Culture

This is one of the largest spaces dedicated to contemporary art in the world. Founded in 1967, it moved into this new location – between Water Tower Place and Lake Michigan – designed by German architect Josef Paul Kleihues in 1996. It’s famed for hosting Frida Kahlo’s first US solo show and the first solo show ever by Jeff Koons. Alongside the collection of 2,500-plus pieces from 1945 is a stellar line-up of performance art and talks about contemporary works.

In 2015, artist Theaster Gates turned this former bank into one of the most fascinating exhibition and research spaces in the city. It’s a triumph in cultural research and preservation, and one of the most interesting arts spaces in town, with a focus on African-American cultural history. Stony Island Arts Bank features books, magazines and mid-century furniture from the Johnson Publishing Company, which produced two of the biggest African-American magazines, Ebony and Jet. There’s also the vinyl library of Frankie Knuckles, with some 6,000 records owned by the late godfather of Chicago house music.

In 1779, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, a Haitian trader of African-French descent, arrived in what was to become Chicago. He’s now credited as the first non-indigenous settler here and the city’s founder. The DuSable Museum promotes and preserves African-American culture, of which the city has an abundance, with permanent exhibitions about Chicago’s first black mayor, Harold Washington, and the history of people of colour in the US armed forces.