Introduction / Maggie Taft and Robert Cozzolino
Chicago rising, 1855-1912 / Wendy Greenhouse Sidebars. Finding Alice / Thomas McCormick ; Hull-House arts / Heather Radke ; Field trips / Tony Jones ; "Art for the masses" / Wendy Greenhouse
Routes to modernism, 1913-1943 / Jennifer Jane Marshall
Sidebars. The Lane Tech murals / Sylvia Rhor ; Small wonders / Erin Hogan ; Little rooms / Liesl Olson ; The Better Homes Institute / Erin Hogan
The meaning of place, 1933-1956 / Maggie Taft
Sidebars. William McBride, art collector / Maggie Taft ; Hyde Park Art Center mission statement ; The great ideas of western man / Lara Allison ; The Taller de Gráfica Popular / Victoria Sancho Lobis ; Bebop artist Gertrude Abercrombie / Donna Seaman
Raw nerves, 1948-1973 / Robert Cozzolino
Sidebars. Chicago experimental music, Part I / John Corbett ; Vivian Maier / Pamela Bannos ; Hef and LeRoy / Travis Vogan ; The fate of regional exhibitions / Studs Terkel
Making space, 1961-1976 / Rebecca Zorach
Sidebars. Art criticism in Chicago / James Yood ; 57th Street / Max Grinnell ; Rhona Hoffman Gallery / Rhona Hoffman ; On Henry Darger / Nathan Lerner
Alterity rocks, 1973-1993 / Jenni Sorkin
Sidebars. Curating Chicago / Lynne Warren ; How often are you at home in an exhibition? / Anthony Elms ; Chicago experimental music, Part II / John Corbett ; A lovely so real / Michal Raz-Russo ; Cool, conceptual, controversial / Kathryn Hixson
Chicago speaks, 1990-present. Karen Reimer and Diane Simpson ; Matt Witkovsky on Dawoud Bey ; Nick Cave and Anne Wilson ; Stanislav Grezdo and Cesáreo Moreno ; Gregg Bordowitz ; Faheem Majeed ; Dan Peterman and Michael Rakowitz ; Kay Rosen and Tony Tasset ; Hamza Walker with Tempestt Hazel ; Chris Ware ; Julia Fish and Judy Ledgerwood ; Mary Jane Jacob and Inigo Manglano-Ovalle ; Caroline Picard and Temporary Services ; Matthew Metzger and Richard Rezac ; Maggie Taft on Amanda Williams ; Michelle Grabner ; John Corbett ; Theaster Gates with Rebecca Zorach ; Lin Hixson and Peter Taub ; Kerry James Marshall.