Chicago is getting ready for a joyful homecoming. Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago on November 7, 2026, and runs through April 25, 2027, in the Griffin Galleries — a major survey covering nearly thirty years of work by an artist born right here in Chicago in 1977.
Johnson, who studied photography at Columbia College Chicago, returns to the MCA for his third solo exhibition there, after an early show in 2002 and his acclaimed 2012 survey A Message to Our Folks. This time he brings 70 artworks: his poignant photographs from The New Negro Escapist Social and Athletic Club, the black-soap and wax wall reliefs known as Cosmic Slops, spray-painted text works, and the Anxious Men and Broken Men series.
The title borrows from a 1977 poem by Amiri Baraka, and Johnson often says, “the subject of my work is freedom.” A highlight promises to be Antoine’s Organ, a massive plant-filled installation with a piano tucked inside, activated by Chicago musicians. It is art that invites curiosity, reflection and delight, all in one visit.
The MCA, at 220 East Chicago Avenue, is free for everyone 18 and under, making this homecoming an easy, inspiring outing for families and art lovers alike.
Photo: Rashid Johnson, Self-Portrait with My Hair Parted Like Frederick Douglass, 2003. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
