We check in with the MCA’s Chief Curator, René Morales, who dishes on his top Chicago dining, fave dive bars and what he’s most looking forward to this season.
WHO
James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
HOME ’HOOD
“We live in Northalsted (aka Boystown), and we love it. After so many years in Miami, which is a very car-centric town, my family and I were craving the kind of experiences and lifestyle that come with urban density. I get to carry out my early morning rituals—walking the kid to school, picking up dry cleaning and a pair of coffees, dropping off a book at the library and so on—on foot, which makes for a relaxing routine; it’s how I get to think about the big picture, before the onset of the hustle and bustle of a busy day. At this point, I’ve gotten to know various folks along this route, and those daily friendly interactions, no matter how fleeting, have come to mean a lot to me.”
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GO-TO SPOT
“Chicago is a great place for a dive-bar and greasy-spoon-diner kind of person like me. I’m still on the hunt for that all-important go-to dive bar, though a few have come close, like the RainboClub. As far as eateries, I feel like I could provide a list of 100 places more easily than just one or two favorites, but these days I’m loving El Mariachi Tequila Bar & Grill and Wakamono, Taqueria Chingon, HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen in Pilsen… And then of course there’s Marisol Restaurant & Bar at MCA, which is delicious.”
LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST
“I’m really looking forward to a special program that we have lined up for September 29, celebrating local hip-hop on the occasion of the genre’s 50th “birthday.” This event will conclude a series of programs that we’ve arranged in order to activate an artwork by Gary Simmons titled “Recapturing Memories of the Black Ark,” which consists of a stage and stack of speakers built with wood reclaimed from the streets of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It will be a perfect way to close out the Simmons exhibition that’s currently on view at the MCA—a true labor of love that I organized with Jadine Collingwood and Jack Schneider. Soon after, we’re opening a big Faith Ringgold exhibition, which is wildly overdue in the sense that she’s never had a major museum show in Chicago. It promises to be an incredibly impactful and resonant presentation in this context.”
CURRENT OBSESSION
“Working on the Gary Simmons show has rekindled my love of old hip hop from the ’80s and ’90s—it’s become my new favorite topic of conversation and a constant presence in my earbuds. I’ve also really enjoyed becoming better acquainted with contemporary dance and performance thanks to my brilliant co-workers here at MCA. But my biggest obsession of the past year has definitely been Chicago itself. About 16 months in, I’ve been here long enough to have gained my bearings amid this incredibly complex and layered place, but I know I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface, and it is all still new enough to me to feel tremendously exciting.”
Photography by: PHOTO BY KARLI EVANS
