Publications
The MCA tells stories about the museum’s exhibitions, programs, and history in many ways and through various media, both print and digital. This section of the site indexes our publications and productions, and invites you to explore them.
Featured Publication
We begin in the dark. For many years, artist Caroline Kent has used darkness as a starting point, a ground zero for a nuanced exploration of abstraction, language, and the limits of communication.
MCA Stories
In 2017, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago celebrates fifty years as a hub of creativity and community in Chicago. To honor our anniversary, we have created MCA Stories, a website that gathers the stories of our community. Staff, artists, scholars, visitors, and patrons share memories of their favorite exhibitions and events, of encounters with artists and artworks, and of helping to build a new kind of museum from scratch.
MCA Magazine
Published two times a year, the MCA Magazine responds to issues that touch our museum and the larger arts community. Find insightful interviews with artists, rich photographs that capture our programs throughout the seasons, and more. MCA Members receive an exclusive subscription.
Blog: MCA DNA
Launched in June 2014, the museum's blog MCA DNA invites writers, including artists and archivists as well as staff behind the scenes, to search out stories and express points of view that aren't often heard. Posts in many media, including video, sound, and image, give insight to the core of contemporary culture. Blogs created for past projects are archived archived here.
Websites
Exhibition microsites are designed to be enduring resources, sharing a wealth of information from reading lists, playlists, installation views, images, and videos, to exhibition gallery guides, reviews, and more.
Video
Telling a range of stories about contemporary art and our community—from videos made by teens to studio visits to documentaries—MCA videos amplify the individual voices of the museum. Can't find what you're looking for? Reach out to the MCA's Library and Archives.
Audio
Our ever-expanding archive of audio recordings—including concerts, readings, talks, interviews, and tours—tell dynamic stories about what's happening in the museum. Can't find what you're looking for? Reach out to the MCA's Library and Archives.
Books
MCA books serve as enduring documentation of exhibitions and artworks. Recognized for groundbreaking design, many of these volumes serve as the first publication for an emerging artist or a pathbreaking treatment of developments in contemporary art.
Takeaways
MCA takeaways assume various forms—broadsides, coloring books, pamphlets, postcards, and scavenger hunts—to name a few. Even after supplies run out, visitors often ask for more. So wherever possible, we’ll share downloadable files here.
Annual Reports
The who, what, where, when, and how of any institution is revealed in its annual report. The MCA’s annual report lists the year’s exhibitions, performances, programs, donors, and acquisitions, and of course, the facts and figures that make it all add up.
Learning Resources
Explore learning resources created by and for the teachers, youth, families, and other members of our MCA Learning Community.