MCA explores music protest

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has opened a show that treats dancehall and reggaetón as protest cultures, not just club music. (mcachicago.org) “Dancing the Revolution: From Dancehall to Reggaetón” opened April 14 and runs through Sept. 20 in the museum’s Griffin Galleries of Contemporary Art. The museum calls it a major exhibition tracing the visual, political, and spiritual histories of both genres through contemporary art. (mcachicago.org) The exhibition includes painting, sound sculptures, installations, photographs, and video, and the museum says it features more than 40 contemporary artists, including Isaac Julien, Edra Soto, Alberta Whittle, Carolina Caycedo, and Lee “Scratch” Perry. A commissioned mixtape project by Juan Rivera focuses on Panama’s role in reggaetón’s evolution. (mcachicago.org) The museum roots the show in movement across Kingston, San Juan, Panama, New York City, and London, and in a Black Atlantic history of music and dance used for liberation and protest. One section starts with the sound system, which the museum describes as a mobile disco and a civic institution. (mcachicago.org; mcachicago.org) The clearest present-day reference point is Puerto Rico’s Verano del 19 protests in July 2019, when demonstrations forced Gov. Ricardo Rosselló to resign. The museum says the show’s title also points to “perreo combativo,” a protest action led by LGBTQ+ and feminist activists on the steps of San Juan Cathedral the day Rosselló stepped down. (mcachicago.org) That framing places reggaetón and dancehall inside a museum conversation that has usually centered painting, film, and sculpture. In its 2026 season preview, the museum said the exhibition was the first of its kind to examine those genres’ visual, political, and spiritual histories through contemporary art. (mcachicago.org) The programming extends beyond the galleries. On April 18, the museum’s Teen Creative Agency staged “Dance-Dance Reggaetón: A Discoteca for Youth,” a free event for people 18 and under built around a youth-curated playlist, video projection, snacks, and discussion prompts tied to the exhibition. (mcachicago.org) The museum also produced a 2026 documentary for the show featuring scholars and artists from Kingston and San Juan discussing dancehall and reggaetón as cultural movements. The video uses footage from clubs and dancehalls to connect the gallery presentation back to the spaces where the music developed. (mcachicago.org) Carla Acevedo-Yates, the museum’s former Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator and director of curatorial initiatives, led the exhibition with Cecilia González Godino, Iris Colburn, Nolan Jimbo, and consultant nibia pastrana santiago. The result is a Chicago museum show that asks visitors to read bass, dance, and public gathering as part of the political record. (mcachicago.org)