38th Annual Pilsen East Artists’ Open House
September 26th-28th

Start at CS:38 (2003 S. Halsted St.; 312-377-4444), a makeshift gallery where the best art in the district has been gathered. It’s worth a visit if only to see Junk Mail Interiors, a special installation by Barbara Hashimoto, who molded 3,000 cubic feet of shredded junk mail into staircases and other interior architecture.

Explore Fulton Market
October 4th-5th

Fulton Market, the fulcrum point of the city’s art scene, hosts a weekend of self-guided tours that feature local artists working in their natural habitats. Our pick: Conrad Freiburg’s interactive installation A Great Daydream, at Linda Warren Gallery (1052 W. Fulton Market; 312-432-9500), which lets visitors use a giant pulley system to destroy various objects—a not-so-subtle commentary on the creation and destruction of our freedoms.

ArtWalk Ravenswood
October 4th-5th

Ravenswood isn’t a gallery district per se, but with all of the empty industrial buildings and converted lofts, it’s a popular spot for artists. For two days, more than 50 artists  along Ravenswood Avenue will open their studios for tours; while there, stop by Lillstreet Art Center, a former gear factory turned teaching studio (4401 N. Ravenswood Ave.; 773-769-4226).

Bridgeport Art Walk
October 24th-25th

Long known strictly for its Sox, Bridgeport continues to prove it’s not just black and white but red, yellow, and everything in between. Start at DeLaTorre Fine Arts Studio (1200 W. 35th St.; 773-927-7030), where Luis DeLaTorre will exhibit his painting series Saints and Sinners. Then head to the Zhou Brothers Art Center (1029 W. 35th St.; 773-523-0200) to see which works the funky expressionist brothers have tapped for display.

Photography: (Image 1) Courtesy of Linda Warren Gallery, Conrad Freiburg, Than to Right Themselves, 2008 (Image 2) Kat Ramsland, (Image 3) Courtesy of Bridgeport Art Walk, The Unspeakable Truth, from the Saints and Sinners series, Luis Delatorre