Newcity Digital Editions

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The December 2021 Issue

Newcity’s December 2021 issue features a conversation with Ayana Contreras on “Energy Never Dies: Afro-Optimism and Creativity in Chicago,” discusses the future of the tiki bar with local Pacific Islanders, surveys the Stockyard Institute’s art and radical pedagogy, shares Ted Ishiwari’s Chicago story and features a collection of “vessels” from local designers. Plus: the future of the movies, a very Chicago drinking card game, Alaudin Ullah’s American dream and much more.

The November 2021 Issue

“It’s just so personal.” For our 29th edition of Best of Chicago, we decided to make a break from our usually highly structured format and invited fourteen writers to share their “personal Best of Chicago.” The issue also includes a feature from Nancy Chen on artists grappling with sustainability at the Hyde Park Art Center. Plus: Hubbard Street Dance returns to the stage, Art Golf is back in Elmhurst, Brian Duncan shares somme wisdom and much more.

The October 2021 Issue

The October issue of Newcity features a comprehensive guide to the fourth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, guest edited by Kekeli Sumah and F. Philip Barash. The issue also includes “Faker,” an original comic by John Sammis, a feature on the new Richard Hunt sculpture memorializing Ida B. Wells’ activism, and much more.

The September 2021 Issue

Newcity’s September issue features Transformations, our Fall Arts Preview, which includes profiles on Myriam Ben Salah of the Renaissance Society, Vershawn Sanders-Ward of the Red Clay Dance Company, Rebecca Fons of the Gene Siskel Film Center, Michelle Boone of the Poetry Foundation and many more. Also included in the issue: Jeffrey Gibson reconsiders the cultural representation of indigenous people, Dawn Turner discusses “Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood,” and much, much more.

The August 2021 Issue

Newcity’s August edition features “On Vacation”—essays, ruminations and meditations on getting away. Also included in the issue: author Elly Fishman discusses her upcoming book “Refugee High,” a look at how Vivian Maier’s photographs tell stories of an earlier Chicago, a feature on the Enchanted Highway – a series of seven roadside sculptural installations running from Interstate 94 to the town of Regent, North Dakota – an original seven-page comics story by Anya Davidson and much more.

The July 2021 Issue

Newcity’s July issue features an in-depth look at the new Art Preserve opening this month as part of the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, WI. Also included in this edition: an original four-page comics story by JJ McLuckie, Carl Kozlowski speaks with Jennifer O’Brien on helping others face the hardships of death, Annie Howard interviews Edie Fake ahead of two new exhibitions in Chicago, and much more.

The June 2021 Issue

Newcity’s June issue features the story behind the largest presentation of Frida Kahlo’s works in the Chicago area in forty years. It also features an original ten-page comics story by Margaret Flatley (“In which the rescue dog Eleanor brings joy and heartbreak”), a look at eighty years of history at the South Side Community Art Center by Alisa Swindell, a conversation by Monica Kass Rogers with Claudia Flores, Director of the Global Human Rights Clinic and much more.

The May 2021 Issue

Newcity’s May issue features a look at the history of the Thompson Center, a building which the state intends to sell for redevelopment imminently, by F. Philip Barash. It also includes a feature by Rafael Francisco Salas on the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton, WI, where an experiment in the future of the museum is taking shape. An original four-page comic by Abby Jo Turner, “Songs That Keep Me Company” is included, as are stories on Viral Ecologies, New Medina Theater Collective, Chicago shawarma and much more.

The April 2021 Issue

Newcity’s April issue features Breakout Artists, our annual look at the city’s emerging visual arts talent. The issue also features an original seven-page comics story by Summer Pierre about the artist Dora Carrington, an interview with the creator of Immersive Van Gogh, a feature on The Art Institute of Chicago’s 3D Storytelling Project’s corrective opportunity, a conversation with W.J.T. Mitchell about his memoir and much more.

The March 2021 Issue

As a takeover by Alden Capital seems imminent, Brian Hieggelke reflects on the Tribune’s changing presence in the Chicago media landscape over his 35 years in the industry. Haki R. Madhubuti reflects on the influence Gwendolyn Brooks had on his work and discusses his new poetry collection, “Taught By Women.” Sam Cushing embodies a new brand of influencer in Chicago, artist collectives grapple with environmental crises, Kollektif brings together independent designers from across the world and much more.

The February 2021 Issue

The February issue of Newcity celebrates our 35th anniversary, with features from longtime contributors Scoop Jackson, Robert Rodi and Ted Fishman that reflect on past Newcity stories still relevant today. Sharon Hoyer discusses the need for advancing equity in the dance world. Hadia Shaikh’s feature on Catherine Edelman offers a comprehensive history of her thirty-three years as a Chicago gallerist. David Hammond writes a look at the evolving Chicago deli.

The December 2020 Issue

The December edition of Newcity includes a special feature dedicated to Chicago’s world of design, with five Q&As with local designers, an interview with the Artistic Director of the next Chicago Architecture Biennial, a look at textiles by Chicago designers and all-local design gift guide. The issue also features interviews with Chicagoans imagining a more just art world, including folks from Arts of Life, Temporary Services, the Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project and Black Futures.

The November 2020 Issue

Newcity’s November issue is the annual Best of Chicago issue, guest edited by Scoop Jackson and Tara Betts. From their Editors’ Letter: “We wanted to assemble a Best of Chicago issue that celebrates some of the people, places, creative landmarks, food and history threaded through the cloth of the entire city interwoven by a Black Chicago fabric.” Also featured in the issue: Nate Young and Mika Horibuchi bring their labor to the forefront, Michael White’s fashion journey, the epic City So Real and much more.

The October 2020 Issue

Newcity’s October issue features the “Film 50: Chicago’s Screen Gems,” our annual survey of Chicago’s filmmaking community. This edition of the Film 50 includes an interview with Colette Ghunim, filmmaker and co-founder of the Mezcla Media Collective. The issue also features The Alley Project – an essay and photos on finding beauty in the city’s hidden passageways – a feature on Chicago’s public art reckoning, an interview with Kathleen Rooney, reviews of three new art exhibitions and much more.

The September 2020 Issue

This month’s issue features Newcity’s “Art 50: Chicago’s Artists’ Artists,” our annual look at Chicago’s visual arts world. Art editor Kerry Cardoza interviews Artist of the Moment Maria Gaspar on the social constructions of space and her work related to Cook County Jail. Also in the issue: our annual Fall Arts preview showcases this unusual fall season in the cultural world, Alan Pocaro interviews an art handler on the hustle it takes to make it in the art world, and much more.

The August 2020 Issue

If you need to add some titles to your pandemic reading list, look no further than Newcity’s annual Lit 50, which features dozens of local authors you should be reading, including our Writer of the Moment Maya Schenwar. Activist-journalist, editor-in-chief at Truthout and co-author (along with Victoria Law) of Prison By Any Other Name, Schenwar discusses the inefficacies of the prison system with literary editor Tara Betts. Elsewhere in this issue: theater camp goes online, ready-to-drink cocktails, the story behind an R&B anthem, and much much more.

The July 2020 Issue

With venues closed around the country and musicians stuck at home, this year’s Music 45, our annual celebration of sound-makers in Chicago, arrives at a particularly trying moment. But our local music community is nothing if not resilient, as best exemplified by our Musician of the Moment Toronzo Cannon, bluesman, busdriver and an ideal encapsulation of everything that makes Chicago a world class music town. This issue also makes space for responses to racial injustice, police brutality and white supremacy, featuring work by Scoop Jackson, avery r. young, Edra Soto and many more. Also included: Red Clay Dance teams with health professionals, confronting racial bias in classical music, (re)visiting public art in lockdown and much more.

The June 2020 Issue

Newcity’s annual summer issue is a little different this year. Where summer has historically been a time of abundance and celebration in Chicago, COVID-19 and political unrest have dovetailed to create a cultural vacuum. We hope to fill the void with a selection of summer-themed offerings: reminiscents, memories, odes and more, all in search of one thing: hope for a better future, one that sees the return of our city’s finest season. Also in this issue: attending festivals from home, the current state of the arts under pandemic, chefs share their summer favorites, and more.

The May 2020 Issue

While somethings change, others stay constant. This month’s issue features Newcity’s Breakout Artists, our annual admiration of the city’s emerging visual talent. Editor Brian Hieggelke interviews Tracy Baim, publisher of the Chicago Reader, founder of Chicago Independent Media Alliance and savior of community media. Elsewhere in this issue: a local distillery pivots to providing hand sanitizer, Aram Han Sifuentes reimagines the voting process, dancing in captivity, a Jill of all trades, and more.

The April 2020 Issue

This month’s issue features Newcity’s “Big Heat: Chicago’s Food & Drink 50,” our annual celebration of our city’s culinary culture. Food and drink editor David Hammond interviews our Chef of the Moment: Mariya Russell, head of Kumiko and Kikk? in the West Loop and the first black woman to receive a Michelin star. Elsewhere in this issue, a profile on the production that was not meant to be: Lyric Opera’s epic mounting of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle,” which was laid low COVID-19. And while the city is currently under a shelter-in-place order, you can still see “Chameleon Blind,” an installation by artist and activist Mara Baker, in vacant storefronts across the city. As we hope for a speedy return to business as usual, be sure to peruse some reviews and contemplate additional content at newcity.com.

The March 2020 Issue

This month’s issue features Newcity’s Design 50, our yearly look at who is shaping Chicago. Design editor Vasia Rigou interviews Designers of the Moment Nick Cave and Bob Faust on achieving work life balance in their new home studio. Their generosity extended to hosting this year’s photoshoot, which produced memorable results as we captured the creative side of the extraordinary and interdisciplinary Chicago design community. Elsewhere in this issue: passing the baton at Lyric Opera, kick-ass conservas at Porto, getting the scoop with Scoop Jackson, and a throwback to our days as a biweekly: reviews!

The February 2020 Issue

In honor of the publication’s thirty-fourth anniversary and the beginning of a new decade, Newcity spoke to eleven leaders of culture and commerce about how the twenties will roar, covering public libraries and transportation, film production and storefront theater, inclusivity and retail, and much more. Also in this issue: Shani Crowe and the art of braiding, Apathetics’ punk rock archive, a changing of the guard at Jackalope Theatre as well as this month’s Top 5s in Art, Dance, Design, Dining & Drinking, Film, Lit, Music and Theater.

The January 2020 Issue

Newcity kicks off the new decade with The Players 50, our annual look at the leaders in the worlds of theater, dance, comedy and opera in Chicago. On the cover is our Player of the Moment: Wardell Julius Clark, an artist and activist who shares insights from his time on stage and behind the scenes. In case that doesn’t slate your thirst for performing arts coverage, we also have a Winter Preview, highlighting more than 30 productions premiering in the back half of the 2019-2020 season. Elsewhere in the issue: fashion outlets bring the art to the people, a curious performance by Aura CuriAtlas, the Virtue of Erick Williams, and much more!

The December 2019 Issue

Newcity’s Designed Objects issue features interviews with local designers on utilitarianism versus exploration, market research, retail placement, and more. Additional featured content includes a conversation with Tom Vacek on Barry Bursak and a guide to gift buying for the design obsessed, including an El-themed board game. Elsewhere in this issue: the story of “La Esperanza” at that National Museum of Art in Pilsen, where to bring your appetite during the Feast of Seven Fishes, a holiday residency at City Winery, and more!

The November 2019 Issue

November marks the return of Newcity’s Best of Chicago issue: our annual guide to the best of everything in the Windy City. This year we focus on “made-in-Chicago,” from deep dish to deep house with hot takes and mild sauce. Also featured: robot tourism, Lucky Plush laces up its skates, the next generation of storefront theaters, the history of the Farnsworth House, and more!

The October 2019 Issue

Newcity’s October issue features the Film 50, our annual survey of the city’s filmmaking world. Film Editor Ray Pride interviews the Film Leaders of the Moment: Kwame Amoaku and Peter Hawley, the new heads of the Chicago and Illinois Film Offices, respectively. Also in this issue: Lee Bey looks to get some exposure for Chicago’s south side, the Chicago International Film Festival turns 55, dining is a drag at LIPS Chicago, a spirited defense of Irish whiskey, and more!

The September 2019 Issue

Newcity’s September issue features our Fall Arts Preview: programs, performances, exhibitions, and events across disciplines and demographics. Also featured is the Art 50, our annual survey of the city’s visual art community. Newcity Art Editor Kerry Cardoza interviews with our Art Leader of the Moment: Jordan Martins, Executive Director of Comfort Station, the community-focused multidisciplinary art space in Logan Square. Elsewhere in this issue: a comprehensive guide to this season’s theatrical premieres, a history of Oktoberfest, EXPO Chicago goes big, and more!

The August 2019 Issue

Arriving at the peak of summer, Newcity’s August issue features our annual Music 45, a survey of the folks who keep the bands playing in Chicago and beyond, as well as a profile of our Impresarios of the Moment: the members of Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL), who have assembled in order to defend the city’s independent musical landscape against developers Sterling Bay and international entertainment monolith Live Nation. Speaking of breaking ground on disputed territory, Tara Betts interviews veteran music critic Jim DeRogatis about his new book “Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly.” Also in this issue: jewelry designer Giselle Gatsby and her high-profile collaboration with Virgil Abloh, Newcity Film Editor Ray Pride celebrates the Music Box’s 90th birthday, art and activism combine in a new initiative at Red Clay Dance, and much more!

The July 2019 Issue

Newcity’s July edition is an urban pastoral with ruminations, essays, and poems about our city at its most abundant. This issue is all about the green: grass underfoot, plants at the office, and a little herb in your glass. Also: fresh faces at Black Box Acting, Chicago as a global arts hub, the literary multitudes of Aleksandar Hemon, and more!

The June 2019 Issue

Newcity’s first issue of the summer (fingers crossed!) features our annual look at the city’s influential writing community, The Lit 50: Who Really Books in Chicago. Outgoing Literary Editor Toni Nealie interviews our Literati of the Moment: Eve Ewing, the superhero lighting up Chicago’s lit scene. Donald G. Evans interviews author and reporter Alex Kotlowitz about his difficult but essential new book “An American Summer: Love and Death In Chicago.” Also: vegan soul food, a genre-defying arts festival, Out of Space returns to Evanston, the patron saints of storefront theater, and more!

The May 2019 Issue

Newcity’s May issue features our annual look at the city’s emerging visual arts talent, Breakout Artists: Chicago’s Next Generation of Image Makers. Outgoing Art Editor Elliot Reichert reflects on the evolving state of the Chicago art scene and beyond. David Hammond reports on the Art Institute’s forthcoming Manet exhibit. Plus: Mordin & Co. celebrates a half century, Renée Rosen writes Helen Gurley Brown, tech you can wear, spring/summer theater preview, and more!

The April 2019 Issue

Newcity’s April issue highlights the city’s culinary culture in our annual feature “Big Heat: Chicago’s Food & Drink 50.” Food and drink editor David Hammond talks books, movies, music and art with Nick Kokonas, Co-Owner of some of Chicago’s best known restaurants including Alinea, Next, the Aviary, and Roister as well as the CEO and Co-Founder of Tock, Inc. Dave Hoekstra profiles mixed-media artist and former pimp Tony “Bright” Davis. Also: the state of post-rock, an interview with T Fleischmann, a Gregg Bordowitz retrospective, and more!

The March 2019 Issue

Newcity’s March Issue features the Design 50: our annual celebration of Chicago’s design doers, who make our world work when it does. Design editor Vasia Rigou interviews Michelle Boone, Chief Program and Civic Engagement Officer at Navy Pier and our Designer of the Moment. Mark Guarino reports on the troubled state of the Old Town School of Folk Music. Also: Dawoud Bey at the Art Institute, “lost” restaurants, Harmony Korine as a listicle, a rising star in storefront opera, and much more!

The February 2019 Issue

In honor of the publication’s thirty-third anniversary and this month’s mayoral election, Newcity polled a variety of visionaries about their one big, bold idea for the future of Chicago. From a renaissance on the South and West sides to instituting a four day work week, this issue has plenty of fresh ideas for whoever ends up running the city. Also: 100 Years of Bauhaus, going to the beach in February, vegan tasting menus, what’s in store during the Year of Chicago Theatre, and much much more!

The January 2019 Issue

Newcity’s first issue of 2019 features our annual look at the leaders in the worlds of theater, dance, comedy and opera in Chicago. On the cover is our Player of the Moment: Roell Schmidt and the staff of Links Hall. The organization is turning forty this year with Schmidt at the helm for the last ten. The issue also introduces the first ever Hall of Fame, celebrating Players who are so consistent and whose institutions so regularly present in past issues that inclusion is a foregone conclusion. Elsewhere: kombucha, scotch, puppets, dramaturgs, tribute bands, and more!

The December 2018 Issue

Newcity’s December issue nine designers each pick a designer you ought to know about. Additional features include a glimpse inside a new Tadao Ando-designed exhibition space, an interview with poet Ruben Quesada, a game-changing new album from Shemekia Copeland, an intimate new film from Alfonso Cuarón, and more.

The November 2018 Issue

Newcity’s November issue sees the return of our legendary Best of Chicago edition, now in its 26th year, which features dozens of our picks on the best of city life, spanning arts and culture, food, politics and more. The issue also includes poems by seven Chicago writers.

The October 2018 Issue

Newcity’s October issue features our annual survey of the city’s filmmaking world, the Film 50, including an interview with documentarian Bing Liu, whose recent “Minding the Gap” is reaching wide audiences with an important message. David Hammond takes an in-depth look at Chicago restaurants taking initiative to help the food-insecure. The issue also includes a conversation between Hans Ulrich Obrist and Dominick Di Meo on personal Chicago art history.

The September 2018 Issue

Newcity’s September issue features our fall art preview – our guide to the best programs, performances, exhibitions and events of the new season. It also includes our annual survey of the city’s visual art world, the Art 50, featuring Rashayla Marie Brown as the artist of the moment. The issue also features an interview with architect Marshall Brown, focusing on his time in Chicago as he prepares to depart the city for a position at Princeton. We also profile beachcomber John Soss, who collects objects on the shores of Lake Michigan.

The August 2018 Issue

Newcity’s August issue features our annual Music 45, a survey of Chicago’s rich musical talent, and a profile of the Musician of the Moment, Jean Deaux. It also includes a feature on Chicago’s growing Netball community, a look at the restoration of Mies’ McCormick House, an interview with Kim Brooks on parenting in this age and a feminist guide to Lollapalooza.

The July 2018 Issue

Newcity’s July edition is our annual summer issue, with ruminations, essays and poems on the city’s most active season. The issue also features a story on the amazing comeback of Thai and Danielle Dang at HaiSous, a look at the major visual arts triennial coming to Cleveland and a celebration of the singular charms of SummerDance.

The June 2018 Issue

Newcity’s June issue follows the Chicago Artists Coalition as it relocates from the West Loop to a new home. This edition also includes our annual look at the city’s influential writing community, the Lit 50: Who Really Books in Chicago, including writer of the moment Rebecca Makkai. The issue also features an interview with the Chicago Film Office on this summer’s Millennium Park Summer Film Series, which is partnering with programmers from film festivals across the city to showcase important films.

The May 2018 Issue

Newcity’s May issue features our annual look at the city’s emerging visual arts talent, Breakout Artists: Chicago’s Next Generation of Image Makers. The issue also includes an interview Chicago playwright Ike Holter, as well as a conversation with women in Chicago music.

The April 2018 Issue

Newcity’s April issue includes our annual feature on the city’s vital culinary culture, Big Heat: Chicago’s Food & Drink 50. We also interview Diana Dávila, chef-owner of Mi Tocaya Antojería, whose restaurant was cited as “one of the reasons we declared Chicago the restaurant city of the year” in Bon Appetit magazine in 2017. Michael Workman interviews Daniel Borzutzky, a National Book Award-winning poet and translator, on his new collection, “Lake Michigan.”

The March 2018 Issue

Newcity’s March issue includes our annual look at the city’s vibrant design and architecture worlds, Design 50: Who Shapes Chicago. We also look at the practice of Ann Lui of Future Firm, who’s part of the curatorial team representing the United States in the U.S. Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Ray Pride tells the story of Kartemquin’s making of their new series, “America To Me.”

The February 2018 Issue

Newcity’s February issue celebrates our anniversary with three stories centered on the future: an exit interview with serial entrepreneur Howard Tullman, who was instrumental of 1871 and its place in the local tech ecosystem, a firsthand look at everything learned about filmmaking in the production of our first feature film, Signature Move, and a feature on Cure Violence Chicago and other organizations looking to treat gun violence as a public health issue.

Newcity Chicago January 2018 Players Issue

The January 2018 Issue

Newcity’s January issue features our annual look at the leaders of the theater, dance, comedy and opera worlds of Chicago. Another feature includes an interview with Alicia Eler, art critic for the Star-Tribune, on her upcoming book covering our national obsession with “selfieness.” The issue also highlights three organizations – Chicago Inclusion Project, Not In Our House and The Chicago Theater Accountability Coalition – at the forefront of the growth of activism in our theater community.

The December 2017 Issue

Newcity’s December issue takes a look at the world of designed objects in Chicago, with features on the auctioneer Richard Wright, designed object pioneers Volume Gallery and a series of designers commenting on one designed object they’ve created. The issue also features a look at Banksy’s new hotel in Bethlehem and a holiday gift guide for the discerning lover of design.

The November 2017 Issue

Newcity’s November issue is our influential Best of Chicago edition, now in its 25th year. This edition of Best of Chicago features not only a look at the best the city has to offer in 2017, but a look back at what’s changed and what hasn’t over the 25 years we’ve published the issue.

The October 2017 Issue

Newcity’s October 2017 issue features an interview with cinema legend and activist Shabana Azmi, a feature on the Mayan influences on Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture, a profile of Aymar Jean Christian and his work at Open TV and the Film 50, a look at the behind-the-scenes forces in Chicago’s film community.

The September 2017 Issue

Newcity’s September issue includes highlights of the fall season from some of Chicago’s top cultural figures, a look the leading curators, gallerists administrators and more from the city’s visual arts ecosystem, an interview with Deana Haggag, the new CEO and President of United States artists, on the state of arts funding today and a look at the coming edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

EXPO CHICAGO 2017 – Newcity Official Guide

Newcity’s official guide to EXPO CHICAGO includes a feature on David Hartt’s new exhibition at the Graham Foundation in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Biennial, a look at the new Derrick Adams exhibition at Stony Island Arts Bank and an interview with Naomi Beckwith of the MCA and Romi Crawfod of SAIC on viewing contemporary art through social media. It also includes our comprehensive guide to EXPO CHICAGO, including the participating galleries, EXPO ART WEEK events, IN/SITU programming and more.

The August 2017 Issue

Newcity’s August 2017 issue features the Music 45: Who Keeps Chicago in Tune, a look at the music community being built at Fort Knox and 2112, a few critics’ takes on the best way to navigate Lollapalooza, a feature on the organizers of Masji al-Rabia, a LGBTQIA+-affirming Muslim congregation and a story on Alex Carter, a rising Chicago stylist.