Englewood Arts Collective And United Still Grantee Celebrate With Pop-Up Event
Englewood Arts Collective, “Englewood’s only arts collective dedicated to reimagining the narrative about arts and people from the Englewood community” presents a pop-up mentoring session and celebration of the ten winning artists for the United Still micro-grant initiative. The gathering will be a meet-and-greet and workshop session for the grantees to begin refining their winning program ideas. With initial funding from DCASE, EAC awarded ten South Side artists a $3,500 grant to support their ideas and their art through the United Still campaign. Projects will include community participation and a celebration of a South Side neighborhood. The event is Saturday, November 6, 3:30pm-6pm at Momentum Coffee and Coworking Event Space, 2119 South State.
DESIGN
“Alma, Art And Interiors” At Modern Gallery
“Alma, Art and Interiors” is an exhibition of thirty leading Chicago artists, presented by Oliva Gallery and Architectural Anarchy. Exploring contemporary art alongside distinct antiques and modern design, “Alma, Art and Interiors” reimagines the gallery as the spirit of the home. “In 18,000 square feet of twentieth-century loft space, Kimberly Oliva of Oliva Gallery and Gosia Korsakowski of Architectural Anarchy have curated dozens upon dozens of vignettes, each consisting of a few pieces, drawn from a variety of artistic disciplines and time periods—antique furniture, vintage lighting, modern ceramics, contemporary painting, fiber artists, photography, sculpture wood work, metal art,” the gallery says in a release. “Rather than a traditional gallery setup, the choice to stage mixed-media vignettes rescues the works from seeming isolated and spiritless… ‘An interior without art is like a place without soul. We want to create the feeling of people who live there,’ Gosia says. ‘A painting or a sculpture brings another level to every home, and each vignette invites you to visualize the spirit of your own home, in all its levels.'”
The exhibition restores the function of in-person art dealing as well. “I’ve been holding back my premier pieces in hopes of the return of large scale exhibitions, and Alma is a vision of what I would’ve exhibited if SOFA, now Intersect Chicago, had taken place at Navy Pier in 2020 and 2021,” says Kimberly Oliva. “Alma is the very latest extension of the Chicago arts community that I’ve fostered at Oliva Gallery.” All of the art and vintage furniture at Alma, Art and Interiors is available for cash and carry. Opening Saturday, November 6, 11am-7pm, 3636 South Iron; showings November 7, 13 and 14 from 11am-5pm or by appointment during the week. More here.
Designed Objects By Sung Jang At Volume Gallery
Volume Gallery is mounting “Given,” an exhibition of new designed objects by Sung Jang. In his second solo exhibition at Volume Gallery, Sung Jang presents “symbiotic combinations of found stones buttressed by constructed bases. In these works a base supports the stone, helping the natural form to find balance. The found stones are equivalent to the given, as in an equation, and the supporting structure acts like a variable, signifying human intervention,” the gallery relays. “The deliberate combinations are analogous to humanity’s relationship with nature—rock and the base representing nature meeting human reasoning. With their light touch, the pieces reflect a traditional Korean dynamic with nature, one of appreciation and respect. Jang is interested in honoring the condition and history of the stones just as they are when he finds them. He sourced some of the stones in South Korea and some in Illinois.” The opening is Saturday, November 6, 11am-6pm at 1709 West Chicago, 2B. More here.
Ambitious CTA Budget Fueled By Fed Bucks
“The CTA is moving forward with an ambitious budget for 2022 despite still-cratered revenues and ridership from the pandemic,” reports Block Club Chicago. “Some highlights of the $1.7 billion spending plan include a permanent slash in the cost of multi-day passes, the introduction of more electric buses and continued upgrades for stations, tracks and other equipment. In its report on the budget, CTA says it expects a budget shortfall of more than $455 million in 2022. For now, federal money is going to plug that gap: $299 million left over from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Act (CRRSA) and $156 million from the American Rescue Plan.”
Sterling Bay Renders Next Phase Of Lincoln Yards
“Initial renderings have been revealed for the next phase of the Lincoln Yards mega-development,” reports YIMBY Chicago. “Developer Sterling Bay has revealed some of the first details for its next building and district for the area just north of ALLY at 1229 West Concord, a life-sciences building which just broke ground marking the beginning of vertical construction of the project. Design firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is behind the master planning of the Steelyard district with Gensler as the designer for the buildings, including the new mid-rise at 1685 North Throop.”
“Midwest Tungsten began selling the tungsten cubes in 2015. Much of the initial interest was from teachers and people interested in physics or metals,” reports the Sun-Times. “The company has found itself in the middle of an insatiable crypto kick… Sales have jumped from the hundreds to the thousands, and the company has fully embraced its admirers.”
DINING & DRINKING
El Milagro Employees Hold Vigil For The Dead
“Employees who have been organizing and raising concerns about working conditions gathered outside an El Milagro location in Little Village… held a community vigil and news conference to honor the five employees who’ve died of COVID-19 as well as workers’ family members who have died,” reports the Trib.
Pizza Friendly Pizza Opens For Dine-In With Round Pies
“For the first time since opening in July 2020, Pizza Friendly Pizza will allow diners to eat indoors. But that’s not the only reveal: they’re debuting a new thin-crust round pizza on Wednesdays only. Yes, it’s squares versus rounds thanks to a new pie from chef Joshua Hoenig, who moved to Chicago earlier this year after his Orlando, Florida pizzeria, Pretty Killer Pizza, closed in the spring,” reports Eater Chicago. “Though his favorite toppings are simple Ezzo’s pepperoni cups, Hoenig says he played around while in Florida and came up with a yellow curry pizza. It used a Thai curry base with coconut milk and topped with pickled carrots, cauliflower, and jalapeños. Noah Sandoval will continue to oversee Pizza Friendly Pizza, but has placed his trust in Hoenig: ‘I’m all about things being delicious and consistent… I think there’s a lot of good pizza in Chicago, I do see ours as being relatively unique.'”
FILM & TELEVISION
Black Harvest And Chicago Underground Open This Weekend
Juggernaut Film Festival is this weekend, November 5-7, in person at the Otherworld Theatre at 3914 North Clark. The Festival is devoted to fantasy and sci-fi genre films, and presents five features and more than sixty-five shorts from eighteen countries. More information and tickets here.
MEDIA
Lasting Portrait Of Chicago Radio: Male-Dominated, Toxic And Sexist
At the Trib, Tracy Swartz and Christy Gutowski survey attitudes toward women in Chicago radio. “First Kathy Hart disappeared from ‘Eric & Kathy,’ the morning radio show on WTMX-FM that bore her name for two decades. Then another co-host, Melissa McGurren, departed three years later… Eric Ferguson remained, continuing as host of his popular show until a furor over allegations of inappropriate behavior forced the Radio Hall of Famer from the airwaves last month… ‘The common response was that we all needed to “protect the quarterback,” meaning Ferguson,’ McGurren wrote in a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint… Struck by the number of high-profile women departing radio jobs, the Tribune interviewed three dozen women in Chicago radio over the past ten months, finding both enthusiasm for their work and widespread frustration with what many described as a male-dominated business.”
MUSIC
“Ravi Shankar: Ragamala To Rockstar, A Retrospective Of The Maestro’s Life In Music” Opens
South Asia Institute announces the opening of “Ravi Shankar: Ragamala to Rockstar, A Retrospective of the Maestro’s Life in Music,” opening Saturday, November 6 and running through March 5, 2022. Sitar pioneer Ravi Shankar, who George Harrison of The Beatles called the “Godfather of world music,” was instrumental in bringing Indian classical music to mainstream audiences in the West. “His influence led to Indian musical instruments and styles permeating popular music throughout the 1960s as he toured the U.S. and Europe extensively. Mentoring high-profile artists like Harrison, Philip Glass and John Coltrane, Shankar’s musical diplomacy brought Eastern music and cultural ideology to mainstream Western culture,” the Institute says in a release. “Shankar frequently performed at the Chicago Symphony Center from 1933 until his death in 2012. ‘Ravi Shankar: Ragamala to Rockstar, A Retrospective of The Maestro’s Life in Music’ showcases the legendary musician’s groundbreaking career in music through an unprecedented collection of over a hundred rare concert posters, psychedelic art prints, photographs, videos, record covers and personal artifacts. As a testament to Shankar’s rock star status, the exhibition showcases the extraordinary collection of international concert posters created by noted artists including Gary Grimshaw, Mort Drucker, Tom Wilkes, Gunther Kieser, Jan Steward, Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, David Byrd, Steve Sachs, Bill Utterback, Norman Orr, and Eugene Hawkins, in addition to portraits of the musician by famed photographers such as Francesco Scavullo, Elliott Landy, Eric Hayes, Frank Seltier and Yousuf Karsh.” The South Asia Institute is at 1925 South Michigan. More here.
Chicago Symphony Comes Out Of Lockdown With $1.6 Million Surplus
Crain’s reports that the CSO “turned a $4.4 million operating deficit into a $1.6 million surplus by cutting expenses deeper than revenue fell during the pandemic-struck fiscal year ended June 30. The black ink was the first in five years, a stretch that included a musicians’ strike.”
Chicago Philharmonic Launches Holiday Season With Simply Serenades
The Chicago Philharmonic Society presents its second of four concerts of their thirty-second season with Simply Serenades, November 21 at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts (9501 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie). Led by artistic director and principal conductor Scott Speck, the concert features works by Brahms and Dvorák for winds and strings, plus a world premiere by Jonathan Bingham. Single tickets are $10-$75 here.
STAGE
Black Ensemble Theater Announces “Ladies, Living and Loving Life”
Black Ensemble Theater’s production of “Ladies, Living and Loving Life,” by Black Ensemble Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor and Rhonda Preston, directed by Jackie Taylor and starring Rhonda Preston and Arzula Gardner, plays this month. “They are sisters. They are eighty-one (YaYa) and eighty-two (Raya) and each one has owned her own nightclub for forty years. Raya’s club is located on the South Side of Chicago and YaYa’s club is located on the North Side of Chicago. These two lively ladies are still the main attraction in their night clubs, and they sing up a storm! They sing everything–jazz, standards, pop, rock, and everything in between.” As with all Black Ensemble productions, the production will feature a live band led by musical director Robert Reddrick. Shows are Friday, November 19, 8pm; Saturday, November 20, 3 and 8pm; and Sunday, November 21, 3pm. Seating is limited to eighty per performance. Tickets are $45 here.
Cirque Du Soleil “‘Twas the Night Before…” Returns To Chicago Theatre
Cirque du Soleil’s family holiday theatrical “’Twas the Night Before…” returns to the Chicago Theatre for seventeen performances, November 26-December 5. “‘Twas the Night Before…,” Cirque du Soleil’s spin on the well-known Christmas tale, is “about the wonders of sharing and friendship.” The production marks Cirque du Soleil’s first Christmas show and is “a flurry of Christmas cheer–rip-roaring fun with hugely lovable characters that will introduce audiences to the magic of Cirque du Soleil and help families create new holiday traditions.” Tickets here.
ARTS & CULTURE
108th Annual City Of Chicago Christmas Tree Harvested From Logan Square Family
Chicago’s official Christmas tree, the 108th Annual City of Chicago Christmas Tree in Millennium Park, will shine near the intersection of Michigan and Washington from November 19-January 9. This year’s tree, a fifty-one-foot blue spruce, was donated by the Benavides family of Logan Square. This year’s Tree Lighting Ceremony will be in-person on Friday, November 19 at 6pm, and lighting at about 6:30pm. More here.
Kirk’s Dik-dik Born At Brookfield Zoo
A Kirk’s dik-dik, one of the world’s smallest antelopes, was born at Brookfield Zoo on October 13. “The not-yet-named male calf weighed just over one-and-a-half pounds. He is behind the scenes with his mother, Buttons. The family can be viewed on the zoo’s social media channels. Behind the scenes, there is a nest site, which is where a newborn dik-dik remains hidden for ten to twenty days. It will nurse for about three to four months. Weaning is attained when the calf reaches a weight of about four pounds. Once full-grown, the male can weigh up to fourteen pounds and measure fourteen to sixteen inches tall at the shoulder. This small antelope, native to Africa’s Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Angola, and Namibia, got its name from the sound it makes when threatened as well as after Sir John Kirk, a nineteenth century Scottish naturalist. Its coat varies in color from a yellowish-gray to reddish-brown. The species can be identified best by its large, striking, dark eyes that are each surrounded by a white ring… The calf at Brookfield Zoo will not be making his public debut until spring 2022, but guests can see an adult pair in their outdoor habitat during regular zoo hours, weather permitting. Currently, there are 25 Kirk’s dik-diks at 11 accredited North American zoos, including five at Brookfield Zoo.”
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Announces $4 Million Construction Project
The Chicago Academy of Sciences-Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum has announced a $4 million construction project to build “Nature’s PlaySpace,” an interactive experience designed to connect young visitors to nature. “The Nature Museum enthralls hundreds of thousands of children each year and serves the unique and important role of connecting children of all ages to nature and science through immersive exhibits, fun family events, important conservation research and in-depth education programs,” the museum relays. “I am thrilled to share the exciting news of our first major building reconstruction in twenty years,” Deb Lahey, president and CEO says in a release. “Exposing young children to nature and science is critical in early childhood development, and the new Nature’s PlaySpace exhibit will give our youngest visitors deeper knowledge and greater passion for the natural world that surrounds them while they have fun exploring the interactive exhibit.” More here.
