In 2022, Chicago Museums Lead The Way In Authentic Cultural Representation

From world-class art and architecture to legendary traditions of music and gastronomy, you don’t need to be told that Chicago is one of America’s great cultural hubs, but there’s particularly strong reason to consider a return to the Midwest’s favorite city in 2022. Throughout the year, Chicago’s venerable and diverse museums are presenting destination-worthy exhibitions that take deep, personal dives into the histories and stories of underrepresented and often-marginalized communities, primarily through their own voices. With aims to provide honest background and promote healthy paths into the future, each museum is taking a unique approach in its presentation, ranging from the written word to virtual reality. Here are 3 can’t-miss exhibitions opening across Chicago this year, along with a top hotel choice for your upcoming visit(s).

The Journey Back

Illinois Holocaust Museum

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, the Illinois Holocaust Museum will launch The Journey Back experience. Boasting a global first in Holocaust education, the exhibit incorporates interactive, virtual reality technology that transports visitors to a 360° representation of Auschwitz, in both historic and modern representations, with guided tours from survivors Fritzie Fritzshall and George Brent. Including two separate filmic experiences that have each won awards at international film festivals, the world debut of The Journey Back passes on these horrific histories to new generations as access to those with first-hand experience from a period more than 75 years in the past becomes even scarcer. The goal of this emotional exhibit is not simply to shock or devastate but, according to Susan Abrams, CEO of the Illinois Holocaust Museum, “to build empathy and understanding of our common humanity and to inspire activism to strengthen our world.”  The museum is about 20 minutes outside of The Loop and well worth the short trek.

Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories

Field Museum

Opening May 20, Chicago’s Field Museum debuts Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories, bringing together 125 collaborators representing more than 100 tribes in the inaugural exhibition of the museum’s newly renovated Native North America Hall. Breaking from the museum tradition of focusing on objects, Native Truths will center on stories, told by Native Americans in their own voices. Created under the guidance of a council including 11 Native American scholars and museum professionals, stories include both the historic and the contemporary in hopes of a promoting a “new way forward,” particularly in the ways communities and institutions acknowledge and interact with Native American truths and experiences.

Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice

American Writers Museum

Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice debuts in June at the American Writers Museum. Featuring the voices of Black American writers spanning the roughly 100 years between the Civil War through the Civil Rights Movement, this exhibit explores themes of citizenship, rights, justice, love and joy as they transformed through the decades of this seminal century. Including both a physical exhibit and online assets for deeper exploration, as well as programs with contemporary Black writers, Dark Testament highlights 20 historic writers and activists from Frederick Douglas and Ida B. Wells to previously unsung voices otherwise left to obscurity. With this exhibition, the American Writers Museum hopes to add unique and authentic perspectives in the national conversation surrounding diversity, equity, access and inclusion in America’s story.

Stay here

Convenient to the Field Museum and American Writers Museum, and along the route northward to the Illinois Holocaust Museum, the Thompson Chicago is an upscale stay just outside Downtown in the Gold Coast. With floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Windy City from the comfort of luxury guest rooms decked in soothing palettes and cozy, velvet furnishings, it’s an ideal destination from which to scout your surroundings and plan your museum-filled exploration. Both Nico Osteria, the property’s Italian restaurant with a serious seafood specialty, and Salone Nico, the cocktail lounge and wine bar, are neighborhood favorites you’ll want to experience for yourself; of course, their popularity means you’ll definitely want to look into reservations before stopping in for a sophisticated evening.