Yoko Ono Half a Room Poster

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind presents one of the most comprehensive exhibitions to date of Yoko Ono, the trailblazing artist, celebrated musician, and formidable campaigner for world peace. This remarkable retrospective—on view at the MCA as the only US venue*—celebrates key moments of Ono’s career, showcasing art driven by ideas and expressed in poetic, humorous, and profound ways.

Music of the Mind examines Ono’s major contributions to performance, conceptualism, film, and music, while also inviting audiences to take part in both simple acts of the imagination and active encounters with Ono’s creations, such as the installation My Mommy is Beautiful (2004), an invitation to the public to share thoughts about their relationships to their mothers and motherhood, and Wish Trees, which welcomes visitors to contribute their own personal wishes for peace. Featuring works made over seven decades and across three continents, Music of the Mind reveals a groundbreaking approach to language, art, and participation that continues to speak to the present moment.

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind was organized by Tate Modern, London, in collaboration with Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf. It was curated by Juliet Bingham, Curator, International Art, Tate Modern; Patrizia Dander, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, Gropius Bau; and Andrew de Brún, Assistant Curator, International Art, Tate Modern. The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presentation is curated by Jamillah James, Manilow Senior Curator, with Korina Hernandez, Curatorial Assistant, in close collaboration with Yoko Ono’s Studio One.