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Mini-Tours

Looking for a fun introduction to the Art Institute or a new way to explore the collection?

Download our FREE Art Institute Tours app, available for Apple and Android devices, and enjoy 50 personalized tours of the collection that make use of the museum's free Wi-Fi and indoor positioning system to provide step-by-step directions from one artwork to the next.

Or, find 80 different themed mini-tours, available as PDFs, below.

Please note: Works featured in past mini-tours may be off view due to gallery renovations or regular rotations of the museum's collection. Works in the most recent mini-tour are currently on view. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Mini-Tour PDFs

'Tis the Season for Holiday Favorites
December, 2011

Visit some old favorites and new treasures on this gallery tour inspired by the Art Institute’s seasonal festivities—beloved traditions, family art making, and celebratory concerts.

Fly Me to the Moon
November, 2011

Inspired by the skyward gaze of Spencer Finch’s Lunar, this galactic guide will send you moonwalking through the collection on an astronomical adventure.

The Dress Up Visit
October, 2011

Whether it’s donning a full-blown disguise, getting decked out for a special event, or suiting up for a ceremony, we humans just can’t seem to resist adorning our bodies with transformative attire. Enjoy some vicarious vesturing with this month’s guide to the collection. (No special attire required.)

The Echo Effect Visit
September, 2011

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Explore the resounding allure of replication over the ages with some of the very artworks that have inspired Echo Effect, our new season of concerts, lectures, performances, readings, and symposia.

The Me, Myself, and I Visit
August, 2011

It may be a tendency toward self-reflection, a bit of vanity, or simply the convenience of a cheap and ready model, but artists have been portraying their own likenesses for centuries, basically since mirrors became widely available in the 15th century. Enjoy some creative navel-gazing with this month’s self-(portrait-)indulgent approach to the collection.

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