photos by Jason Smith, 2011

It looks like Chicago is really getting serious about its cultural development. This April, yet another opportunity has presented itself to become a part of facilitating the maintenance and stimulation of visual arts in Chicago. In addition to the Chicago Cultural Plan that I mentioned earlier, (see: Chicago Cultural Plan Version 2.0) Hyde Park Art Center invites you to their 11th annual Spring Gala on April 14th, in honor of Dawoud Bey, Anita Blanchard, and Martin H. Nesbitt— three influential role models who have invested their careers in Chicago’s cultural community. Joined by honorary gala chair, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and co-chairs, Penny Pritzker, Bryan Traubert, and Madeline Murphy Rabb, the Art Center celebrates art, artists, and its own dedication to making change in such a flourishing and diverse community.
The event will be located at the Art Center from 7-11pm and includes, cocktails, Hors d’oeuvres, dinner, dancing, and a curated live auction conducted by Sotheby’s, Helyn Goldenberg.

Hyde Park Art Center is an open space that provides educational opportunities, public programming for adults and families, and exhibition space for creative minds and innovative artists to show work and gather collectively. Founded in 1939, the Art Center emphasizes learning and diversity within its community. 

All proceeds from this event will be given to support Hyde Park Art Center’s education, exhibition, and outreach programs that help art-makers and those curious about art, continue to see, learn, discuss, and make art.

Hyde Park Art Center
5020 S. Cornell Ave
Chicago, IL 60615
Individual Tickets: Patron $350, Sustainer $500, Benefactor $1,000  

Marc Bamuthi Joseph/Living Word Project and Theaster Gates present: red, black, and GREEN: a blues—a multimedia collaborative project that addresses sustainability in urban neighborhoods.
Oakland native, spoken word artist and dancer, Bamuthi, founder of Youth Speaks and artistic director of Russell Simmons’ Brave New Voices an HBO documentary on youth poetry, poses the question: “What sustains life in YOUR community?” red, black, and GREEN: a blues (rbGb) includes the voices of people who are often neglected and excluded from the conversation surrounding “green thinking.” The performance rbGb is a manifestation of the project Life Is Living, a nation-wide series of festivals held in urban parks that emphasize art-making, radical activism, and education. Together Bamuthi and Gates, (Chicago-based performance and installation artist) combined their expertise in dance, text, and visual imagery to portray the extensive research pulled from the Life Is Living project, focusing on community and environmental awareness. rbGb will set the MCA stage April 12-14 along with a visual installation titled, Colored Museum, highlighting Theaster’s experience with repurposed material, urban planning, and design.
Tickets cost  $28 Non-members, $22 members, $10 students

Other related events include:
Dinner and a Show: Marc Bamuthi Joseph/The Living Word Project with Theaster Gates gives the audience a chance to eat and converse with the artists and MCA colleagues. Tickets cost $50

SHareOUT: comprises of a group of young people who combine text, rhythm, media, and conversation to communicate and articulate various realities on the MCA stage. Participating speakers will include: Young Chicago Authors, Kuumba Lynx, YOUmedia, and the MCA Creative Agency. This event is free.

For more information visit:
http://mcachicago.org
or http://mcachicago.org/upclose/ to follow the blog

I don't know about you all, but I certainly enjoy my meals. I especially appreciate my meals when I can integrate them with art. Whether I'm eating a snack provided by an opening reception at a gallery or partaking in a potluck where contemporary art topics may be discussed, it's a satisfying and fulfilling way to indulge in both of my interests all at once. Combing through the calendar this month, I stumbled upon several events that have intrigued my senses. Below I've compiled my own list of upcoming opportunities to eat and experience a meal with local artists and creative minds here in the city. Don't miss out on these events. They will most definitely be a special treat!

Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art
Smart Museum
http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu

February 16 – June 10 2012
(free)

The Smart Museum of Art presents, Feast, an extraordinary presentation constructed by over thirty artists who address social, political, and cultural structures, through engaging with food and shared meals as a medium for art making. This particular ongoing exhibition focuses on heightening the everyday meal experience through radical methods of hospitality. Exhibiting artists include, Marina Abramovic, the Italian Futurists, and Gordon Matta-Clark along with several other emerging artists who are jointly moved and interested in re-contextualizing and challenging concepts related to the food experience and embracing others to become active participants in shaping such a dialogue. In addition to this modern day “Dinner Party” excursion the program includes concerts, workshops, lectures, and symposiums. Make sure you attend at least one of these events. This exhibition is a definite must-see!  

Re-Thinking Soup
Jane Addams Hull House
http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/hull/

February 21  (every Tuesday)
12 – 1pm

Every Tuesday, the Hull House Museum provides organic soup and bread to lead an open talk available to the community of Chicago. Each week the program gathers in the prestigious Residents’ Dining Hall, where renowned scholars like, Gertude Stein, W.E.B. Dubois, and Upton Sinclair came together to critically investigate social, political, and economic issues related to their community. Similarly, several guests, including visiting artists, activists, farmers, and chefs, also accompany this contemporary discussion with Re-Thinking Soup. Join the museum to participate, discuss, and contend ideas and concerns surrounding food, art, and life and the every day.


Prints and Pints
Hyde Park Art Center
http://www.hydeparkart.org

February 17 2012
7pm – 11pm (free)

Looking for a fun, free, and fantastic opportunity to work with printmaking? Make a trip to the Hyde Park Art Center to interact with teaching artist Elke Clarke, as he guides you through a 45-minute workshop to print on anything of your choice. A dj-set and cash bar are also included.


Dinner Series with the Chicago History Museum
chicagohs.org
Taste of Ireland
Mrs. Murphy’s & Sons Irish Bistro
3905 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613

March 6 2012
7pm ($55 members, $60 non-members)

Reconnect with Chicago’s Irish history and the History Museum in March for an excellent opportunity to experience a four course, contemporary Irish meal (with beer) at Mrs. Murphy and Sons, a local Irish bistro in they city. The Chicago History Museum will also be hosting a topic-related discussion regarding the development the restaurant,
Irish influence in Chicago, St. Patrick’s Day, as well as many other quirky and interesting facts.

Punk ‘n’ Brew Beer Dinner
Revolution Brewing
2323 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647

April 9 2012
7pm ($55 members, $60 non-members)

Last chance! Perhaps you couldn’t attend the first Dinner Series event in March. Here’s another opportunity to participate in this fantastic program. Punk ‘n’ Brew gives you an option to appreciate punk music’s significant role in Chicago’s history with the inclusion of yet another four-course meal at Revolution Brewing. Here, you can listen and learn more about the restaurant and the genre of punk itself. Who knows, maybe you’ll even discover a few new punk bands or musicians that you enjoy too!

Dinner and a Show: Marc Bamuthi Joseph/The Living Word Project with Theaster Gates: red, black and GREEN: a blues
MCA Chicago

Apr.il 12 2012
7pm

Get a chance to meet the artists before their opening at the MCA during this wonderful dinner reception provided by Wolfgang Puck Catering. Red, black, and GREEN: a blues, is the culmination of a collaboration between activist and visual artist Theaster Gates and spoken word and dance artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph that addresses fundamental environmental issues from the perspective of communities of color. Also, be sure to check out this duo's two day performance on April 13th and 14th. It's another show that I am really anticipating.

Yes, collecting art really is something you can 'learn' to do. Collecting art is not so much complicated as intimidating, and the recent Collectors Colloquium was launched as a way to provide interested art enthusiasts with an overview of the art world and to give access to some local experts who can share their wisdom and insights.  At the end of the course, participants will have learned some basics, met others who are also interested in art, and hopefully seen first hand how open and welcoming our art scene is. Art collecting isn't really a 101 course you can check off your list and be done with - Ah ha!  I've learned how to spot the most valuable up-and-coming artists in order to make my investing forture! - it's a very personal, subjective experience that depends on your own taste and interests.  Everyone says it, but it's true. You should buy the best art that you can afford, and you should buy work that you love - ie: you're willing to live with it and enjoy it for a very long time.   But there are some helpful starting points to developing your eye and making smarter choices.  Most people need some kind of direction to get started.  Like any other dynamic topic, discussion is a big part of the learning process.  If you've joined us already, we're pleased to have you along for the journey, as you are well on your way to a rewarding life-long pursuit to living a unique life by having art as a part of your life.  If you haven't had a chance to join us yet, there's still time!  And we of course would like to offer more classes like this in the future.  To be notified of future collecting groups, please email us. Chicago is home to many unique galleries, artists and cultural institutions, and there are a wealth of creative resources to explore and make your own.  Welcome to the journey!

- CGN

SESSIONS TO DATE:

• A Passion for Collecting - Discussions with younger collectors who have been in the game for awhile and who have their own very personal stories of art and collecting passions.  Panelists shared their collecting philosophies as well as resources.

• In the White Cube - An evening with area art dealers who've nurtured the careers of younger artists, developed friendships with collectors, and those who have worked to spotlight emerging artists as well as those who may have been overlooked. 

• On the Auction Block - an evening with art experts at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, one of the area's most visible and successful auction operations.  Collectors learned the sport of buying at auction as well as the sophisticated nature of the auction treasure hunt (and the spectacular values one can find!)

NEXT UP 

• Eye for Hire (February 28, 2012 hosted by Kavi Gupta Gallery, 835 W. Washington)
This session will provide an overview of the art advisory profession, and help attendees understand why collectors hire art advisors. 

• Art as Investment + The (Art) Fair Game (March 27, 2012)
This session will provide an overview of how and why works of art appreciate.  We'll also cover some highlights of the local and national art fair scene and provide an overview of how to navigate an art fair, particularly now that you've met some other like-minded art enthusiasts!

Participants are still welcome to attend on an indiviudal as well as video basis - please email info@chicagogallerynews.com for more information.

Even though in Chicago the weather has been a bit rainy and grey, the holidays are approaching and bringing a new year; we know the snow will be here soon enough!

Chicago Gallery News is excited and ready to celebrate the New Year with our upcoming January-March issue, packed with events and openings in 2012! Grab your copy soon, and visit our website to check for the winter openings schedule, to be posted soon.

You don’t have to wait until January to get out and about though, and December’s not over yet. CGN has a list of things to do to keep you busy for the next couple of weeks when, hopefully, you have a little free time to enjoy the city.

See a movie

at the Gene Siskel Film Center

Regular movie theaters will be noisy and crowded this season, so why not venture to another theater like the Gene Siskel Film Center? December offers opportunities to see anything from Le Havre, a feel good film where a shoeshine man shields an African illegal immigrant child from the law, to The Interrupters, directed by Steve James, director of Hoop Dreams, in collaboration with the author of There Are No Children Here and more.

Visit siskelfilmcenter.org for schedules. 

Stop by a gallery

Roots and Culture is presenting an exhibition of international artists through January 8, with a Q+A session December 18 at 2pm to mark the occasion of International Migrant’s Day.

• 1034 N. Milwaukee

65GRAND exhibits Bob Jones through December 31^st in a show called Mountains and matte.  The work featured is in between sculpture and painting.

Bob Jones

• 1369 W. Grand 

Devening Projects and Exhibitions presents Mark Booth: The Sea is Represented by an Irregular Shape until January 29^th.   Booth is a Chicago based artist and received his MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

• 3039 W. Carroll

Hear Holiday Music

Stop by the Harold Washington Library downtown to hear holiday concerts throughout the month.  December 15 at 2pm in the library’s grand lobby the Chicago Bar Association Symphony and Chorus performs.

• 400 S. State

Listen

At the Poetry Foundation on December 16 at 7pm Kenneth Goldsmith, poet, DJ, essayist, and UbuWeb founder, will be presenting “My Career in Poetry or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Institution,” a talk about poetic community, ambition, and his new book Uncreative Writing.

• 61 W. Superior

 Hop on the Holiday Express

At the Chicago Botanic Garden, from 10-6 until January 1^st visit the 10,000 sq foot miniature train that winds through Chicago landmarks including Navy Pier, Soldier Field, The Art Institute and Chinatown. The Joutras Gallery will also feature a gingerbread house display. See thousands of festive lights decorating the gardens inside and out! On select days hear carolers and participate in family activities. Visit chicagobotanic.org for more details and to purchase tickets.

Don’t miss the last opportunity of 2011 to shop at the Farmers’ Market at the Botanic Garden.  On December 18 from 10-2 the gardens host a winter farmers’ market with local vendors. It’s a perfect opportunity to purchase some green friendly holiday presents, stock up on your local favorites for the winter, or pick up a few ingredients for your holiday dinner. Expect to see a range of items from free-range meat to veggies, baked goods, handmade pottery, flowers, and soaps! 

Learn more about all of these events and more at chicagogallerynews.com