Name: the-great-art-tailgate-with-bad-at-sports
Start: 2026-10-03T11:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-10-03T18:00:00-05:00

October 3, 2026 | 11 am–6 pm

Anne & John Kern Terrace Garden
Edlis Neeson Theater

You can bring your own radio (or borrow one)!

A taupe bear mascot in a blue Bad at Sports t-shirt leans into the camera as a person in all black leans back, their face hidden by a glass bottle that they are taking a sip out of

Baddie and Tony Lewis

Image courtesy of Bad at Sports

Bad at Sports—the world’s oldest living contemporary art podcast—wraps the 21-year-long first season of its ongoing experiment in art, conversation, friendship, and bad behavior with an all-day takeover of the MCA.

From 11 am to 3 pm, join Bad at Sports on the museum lawn for The Great Art Tailgate, an afternoon of live conversations with artists, writers, and thinkers Jina Valentine, Alex Chitty, James Elkins, Anna Martine Whitehead, and Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle.

Bring a blanket, a lawn chair, a picnic—and bring your own radio (or borrow one of theirs!). The conversations will be broadcast live across the lawn, turning the MCA grounds into a temporary art-world tailgate, radio station, and free public gathering.

Then head in to the MCA theater at 4 pm for the ticketed grand finale: Bad at Sports Episode 999, recorded live with critic Jerry Saltz, followed by a celebration of 21 years, 999 episodes, and the enormous community of artists, writers, curators, critics, friends, troublemakers, and listeners who made the show possible.

Come for an interview. Stay for five more. Help them finish Season One.

Image courtesy of Bad at Sports

Lead support for the 2026–27 season of MCA Talks is made possible by The Richard and Mary L. Gray Lecture Series through a generous gift to the Chicago Contemporary Campaign.

Generous support is provided by The Antje B. and John J. Jelinek Endowed Lecture and Symposium on Contemporary Art; the Kristina Barr Lectures, which were established through a generous gift by The Barr Fund to the Chicago Contemporary Campaign; The Gloria Brackstone Solow and Eugene A. Solow, MD, Memorial Lecture Series; and the Allen M. Turner Tribute Fund, honoring his past leadership as Chair of the Board of Trustees.