'People should run, not walk, to see this exhibition': New Yoko Ono exhibit opens at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

At most art museums, the majority of the artwork is accompanied by a "do not touch" sign.

But "Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind" at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago invites visitors to do the complete opposite.

"The idea of instruction and leaving it to the audience to complete the work or be a performer, essentially, with the work is so key to her practice," said Jamillah James, Manilow Senior Curator at the MCA.

"Music of the Mind" was organized by Tate Modern, London, in collaboration with Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf. It traces Yoko Ono’s career since the 1950s and features more than 200 artworks.

It's making its U.S. debut in Chicago.

"I am elated that we are going to be opening this exhibition and for people to finally see this show that has been talked around town for awhile," James said.

Throughout the exhibit, visitors will find several pieces that feature instructions, physical manifestations of Ono's 1964 book "Grapefruit."

"['Grapefruit'] is really the heart of her practice, giving people instructions to realize on their own," James said. "Some of them are very humorous. Some are, of course, impossible."

James said in the exhibit, visitors will be able to participate in pieces like "Painting to Shake Hands," which is a canvas with a hole in it that visitors can shake hands through.

"Mend Piece," an addition to the Chicago exhibit, invites the public to work with broken porcelain mugs and saucers and put them back together with various materials. "Add Color: (Refugee Boat)" invites visitors to paint their thoughts, ideas and hopes on the walls, floor and boat.

"It's a really robust show, and I think it really challenges how people can interact with art in a museum," she said.

Visitors will also be able to catch live performances in the galleries with students from local universities, enacting instructions from "Grapefruit."

Along with interactive pieces, the exhibit includes works across a variety of media including performance footage, music and sound recordings, scores, film, photography, installation and archival materials and is organized chronologically.

"I think people will really appreciate how it's organized to really situate them into Yoko's work, to understand the trajectory of her ideas over time," James said.

She said she hopes visitors walk away with an understanding that Ono was an artist in her own right with an impressive body of work.

"A lot of people just know her as a public figure from her relationship with John Lennon, but I think it's important that people will come away with a newfound appreciation of her work and how incredibly expansive her work is and how timely it is," she said.

"Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind" opens Oct. 18 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and runs through Feb. 22, 2026.