Today In The Culture, September 20, 2021: Mariane Ibrahim Gallery Expands to Paris | LGBTQ+ History Exhibit Opens | “Chicago Party Aunt” Netflix Arrival
“Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement” at the Illinois Holocaust Museum
ART
Checking Into Mariane Ibrahim Gallery’s Parisian Locale
Surface profiles the Parisian arrival of the Mariane Ibrahim Gallery: “Mariane Ibrahim first moved to the U.S. a decade ago when she realized that, despite France’s colonial history in Africa, there simply wasn’t much of a market for art from the continent’s diaspora. Since then, she opened a much-watched gallery in Chicago and has experienced a meteoric rise as one of the art world’s foremost gallerists championing Black creative talent. While most of her expanding roster hails from Africa or are of African descent—Amoako Boafo, Peter Uka, Florine Demosthene, and Maimouna Guerresi among them—she emphasizes that both her gallery and roster shouldn’t be put into a box,” writes Ryan Waddoups. “Ibrahim is bringing that message back to Paris by inaugurating a brand-new outpost on Avenue Matignon. Located in a 4,300-square-foot space within a stately Haussmanian building, the three-floor gallery heralds a key moment for the Avenue’s renaissance. The French capital has experienced a renewed sense of optimism and vibrancy within the past year, due in part to post-Brexit fallout that has attracted a multitude of high-profile galleries such as Christie’s, Skarstedt, Perrotin, and White Cube.”
Reva and David Logan Foundation Launches The Artist Grant
The Reva and David Logan Foundation has established a community-driven model of grant-making that celebrates individual artists working in a range of formats, the foundation announces. This Artist Grant, although supported in an administrative capacity by Foundation staff, has been designed and driven by a group of Chicago-based artists representing a range of creative disciplines and backgrounds. The initiative aims to recognize artists working in Chicago who may or may not be working within the mainstream art world. All art forms—art as defined by the applicants—will be considered. The award will offer ten unrestricted, no-strings-attached grants in the amount of $2,500 each. By design, the application is short and intended to capture the joy and essence of why an artist makes the work they make. Grants manager and arts program officer Preeti Veerlapati says, “We feel it is imperative that this endeavor fosters fairness, accessibility, and inclusion, eschewing burdensome platforms and elitist selection processes.” Details here.
The Other Art Fair Returns To Chicago
The Other Art Fair, presented by Saatchi Art, returns to Chicago this month. “The Other Art Fair gives guests the opportunity to meet a curated selection of over 110 independent artists and browse thousands of pieces to suit every budget under one roof,” the event relays in a release. “With prices starting from as little as $100, this is an art fair for everyone. Whether you’re a first-time art buyer, seasoned collector, curator, investor, gallery owner, art lover or anything in between, you are guaranteed to find something to add to (or start!) your collection.” Details of the extensive exhibitions and activities here.
DESIGN
Will Developers Oppose City Of Chicago Suggested Design Standards?
“Want to build in Chicago? Your design better fly with these folks first,” reports Crain’s. “A new City Hall advisory group seeks to uphold Chicago’s reputation for innovative architecture. Real estate developers and aldermen, meanwhile, are wary. Here’s why. Real estate developers trying to navigate a pandemic, rising property taxes and stricter affordable housing requirements in Chicago are getting antsy about another possible obstacle: Their buildings might not be stylish enough to win over the city.”
Drone Footage Of Chicago Union Station Power House Advocates Preservation
Devodare_Chicago is a YouTube user providing sights of sites in Chicago. Aerial views of the endangered Chicago Union Station Power House are featured in a four-minute YouTube video here.
DINING & DRINKING
Looking At The Annual Closing Of Mario’s Italian Lemonade At The End Of Summer
“’I like closing on a nice hot day,’ said Mario ‘Skip’ DiPaolo, 77. He co-owns the iconic Italian ice stand in the historic Little Italy neighborhood with his wife and three children. ‘I want you to remember the last lemonade you had when it was hot outside.’ This year, the last day [came] Sunday.” Mario’s Italian Lemonade gets a profile by Louisa Chu at the Trib: “DiPaolo likes to close around September 15. That’s the date his father, Mario G. DiPaolo, died in 1984. Father and son started the business together around 1954. ‘That’s the first year we actually went outside…For a year or two, we sold it inside my dad’s store. But then, to keep me busy when I was six years old, they got me a pushcart with a machine that you turned by hand. I sold it outside in front of his store where he could keep an eye on me.'”
Billy Dec’s Sunda Expansion Planned
Billy Dec “continues to operate Sunda New Asian in River North, positioning it as a celebrity magnet, attracting diners like Jamie Foxx and Barbra Streisand,” reports Eater Chicago. Dec has announced that he “will open a second Sunda in the city’s restaurant-laden Fulton Market neighborhood. Dec will serve the same mix of Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese food at the new location, [set] for a spring or summer debut at 333 North Green, occupying the ground floor space inside the headquarters of prolific Chicago developer Sterling Bay… Dec says the new opening will mark the next step in his bid for national expansion.”
Nabisco Strike Ends
“After weeks of strikes and protests, Nabisco workers have voted to ratify a new contract and end their strike. The new agreement includes sixty cents an hour wage increases each year for four years, a $5,000 bonus for all employees and blocks Mondelez’s planned healthcare cuts.” A More Perfect Union has a copy of the memorandum agreement.
FILM & TELEVISION
Netflix Animates “Chicago Party Aunt” Novelty Twitter Account
Nina Metz reporting at the Trib: “Despite the Chicago-ness of the Twitter account and the show itself, Chris Witaske actually grew up in St. Charles. ‘I’m a western suburb kid,’ he said. ‘But I will say: Grandparents are from Chicago. Dad is from Chicago; I don’t know why he moved us out to the ‘burbs for my childhood, but I lived in the city for many years after college.'” Witaske on caricature origins: “So, I know a lot of ladies who are like this… I have a lot of aunts who are like this character… I worked at Mike Ditka’s restaurant for five years… and I saw a lot of Chicago party aunts come through that place. I… soaked it in, observing these women in their natural habitat. And I thought it would be a great character to churn out jokes on Twitter—to put everything through her point of view—and it turns out I was right, because people really connected with it.. [S]he’s banged every Chicago C-list celebrity. She’s not afraid to share that she has a past of great exploits all over the city. [T]hat’s part of what’s so fun about her, that she’s not ashamed to put that all out there.”
Meanwhile, the City Of Chicago social media manager went all rah-rah as the eight episodes were dumped on Netflix all at once: “word on the street is @chipartyaunt has a show premiering today on @netflix. i for one am shocked, but i guess all those years of keeping the lights on at Richard’s Bar are finally paying off, don’t go and get all Hollywood on us. remember your roots please, ma’am,” the city posted on Twitter. Reply: “The only Hollywood where you’ll find me is up on Hollywood Ave at the mouth of Lake Shore Drive, sweetie ; ).” The City of Chicago: “ha! well, regardless, we couldn’t be happier for you rn so we’ve decided to lift all of your lifetime bans on bars, museums and the entire neighborhood of old town.” Reply: “This is the greatest day of my LIFE!!!” The City of Chicago: “lol i bet. you deserve. can’t wait to stream tonight! i think even @TheWienerCircle is happy for you, ms. diane dunbrowski. congrats!”
Witaske tells WBEZ: ” I think Chicago gets a bad rap in the news and a lot of that is certainly justified. I mean, there’s a lot of sadness that happens in the city, but I think there’s also a lot of joy. I hope that our show is able to showcase that a little bit and show that it really is a great city, a great place to be from. The people are so great and it’s really a beautiful city. I think it just got voted the second most beautiful city in the world by somebody.”
MUSIC
Meet Chicago’s Only All-Female Mariachi Group
“A group of Chicago-area women are transforming traditional Mexican music. They call themselves Mariachi Sirenas, the only all-female mariachi group in Chicago,” reports WGN-TV. “They started three years ago and have built a huge following with performances all over the Midwest. Ibet Herrera co-founded the group after dreaming up the idea at the age of seventeen. It started with just a few members and is now up to eleven players and singers.”
STAGE
Chopin Theatre Reopens After Nineteen Months
Find out about upcoming attractions at the reopened Chopin Theatre here.
Artistic Director Stephen Schellhardt Exiting BoHo Theatre At End Of 2021 Season
BoHo Theatre’s Artistic Director Stephen Schellhardt will step down from the position at the end of the 2021 season. Schellhardt joined the company in 2015 and became artistic director in 2019. He is BoHo’s third artistic director, following Peter Marston Sullivan, who took over the role in 2010 from founder Stephen Genovese. BoHo’s board of directors has begun a public search to fill the theatre’s top artistic position. More here.
ARTS & CULTURE
Tim Samuelson Remembers His Mentor, Richard Nickel
Mike Thomas has a few words at Chicago magazine with Chicago’s first cultural historian, Tim Samuelson: “Richard Nickel, a great photographer and historian of Louis Sullivan, was one of my mentors. I met him when I was still in my midteens, and soon he was taking me along to see buildings on the South Side that were earmarked for demolition. He would let me look at the building and just absorb the powerful intangibles and not say a word. Then we would have lunch and discuss it. I was supposed to be with him the day he was killed in the collapse of the old Stock Exchange Building, but he got there earlier than I did. I was part of the search party that dug through the rubble. They found his body in the subbasement. I will not walk on the same side of the street where that building was.”
Chicago Teams Look Toward Onsite Sports Books
Chicago City Council may consider a plan that lobbyist John R. Daley, a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, is pushing, reports the Sun-Times of the latest Chicago gambling initiative. “Under a proposed ordinance introduced by Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), each sports gambling operation would pay City Hall a $50,000 fee plus a $25,000 yearly renewal fee to operate inside each stadium or within a five-block radius… Asked why John R. Daley was hired, a White Sox spokesman says: ‘John is well respected in his field, is smart and experienced. In this particular case, all of the teams, their executives and their lobbyists have been working together jointly toward a common goal of getting this one ordinance passed. The governor wants it. The Legislature supports it, as does the mayor. And we believe the majority of the city council does as well…’ The sports book ordinance is expected to come before the Chicago City Council for a vote within a month or two. The teams’ owners see the wagering facilities as a way to bring in more revenue. They’d allow betting on other sports, too, and operate year-round. The Cubs have said they want to place a sports book operation next to Wrigley at Addison Street and Sheffield Avenue. United Center has space at the stadium that would be renovated to become home to a betting facility.”
Considering The City’s Attitudes Toward Latino Chicago Independence Caravans
“The public safety component simply cannot be ignored,” writes Jackie Serrato, editor-in-chief of South Side Weekly at Chicago Reporter. “The Chicago Police Department has become notorious for its handling of our communities during and after Latino parades. As squad cars and barracks are positioned in major intersections, blocking crucial—and relatively safe—Latino thoroughfares, drivers are pushed into residential streets, gas stations, and dead ends, sometimes forced to cross gang lines. CPD’s crowd control tactics are tone deaf to what’s happening on the ground… It’s not uncommon for 26th Street to get shut down, even when there is no parade scheduled. This year, Little Village police began posting up in the neighborhood… five days before Mexican Independence Day, again, despite there being no parade. Police have been recorded… yanking away Mexican flags and breaking flag poles, ticketing people for cruising downtown, and pulling over harmless youth… There is no shortage of cultural richness in Chicago, and mid-September is a time for unity and solidarity among the city’s Latino groups.”
Illinois Holocaust Museum Opens Exhibit On LGBTQ+ History
Illinois Holocaust Museum will host the exhibit, “Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement,” opening October 17 and running through May 8 next year. “The exhibit explores the June 1969 police raid of the Stonewall Inn as the flashpoint that ignited the modern gay rights movement in the United States. In the fifty years since the Stonewall Riots,” the museum writes, “America’s LGBTQ population has struggled for equal rights and representation under the law. ‘Rise Up’ shares those voices and tells the stories of this movement. Within this exhibition, sponsored by the Elizabeth Morse Genius Trust and the Abe & Ida Cooper Foundation, visitors will be immersed in an inspiring journey that weaves together moving narratives of gay rights history and the ongoing fight for civil rights. ‘Rise Up’ also examines popular culture’s role in influencing and reflecting attitudes about the LGBTQ community through film, television, sports, and music and explores how the movement harnessed the power of public protest and demonstration to change laws and shatter stereotypes… Blending historic images and items from the LGBTQ rights movement, the courage and resilience of LGBTQ Americans is displayed through over eighty powerful artifacts in the exhibit, including posters from Harvey Milk’s campaign for public office in San Francisco, an original rainbow flag signed by its creator Gilbert Baker, the gavel Nancy Pelosi used to announce the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ and interactive kiosks with information on current LGBTQ rights issues.” The museum’s vice-president of education and exhibitions, Kelley Szany, says, “’Rise Up’ affirms the Museum’s continued commitment to bringing forth exhibitions that address human rights and social justice issues. It creates a space for discussion and gives our visitors the tools they need to ‘take a stand.’” Details here.
King Nyani, Largest Bronze Gorilla Sculpture in the World, Reclines At Brookfield Zoo
The largest bronze gorilla sculpture in the world has found a permanent home at Brookfield Zoo. King Nyani (Swahili for “gorilla”) is an interactive sculpture that was created by public artists Gillie and Marc Schattner to raise awareness of the importance of the critically endangered gorilla. The sculpture, which is located just inside the zoo’s north entrance, measures twenty-three feet long, eight-and-a-half-feet high and weighs over two tons—4,766 pounds. King Nyani’s outreached right hand allows guests to get close to create a connection. “We wanted to create a sculpture where the public could really get close to the silverback male adult gorilla, both physically and emotionally. Being able to sit in his hand and look up at his gentle face we hope they will fall in love and join the movement to save the gorillas,” artist Gillie Schattner says. “Conservation is at the heart of everything we do at Brookfield Zoo, and creating opportunities to help understand the interconnectivity between humans, animals, and the environment is key,” said Stuart Strahl, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Chicago Zoological Society, which operates the zoo. “Like our iconic lion statues at our south entrance, we hope that King Nyani will create memorable moments for guests coming to the zoo for generations to come and inspire future conservationists.”
Destination Kohler Hosts Watch Party
Kohler Co. and Destination Kohler are inviting the public to visit the Village of Kohler, Wisconsin for festivities to celebrate the forty-third Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. Beginning September 22, locals and visitors alike will have the opportunity to watch live streams of the official broadcast on large screens at venues around Destination Kohler while enjoying live entertainment; food and beverages; shopping discounts and more. Details here.
