WHEN:
October 25, 2025 - March 22, 2026
For more information visit the Chicago Cultural Center website.
WHERE:
Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St.
Chicago, IL 60602
A spokesperson describes the event as follows:
“...Not a Soft Thing is a multifaceted exhibition by 15 artist/mothers spanning diverse cultural backgrounds, disciplines, and stages of caregiving. Together, this artist collective challenges the idealized narratives of motherhood, exposing the strength, struggle, and resilience that shape both art making and parenting.
Through the media of painting, photography, ceramics, text, and installation, this exhibition explores the question: “What does it mean to create in the margins of care?” Some pieces are resolved and refined; others remain raw, incomplete, or in-process by design, revealing the realities of creating art in stolen moments. Collectively, the works reflect the fragmented time, emotional labor, and radical tenderness inherent in caregiving.
Born organically through an interconnected community of artist mothers, this collective was founded as a space of solidarity. Not a Soft Thing is not only about their identity, but also about how they keep showing up—building community with and for one another creating, caring, and telling stories that shape contemporary art and culture. This exhibition is both a call to action and an invitation—to recognize caregiving not as a barrier to creativity, but as a powerful, generative force within it.
Included in the exhibition are artworks uniquely designed to be kid-friendly and serve as an open invitation for audience participation, creating space for meaningful, memorable interactions for all generations.
Exhibiting artists include A.Martinez, Angela Lopez, Aubrey Ingmar, Bobbi Meier, Connie Noyes, Cydney M Lewis, Jenny Halpern, Jihae Park, Katie Kirk, Keeley Haftner, Noelle Garcia, Orr Menirom, Sarana Mehra, Tulika Ladsariya, and Yemisi Oyeniyi..."
