Learn

The MCA’s diverse programs bring artists and audiences together to exchange ideas, share creative experiences, and explore contemporary art and culture.

The MCA is committed to empowering young people in Chicago. This video highlights the award-winning programs that continue the museum’s legacy of youth-oriented education and position the MCA as a leading cultural resource within a diverse and energetic city.

Learning Resources

People making a structure with tape and long beams of wood

Teachers designed a communal space for learning with artist Faheem Majeed during a Teacher Institute

Photo: Gillian Fry © MCA Chicago

Explore learning resources created by and for the teachers, youth, families, and other members of our MCA Learning Community.

Schools

Children and artist guide in MCA gallery with art

Skinner West Elementary 5th grade school tour, April 29, 2014, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Photo: Joshua Longbrake © MCA Chicago

Our artist-led tours, workshops, and residencies, invite students and teachers to explore, debate, and reflect upon the important ideas that lie at the heart of contemporary art. All programs are free for Illinois K–12 schools and teachers.

Youth

A group of ten Chicago teens jump excitedly outside, each of them wearing a 21Minus shirt.
© MCA Chicago

The MCA is committed to empowering young people in Chicago. This video highlights the award-winning programs that continue the museum’s legacy of youth-oriented education and position the MCA as a leading cultural resource within a diverse and energetic city.

Families

Two girls carry a sheet of cardboard above their heads as they wander through a cardboard maze. Their eyes are filled with wonder as they explore the maze.
© MCA Chicago

The MCA is a great place for families to connect with contemporary art. We offer experiences that redefine the way that kids and families explore and create art together.

Library

A side table and two chairs in front of gridded bookshelf with books and archival boxes on display
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago

The Library and Archives is available to external scholars with specific research purposes by appointment from 9:30 am–4 pm, Monday–Friday.

Funding

Learning and Public Programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art are made possible through the generous support of the Hulda B. & Maurice L. Rothschild Foundation, The Marshall Frankel Foundation, The William Randolph Hearst Foundations, Friends of Edwin A. Bergman Fund, and COS.