St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum Names Deputy Director
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis has appointed a deputy director to lead the financial administration of the museum, reports St. Louis Today, in addition to working with hiring, business planning and visitor experience. Jessica Whittaker, who most recently was director of visitor services at the Cleveland Museum of Art, begins her new job on Sunday.
Former Director Of Cleveland Museum Of Art Katharine Lee Reid Was Eighty
Katharine Lee Reid, director of the Cleveland Museum of Art from 2000 to 2005, was eighty years old, reports Cleveland.com. “Reid, the daughter of Sherman E. Lee, who led the Cleveland museum from 1958 to 1983, took the helm a year after the sudden death in 1999 of former museum director Robert P. Bergman, who led the museum for six years. Reid’s accomplishments at the museum included launching an eight-year, $320 million expansion and renovation, designed by architect Rafael Vinoly, that transformed the institution by upgrading and enlarging its galleries and giving the museum a central atrium.”
DESIGN
Driehaus Museum Symposium Addresses “The Art of Architecture: Perspectives on Sullivan & Nickel”
On October 22, the Richard H. Driehaus Museum will present a daylong symposium to explore themes found in the architecture of Louis Sullivan, and the photography by Richard Nickel that documented the destruction of many of Adler & Sullivan’s most important Chicago buildings. “The Art of Architecture: Perspectives on Sullivan & Nickel” will assemble experts to share their perspectives on the power of photography, the neuroscience behind ornamentation, and the role, impact, and benefits of preservation on the urban built environment. “Richard Nickel’s relationship to the work of Louis Sullivan was complex, and challenged his work as a photographer,” Anna Musci, executive director of the museum says in a release. “Ultimately, Nickel decided that the most effective method of documenting his city as it was becoming lost to demolition was through both photographs of buildings and the fragments he salvaged as they were being torn down. While Nickel’s photographs captured the magnificent scale and geometry of Adler & Sullivan buildings, saving Sullivan’s ornament—the art and emotional pulse of the building—was an inseparable part of his effort to record Sullivan’s legacy.” Among the speakers will be David Van Zanten, author of “Sullivan’s City: The Meaning of Ornament for Louis Sullivan,” highlighting Sullivan’s developing use of ornamentation; architect Matt McNicholas, on how ornament affects emotion and experience in the built environment; and Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago and, from 2003-2011, executive director of the Richard Nickel Committee. Tickets include free admission to the Museum from Friday-Sunday, October 21-23. The symposium is Saturday, October 22 from 10am-6pm. Full schedule and tickets here.
Retro Comes To Pilsen Vintage This Weekend
After the success of a summer fair, “more than eighty-five local vendors who sell vintage clothing and artisan wares will set up for the Vintage Fall Fest this weekend in the streets of Pilsen,” retells Block Club. “The festival will run noon-8pm Saturday-Sunday on 19th and South Blue Island… There will also be food, live music, a fashion show and a photobooth.”
Landmarks Illinois Announces Preservation Award Winners
Landmarks Illinois has announced the recipients of the 2022 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards, an annual program in its twenty-ninth year, which celebrates exceptional preservation efforts across the state. Award-winning projects are located in Belleville, Chicago, Lockport, Marion, Petersburg and Rockford, and will be honored at a public ceremony on November 4 at the Chicago Cultural Center. “Our 2022 award winners demonstrate the impact preservation has in our Illinois communities: it creates inspiring places where people want to live and visit, boosts jobs and economic activity and strengthens local pride,” Bonnie McDonald, president and CEO of Landmarks Illinois says in a release. “We are proud to bring well-deserved attention to these preservation efforts and the people who thoughtfully and beautifully preserved our historic places.” Chicago grantees include the Chicago Cultural Center Grand Army of the Republic Rooms; the Lincoln Park Zoo Pepper Family Wildlife Center; the Mattie Butler Apartments; and the Pullman National Monument and State Historic Site. Details and more here.
Dock 6 Collective Presents Design & Art 14
For its fourteenth edition, guest curator Edra Soto and the Dock 6 Collective family selected a group of artists and designers to present throughout their warehouse facility. The Design & Art Series puts furniture design and fine art side-by-side in the industrial setting at the Dock 6 shop, simultaneously highlighting the symbiotic relationship of the two mediums and embracing their intrinsic differences. Dock 6 is a collective of six independent designers, furniture-makers and fabricators based out of a shared workshop in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood. Dock 6 Collective advocates for themselves but also as a group, delivering well-crafted, thoughtfully made products to architects, interior designers, retailers, contractors, artists, and the public. Dock 6 is also a hub for the Chicago creative community, fostering a forum for open dialogue between artists and designers. Saturday, October 8, 2pm-8pm. More here.
Glimpses Of Progress On The Ramova
RE/MAX managing broker Joe Castillo has posted shots of progress on the buildout of Bridgeport’s Ramova on Twitter here. “A brewery, grill, theater concept that will hopefully transform the commercial district within the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago.” (Newcity’s October 2022 issue includes David Hammond’s feature on the plans for the Ramova.)
Can Chicago Satisfy Google Hunger For Workforce?
“Google’s land grab—and looming employee grab—are both a boon and a potential beast for a local tech scene that has blossomed over the last two decades, spawning high-flying startups such as Grubhub, Groupon, Relativity and SpotHero, along with an array of venture funds, incubators and accelerators. So far in 2022, more employers are attempting to hire software workers than any other job category besides nursing,” writes WBEZ.
Bridge Magazine Goes Online
Design journal Bridge heads online: “In development since 2018, the new Bridge Member’s Area is completely free to use—you just have to sign up as a member to access it. Once you sign up, you’ll be directed to our member’s area homepage where you can select from ten archive areas—including the newly added Bridge Journals Archive and Expositions Archives. These two new areas alone contain over twenty-five full-length digitized versions of books and catalogs published since the founding of Bridge way back in 1999, and all viewable as easy-to-read flip books. Not only that, but the expositions archive also contains hours of archival film, audio and video documentation, floor plans, press clippings and all of our previously linked front page archives, now no longer accessible without a membership.” More here.
DINING & DRINKING
Buona Beef Heads West (And Elsewhere)
“Berwyn-based Italian beef institution Buona announced it would open restaurants outside of the Chicago area and northwest Indiana under a new franchise program,” reports the Trib. “The family-owned company plans to open a hundred franchised stores over the next five years in Florida, Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, Arizona and elsewhere in the Midwest.”
LEE Initiative Sets Chicago Benefit Dinner
The LEE Initiative Women Culinary and Spirits Program has announced a one-night-only dinner on October 25 at Elske. This year’s mentees are collaborating on a dinner that is the culmination of the mentee experience through the Women Culinary and Spirits Program and they will prepare a menu of canapés, a three-course dinner and cocktail pairings. “During the past six months, they’ve gone on externships around the country, attended FAB in Charleston, come to Kentucky for an intensive several days of programming, and had opportunities to travel for continuing education trips to New Orleans, Chicago and Detroit,” LEE relays. “This dinner is the culmination of months of mentorship, education and growth. These young chefs will be the future of American cuisine and I am looking forward to seeing all of their hard work on this special pop-up dinner at Elske,” says chef Edward Lee. The culinary mentees at this dinner are Chefs Jess Hewlette, Taylor Jarvis and Daniela Gonzalez Garcia and the Spirit Mentee is Rhea Buck. Tickets, starting at $85, are here.
Eagle Park Brewing Buys Milwaukee Brewing Company
“The recently shuttered Milwaukee Brewing Co. will live on, continuing twenty-five years of business after it was bought by Milwaukee’s Eagle Park Brewing,” reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Milwaukee Brewing Co.’s well-known beers like Louie’s Demise, MKE IPA and Outboard will stay on shelves and on tap thanks to the deal.”
“Cactus Plant Flea Market Box” Is McDonald’s Adult Happy Meal
“The fast-food giant unveils the Cactus Plant Flea Market Box, a meal deal that has McDonald’s partnering with the buzzy streetwear brand that has partnered with the likes of Nike and Stüssy for its next big pop-culture marketing play,” reports Crain’s.
“The Agony Of Tony And The Ecstasy Of Saint Anthony”
At The Hunger, Michael Nagrant writes a pungent short piece (no paywall) about Anthony Bourdain as the exemplar of giving a damn, in reaction to Kim Severson’s preview of an unauthorized biography of the man; Severson’s article contains much distressing material. Nagrant: “Saint Anthony does not really care of any of this or anything except maybe takeout from Pastrami Queen…. His body and his life is not a temple he tells us, but a fun house. Even when he burns it all down, we worship beneath the blaze. Tony the man, a former junkie knows the shadow of desperation chasing him. He tries to tell us that he is not who we think… Face to face with those he once aggrieved, there is a dinner of atonement with Emeril. But, in Tony, we do not trust. We only heed the example of Saint Anthony to intercede and relieve us of the daily trespasses against us. We wish only to fuck and fight and fuck again. Throw in some chemicals, a mountain of carbs, full fury and vitriol for those who aggrieve us. If life must be iterative, then Saint Anthony’s example tells us, we can and we must only repeat the best parts.”
MEDIA
Capitol News Illinois Gets $2 Million McCormick Foundation Grant; Block Club, Injustice Watch And Medill Also Awarded
“Capitol News Illinois will significantly expand its operations as it enters the fifth year of operations in 2023 because of a grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation,” announces Capitol News. The foundation announced a three-year, $2 million investment in the nonprofit news organization, operated by the Illinois Press Foundation, that offers daily coverage of state government. The grant is one of four, along with other recipients Block Club Chicago, Injustice Watch and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. “The four grants total $7.5 million over three years. The grants complement the McCormick Foundation’s investment in the Illinois Solutions Partnership, formed with the Better Government Association and announced in 2021.”
MUSIC
An R. Kelly Settlement In New York
“R. Kelly will pay at least $300,000 in restitution to two of his sex trafficking victims to compensate them for trauma care and herpes medication, a federal judge in Brooklyn said,” reports ABC Newsradio’s Aaron Katersky.
STAGE
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre Debuts “13 Tongues” At Auditorium
The Auditorium Theatre continues its 2022-23 season of global dance presentations with Asia’s leading contemporary dance theater, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, performing its evening-length “13 Tongues” on Friday-Saturday, October 14-15 at 7:30pm. A Chicago premiere, “13 Tongues” is an immersive journey transforming childhood memories of Taoist rites and bustling street life of Bangka into a fantasy world, as choreographed by Cloud Gate artistic director Cheng Tsung-lung. “As a child in the 1980s, Cheng would contribute to the family business by helping his father sell slippers on the streets of Bangka/Wanhua, the oldest district of Taipei. Bangka/Wanhua was known for its vibrantly diverse and bustling street scene that embraced religious and secular life, rich and poor, work and play, legal and illegal activities. The young Cheng was transfixed by his mother’s accounts of the legendary 1960s street artist and storyteller known as ‘Thirteen Tongues’ who had adopted Bangka/Wanhua for his informal stage. It was said that ‘Thirteen Tongues’ could conjure up all the Bangka/Wanhua characters—high- and low-born, sacred and profane, men and women—in the most vivid, dramatic, and fluently imaginative narratives.” More here.
Shattered Globe Theatre Announces Season
Shattered Globe Theatre has announced its season, underway with the Chicago premiere of “STEW,” Zora Howard’s Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama, directed by Malkia Stampley, through October 22 at Theater Wit. Shattered Globe’s thirty-second season continues with the world premiere of Jasmine Sharma’s “Radial Gradient,” developed through the Global Playwright Series and directed by Grace Dolezal-Ng; and concludes next spring with the U.S. premiere of “London Road,” an experimental new musical featuring book and lyrics by Alecky Blythe, music by Adam Cork, direction by Elizabeth Margolius and music direction by Andra Velis Simon. The season is presented at Shattered Globe’s resident home, Theater Wit, 1229 West Belmont. More here.
Lucky Plush Presents “Unfinished Business”
Lucky Plush Productions, led by artistic director Julia Rhoads, will present the Chicago premiere of “Unfinished Business” at Links Hall. Created and performed by Melinda Jean Myers and Kurt Chiang, “Unfinished Business” is a dance-theater performance in which the artists question their life trajectories while trying to connect with the audience “in ways that are honest and entirely present.” Shows are October 20-22 at Links Hall with a livestream option. Tickets and more here.
ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.
“The Pandemic Pushed Us All Into Early Retirement”
At T, the New York Times Style Magazine, Rachel Sugar writes about the New York City phenomenon of rolling up the streets at night as the pandemic persists: “New York is a place singularly obsessed with reinventing its own rituals and power moves—and there’s nothing like sharing agnolotti with friends before dusk on a Tuesday to demonstrate you’re a master of your own universe. Indeed, the once-geriatric stigma of being an early bird is gone. Or perhaps everyone’s become more geriatric: prioritizing sleep and giving one’s body a few hours to digest before bed; intermittently fasting and trading cocktails for all those new low- or no-alcohol aperitifs. In that light, eating early is just another way to reject the corporate hegemony that once defined a capitalistic city.”
Does Rise Of Independent Organizing Indicate Failure Of Established Unions?
“The inspiring wave of independent labor organizing also represents the failure of existing unions,” Hamilton Nolan writes at Chicago’s In These Times. “One thing that virtually every independent union… has in common is this: They are at places that should have been unionized a long time ago… If America had a union movement with even a modicum of ability to do strategic planning on a national level, the big unions that already sit in these respective industries would have been working hard to build campaigns… years ago. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), for example, is the grocery industry union. It should have been plainly obvious a decade ago, at least, that Trader Joe’s was a prime target: a successful, growing national grocery chain that also carried with it a cultivated reputation for caring about employees, as well as the community and social justice. That is the absolute pinnacle of ‘characteristics of a company that should be a union organizing target.’ The fact this country’s first Trader Joe’s union election happened in the year 2022 and was organized by workers themselves is a pretty harsh rebuke to the UFCW, which represents 835,000 grocery workers and has more resources than all but a handful of other unions.”
State Red Tape Delays Payments To Businesses Hit By 2020 Looting
An Illinois state grant meant to help businesses hit by looting, with money meant for immediate repairs, has hit snags, reports CBS 2. Two years after the program began, investigations show that “only a small fraction of those millions have been given out. And some of that money has been used to pay the salaries of those overseeing the program.”
