DCASE Brings Two Major Exhibitions to the City of Chicago This Summer: Fabiola Jean-Louis’ Waters of the Abyss and Blondell Cummings: Dance as Moving Pictures

DCASE Brings Two Major Exhibitions to the City of Chicago This Summer: Fabiola Jean-Louis’ Waters of the Abyss and Blondell Cummings: Dance as Moving Pictures

Free summer exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center feature striking sculptures, cultural artifacts, and innovative visual storytelling

Chicago — The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is proud to present two powerful exhibitions this summer at the Chicago Cultural Center: Waters of the Abyss, a major solo exhibition by visual activist Fabiola Jean-Louis, and Blondell Cummings: Dance as Moving Pictures, a comprehensive survey of the late visionary choreographer and multimedia artist. Both exhibitions are free and open to the public, celebrating creativity, storytelling, and cultural reclamation.

“DCASE is proud to present these two powerful exhibitions — each celebrating Black voices and histories in unique ways,” said DCASE Commissioner Clinée Hedspeth. “Jean‑Louis’s spiritual portals and Cummings’s multimedia choreographic legacy together demonstrate how Chicago embraces a broad spectrum of creative expression.”

Waters of the Abyss opened June 19, in the Chicago Rooms of the Chicago Cultural Center. The exhibition is free and open to the public through September 21. Through more than 15 crafted works selected from a larger body of over 50, Jean-Louis invites viewers on a spiritual and historical journey that explores Black identity, ancestral heritage, and freedom. Using innovative techniques and symbolic materials — including paper, glass, crystals, shells, and 23K gold — Jean-Louis constructs portal-like sculptures, tabernacle paintings, and relic-inspired artifacts with symbolic meaning and cultural resonance. The exhibition was originally organized by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Blondell Cummings: Dance as Moving Pictures celebrates the life and legacy of groundbreaking choreographer and video artist Blondell Cummings (1944–2015). Renowned for her fusion of dance, visual art, and everyday gestures, Cummings brought modern dance into kitchens, hallways, and living rooms — placing Black domestic life and memory at the center of avant-garde performance.

This multimedia exhibition also includes video excerpts of her iconic works like Chicken Soup (1981), archival photographs, interviews, and installations that reflect her ability to capture the poetry of daily life and reframe movement as both art and storytelling. The exhibition was originally organized by Art + Practice and the Getty Research Institute. You can view the exhibit now until July 27.

The exhibition aligns with DCASE’s broader mission to preserve, elevate, and evolve Chicago’s cultural narratives. Echoing the groundbreaking legacy of Blondell Cummings, the pioneering choreographer and interdisciplinary artist, and Jean-Louis’s exhibition expands the conversation around Black women’s contributions to cultural innovation. Just as Cummings redefined modern dance by centering personal narrative and Black domestic life, Jean-Louis uses visual storytelling to honor spiritual endurance and cultural reclamation.

Explore the full lineup of art exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center here and by following @ChicagoDCASE and @ChicagoCulturalCenter for the latest news and updates.

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