Marion Kryczka, “Untitled (Portrait of Woman in Red Headscarf) at Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art; adapted by Busy Beaver Buttons
ART
Nick Cave On Upcoming Retrospective
Nick Cave talks to the Art Newspaper about his upcoming show: “When I think about this moment and how it’s allowing me to look back at my career, at the work, it’s interesting that I keep coming to this place of light. And I realized that I have been, for the last three decades, trying to bring light to the subject of racism and inequality. It just all of a sudden made sense—that through my craft, that has really been the mission. Using that as a catalyst to reach and connect to community. I’m always trying to think about connections and reconnecting and how we work within the civic construct. I’m interested in partnerships, I’m interested in inclusion and how I can expand that. How do I think about what has been going on at the MCA around all of that, and what role and responsibilities do I have in helping shift that narrative? This is why these moments are being created… Art has always been my saviour; it has allowed me to vent and to work through these difficult moments through this vernacular.”
“Mile Of Murals” Restored
The nonprofit Rogers Park Business Alliance announced that its “Mile of Murals” has been recently restored with bold imagery and vibrant colors, totaling more than 14,000 square feet and consisting of fourteen murals along the CTA Red Line stops in Rogers Park. The “Mile of Murals” is featured on the expanded monthly walking tours from Chicago Architecture Center, which begin on Saturday, May 14, and continue through October 8. “Launched in 2007, Rogers Park’s ‘Mile of Murals’ is an ongoing mural series promoting and celebrating the artistic identity that is central to the neighborhood’s rich culture. Over the past fourteen years, the ‘Mile of Murals’ has commissioned fourteen large-scale works. The new tour honors the artists who have contributed to the ‘Mile of Murals’ and discusses the social and community concerns explored in the artworks spanning concrete embankments, viaducts and overpasses surrounding the CTA tracks along Glenwood Avenue.” More on the tour here.
“Twin Hicks” On The Mural Lost In The Antioch Missionary Baptist Church Fire
“When Englewood’s Antioch Missionary Baptist Church caught fire earlier this month, the community was left grieving. But for brothers Alan and Aaron Hicks, the fire was more than a loss for the community. It was a loss of their work, too,” reports Cheyanne M. Daniels at the Sun-Times. “Alan and Aaron Hicks, sixty, go by Twin Hicks, specializing in portraits and murals. Some show the faces of visionaries, such as Malcolm X. Others, like ‘Play Time,’ represent everyday life. Many more are inspired by their faith.” They’ve agreed to make new work for the church’s next location. “The twins don’t have any ideas yet for the new mural but expect it to once again be Afrocentric. ‘We’re just kind of waiting to see what the pastor and church officials have in mind,’ Alan Hicks said. ‘It’s just good to know that we are considered to be the ones that will do the next mural.'”
Mariane Ibrahim On Five Artworks That Changed Her Life
Gallerist Mariane Ibrahim tells CNN about five key artworks: Among her choices are Gustave Courbet’s “L’Origine du Monde” (1866): “Ibrahim was a teenager when she first encountered an image of French artist Gustave Courbet’s cropped, close-up oil painting of a reclining woman’s vulva, and she said she felt like she ‘couldn’t hide’ from the artwork. ‘I’ve never seen any body displayed that way.’… It has been on public display since 1995 at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, where Ibrahim saw the work in person for the first time last year. She feels the work is indicative of the experience of viewing an artwork. ‘Art is supposed to make you feel slightly uncomfortable… But you keep looking for that again and again and again.'”
Terra Foundation Adds To Board Of Directors
The Terra Foundation for American Art has named Amina Dickerson, Eric T. McKissack, Ravi Saligram and Amanda Williams to its Board of Directors. “We are thrilled to welcome these four thought leaders to our Board of Directors to help us envision new futures for American art during this moment of change and transition at the Terra Foundation,” Joseph P. Gromacki, chair of the Terra Foundation for American Art’s board of directors says in a release. “Our engaged Board members are working with our President and CEO and staff to develop and test new strategies for the foundation, which will support projects that expand narratives of American art, encourage collaborative practices in the field, and foster intercultural dialogues globally. Amanda, Amina, and Eric each have deep ties to Chicago and decades’ worth of experience supporting the arts and the cultural ecosystem in our home city. Ravi, who once lived in Chicago, expands the Board’s geographic reach in the U.S. as he is deeply invested in supporting the artistic community in his current home of Atlanta.” More here.
DESIGN
Lookbooking Five Residential Former Church Properties For Sale in Chicago
Chicago magazine slideshows five pricey properties that were once houses of worship with eighty-eight glimpses including luxury roof decks, huge inspirational chalkboards, costly kitchens and small little bathrooms.
Atlantic Essays Against Historic Preservation In Cities
During the twentieth century, “in cities with significant numbers of old buildings,” writes Jacob Anbinder at the Atlantic, “preservation became an essential part of the process by which communities fended off urban-redevelopment projects… While many preservationists today are engaged in good-faith efforts to move away from the elitism of the movement’s past, the effects of landmark laws have not changed [much]. The aesthetes and white-collar property owners who made historic preservation an enduring political force in the twentieth century are still the main coalition supporting it in the twenty-first… Preservation remains firmly entrenched in the wider array of practices that make urban real estate an engine of wealth generation for some and immiseration for others… Neighborhoods such as New York’s Upper West Side, San Francisco’s Alamo Square, and Washington’s Georgetown—places once affordable to middle- or upper-middle-class home buyers—are now dominated by white-shoe lawyers and financiers… Historic preservation not only gave this process of hyper-gentrification an imprimatur of political and legal legitimacy it might otherwise have lacked, but also continues to enable it in the present day.”
Public Tours For Lincoln Park Mansion Built For Titanic Survivor
“A mansion initially built for a family who survived the Titanic disaster is now open for public tours,” reports WGN-TV. “It was a renovation project that stretched over four and a half years. With the help of 40 top Chicago area designers working their magic in every space, the result is from top to bottom, a feast of vibrant colors, texture, stunning light fixtures and thoughtful design.” The David Adler mansion is at 2700 North Lakeview in Lincoln Park, and was split into two multimillion-dollar luxury residences. The house is up for sale; tour tickets are $65.
Uptown’s Shuttered Stewart School Converted Into Apartments, Sold For $23 Million
“Chicago investment firm Morningside USA profited on the sale, for $23 million, of the Stewart School Lofts apartments after buying the Uptown property in a controversial 2015 deal,” reports The Real Deal. The rehab cost was $12 million. (Ben Joravsky wrote about the controversy in the Reader in 2017.)
Busy Beaver Introduces Ukraine Button Pack
Busy Beaver’s “Support Ukraine” button pack is meant to raise awareness and donations for those affected by the Russian invasion, reports Logan Squarist. “The Support Ukraine pack includes three buttons, two with the Ukrainian flag and one featuring a piece of art from the permanent collection of the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, which partnered with Busy Beaver in the creation of this pack. The painting, ‘Untitled (Portrait of a Woman in Red Headscarf)’ by Marion Kryczka, depicts a woman in a traditional red babushka with a modern graphic T-shirt. The institute’s marketing manager, Alexandra Senycia, said this work was chosen for its depiction of ‘a woman strongly looking to the future.'” The buttons are here; UIMA has an exhibition on protest art that is open from noon-4pm, Wednesday-Sunday.
Murals & Mosaics Looks At Chicago’s Vanishing “Neon Wilderness”
Nick Freeman, author of “Good Old Neon: Signs You’re in Chicago,” talks neon signages with Robert Herguth in the reporter’s weekly Sun-Times dispatch: “What constitutes a great sign? For me it’s an elusive synchronicity of color, shape, typography, and iconography, enhanced by authenticity and eccentricity. Signs that have been maintained and still illuminate are always beguiling. The fragility of glass tubing continuously exposed to harsh Chicago weather makes the survival of an old sign a kind of urban miracle, deserving, at the least, of photographic preservation.”
Royal George Site Gets Residential Development
“Initial details have been revealed for a residential development at 1649 North Halsted in Old Town,” reports YIMBY Chicago. “Located just north of the intersection with West North Avenue and across the street from the recently expanded Steppenwolf Theatre, the project would replace the multi-building complex of the Royal George Theater and its adjoining parking garage. Developer Draper & Kramer updated their website to show the first rendering of the new structure.”
Park Hyatt Chicago Reopens This Summer
Park Hyatt Chicago expects to reopen its property at 800 North Michigan Avenue this summer. “The hotel’s $60 million transformation includes the introduction of new suite categories and twenty-three new suite additions, reimagined guest rooms, enhancements to the lobby and The Library experience, a refreshed curated art program, as well as updates to the food and beverage programs and destination spa.” “After more than forty years in the Windy City, Park Hyatt Chicago’s evolution will be a pivotal moment for the brand, bringing new life to the first-ever Park Hyatt property,” Rike Erdbrink, general manager, Park Hyatt Chicago says in a release. “Design firm Anderson/Miller, Ltd. has been tasked with modernizing Park Hyatt Chicago’s guestroom and suite experiences to create an elegant urban retreat with world-class amenities, which will blend inspiration from the brand’s sophisticated foundation and the neighboring Water Tower Park.”
DINING & DRINKING
Closing Day At Dinkel’s
“Three bakers were the first to arrive, at 2am on the final morning”: Louisa Chu hangs out the day century-old bakery Dinkel’s closed its door one last time. “‘We have kolaches,’ Sergio Hernandez said, releasing a warm blast of buttery sweet aromas while pulling trays from a walk-in oven. ‘We did three different flavors: raspberry, cheese and apricot. We still have some fruit coffee cakes in the oven.’ Hernandez, originally from Mexico City, has been baking for the past twenty years and started working at Dinkel’s about eight years ago. ‘There are a couple of things that are my favorites, and I’m gonna take for the family… Kolaches, stollen and some of the doughnuts too—my kids love them.’ He’s trying to find another place to work.” Block Club Chicago: “Dinkel’s was one of those institutions we could point to that gave us a sense of having real, deep roots in a place. It’s part of how we can say, ‘We’re from here. We’re Chicagoans.’”
“Betrayal Of Chicago” In Englewood
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch tweeted his disappointment over the weekend with Whole Foods’ Englewood exit: “This story saddens me. Jeff Bezos is worth $180 BiILLION dollars, takes joy rides into outer space, but takes away healthy food options to poor people because he cares more about profits than poor people. This is yet another reason why we should tax billionaires like Bezos more!” Shia Kapos at Politico: “It’s not lost on the community that Whole Foods is exiting after [vowing] to invest in underserved communities in response to the protests of George Floyd’s murder in 2020. During a meeting with the mayor’s office and others Friday, some community leaders recalled residents standing outside of Whole Foods to defend it against potential looters during the unrest that summer.” Now, Representative Sonya Harper said, they feel “betrayed.”
Reporting On The 2022 Jean Banchet Awards
“Michael Muser started off the first Jean Banchet awards in two-and-a-half years with some inspirational words about the mostly-post-COVID world we find ourselves in: ‘We are the survivors. The ones who kept it going by making burgers and deep dish pizza for two years till we could get people back in our restaurants. The ones who figured out how to package a formal meal in deli cups and invented new ideas of what Chicago dining is in ghost kitchens,'” reports Fooditor.
MUSIC
R. Kelly Attorney Challenges Chicago Charges
In advance of his August 1 trial, “R. Kelly’s new defense attorney has turned her sights on the federal charges still pending against him in Chicago, arguing that prosecutors filed them about a decade too late,” reports the Sun-Times. “Jennifer Bonjean, the attorney with Chicago roots who helped free actor Bill Cosby, filed a motion Monday seeking to dismiss several of the charges pending against Kelly. The singer is charged in Chicago’s federal court with child pornography and obstruction of justice.”
STAGE
The Critic’s Nightmare
Chris Jones shares on Facebook a weekend mishap out of the nightmare file: “Critic’s nightmare tonight. A huge gust of wind on Milwaukee Avenue whisks my program (a replica map of Haiti) out of my hand with all my scrawled notes on the VERY complex House Theatre production of ‘The Tragedy of King Christophe.’ I decide I am screwed without those notes so I go chasing after it, crashing into audience members for, I swear, four blocks, the crucial, teasing piece of paper dodging and weaving on a breeze becoming a gale. Finally, somebody stomped it to the ground. Never been so grateful.”
Sunday Shooting In Alley By Chicago Theatre; “Moulin Rouge” Cancels
“While dozens of people filed into the Chicago Theatre on busy State Street, the East Benton Place alley next door was at the center of a double shooting investigation” around 5pm, reports WGN-TV. “Sunday’s shooting was the third downtown incident involving gunfire this weekend.” Reports Channel 5: “Chicago theatergoers ready to enjoy a Sunday evening performance of ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ at the Nederlander Theatre in the Loop were instead sent home, when the show’s producers announced that the show had been canceled due to an ‘earlier disturbance.'”
Second City Announces Victor Wong Fellowship For AAPI Voices In Comedy
In anticipation of AAPI Heritage Month, the Second City has announced the Victor Wong Fellowship for AAPI Voices in Comedy. The Victor Wong Fellowship is the first program by a major comedy theater to exclusively endow AAPI talent.This first-of-its-kind fellowship will provide sixteen fellows annually with a tuition-free master program in improv comedy. The fellowship will focus on developing the next generation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) talent. Auditions will be held in August. Named after The Second City’s first Asian American performer and funded by Peng Zhao, CEO of Citadel Securities, and his wife, Cherry Chen, the fellowship will focus on developing the next generation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) talent. More here.
“Late Night Catechism” Turns Twenty-Nine
Twenty-nine tickets will be available for “Late Nite Catechism”‘s special anniversary performance on May 29 at the original ticket price of $8. Chicago actress Rose Guccione will star as “Sister.” “Since opening in 1993 at Live Bait Theatre, ‘Late Nite Catechism’ has seen three popes, three cardinals, four presidents, three Chicago mayors, at least a dozen Chicago area theaters, twenty local actresses, and provided laughter to more than three-and-a-half million audience members in more than 410 cities, playing in six countries on four continents. Worldwide, the show has grossed more than $100 million.” The special performance will be Sunday, May 29, 2pm, at the Greenhouse Theater Center. Tickets are available through the Greenhouse or at ThunderTix with code LNC29.
ARTS & CULTURE
Adler Features Total Lunar Eclipse On May 15
“Much of North America, including all of the Chicagoland area, will experience a total lunar eclipse on Sunday, May 15, beginning at 8:32,” the Adler Planetarium advises. “During a lunar eclipse, the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon blocking direct sunlight falling on the Moon and covering the Moon in shadow. The Moon will appear to turn a red, orange, or gray color.” For local eclipse visibility and timing for a specific location, check this map. The Adler will host a free, ticketed lunar eclipse viewing event on Sunday, May 15, from 9pm-midnight, weather permitting. “While the main museum and observatory will be closed, we will have our telescopes out and available for guests to enjoy and will be answering questions as each phase of the eclipse happens. Lawn chairs and blankets are encouraged as the eclipse will be visible with the naked eye. The event is fully weather dependent, and will be canceled approximately twenty-four hours in advance if conditions are not favorable on the lakefront for viewing the eclipse.” Free tickets here.
