{"product_id":"april-2026-issue-the-big-art-issue-digital-edition","title":"April 2026 Issue: The Big Art Issue (Digital Edition)","description":"\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe 2026 Breakout Artists\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHai-Wen Lin\u003cbr\u003eMauricio López F.\u003cbr\u003eIsabelle Frances McGuire\u003cbr\u003eMariana Noreña G,\u003cbr\u003e Monika Plioplyte\u003cbr\u003eNick Raffel\u003cbr\u003eTaitai xTina\u003cbr\u003eNoelia Towers\u003cbr\u003eCarina Yepez\u003cbr\u003eSangwoo Yoo\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eChicago Artists Coalition will host a centerpiece exhibition of this year’s Newcity Breakout Artists. The exhibition will have an opening reception on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 from 5-9pm. This event is free and open to the public, hosted at CAC’s space on Hubbard Street. RSVP \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/newcity-breakout-artists-23rd-edition-exhibition-opening-tickets-1985751041821?aff=oddtdtcreator\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e, or get a ticket to the first look reception on April 7 \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/newcityshop.com\/products\/newcity-breakout-artists-first-look-reception-2026\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e+ A year-by-year list of Breakout Artists, all the way back to 2004\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e+ Cover by Leasho Johnson  (Breakout Artist 2024)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eA Righteous Scream\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlorence + the Machine makes musical sense of our moment\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\"It’s a mad, mad world for a woman. A noisy one, too. Here a 'shut up and sit down,' there the procreationist directive to 'hurry up and have children,' everywhere a cacophony of voices reminding the 'Second Sex' of the limited number of things the female body is for.  To which Florence Welch, the frontwoman of Florence + the Machine, channeling female frustration the world over, replies, 'Everybody Scream!'” (\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-b57f735d-7fff-f5a8-0798-07eb57b51112\"\u003eAnne K. Ream and R. Clifton Spargo)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eRound and About\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Driehaus dance of Brendan Fernandes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\"\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003eIt started with the building. About two years ago, artist Brendan Fernandes was walking through the opulent Driehaus Museum with Lisa Key, the museum’s executive director. Key guided Fernandes into a building he hadn’t seen before: the Murphy Auditorium, located next to and recently acquired by the Driehaus. 'I was like, \"What is this?” he recalls, wide-eyed. 'I think Lisa saw the wheels in my head turning.'\" \u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-070d1055-7fff-3d18-119d-c542b705abab\"\u003e(Sharon Hoyer)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eThe Public I\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePoets laureate and Chicago’s literary legacy\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\"avery r. young starts talking about a picture of him from years ago and a poem he’d written equally long ago. He laughs with recognition of this younger self. Mayda del Valle smiles along on her screen.  “We were babies,” avery says of when they met. “Like a long time. Ninety-five.”  “That long ago?” Mayda asks with a wide-eyed look of equal recognition.\" (\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-112b44c4-7fff-5ad7-881e-01c021d9c617\"\u003eRobert Eric Shoemaker)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eOn the Mountain Top\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere can you find some of the best Chinese landscape paintings in the world? In Kansas City.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\"\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003eIt’s three in the afternoon, and I’m scrambling around Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum in search of an elusive “business entrance.” I’m late to a private viewing of Chinese landscapes which, I’m realizing more every minute, never should’ve been possible. Never mind that I’m eighteen, an amateur at best when it comes to the Chinese tradition, and that some of the works I’ll be seeing haven’t been on public view for over a decade—somehow, an interest in spreading the word about the Nelson’s Chinese collection permitted me to see what many others more qualified than me had been refused.\"\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-65c59df1-7fff-761b-3837-c9cd7d9f7ec9\"\u003e (\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-2b9f7d97-7fff-ab74-787f-1ec0582b4679\"\u003e Charles Venkatesh Young)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eA Hamilton Redemption\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAfter Kennedy Center withdrawal, producer Jeffrey Seller turns to Chicago \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\"When I first met producer Jeffrey Seller in October 1997, he was promoting the first Chicago production of “Rent.” His self-introduction was memorable.  With carefree curly light-brown hair and intense blue eyes that focused in, Seller surrounded my hand gently with both of his and said somberly, “I’m sorry you have to talk to me. You really should be talking to Jonathan, but you can’t for obvious reasons. This is something I really need to do for him.” \" (\u003cstrong\u003eDennis Polkow\u003c\/strong\u003e)\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eThe Jazz Witch of Chicago Rises\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow the Gertrude Abercrombie renaissance is reaching a new apex at the Milwaukee Art Museum\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\"Gertrude Abercrombie's body of work incorporates dreamlike images of spare interiors, stark landscapes and enigmatic self-portraits. As a leading figure in the Hyde Park art set, she enjoyed a local following for her work and was a figure in the visual art and jazz music communities from the 1930s into the 1970s in Chicago. During a quiet period after her death, Abercrombie's work was off to the side of the mainstream. An important gallery show in New York in 2018 renewed interest in her career, which has climbed steadily. And now a museum exhibition should help reintroduce her work to the public as well as demonstrate the reason for the intense and growing interest in her aesthetic ideas.\" \u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-bec878a7-7fff-d90b-3c66-23a0f30f7a52\"\u003e(Bruce W. Pepich)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-dd5efdf9-7fff-f477-1410-2fcec68ce634\"\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eExpo Chicago: Newcity's Unofficial Guide\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eA New Art Party?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eWhat to expect at this year's Expo Chicago and beyond\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eA Midwest Frieze\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eKate Sierzputowski takes the reigns as director of Expo Chicago\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eFun, But Not a Joke\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eHow the Barely Fair sustains the serious business of an art fair in miniature\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eCommunity Value\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eHow Neighbors plans to reimagine the art-fair model\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eA Natural Selection\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eHow Expo Chicago's one-of-a-kind curatorial forum came to be\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eWater's Way\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eA conversation with Brazilian conceptual artist Daniel de Paula about his Expo Chicago debut\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e \u003cb\u003eArts \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArt\u003c\/strong\u003e: Meet the MCA’s newest curator, Ionit Behar\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDance\u003c\/strong\u003e: Bright and shiny objects from Hedwig Dances\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDesign: \u003c\/strong\u003eWhat Tanner Woodford built\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e+ Mood\u003c\/strong\u003e: Vases and Vessels\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFilm\u003c\/strong\u003e: Inside the Onion City Experimental Film Festival\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eLit\u003c\/strong\u003e: The Great Lakes feel intimate and expansive in new collection\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMusic\u003c\/strong\u003e: Making Chicago the center of the jazz world for a day\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStage\u003c\/strong\u003e: Afro-Surrealist opera, avery r. young style\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e \u003cb\u003eReviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eGo see some shows because you can\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003ePoetry\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Your Heart, Too”\u003c\/strong\u003e: A new poem by Rachel DeWoskin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e156 pages\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-c155ffbe-7fff-87fd-896f-25644aad53ad\"\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eTo subscribe to our print edition and never miss an issue, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/newcityshop.com\/collections\/newcity-subscriptions\" title=\"Subscribe to Newcity!\" style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eclick here.\u003c\/a\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv title=\"Page 1\" class=\"page\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"layoutArea\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"column\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Newcity","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44705072414835,"sku":null,"price":7.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0022\/0482\/7707\/files\/Newcity_April2026_cover.jpg?v=1773872645","url":"https:\/\/newcityshop.com\/products\/april-2026-issue-the-big-art-issue-digital-edition","provider":"Newcity","version":"1.0","type":"link"}