FAIR GUIDE

RETURN TO HOME

Curious encounters ahead.

See what we’ve got in store for you October 30 – November 2.

AN ART EXPERIENCE UNLIKE ANY OTHER

Performances and experiences for you to discover and immerse yourself in.

THE OTHER OPEN: ARTIST DESIGNED MINI GOLF

Mini golf, but make it art. This year, The Other Art Fair Chicago invites you to test your skills across five one-of-a-kind, artist-designed holes. Each is part sculpture, part installation, and fully playable- Step onto the green and putt your way into the unexpected.

Featured Artists

Donkey Putt
Created by Mark Nelson

The Art of the Aim: The Black Caddy
Created by Dwight White II 

Chock a Block
Created by Sydney Vize & Nate Muckley

“in a pickle, out a pickle”
Created by Neelie Hespen

Pope Putt
Created by Tom Eslinger, Dan Mayer & Michael Lasswell

OPENING NIGHT – OCTOBER 30TH
PRESENTED WITH WBEZ & VOCALO


SOUNDS: 7-10PM

Roxyo Sounds is a Mexican-Chicagoan radio and podcast producer, host, and DJ at Vocalo 91.1FM (Chicago Public Media), with a focus on the vibrant alternative music scenes of Latin America. She spins the tracks you didn’t know you needed—until now. If they’re not on your playlist yet, they will be soon.

PERFORMANCE: Cute Accelerations

Drag performers will move through the fair in wearable sculptures designed by Odette Stout. 

PROGRAMMING: Pigment International Booth

Visit with Curator and Artist, Dwight White II

PREMIUM TICKET FT. ALL STAR PRESS

New this year, The Other Art Fair Chicago invites you to start your collection the moment you arrive. Our new Premium Opening Night Ticket includes:

  • Entry to the fair’s highly-anticipated Opening Night
  • A complimentary drink to toast the evening
  • A limited edition artwork by Chicago favorite Blake Jones

Produced in collaboration with All Star Press, the city’s go-to gallery and print house for bold, collectible editions.
Known for his bright, playful characters and vibrant pop-inspired style, Blake Jones brings joy and edge to any wall. Paired with All Star Press’s renowned craftsmanship, this exclusive edition is the perfect token from Opening Night

FRIDAY LATE: HALLOWEEN EDITION

SOUNDS: 7-10PM

Roxyo Sounds is a Mexican-Chicagoan radio and podcast producer, host, and DJ at Vocalo 91.1FM (Chicago Public Media), with a focus on the vibrant alternative music scenes of Latin America. She spins the tracks you didn’t know you needed—until now. If they’re not on your playlist yet, they will be soon.

COSTUME CONTEST: TINTYPES WITH MAX LI

Attend The Other Art Fair on Halloween in costume to be entered into a draw to win a free 4×5” Tintype portrait. 2 winners will be drawn each hour from 5-10pm.

WORKSHOP: BUTTERFLY PINNING WITH THE INSECT ASYLUM 7-8PM

Learn the art of butterfly pinning with expert techniques that turn you into a skilled entomologist. Marvel at the kaleidoscope of colors and patterns as we unlock the secrets of their fascinating life cycles. With hands-on practice, you’ll delicately position their wings, capturing their essence like a true artist. Book your workshop with your ticket purchase, limited quantity.

PREMIUM TICKET FT. GRIFFIN GOODMAN

With our new Friday Late ticket we’ve got your perfect trick-or-treat bag here at the fair!

  • Discounted Friday Late Ticket
  • A complimentary drink to treat yourself
  • A limited edition tote bag designed by Griffin Goodman


Inspired by a still-life drawing of art supplies and infused with Griffin Goodman’s signature playful characters. The composition creates a dense, dynamic landscape that celebrates the joy of making, a love for art, and a sense of nostalgic fun. 

Max Li Tintype Portraits

Thursday 6-10PM
Friday 5-10PM 

Max Li is an interdisciplinary artist from China, currently based in Chicago. His tintype booth travels to various locations, capturing events, individuals, communities, landscapes, and a wide range of subjects.

About Tintype Photography

Tintype, or wet plate collodion, is an organic, Victorian-era photographic process that captures its subject onto a metal plate – making a tangible image that can endure for hundreds of years. The process was invented in the early 1800s, documented the US civil war, and continued to be used for image-making until the latter part of the 19th century, then arrived technologies such as ambrotype, dry plate, gelatin film, digital cameras, smartphones, VR, etc.

Tintypes must be taken and developed while wet; therefore, each plate has only a few minutes of viability before it dries up. This is why tintypes are always developed onsite, capacitively, leaving audiences in awe as the image gradually emerges from the ‘blue.’

Price List 

4×5” portrait – $150
5″x7″ portrait – $195
8×10” portrait – $250

*Each session takes approximately 15 minutes, your tintype plate will be shipped to you within a week, digital scan included

Stories for Strangers by Lenny Lane

Step into a room full of strangers that you’ll almost feel like you know.

Stories for Strangers showcases black-and-white photographs that someone once gave up on — tossed in bins, sold for quarters, abandoned in houses that outlived their people. The facts are gone, so Lenny Lane makes up stories. Not the real ones — probably not. But the kind people might want to be remembered by, the kind they’d be proud to tell at a dinner party.

Each photo gets a new name, a sharper detail, a slightly messier ending. Attendees can linger, pick favorites, argue about which ones feel true, or laugh at the strangeness. The installation is a small archive where the discarded gets a second chance, and where visitors leave carrying a story that almost — but not quite — belonged to someone.

Blind Date with an Artwork

They say love is blind. Do you think you’re daring enough to buy an artwork sight unseen? Each work will be labeled to creatively describe the hidden gem, and priced $200 and under.

FREE Collage Button Making

Presented by NEIU Art + Design

Create a custom-made wearable artwork. Using a mix of collage materials, attendees will create a unique image to transform and frame in the form of a button. Open to all ages and all skill levels.

Terrible Portraits

Saturday 2-4:30PM

Terrible Portraits is the one man art stand  of Chicago based performance artist Jacob Ryan Reno. The portraits are terrible. They are drawn in 5 terrible minutes. He has no intention of getting better. In the age of AI Generated art, Reno’s work as Terrible Portraits hopes to inspire community engagement and in-person connection.

Portraits are free Saturday from 2-4:30PM, first-come basis.

ART REFRAMED

Explore unforgettable art installations and exhibitions throughout the Fair.

The Artisan Edit

New this year, the Artisan Section will present artists showcasing decorative artwork made from Ceramic, Glass, Metal and Wood. 

Exhibitors Include: Ashley Morgan, Brian Wildeman, Dara Schuman, David Kim, Samantha Nasser, Sophia Galassini, Preeti Abraham and Timothy Hall.

Arts of Life

Original works available and limited edition prints by studio Artist Chris Austin and Raina Carter along with exclusive limited edition prints and Arts of Life 25th Anniversary book. 

NOVEMBER 1ST 1-4PM: Artist Book Signing

Chicago Artists Coalition

Chicago Artists Coalition presents a booth featuring Artists and Curators in Residence.

Englewood Arts Collective: Home is where the Art lives

Come hang out in the living room with The Englewood Arts Collective. The workshops hosted here invite you to tap into your artistic side and get cozy alongside artists from hubs of Chicago you may or may not be familiar with. If you’re lucky, catch a limited print from  one of are stellar artist or vibe to the DJ close by, Whether you walk away with your own handmade mosaic piece lead by Jovanna  Jackson or  your first collage lead by Delisha McKinley get a coloring book, or original work from Southside artists, or photography print from acclaimed Gordon Parks Fellow Tonika Johnson, this cohesive fusion of multidisciplinary dopeness is an experience you don’t want to miss. 

NOVEMBER 1ST 2PM: Mosaics Workshop
NOVEMBER 2ND2PM: Collage Workshop

Curated by EAC Leadership: Activations Director Janell Nelson and Curator/Art Director Pugs Atomz.

Northeastern Illinois University Art + Design

Exhibition featuring art and printed matter by Northeastern Illinois University Art + Design majors.

Collage Button Making: Create a custom-made wearable artwork. Using a mix of collage materials, attendees will create a unique image to transform and frame in the form of a button. Open to all ages and all skill levels.

The Future Voyagers: Art in Motion Presented by Pigment International

The Future Voyagers: Art in Motion 

Future Voyagers: Art in Motion is an interactive booth experience that bridges contemporary Chicago artistry with the mission-driven work of Chicago Voyagers, a nonprofit empowering under-resourced youth through outdoor experiential learning.

The booth will feature a curated selection of original works from artists who previously exhibited in The Future Voyagers Exhibit. Each artwork embodies themes of exploration, resilience, and vision — echoing the spirit of Chicago Voyagers youth. Alongside these large-scale originals, attendees will also have access to more accessible offerings such as prints, posters, and art objects, making it possible for anyone to take home a piece of the journey while directly supporting local artists and youth programming.

To heighten engagement, the activation will include a live art component such as live painting sessions or an in-booth mini-auction, turning the space into a dynamic performance of creativity which will spark dialogue and energy within the fair itself.

Ultimately, this booth serves as both an art marketplace and a mission-driven platform. We are raising awareness for Chicago Voyagers while celebrating the power of art as a vessel for community, storytelling, and impact.

Pigment International is a 501©3 organization.

DISCOVER MORE

New Futures Recipient

Art should never be elite.

The New Futures program is part of our continued mission to break down traditional barriers of the contemporary art world by giving prizing to talented, often underrepresented, emerging artists. Each recipient is given free exhibition space at The Other Art Fair along with access to networks and opportunities designed to jump-start their careers.

ABBY MENDOZA

Abby Linatoc Mendoza, ATR-P (they/she) is a second-generation Filipino American multidisciplinary artist from Chicago, IL. With a BFA in Painting from the Herron School of Art + Design and an MA in Art Therapy & Counseling from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Abby’s work in non-profit community youth/art education spaces informs their art, which primarily depicts children. Their process involves collage, found object, mending/sewing techniques, and oil painting, bringing together techniques learned from formal, “traditional” education with explorations of recycled/craft materials. Through self-reflexive artwork that examines memory and the act of archiving/collecting, Abby aims to create dialogue on building systems of care.

FUEL UP & INDULGE

Swing by the outdoor patio where you’ll find delicious eats from some of Chicago’s hottest food vendors

Fat Miilk

“Vietnamese coffee that slaps”, masterfully brewed by the all-women squad over at Fat Miilk (@fatmiilk).

Stop by for a cup of bold cup of goodness and sweet treats.

La Cocinita Food Truck

Stop by La Cocinita Food Truck where they will be selling Latin American street food, including Venezuelan arepas, empanadas, plantains, and rice & beans, as well as tacos, chips & guac, and churros.

Yum Dum Food Truck

Yum Dum Food Truck is serving up Delicious Baos, Dumplings, Noodles, and Rice Balls.

Art Proficiency Fine Art Services

Art Proficiency will be on-site all Fair long, wrapping your newfound obsessions free of charge for safe transport. Need to ship? Art Proficiency can provide a custom quote for you.

Book Tickets