THIS FALL, THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO PRESENTS A SERIES OF STAR-STUDDED TALKS AND PROGRAMS FOR THE MCA’S ONGOING 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION.
Solange Knowles, Vince Staples, and Chance the Rapper deliver talks as part of In Sight Out, a conversation series presented in partnership with Pitchfork that explores new perspectives in music, art, and culture. Each talk is held at the MCA and is moderated by Pitchfork writers and editors. The talk with Solange Knowles takes place on Wednesday, September 13, at 7:30 pm; the talk with Vince Staples takes place on Friday, October 13, at 6 pm; and the talk with Chance the Rapper takes place on Friday, November 17, at 6 pm.
The MCA also hosts Prime Time: Off Rack, an after-hours event that explores the intersection of fashion, music, and contemporary art, featuring a performance by rapper, dancer, and producer Le1f. Fashion collaborative House of Diehl stages their fast-paced, instant couture competition, Style Wars, with Chicago’s most innovative stylists and designers as contestants and judges. Prime Time: Off Rack takes place at the MCA on Saturday, September 23, from 7-11 pm.
MCA TALK: SOLANGE KNOWLES
Wednesday, September 13, at 7:30 pm
Songwriter, recording and visual artist Solange Knowles engages in an evening of conversation with writer Britt Julious of Pitchfork. Following an early career of acting, dancing, and writing music for her older sister, Beyoncé Knowles, Solange’s third solo album A Seat at the Table rose to number one in the United States in 2016. The album’s hit single “Cranes in the Sky” won a Grammy award for Best R&B Performance. Solange ranks among the top 100 dance club artists of all time by Billboard magazine.
Britt Julious is a writer whose work appears in the New York Times, Esquire, ELLE, GQ, Rolling Stone, W magazine, Vice, and the Guardian on topics ranging from music and art to race, politics, and feminism. She currently writes a column for the Chicago Tribune.
MCA TALK: VINCE STAPLES
Friday, October 13, at 6 pm
Rapper Vince Staples talks of his difficult upbringing in Long Beach, California’s Ramona Park neighborhood, and his rise to fame with the release of his critically acclaimed debut album, Summertime ’06, in 2015. Now 24 years old, Staples’s breakout career includes the popular EP Prima Donna, and his most recent LP, Big Fish Theory. Known for his straightforward lyrics, Staples touches on issues including gang violence, the music industry, and social inequity in his work.
The talk is moderated by Pitchfork managing editor Matthew Schnipper, who previously served as the editor-in-chief of The FADER and has held editorial positions at GQ and the Verge.
MCA TALK: CHANCE THE RAPPER
Friday, November 17, at 6 pm
Chicago-based recording artist, producer, and philanthropist Chance the Rapper comes to the MCA for an evening of conversation with Pitchfork’s Adrienne Samuels Gibbs to discuss topics ranging from his interest in the art world to philanthropy. Chance The Rapper’s Acid Rap gained the artist critical acclaim in 2013, followed by Coloring Book, which earned three Grammy awards, including one for Best Rap Album, in 2016.
Adrienne Samuels Gibbs is an award-winning journalist who has worked for the Boston Globe and the Miami Herald before returning to her native Chicago to work for Ebony and the Chicago Sun-Times. Her bylines now appear in Essence, Forbes, Vice, Marie Claire, Chicago, Good, Billy Penn and Pitchfork.
PRIME TIME: OFF RACK
Saturday, September 23, 7-11 pm
Prime Time: Off Rack is an evening of music, fashion, and dance that explores the intersections of fashion, design, and contemporary art with art activations and distinctive food and beverages. The evening features a performance by rapper and dancer Le1f in the museum’s atrium, and Style Wars, a live design competition presented by fashion collaborative House of Diehl of New York. Other appearances include Eda Yorulmazglu’s costumed ‘creatures;’ DJ sets from Rae Chardonnay and Cqqchitfruit; music and dance performances by Brandon Bullard and Sadie Woods; and Growing Concerns Poetry Collective performs their lyrically driven album We Here: Thank You for Noticing.
MCA Prime Time is an after-hours series that taps into the creative pulse of Chicago with an eclectic mix of live music, performance art, film screenings, and interactive programs that transform the museum with artists and key cultural groups in the city. Prime Time: Off Rack is organized by January Parkos Arnall, curator, Public Programs and Ann Meisinger, assistant curator, Public Programs.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to each MCA Talk are $20. Tickets for the talk with Solange Knowles go on sale August 23 at noon. Tickets for the talk with Vince Staples go on sale September 6 at noon. Tickets for the talk with Chance the Rapper go on sale October 11 at noon. Tickets to Prime Time: Off Rack are $20 and go on sale August 16 at noon. The MCA Box Office is at 312.397.4010 and tickets are available online at www.mcachicago.org.
Image: Solange Knowles, photo: Carlota Querrero. Vince Staples, photo: James W. Mataitis Bailey. Chance The Rapper, photo: Zoe Rain.
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