Exhibitions

Our exhibitions are a vital part to our mission. We hope to find artists who not only identify with madness, or adjacent identities, but who challenge us to consider many aspects of our shared human conditions.

 

 

WORTHY

Photographs by Melissa Kreider

Current Exhibition

Feb 14th thru March 29th

 

Fri and Sat 11-5

 

or by appointment



UPCOMING

Cam Collins

Opening reception April 11th 2025- 5-9pm

Bri Beck

Fall 2025

Previous Exhibitions

JJ McLuckie

TUNNELS

JJ's exhibition "Tunnels" was the inaugural exhibition at PRESS HERE and consisted of paintings by the artist as well as a unique mural painted in the exhibition space. JJ's artwork explores many topics, some of which include queer identity, eroticism, and madness.

 

October and November 2022

Hel Martinez

The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus

Hel offered a performance art event titled "The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus" which they described as a "performance based on the tale of two Christian martyred saints from the 4th century. It is a call to reclaim the queerness erased from Catholicism and a reminder that its roots lie in the strength of the oppressed." 

November 11, 2022

Clarisse Casalino

Pill Bottles Make Terrible Roller Skates

"Pill Bottles Make Terrible Roller Skates" was a series of collages by the artist which explored pharmacology, feminism, and madness. 

February and March 2023

Isabelle Rizo

Madness and Mysticism

Isabelle’s first exhibition with The Center for Mad Culture was a series of watercolor works which examine meaning making through representations of madness and mysticism. As a Romanian political refugee, Isabelle explored connections to her culture and what it means “to navigate being American in Romania and Romanian in America?”

Isabelle's publication "Beyond the Cape of Dracula: Demystifying Transylvania" is available in the Center's library!

April and May 2023

Not Art Therapy 

Sandie Yi and Katie O'Neill

Sandie Yi and Katie O'neill will host a collaborative exhibition which asks us to consider the ways we see and discuss disability artwork most frequently as therapeutic instead of culturally important and viable. 

October thru December 2023 

And Other Poems

Collect found poetry from a Private Collection

Too often language is used to pathologize mad folx, but when we look closely at langugae, when we remove it from its most formal contexts its fargility is exposed. We even offer linguisitic freedom to poets, but remain skeptical of mad langugae that cannot be aesthetically rationalized. This exhibtion asked us to reconsider how and why lanugage functions. 

January 2024

Kal

Dust Beneath Snow

This work addressed errors and oddities within one's perception of the world. These perceptions come from a neglectful relationhsip with the artist's parents, a transitory relationship to both Korean and Chinese culture, and finding their own identity among states of confusion and stress. 

April and May 2025

Meghann Sottile

0055 | Allostatic Load

This exhibition of assmeblage scultpure and printmaking utilized both literal and abstract forms of oars and paddles as a metaphor in exploring how our bodies are froced to adapt to the inevitable change in psychosocial and physical situations. 

Sept and Oct 2024

DUNNING

an exploration of the Cook County Insane Asylum

The Center for Mad Culture published the first written historical account of the Cook County Insane Asylum, covering the years 1854-1912. To accompany this publication ten artists and ten poets were invited to respond to this history. The exhibition contained the work of the artists, and a poetry book was published to accompany those works. 

 

Nov and Dec 2025

ARTISTS:

Cam Collins

Lily Cozzens

Melissa Kreider

Michael Michalski

Bri Noonan

Saleem Hue Penny

Genevieve Ramos

Megan Sterling

Joshua With

Keira Wood

POETS:

Stephanie Heit

Robert Ives

Gabrielle Jensen

Charlie Nutley

Edwin Parker

Saleem HUe Penny

Evan Reynolds

Titus Wonsey

Joy Young

UP 14060

Logo

© Copyright. All rights reserved.

We need your consent to load the translations

We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.