“RR,” by James Benning in Chicago Film Society site-specific showing.
ART
Old Masters Works From Richard L. Feigen Collection To Sell At Sotheby’s
A group of works from the collection of Old Masters dealer Richard L. Feigen will be sold at Sotheby’s, reports ARTnews. “More than fifty paintings and works on paper spanning the fourteenth to twentieth centuries will be offered in a single-owner sale in New York on October 18.” The selection is expected to receive from $11.5 million–$17 million. “Feigen, who died at the age of 90 in January after contracting COVID-19, first opened his famed gallery in Chicago in 1957 and later expanded to New York, London and Los Angeles. Eventually, he went on to accrue a formidable roster of high-profile clients, among them collectors like Saul Steinberg and Leon Black and museums like the Louvre.”
Aron Gent: Ice Dye Tie Dye Opens At David Salkin Creative
“Chicago-based artist Aron Gent’s series of recent works on paper, each made over the last year and a half, the unstable and fluid dimensions of politics and time in a year of lockdown and unrest take shape in images that contain references to the Trump administration and the pandemic,” writes Stephanie Cristello in a gallery release. “Installed in a four-by-twelve grid along the length of the wall of David Salkin Creative, as well as a diptych, the fifty works on view feature agitprop style text, glyphs, and the iconography of clip art against swirling backdrops made of Epson UltraChrome ink. Reminiscent of the moiré patterns found in the thin-film interference of an oil spill, Gent’s approach to color and form yields to the inherent absorption of commercial-grade printer ink upon watercolor paper. At times, pigments dissipate one another in soft gradients, at others single tones are blocked against negative space like Simon Hantaï pliages. The fluidity and coagulation of colors is also affected by the wetness of the paper before the application of ink—like tie dye (more boundless) vs. ice dye (more exact) processes used for clothing—with various of the images patterned by crystals of salt residue after being steeped in the ocean.” The exhibit opens September 18 at David Salkin Creative, 1709 West Chicago and runs through October 30.
DESIGN
West Town’s 109-Year-Old Deitch Pharmacy Closes September 30
In one of the few remaining independently owned, legacy businesses in the area, Deitch Pharmacy is shutting down after more than a century in business at the corner of Chicago Avenue and Wood Street, reports Block Club Chicago.
Sun-Times Opposes Gating Jackson Park’s Wooded Island
“Jackson Park’s Wooded Island is among Chicago’s most remarkable public spaces: a tranquil three-block long isle—surrounded by a lagoon—featuring oak trees, beautiful plantings and a stunning Japanese garden,” writes the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board. “Created as part of the famed 1893 World’s Fair and the subject of an $8 million restoration by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2016, we can understand why the Chicago Park District now wants to keep the grounds of this special, internationally recognized place safe and protected after hours. But the park district’s installation late last month of tall, dark and grim-looking wrought iron gates on the north and south bridges to the island is wrong. And we fear the move will encourage the district—an agency known to choose expediency over public benefit as of late—to just close off park spaces in response to complaints of vandalism and loitering, rather than find creative ways to keep these areas safe and open.”
Trib Surveys Winning Ideas In Thompson Center Design Contest
“A water park, a vertical neighborhood, and a school,” reports Lisa Donovan at the Trib: “The James R. Thompson Center could be transformed from an unkempt state office building into a ‘vertical neighborhood’ anchored at ground level by an indoor park next to the Chicago Transit Authority station, with commercial and related spaces on the first few floors that give way to private residences on the upper levels and a rooftop garden. Or home to a new prototype for a public school. Or, sure to be a social media crowd favorite, a water park.”
DINING & DRINKING
Former Location Of Danny’s Tavern Can Be Yours For $850,000; Schlitz Sign Vanished
Danny’s is on the block, but with no demolition in sight. “The two-story building at 1951 West Dickens is listed for $850,000 on Redfin,” reports Block Club Chicago. “That includes the former bar space on the ground level and a two-bedroom apartment on the second floor.” The “Schlitz On Tap” neon is gone. “Danny’s owner Michael Noone said he doesn’t know what happened to the sign, and declined to comment further.” Here’s the listing.
Negroni Week For Charity At Cindy’s
During Negroni Week, a $2 donation will be made to the Greater Chicago Food Depository for each Negroni sold at Cindy’s at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, and the hotel will match the donation total to help those in need.
Andersonville Chamber of Commerce Launches Clark Street Composts
The Andersonville Chamber of Commerce has partnered with WasteNot Compost to launch Clark Street Composts, a private-public pilot program aimed at providing a composting model for every neighborhood across Chicago. The initiative has launched with more than twenty local restaurants, bars and other businesses who have committed to diverting compostable waste away from landfills to be returned to the community as nutrient-rich soil. Through Clark Street Composts, WasteNot Compost is educating and encouraging owners and managers to include composting in all aspects of their business. WasteNot provides bins and carts for members to divert the widest range of compostable items and are encouraged to dispose of not only fruit and vegetables, but other organic matter typically not considered compostable in backyard operations. These items include both cooked and raw food, meat, dairy products, hair, pet fur, yard waste and compostable products from packaging companies. Andersonville businesses and civic organizations participating in the launch include Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, Atmosphere, Bar Roma, Bettie Lou’s, Big Jones, Coffee Studio, Defloured: A Gluten-Free Bakery, FIYA, Forever Yogurt, Gadabout, Kopi Cafe, Kriser’s Natural Pet, Lost Larson, Open Space Early Learning Center, Replay & Elixir, Uvae Kitchen & Wine Bar, Lady Gregory’s, Land & Lake, Robert Jeffrey Hair Studio, Swedish American Museum and sweetgreen. More here.
FILM & TELEVISION
Chicago International Film Festival Announces Opening Night Film And Highlights
Opening with Wes Anderson’s long-delayed “The French Dispatch,” the Chicago International Film Festival has also announced its Opening Night at the Drive-In presentation, “The Velvet Underground,” featuring a remote Q&A with Todd Haynes. Venues for the fifty-seventh edition, running October 13-24, include River East 21, the Music Box, the Gene Siskel Film Center and drive-in screenings at ChiTown Movies in Pilsen. Neighborhood pop-up screening events will be announced in coming weeks. Virtual screenings, presented via the Festival streaming platform, are accessible across Illinois as well as to viewers in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Two world doc premieres were announced: Jesse Moss’ “Mayor Pete,” which followed the first presidential run of Pete Buttigieg, and Joe Winston’s “Punch 9 For Harold Washington.” This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the festival’s Black Perspectives program, which showcases films by African Americans and the African diaspora around the world. More here.
Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival Announces Slate
Opening September 23 at the Music Box and running September 24-30 at the Landmark Century Centre Cinemas, and virtually from September 27-October 7, the thirty-ninth session of Reeling includes forty-two shows including thirty-three feature films and nine short film programs. This year’s festival includes films from more than fifteen countries, including Israel, Turkey, Iran, Australia, Italy, Romania and Chile. At the age of thirty-nine, Reeling is the second-oldest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world and a Chicago cultural institution. “Cinema is supposed to be communal, and after more than a year of social distancing and isolation it’s never been more important to experience independent film with one another,” Reeling Film Festival founder and executive director of Chicago Filmmakers Brenda Webb says in a release. “Filmmakers interpret the world around them and bring us new perspectives and new ideas with stories of love and loss, bravery and struggle, humor and revelation—the tapestry of the human experience. Reeling’s 39th slate of films celebrates and embrace this crucial piece of our shared existence.” Details here.
Site, Specifically, The Chicago Film Society
“Both film and trains are beautiful, perfect, and irreplaceable,” writes the Chicago Film Society of their site-specific presentation of James Benning’s 2007 “RR” on Sunday October 3. It’s an outdoor screening in a parking lot beside an active Metra line that’s outside the Chicago Film Society office. “It should come as little surprise that people who love one tend to embrace the other. ‘RR’ is the last to-date celluloid production of avant-garde master James Benning and illustrates the spiritual relationship between these two technologies beautifully. There are forty-three static shots, each of a different train in a different part of America. Each begins roughly when a train enters the frame and ends usually around the time it exits the frame and altogether they make the case for the innate beauty of locomotives and celluloid better than just about any film we can think of.” “BYO chair!” the Society reminds. More here.
LIT
Two Chicago Poets Honored By Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation has announced its annual award-winners, including Chicago’s Patricia Smith as the winner of the 2021 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, Susan Briante as winner of the 2021 Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism, and Bryan Byrdlong (from Chicago), Steven Espada Dawson, Noor Hindi, Natasha Rao, and Simon Shieh as the 2021 Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellows. The awards are sponsored and administered by the Poetry Foundation and will be presented at a virtual awards ceremony on October 21, open to all. This is the first time in many years that the recipients of these annually awarded prizes will be honored together at one ceremony. “Every one of these extraordinary writers is a credit to the art form, each bringing their own unique experiences and approaches to enrich the literary landscape,” Michelle T. Boone, president of the Poetry Foundation says in a release. “It is a joyous occasion to be able to celebrate artists in poetic lineage with one another, what they’ve created thus far, and what is yet to come.” More here.
MUSIC
Illinois Philharmonic Sets All-American Opening Night
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Stilian Kirov, kicks off its forty-fourth season with an All-American Opening Night, marking the orchestra’s return to the stage on Saturday, October 16 at the 1,100-seat Ozinga Chapel at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights. The evening features the iconic work of Eric Ewazen and Florence Price, and concludes with a world premiere performance by dancers from the Joffrey Academy of Dance dancing to Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring.” The performance is curated by choreographer and Joffrey Ballet Company Artist Yoshihisa Arai. “We are thrilled to welcome audiences back to the beautiful Ozinga Chapel with a concert that illustrates IPO’s continuous exploration of American composers as well as strong artistic commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.” Kirov says in a release. “We’d like to thank the distinguished Yoshihisa Arai for elevating this concert by creating a beautiful choreography to the music of Copland’s ‘Appalachian Spring’ via the incredible talents of the Trainees and Studio Company members of Joffrey Academy of Dance.” Tickets and more here.
Music Director Osmo Vänskä And Minnesota Orchestra Begin Final Season Together
Osmo Vänskä has begun his final season as Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra, a season with programming that recalls milestone performances, collaborations, commissions, tours and recordings from his soon-to-be nineteen-year tenure. The season opens September 23-24 with Vänskä and the Orchestra welcoming violinist Joshua Bell for performances of Max Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy.” Bell was the featured guest soloist at the first Minnesota Orchestra concert Mr. Vänskä conducted, in October 2000, three years before he became music director. The program concludes with Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony,” recalling the opening night of Mr. Vänskä’s first season with the Orchestra in 2003, as well as their complete Beethoven symphonies recording cycle together. More here.
STAGE
Collaboraction’s Sixth Peacebook Fest Arrives
Collaboraction has announced the line-up, dates and locations for its sixth Peacebook Festival, Saturday, September 25 at Kennedy-King College in Englewood, and Saturday, October 2 at the Kehrein Center for the Arts in Austin. Each Peacebook event presents a selection of world premiere Gifts of Peace Solos created and performed live and in-person by a diverse line-up of leading Chicago peace visionaries. Ameena Matthews, Banks Performance Project, E’mon Lauren, John Johnson, Loretta “Firekeeper” Hawkins, Mica Cole and Teh’Ray “PHENOM” Hale, Sr. will share their message of peace and hope on September 25 in Englewood. Gifts of Peace soloists on October 2 in Austin are Abad Viquez, Ada Cheng, Anthony Wolf, David Flores, Marvin Tate and Molly Brennan. A collection of short films, produced by Collaboraction since the beginning of the pandemic precedes the solo works each night. Both evenings conclude with a “Crucial Conservation” between the artists and audience about how to increase the peace in Chicago. “This unique moment in history is an open door to new ideas and actions around cultivating peace in Chicago,” says Collaboraction artistic director Anthony Moseley in a release, “and we are honored to be able to share these gifts of critical voices and perspectives on Peace.” Details and tickets here.
ComedySportz Chicago Announces Live Shows
ComedySportz Chicago, the thirty-five-year-old improv comedy establishment, will reopen in a one-year residency at a new home, the Den Theatre, on October 1. Details and tickets here.
AstonRep Theatre Company Returns To Live Shows
AstonRep Theatre Company returns to live performances, starting with a revival of Yasmina Reza’s dark comedy “God of Carnage,” translated by Christopher Hampton and co-directed by Derek Bertelsen and Robert Tobin. As part of the company’s ongoing Salon Series, artists from this year’s production will join those who worked on AstonRep’s 2012 production of the play for a discussion about the show that will be streamed for free during the run. The season continues with AstonRep’s thirteenth Annual Writer’s Series, featuring free readings of new works by emerging writers. This year’s two-day festival will be via Zoom. AstonRep’s 2021-22 season concludes next spring with the Chicago premiere of Sarah Treem’s drama “When We Were Young and Unafraid,” directed by Sara Pavlak McGuire. Both productions will be staged on The Edge Off-Broadway Theatre, 1133 West Catalpa. More here.
ARTS & CULTURE
Windy City Coop Tour Returns For Eleventh Sitting
The Windy City Coop Tour returns September 25-26 for an eleventh year showcasing backyard poultry, eco-yards and urban livestock across Chicago. During a self-guided tour, hosts open their yards to visitors and share their experience keeping backyard livestock in an urban setting. The Windy City Coop Tour provides access to local examples of the broader nationwide movement toward sustainable urban backyards. The Windy City Coop Tour is organized by Chicagoland Chicken Enthusiasts, a network of local urban agriculturists and supported by Advocates for Urban Agriculture. More information here.
