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ART
O’Hare Terminal 5 Public Art Project Near Completion
Visitors arriving and departing from O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 5 will see the results of a new public art collection as several works by more than twenty Chicago artists finish installation. The $3.5 million public art commission, led by Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), is the City’s largest single acquisition of works by Chicago artists in the last three decades. “Public art tells the story of our city—its beauty, its resilience, the soul of Chicago,” said Mayor Johnson. “We’re proud to share Chicago’s story and the power of the arts with visitors from across the globe—at O’Hare and in diverse communities across this great city.”
Says DCASE Commissioner Erin Harkey, these artworks at O’Hare “reflect the immense talent and creativity present in Chicago’s artists and cultural communities… The public art in Terminal 5 joins recently completed artworks in the airport’s Multi-Modal Facility and adds to Chicago’s more than 500-piece Public Art Collection on display throughout the city’s seventy-seven neighborhoods.” The complete collection of commissions is here.
Arts Lawn Officially Opens
The University of Chicago’s Arts + Public Life (APL), an initiative of UChicago Arts, “announces the grand opening of the highly anticipated Arts Lawn. APL’s first outdoor venue will be a dynamic green space offering arts programs and activations for area residents.” Community members are invited to The Arts Lawn during the grand opening festivities on Saturday, October 7, 2pm-7pm. More here.
DINING & DRINKING
Two Alders Delay City Funding For $7.1 Million Englewood Restaurant Hub
“E.G. Woode, a collective of architects, designers and entrepreneurs, has asked for $5 million in TIF funds for the rehab of the 63rd Street project, but Ald. Moore, whose ward includes the TIF district, said he needs the money for a field house,” tallies Block Club.
Local Grocery Store Museum In Joliet
“The Planinsek Grocery and Meat Market Museum showcases the importance of local grocery stores to their communities,” reports Winsight Grocery Business of a new outlet under the umbrella of the Joliet Area Historical Museum, which “focuses on the Planinsek’s grocery store, operated by Emma and Martin Planinsek… ‘The property was built in 1926 by Emma and Martin Planinsek, two Slovenian immigrants.'” The museum concentrates “on the Slovenian immigrant experience in Joliet, their role in community development and their lasting cultural impact on the city through the [perspective] of the Planinsek family.”
Starbucks Takes Its Case To Supreme Court In Anti-Union Battle
“Starbucks asks Supreme Court to intervene in union fight,” reports Restaurant Dive. “If the Supreme Court sided with Starbucks, the change would make it more difficult for the National Labor Relations Board to reinstate, in a timely fashion, workers fired for protected activity.”
Belt-Tightening Walmart Sees Sales Shrinking With Advent Of Ozempic
Less food sales but more prescriptions, tallies Bloomberg: “Walmart Inc. says it’s already seeing an impact on shopping demand from people taking the diabetes drug Ozempic, Wegovy and other appetite-suppressing medications. ‘We definitely do see a slight change compared to the total population, we do see a slight pullback in overall basket,’ John Furner, the chief executive officer of Walmart’s sprawling U.S. operation, says. ‘Just less units, slightly less calories.'”
FILM & TELEVISION
“One Chicago” Scribes Back In Los Angeles Writers Room
“Eight Wolf Entertainment-Universal Television writers rooms are opening following the end of the writers strike,” including “Chicago Fire” season twelve, reports Variety. Meanwhile, the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, returns to talks on Friday, reports the Strikegeist newsletter.
LIT
Giannoulias Announces $420,000 In Grants To Support Twenty-Eight Prison Libraries
“Secretary of State and State Librarian Alexi Giannoulias is awarding more than $400,000 to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) to support twenty-eight prison libraries throughout the state, in a first-of-its-kind partnership,” the state advises. “The funding provides each correctional facility library with $15,000 to purchase reading materials—such as books, magazines and newspapers—or library supplies. The Secretary had provided grants to IDOC facilities decades ago, but the program was eliminated during the 1980s.”
“Access to books, educational materials and informative technology offers individuals the opportunity to empower themselves by acquiring new skills and broadening their horizons,” Giannoulias said. “By giving themselves the opportunity to prepare for a better life, a changed life, outside of the prison system, we’re helping individuals break free from the cycle of recidivism.”
Alderman Tweets Position On Licensing Little Book Boxes
City Council has delayed consideration on regulating the mutual-aid amenity of free book boxes, but Ald. Raymond Lopez deepens his position online: “While folks are busy gaslighting any regulating of the public way (which we already do) as a ‘book ban,’ they should remember any object on the public way not licensed to be there is subject to immediate removal. My ordinance protects public bookcases by legalizing them.”
MUSIC
AfroFuturist Weekend Continues At Elastic Arts
Chicago’s annual AfroFuturist Weekend continues through Sunday at Elastic Arts, bringing an expanded roster of music, art and innovation by BIPOC artists “who push the boundaries of our imagination.” In its eighth year, the festival “continues its mission to cultivate an energy of love, communal hope, and envisioning positive Black futures via a reclamation of the past. Additionally, a partnership between Elastic Arts and FourtuneHouse in Bronzeville, initiated in 2022, has been extended for 2023.” Attractions and more here.
Remembering DJ Teri Bristol
“At Medusa’s, Crobar, Smart Bar, and beyond, she spent decades making nightlife feel welcoming and fun,” compiles Jacob Arnold in a life of Teri Bristol at the Reader. “Teresa Kaye Bristol was born in Joliet and grew up in Justice, Illinois, after a brief time in Tennessee. When I interviewed her in 2012, she described her deep love of music. ‘If you tell me something, I won’t remember it… If you sing it to me, I’ll never forget it.'” As a DJ and a music director, Teri Bristol “powered the upper echelon of Chicago nightclubs for decades. Her tenures… were particularly significant, but rather than let success go to her head, Bristol consistently showed the sort of kindness and generosity that made her not just influential but also widely beloved.”
Lena McLin, CPS Music Teacher Who Took Note Of Jennifer Hudson, Chaka Khan, Was Ninety-Five
Renowned Chicago vocal teacher Lena McLin “learned from the best: Her uncle was Thomas A. Dorsey, known as the father of gospel music,” reports the Sun-Times. She “trained musical stars ranging from singer Jennifer Hudson to the late house music diva Kim English… and taught music for decades at Kenwood Academy High School until she retired in 1992… She also taught singer Chaka Khan and Metropolitan Opera star Mark Rucker, as well as actor Mandy Patinkin when he was in the choir while attending Kenwood. Disgraced and imprisoned singer R. Kelly was another of her students at Kenwood. ‘A lot of her students always remember her saying, “Stop majoring in minors!” which was a reminder to deal with the important things and not the things that don’t matter.'”
Two Nights Of Handsome Family At Old Town School
“It’s a return to Chicago for husband-and-wife musicians Brett and Rennie Sparks, who launched their band here… They’re on tour to promote their new album, ‘Hollow,'” tunes Block Club. The Handsome Family “concerts will be something of a homecoming for the Sparks, who launched their band in 1993 in Chicago and were based here until 2001, when they moved to Albuquerque.”
Chicago’s Defunct DIY Spaces In 7,000 Words: Part One
Chicago alt-music historian Hugo Reyes, who’s published a lot of detail on local emo, starts a series on defunct Chicago DIY spaces. “I spent most of my twenties on the Northwest side of Chicago… Lately, I’ve been thinking about all those spaces I spent time in when I was younger. I recently went to a house show in an attic where Sofia Jensen of Free Range used to live. It wasn’t too far from where I lived in Logan Square a year or so ago. I was struck by all the people ten years younger than me I had never encountered before. It made me want to create a list of some spaces that are probably now condos I cannot afford to buy because I am not wealthy enough.”
“The first part of my series focuses on DIY spaces central to Chicago’s emo revival, which primarily covers 2008 and ends at 2016… There will be additional parts that give more space to all the other punk and indie adjacent scenes that make up Chicago’s DIY scene… During the early emo revival era (2008–2013), much of what would be considered under the umbrella of punk played together. There was much less separation between an emo show and a screamo one. You were bound to see hardcore punk band Raw Nerve play at many of these spaces. And then you had somewhere like Swerp Mansion, which had its own distinct bookings in its short time.” I hope “after reading this, you can get a better idea of an extremely fertile period for Chicago DIY at large.”
STAGE
Choose Chicago And City Announce Launch Of Theater Season
“Mayor Brandon Johnson, Choose Chicago and DCASE announced the launch of Theater Season, a campaign to promote local theater in partnership with the League of Chicago Theatres,” Choose Chicago advises. The campaign will include pop-up performances by local theater companies along with provocative advertising “to celebrate and support Chicago’s diverse theater community, bringing together both returning and new audiences to enjoy a rich array of performances throughout the fall and winter months.” Lynn Osmond, president and CEO of Choose Chicago says, “Our theater companies, dance troupes, and other performing arts organizations are major assets to residents and key selling points for our city to both leisure and business travelers. Choose Chicago works with the leadership and marketing teams at these organizations to promote them to local, regional, national, and global audiences. Theater Season is just the latest example of how we are doing that work.”
ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.
3Arts Awards $30,000 Unrestricted Grants To Ten Artists
3Arts, the Chicago-based nonprofit grantmaking organization, announces the recipients of their annual 3Arts Awards, with over half a million dollars distributed to local artists. The 2023 recipients of the unrestricted $30,000 grants are dance artists Donnetta “LilBit” Jackson and Rika Lin; musicians Rashada Dawan and Avreeayl Ra; teaching artists Jacinda Bullie and Eric Hotchkiss; theater artists Nancy García Loza and Charlotte “Chuck” Gruman; and visual artists Selva Aparicio and Jenny Kendler.
The organization will honor the ten new recipients at its first in-person celebration since 2019, the 3Arts Awards Celebration: For the Love of Artists, which will include a cocktail reception, awards presentation, performances, and an after-party with a buffet and music by DJ Sadie Woods. Monday, November 13 at 5:30pm at the Harris Theater. Tickets are $130-$300 here.
UChicago Alum Moungi Bawendi Shares Chemistry Nobel For “Quantum Dots”
University of Chicago alum Moungi Bawendi was one of three scientists who won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the University details in a release. He was awarded a share of the prize “for his pioneering research on extremely tiny particles known as quantum dots. Bawendi, who received his Ph.D. from UChicago in 1988, currently serves as the Lester Wolfe Professor of Chemistry at MIT.” Bawendi played a role “in the discovery and development of quantum dots—nano-sized particles with surprising properties that are widely used today in televisions, medical imaging, and LED lighting, among other applications… The award recognizes quantum dots, which are particles so small that their properties are determined by the laws of quantum mechanics. Today you can buy a quantum dot TV at any electronics store, but until the 1990s, it was not clear they could be easily or accurately made.”
Illinois Going After Billion-Dollar Boost To “Green Economy”
A “Chicago-focused alliance, set to be unveiled by Illinois Governor Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Johnson, will seek to connect companies and nonprofits on initiatives to lower greenhouse gas emissions and get lucrative federal grants to fund their efforts. It’s part of Illinois’ bid to reinvent itself as a center for new technologies such as quantum computing, life sciences and electric vehicle manufacturing,” reports Bloomberg.
CTA President And Board Will Be Required To Face Occasional Supervision
“The Chicago Transit Authority’s embattled president will have to face City Council more often” with a new ordinance in place, reports Block Club. “Alderpeople approved an ordinance Wednesday that will require CTA President Dorval Carter and other top transit officials to attend quarterly City Council hearings about ‘service levels, operations, security, and planning.'”
Governor and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Announce Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago Launch
“Governor JB Pritzker joined leadership from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network, and local officials to announce the launch of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago (CZ Biohub Chicago)—a new biomedical research hub at the cutting edge of leading scientific study,” relays the Governor’s office and Chan Zuckerberg. “CZ Biohub Chicago brings together three of Illinois’ leading scientific and technology institutions—University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University—to study human tissue with the goal of enabling new, groundbreaking therapeutics. CZ Biohub Chicago was selected in early 2023 to join the prestigious CZ Biohub Network, which includes a $250 million investment from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.”
Conservation Leadership Awards At Chicago Zoological
The Chicago Zoological Society, alongside the Board of Trustees and Women’s Board, honored leaders on conservation efforts both locally and globally at the twentieth annual Conservation Leadership Awards CZS says in a release. “Conservation is the motive for every initiative at the Chicago Zoological and with the mission of inspiring conservation leadership by engaging people with wildlife and nature. This year’s recipients of the Corwith Hamill Lifetime Achievement Conservation Award are the Christopher and Schueler Families. This year’s recipient of the Edith Rockefeller McCormick Partnership Award is the Steering Committee and Public Campaign Committee for the Vote Yes Campaign.”
“The Vote Yes Campaign was organized for the 2022 election to encourage Cook County residents to vote yes on a referendum for a small property tax increase to fund projects that support clean water sources, air quality, and protect our wildlife as well as maintenance on public lands…. This year’s recipient of the George B. Rabb Conservation Medal is Dr. Jan Ramer, Senior Vice President of Animal Care & Conservation at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium and the Wilds, for her conservation work with Gorilla Doctors and her commitment to veterinary medicine. Dr. Ramer spent the early days of her career at Brookfield Zoo as a primate specialist…” Learn more here.
Is It OK To Get A COVID Booster And Flu Shot At The Same Time?
“It takes about two weeks after getting the shots for our bodies to build enough antibodies to protect us from the viruses,” reports USA Today. “That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people start thinking now about getting vaccines before the end of October as cases of respiratory viruses ramp up… While Americans can schedule their vaccines separately, it is safe to get both the COVID vaccine and flu shot at the same time, according to the CDC… The convenience of making only one trip to your nearby pharmacy or primary care physician is met with only the small downside that you may feel temporarily a little worse than you would had you gotten one at a time… Actually, it doesn’t even matter if you get them both in the same arm or not.”
