!
Written 19 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Russ Lacuata
Long Beach, CA9,706 contributions
I am not a fan of contemporary arts at all, however I do appreciate and admire the seeing the artist perspective through art works. On my visit there was the Seeing Chicago, Duro Olowu , some very interesting pieces and others I thought it was straight garbage. The building alone is not very huge, but they make great use of the space for exhibits. One of the highlights of the visit is seeing the grand staircase with the web like nettings.
Written 5 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PSS123
Croatia81 contributions
July 2019 • Couples
Having seen the famous Tate museum in London and having been disappointed by it, as a someone who do not really understand the "modern" art, I entered this museum with low expectations (I'm an engineer). But I was most pleasantly surprised by the social and societal message attached to the art exhibits. I was particularly impressed, and even deeply moved, by the "Prisoner of Love" exhibition. The glimpse that it offers into the African-American perspective of the society is eye-opening and sometimes even frightening. It made my hair stand on its end at times. I would highly recommend it.
Written 5 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Luvs2TravelAnywhere
New York City, NY7,191 contributions
Apr 2016
We were walking and just found the Museum of Contemporary Art. I loved it as much as The Art Institute. Make sure you check out their shop - very cool items.
Written 10 April 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ljpne
Chicago, IL30 contributions
June 2015 • Solo
I am struggling with what to say, without being unkind. Honestly, though, the city of Chicago should be embarrassed by this place.
Museum? No, it is not. At best, it is a gallery for temporary exhibits of questionable works by unproven "artists". Except for the Calder exhibit, it appears they have NO permanent collection…
This is a VERY small "museum", with very few exhibits. Unfortunately, someone made the decision to exhibit a large percentage of the facility space to show the most ridiculous home movies; the only decision worse than exhibiting them was the decision by the "artist" to make the movies in the first place.
I LOVE contemporary art, and have visited many, many contemporary art museums, including Los Angeles, New York City, Austin, and Kansas City. However, these people should be ashamed to accept your money; I know I certainly regret giving it to them.
The staff doesn't seem to respect the facility much, either. The docent leading the 2:00pm tour was not professionally dressed; she looked like she just left a Little Leage game or had just come from the grocery store. And even though there were signs everywhere stating, "No food, no drinks" there was an employee eating food ON THE ELEVATOR; and she was not returning from the 2nd floor cafe to the office area on the fifth floor; she was descending. No class.
Oh, and, they seriously need to assign somebody to clean the fish pond; it was filthy.
Museum? No, it is not. At best, it is a gallery for temporary exhibits of questionable works by unproven "artists". Except for the Calder exhibit, it appears they have NO permanent collection…
This is a VERY small "museum", with very few exhibits. Unfortunately, someone made the decision to exhibit a large percentage of the facility space to show the most ridiculous home movies; the only decision worse than exhibiting them was the decision by the "artist" to make the movies in the first place.
I LOVE contemporary art, and have visited many, many contemporary art museums, including Los Angeles, New York City, Austin, and Kansas City. However, these people should be ashamed to accept your money; I know I certainly regret giving it to them.
The staff doesn't seem to respect the facility much, either. The docent leading the 2:00pm tour was not professionally dressed; she looked like she just left a Little Leage game or had just come from the grocery store. And even though there were signs everywhere stating, "No food, no drinks" there was an employee eating food ON THE ELEVATOR; and she was not returning from the 2nd floor cafe to the office area on the fifth floor; she was descending. No class.
Oh, and, they seriously need to assign somebody to clean the fish pond; it was filthy.
Written 7 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for taking some time to write a review Ljpne, I thought it'd be helpful to respond to some of your comments as a clarification.
As a contemporary art museum we do have a strong commitment to showing "unproven artists," it's actually part of the way the MCA started. We want to provide one of the very first platforms for these new voices and talents to share their art with the world. Sometimes this work doesn't resonant with everyone, sometimes the artist who goes onto become a major part of art history, and sometimes both of those things happen. That's part of the process of showing and debating new art.
We do have a permanent collection though it is not on permanent view as in other museums, it rotates, and we also include the permanent collection in many exhibitions on various themes or ideas. Your review is from June 7 so exhibitions like "Out of Office" and "S, M, L, XL" (as well as "MCA DNA: Alexander Calder") are all exhibitions of our permanent collections, just around different ideas—putting the art in a new context brings out new ways of seeing an artwork often.
The "ridiculous home movies" you saw were by Keren Cytter in her solo exhibition and indeed humor is a major element of her work as she intentionally deconstructs cinema techniques using lo-fi effects so you might have hit the nail on the head there.
We will certainly look into your feedback about our staff as we'll want them to set an example for our visitors.
Again, appreciate the time you took to review and we do hope you'll be back to visit, debate, and see new artwork.
Written 17 June 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Just wondering how much out of state college students have to pay? I see students are $8 but does that include out of state college students?
Written 16 June 2018
I don't have an answer but I thought you might want to try a phone number posted on the museum's website for the "Performance Programs" area: 312-397-4085
Written 16 June 2017
Public transportation is recommended as parking in nearby garages will cost you. The alternative is to take a cab or Uber as it will be cheaper than paying for parking that is if you are staying nearby on the magnificent mile.
Insider tip: park at garage near northwestern and when you leave
MOMA go into the hospital with your parking ticket to the front check in desk on main floor of Prentice women's hospital and tell them you were at the hospital but forgot to have your ticket validated. You will end up paying way less than the full day parking price.
Written 8 June 2016
Pouvez vous me dire si les enfants de plus de 10 ans, aimeraient ce musée? Merci pour votre réponse. thank you for answering
Written 9 March 2016
Hi Olivier, I think a child over 10 might like the museum, mainly if there is an interest in music. When we visited it there was an activity organised for children in the first floor lobby. There is a big exhibit of all sorts of music instruments from the Art Ensemble of Chicago, quite picturesque. Some of the AfriCOBRA paintings are quite naïve and colored and would please a child. Some of the exhibits are automatically animated. Don't miss the small movies, they are surprising. So I recommend that you don't hesitate rushing there with your child! Enjoy your visit!
Written 11 March 2016
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