Today In The Culture, September 21, 2022: Jeanne Gang Has Thoughts About Casino Design | Music Box Plans A Horrible Month | Smashing Pumpkins Retake the Arena

“Mac Hacks” at Piada

ART

Art Basel Reveals Twentieth Miami Beach Line-Up, With 283 Galleries

Two-hundred-eighty-three galleries from thirty-eight countries and territories will exhibit at Art Basel Miami. Chicago participants are Corbett vs. Dempsey; Gray; Kavi Gupta; Rhona Hoffman; Mariane Ibrahim; moniquemeloche; Patron and Document.

Art Encounter Names Board Members

Art Encounter has named four new board members: Amy Krupsky, Abby Ohl, Michael McLean and Sally O’Hara. The non-profit organization is dedicated to educating, empowering, and connecting people of all ages and backgrounds through interactive encounters with visual art. More here.

U Of Iowa Stanley Museum Reopens To Public After Fourteen Years

A devastating flood struck the University of Iowa’s art museum in 2008 and displaced its collection, reports ARTnews. “While all the works were recovered, they were left without a permanent home, and many of the university’s linchpin holdings—including Jackson Pollock’s ‘Mural’—were forced to take up temporary residence in galleries and storage units around the world… After years of restoration work and tours throughout the United States and Europe, ‘Mural’ returned to the University of Iowa, kicking off a celebration a decade-and-a-half in the making… The Stanley’s grand reopening this year has provided an opportunity for the University of Iowa to reassert its excellence and reexamine its values, starting with the building itself. Designed by architecture firm BNIM Iowa, the striking, brick-clad Stanley Museum of Art building integrates gallery and event space with multipurpose education suites. Students learn just steps away from artistic masterpieces, ensuring that the Iowa Idea is built into the museum’s design.”

DESIGN

Landmarked La Luce Languishes

A magnificent building at Lake Street and Ogden, “the former Schlitz Brewery tied house, was landmarked last year, but a preservationist said the owner has let it drastically deteriorate,” reports Block Club Chicago. “Veritas LLC, co-owned by Anthony Giannini and Steven DeGraff, bought the building with the intention of razing it, their zoning attorney previously told the landmark commission. The building has sat vacant since it received landmark status.” Lynn Becker tweets with pictures: “Chicago, the ‘city that loves architecture’ once again looks the other way while a designated landmark is allowed to rot.”

Design Of Bally’s Casino Questioned In Public Hearing

“The Committee on Design has reviewed Bally’s plan for its upcoming casino,” reports Urbanize Chicago. One commenter: “Jeanne Gang challenged the idea of the large casino floor plate and discussed how when a building typology is added into an urban setting, they need to transform. Gang suggested that they should think in section, potentially lifting the [gambling] floor one level above the street, freeing up the pedestrian realm for outward-facing retail and commercial spaces with flexibility of access to the river. More parking could be accommodated into the new street level behind the commercial space, reducing the need for the added parking structure that is planned… The design team responded that they could look into [that], but the commercial space to line the parking that Gang mentioned is not currently part of the project’s program… Gang commented that she likes the tower but wonders about the large parking structure across North Jefferson, as that becomes part of the gateway at the north end of the site… Rather than spending money on an expensive building to satisfy parking needs, Gang suggested that they relocate the parking into the casino volume with the aforementioned raised concept, freeing up that site for another luxury tower that can aid in the financials of the overall plan. According to Bally’s, they studied moving parking underground, but it became cost-prohibitive which led to the current scheme of the aboveground structure.”

Former Uptown SRO, One Of The Last Of Its Kind, Will Convert To Eighty Market-Rate Apartments

“The Lorali, empty since 2019, is the latest single-room occupancy building to be redeveloped into market-rate apartments in Uptown,” reports Block Club Chicago. “The project will convert the former 160-unit single-room occupancy hotel into eighty units that will be a mix of micro-studio apartments through two-bedrooms… There will also be a rooftop deck, a dog park, bicycle parking, gym and 5,000 square feet of commercial space.”

DINING & DRINKING

Daisies Diversifies

Daisies, Joe Frillman’s vegetable-focused, pasta-driven restaurant on the Milwaukee Avenue corridor in Logan Square since 2017, is renovating and relocating. “Equipped with a new appreciation of how versatile the notion of a traditional restaurant experience can be,” Daisies relays, Frillman is forming an official restaurant collective, Radicle Food Group as well as opening a larger, expanded version of Daisies in Logan Square. “There’s always been so many different things we’ve wanted to try with our restaurant over the years—retail, wholesale, collaborations, events, programming—and if anything, the pandemic showed us there’s no reason why we can’t do all of it,” says Frillman. Daisies intends to build on its Jean Banchet award for Best Neighborhood Restaurant, as well as its Michelin Bib Gourmand accolade. Coming in the first quarter of 2023, Daisies will move its existing restaurant down the street to a 5,500-square-foot newly renovated space at 2375 North Milwaukee, which is undergoing a massive redesign by Rachel Crowl of Chicago-based architecture and design firm FC Studio. The present location will be turned into a full-time grocery, farmstand and lunch spot. More here.

Bon Appétit: Had It With “Reservation Culture”

The longtime food title has had it with “hour-and-a-half lines, elite memberships, shady reservation trading groups, and the battle to find somewhere to eat dinner.” No Chicago locations are surveyed, but the writer says that “the idea of going out for a meal without a booking seems like a nostalgic daydream these days. Reservation searches are up 107 percent around the country since last year, and restaurants like New York blockbuster Dhamaka are seeing up to 1,500 people on their virtual waitlist every night.”

Fooditor Reflects On Rash Of Resto Closings

Fooditor doesn’t think “that the restaurant world is ending—plenty of restaurants are booked to the gills, plenty of trendy bakeries have lines out the door. Entente closed, but Obélix moved in and is packed on Saturday night. Ever is opening a swanky new bar as part of an expansion driven, in part, by the desire for forty-person business dinners even at the highest of the high end. Some places, clearly, are doing well right now,” posts Michael Gebert. “But I suspect a notch down from that level of social media attention, things are tough all over. There’s no one cause, but if you’re stretched tight as it is, any number of routine factors can hit you harder than normally. And just as there’s no one cause, I have no one answer, except to say that the restaurant business is going to change a lot, and keep changing.”

Extinct Volcano Threatens Beer Supply

“The supply chain crisis and an extinct volcano are spurring a new beer shortage,” reports Axios. “A carbon dioxide production shortage caused by natural contamination at the Jackson Dome—a Mississippi reservoir of CO2 from an extinct volcano—is forcing brewers to cut back. Brewers across the country are reporting production delays in getting beer to the market and drafting contingency plans to switch to nitrogen.”

Piada Spins Italian On Mac & Cheese

Piada Italian Street Food brings back creamy Mac & Cheese. “Our new Mac & Cheese evokes feelings of nostalgia and comfort with a modern Italian twist,” Matthew Harding, senior vice president of culinary and menu innovation at Piada says. “And after many requests from our guests, we’re thrilled to bring back an old fan favorite this fall.” The spot’s Mac & Cheese is made with a rich and creamy Italian four-cheese blend and tossed with cavatappi, garnished with pesto parmesan breadcrumbs and a choice of more than thirty additions, including Piada’s hot chicken. More here.

FILM & TELEVISION

Music Box Announces Fifty-Film Full Month Of “Music Box Of Horrors: Scared Stupid” 

“Saturday Night Live”‘s Cast Additions For Season Forty-Eight Include Onetime Chicago Standup Molly Kearney

“A Cleveland native, Molly Kearney has most recently been based in Los Angeles,” reports the Trib of one of the latest hires at “Saturday Night Live.” Kearney’s been in Amazon’s “A League of Their Own” and the Disney+ series “The Mighty Ducks.” “But during their time in Chicago, they were a frequent presence at the indie standup showcase known as Lincoln Lodge on the city’s Northwest Side. They were also a producer for ‘The Blackout Diaries,’ a comedy show ‘where standup comedians, plus “regular” people (cops, firefighters, teachers, etc.) tell hilarious drinking stories.'”

LIT

Bookmobiles Added To Book Ban Targets

“You tell people you’re a librarian and they think you spend your days reading and recommending books,” Jason Kuhl tells the Guardian. “Most of his time running the St. Charles city-county library in Missouri is instead spent tending to administrative duties and big-picture strategy… This summer, Kuhl and a group of colleagues planned to launch a bookmobile” that would make stops around town, “including three schools. But when a law criminalizing anybody who makes visually explicit materials available at a school went into effect in late August, they decided to keep the bookmobile away from schools. ‘This is a brand new law and it hasn’t been tested,’ said a shaken-sounding Kuhl. ‘It’s not worth it.'”

Bookends & Beginnings Poetry Reading In Solidarity With Ukrainian Resistance

Evanston bookstore Bookends & Beginnings will host an event to raise money and show solidarity with Ukrainian resistance. Poets and activists from Chicago’s Ukrainian community will share stories and read work that addresses the war and ongoing humanitarian crisis. Featured poets include Lennart Lundh, an American poet, photographer, historian and writer of short fiction;. Liya Chernyakova, a Ukrainian-American poet and songwriter who was born in Kharkiv; Gari Light, a Ukrainian-American poet who was born in Kyiv; Olga Shenfield, a Ukrainian-American poet who was born in Kyiv. Free registration includes an option to donate here.

MEDIA

Trib Edit Board Favors CNN Sweep Of Staff By New Owners

The recent axings at CNN under Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. ownership, writes the Chicago Tribune editorial board, are a good thing; the mythical “center” of politics is invoked. “The country badly needs a prominent news site that all Americans can trust, something closer to the BBC, perhaps, and certainly a channel that comes closer to Ted Turner’s prescient vision of an independent, ubiquitous, twenty-four-hour news source, rooted in original reporting and watched the world over… We think CNN should return to more reporting and less amplification, more fact-checking and fewer hot takes, more journalistic boots on the ground and fewer anchors getting their talking points from whatever happens to be trending on Twitter… There still needs to be some place to go for those who cherish strong and unbiased reporting dedicated to helping Americans make up their mind in a more informed manner.” The Hollywood Reporter details the bloodletting, including its new morning show featuring Don Lemon.

Knight Investing $4.75 Million In Nonprofit News

The John S. and James L. Knight foundation will invest $4.75 million over the next three years to catalyze the growth of the INN Network of nonprofit news outlets, which provide journalism as a public service, the foundation relays. Chicago members include the Reader, Block Club, Prison Journalism Project, Borderless, In These Times, South Side Weekly, Hyde Park Herald, Belt, Better Government Association and Invisible Institute.

Reader Names Enrique Limón Editor-In-Chief

“Longtime journalist and editor Enrique Limón has been named editor-in-chief of the Chicago Reader, the city’s fifty-one-year-old alternative newspaper, after a national search,” writes the Reader in a release. “For half a century, the Reader has punched above its weight and has set a standard across the alt industry and beyond,” Limón says. “We are so excited to have Limón join the Reader as its editor-in-chief,” says publisher Tracy Baim. “His experience at alternative media across the country will provide a great foundation to lead the Reader team. We have built a solid nonprofit newsroom, and he will provide new energy and ideas to take the Reader to its next phase. As an openly queer, multilingual journalist and editor, I know Limón will contribute important new ideas into both Chicago’s journalism community and the Reader.”

MUSIC

Smashing Pumpkins Arena Tour Begins October 2 On Back Of Thirty-Three-Track Album

The Smashing Pumpkins have released “Beguiled,” a new single, along with details of “ATUM,” a twelfth studio album, which is a four-years-in-the-making, three-act, thirty-three-track rock opera set for April 2023 release. Billy Corgan will promote his podcast by releasing one track each week from the sequel to 1995’s “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” and 2000’s “Machina/Machines of God.” The Chicago tour date is November 5 at United Center. Sample tracks and more here.

“Afro-American Symphony” Launches Chicago Philharmonic’s Thirty-Third Symphonic Season

The Chicago Philharmonic Society will open its thirty-third season with William Grant Still’s “Afro-American Symphony” on October 13 at the Harris Theater. Led by artistic director and principal conductor Scott Speck, the orchestra performs Still’s “Symphony No. 1 (Afro-American Symphony)” for the first time, as well as music by FlorencePrice, Arturo Márquez, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and a Chicago premiere by composer-in-residence Jonathan Bingham. The concert concentrates on the early twentieth-century resurgence of folk influence in classical music. The headlining piece combines the traditional symphonic form with blues patterns and melodies. Still is one of the most notable and prolific American composers of the last century; he broke barriers as the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, and the first to have his work performed by one. More here.

STAGE

M.A.D.D. Rhythms Announces 2022 Tap Summit

M.A.D.D. Rhythms’ annual celebration of Tap, the Chicago Tap Summit, returns September 30-October 2 at Harold Washington Cultural Center in Bronzeville. The weekend includes classes and a world premiere of a new work, “A M.A.D.D. Mixtape,” created, choreographed and directed by Donnetta “Lil Bit” Jackson with additional choreography by Bril Barrett, Andrew Carr, Starinah “Star” Dixon, Alexandrya Fryson and Caleb Jackson. More here.

Fifty-Fourth Equity Jeff Awards Back In-Person

Following the 2021-22 season return of live theater, The Joseph Jefferson Awards will present its fifty-fourth anniversary Equity Jeff Awards in a ceremony on October 17 at Drury Lane Theatre. Host of this year’s program is E. Faye Butler, an actress, singer and entertainer known for her Chicago theater presence. Broadway veteran and acclaimed actor, director, choreographer and artistic director Jim Corti will direct the first live awards ceremony for the Jeff Awards since 2019. The production team includes music director David Fiorello, lighting designer Mac Vaughey, stage manager Juli Hrovat-Walker, announcer Lorenzo Rush Jr., videographer Alberto Mendoza, and graphic designer Eddie Fieg. Paulette Petretti, Jeff Awards Equity Wing Chair, is the 2022 ceremony producer. More here.

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

Aldermen Could Be Denied Legal And Property Side Hustles

Ald. Andre Vasquez will introduce legislation that would bar Chicago alderman from accepting legal or real estate work, reports Crain’s.

Illinois Office Of Tourism Releases Fall Colors Trip Planner

The Illinois Office of Tourism, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), has released the 2022 Fall Colors Trip Planner, an online guide to make it easy to spot peak fall foliage across the state. The Fall Colors Trip Planner features the new Illinois Fall Color Tracker, an interactive state map for desktop and mobile that allows users to track fall colors by region within a specific time frame throughout the season. More here.

Andersonville Arts Weekend Returns

The Andersonville Chamber of Commerce has announced the eighteenth annual Andersonville Arts Weekend, with the neighborhood transformed into a “walkable art gallery” from Friday, September 30 through Sunday, October 2. The three-day event includes over forty businesses and more than a hundred artists representing multiple genres including visual art, theatre, dance, music, makers, film, culinary and student art. Returning Arts Weekend mainstays include the Self-Guided Art Walk on all three days and the popular Night of Parties, an evening of artist receptions on Friday night. New this year is the Andersonville Wine Art Walk, a curated wine and art experience on Sunday, October 2 from 3pm-6pm. More here.

Illinois Audubon Society Announces New Executive Director

The Illinois Audubon Society board of directors has named Joanne (Jo) Fessett as its new executive director. Fessett began her career in nonprofit conservation in 1999 working for the Illinois chapter of the Nature Conservancy. She served as the community and economic development coordinator in the Havana office and focused on the Emiquon Project. In 2000, she joined the Illinois Audubon Society board of directors as an at-large member and left that post in 2006 to become the assistant to the executive director for the Society, where she managed all aspects of Society operations including membership coordination, outreach and marketing and budgeting. Her duties also included developing and conducting events and field trips, website development and maintenance.

Convention Center Biz Buzzing

“Convention centers are bouncing back from the pandemic. What about Chicago?” headlines Crain’s. “Trade events and business meetings are returning to convention centers. A new report shows they’re nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.”

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