Art & Design

Art Institute Of Chicago

Through 1/9 Violence and Virtue: Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes. The trailblazing female painter’s masterpiece travels here from Florence.
Through 1/12 Amar Kanwar, from New Delhi, shows her 2007 film The Lightning Testimonies, which gives personal accounts of rape in India.
Through 1/26 Focus: Monika Baer. The Berlin-based artist shows 30 colorful paintings that manage to be both stoic and playful, with forms drawn from her “shape archive,” including salami and breasts.
Through 1/27 Art and Appetite: American Painting, Culture, and Cuisine. The exhibit highlights more than 100 works involving fine dining and fast food.
111 S Michigan. artic.edu

Hyde Park Art Center

Through 12/1 Light and the Unseen. Seven artists use light as material and metaphor to explore the outer reaches of the eyeball and the mind.
Through 1/14 A Study in Midwestern Appropriation. This 40-artist-strong exhibition examines the region’s artistic influences.
5020 S Cornell. hydeparkart.org

Museum Of Contemporary Art

Through 3/9 The Way of the Shovel: Art as Archaeology. This exhibition looks at art through an anthropological lens, with politically provocative work influenced by the 20th-century artist Robert Smithson. 220 E Chicago. Open Tue 10–8, Wed–Sun 10–5. Free (kids under 13) to $12; free Tue for Ill residents. 220 E Chicago. mcachicago.org

Renaissance Society

Through 12/15 Suicide Narcissus. Eight international artists tackle the difficult subject of self-harm. U of C, 5811 S Ellis. renaissancesociety.org

History & Culture

Chicago History Museum

Through 1/5 Vivian Maier’s breathtaking black-and-white photos of Chicago in the 1960s.
Through 1/5 Ebony Fashion Fair. Dazzling designer garments from the archives of the famed traveling fashion show on custom-made mannequins.
Through 3/2 Siam: The Queen and the White City. Photographs, costumes, and other artifacts from the Siamese queen Savang Vadanafor’s collection.
Mon–Sat 9:30–4:30, Sun 12–5. $14. $12 students, seniors. 1601 N Clark. chicagohs.org

DuSable Museum Of African American History

Through 3/30 The Endangered Species: A Visual Response to the Vanishing Black Man. The artist Raub Welch examines the iconography around the black man. Tue–Sat 10–5, Sun 12–5. Free–$10. 740 E 56th Pl. dusablemuseum.org

Field Museum

Through 1/5 Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence. This exhibit illuminates the many life forms that produce light.
Through 9/7 Opening the Vaults: Wonders of the 1893 World’s Fair. The museum reveals artifacts from the famous fair.
Open daily 9–5. General admission free (kids 3–11A) to $15; all-access passes $21–$30. 1400 S Lake Shore. fieldmuseum.org

Science, Nature, Kids

Adler Planetarium

Through 4/1 Cosmic Wonder. The latest show in the spacious Grainger Theater lets visitors gawk at jaw-dropping shots of the Crab Nebula and Orion. Mon–Fri 9–4, Sat–Sun 9:30–4:30. General admission $8–$12. Packages $18–$28. 1300 S Lake Shore. adlerplanetarium.org

Museum of Science and Industry

Through 2/17 Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives. Look through more than 300 drawings, scripts, and costumes from the icon’s films. Timed-entry tickets required, $7–$9, not including general admission. Open daily 9:30–4. General admission free (kids under 3) to $18. 5700 Lake Shore. msichicago.org

Shedd Aquarium

Through 12/28 A Holiday Fantasea. Santa vists the seals in this holiday revamp of the aquarium’s popular live show. Mon–Fri 9–5, Sat–Sun 9–6. Museum open daily 9–6. General admission $6–$8. 1200 S Lake Shore. sheddaquarium.org