Calendar 2/1/17

BULLETIN

Black History Live at the DuSable

DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Pl. February 1–February 28. Tuesdays–Fridays, 11am–noon. Events vary daily; see detailed calendar online. $10 regular admission; $6 for groups (must book ahead). Buy tickets online. (877) 387-2251. dusablemuseum.org

The DuSable Museum has Black History Month packed with youth-targeted events nearly every weekday—from a showcase of five female African-American poets and revolutionaries, to an exploration of hip-hop’s roots in African music, there’s something for everyone. (Hafsa Razi)

4th Ward Aldermanic Forum

Kenwood Academy (Little Theater), 5015 S. Blackstone Ave. Saturday, February 4, 10:30am. Enter from parking lot on Lake Park Ave. Free. (773) 288-8343. hydepark.org

Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference is hosting a candidate forum in advance of the February 28 special election for 4th Ward alderman. Come hear all five candidates (Marcellus Moore, Ebony Lucas, Gregory Seal Livingston, Gerald Scott McCarthy, and interim alderman Sophia King) give statements and answer questions. (Joshua Falk)

Africa Night: Black History Celebration

K.L.E.O. Community Family Life Center, 119 E. Garfield Blvd. Saturday, February 4, 6pm–11pm. $5 suggested donation. RSVP online. (773) 363-6941. thekleocenter.org

Bring along the family to the festivities at the K.L.E.O. Center, with food, live music, dancing, spoken word, and of course, “positive vibez.” The event will also pay tribute to the victims of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti. (Hafsa Razi)

Call for Volunteers: Birdwatching for Kids

Openlands, 25 E. Washington St., Suite 1650. Wednesday, February 8, 9:30am–11:30am. Free. Contact John Cawood at (312) 863-6276. More information here.

It can be a challenge for kids growing up in the city to recognize that nature is all around them. Birds in my Neighborhood—a joint outreach program between the conservation groups Openlands and Audubon Great Lakes—is calling for volunteers to lead second- to fifth-grade CPS classes on birdwatching treks. No prior birding experience needed; just attend the training sessions. (Michael Wasney)

Wild Things Conference

UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Rd. Saturday, February 18, 9am–6pm. General admission $40, student registration $20; optional lunch fee $12. Online RSVP required. wildthingscommunity.org

The biennial Wild Things Conference is, for the seventh time, here to unite nature enthusiasts of every kind: the volunteer, the researcher, the layperson, and the curious. Hosting nearly fifty exhibits and seven breakout sessions, the Wild Things Conference promises education and interaction with apiary experts, Shedd specialists, professional gardeners, and much more from the natural world of Illinois and the Midwest. (Drew Holt)

VISUAL ARTS

Rhonda Wheatley: A Modern Day Shaman

Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. February 12– May 12, Monday–Thursday, 9am–8pm; Friday–Saturday, 9am–5pm; Sunday, 12pm–5pm. Free. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org

More living artifacts than art objects, the sculptures in this exhibition are tools of transformation as well as a look into the artist’s mind. Using found materials including TV antennae and cicada wings, Wheatley takes on the role of contemporary shaman, channeling energies and consciousness in a gallery of healing. (Isabelle Lim)

Precariat

Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave.. February 5–March 12; Monday–Thursday, 9am–8pm; Friday–Saturday, 9am–5pm; Sunday, noon–5pm.Free. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org

Inspired by the work of theorist Judith Butler, this exhibition challenges the typical categories and boundaries of identity. Nine artists thus confront various socially constructed ideas by reorienting their approach to their content and craft. A series of programs accompanying the exhibit will give the audience a chance to join the dialogue surrounding these notions in our social world. (Hallie Parten)

Odes to Transience I Create: Encounters with Jamie Diamond & Matthew Weinstein

MANA Contemporary, lobby, 4th floor and 5th floor cafe. 2233 S. Throop St. Through May 31. Monday–Friday, 11am–5pm; Saturday, noon–4pm. Free. (312) 850-0555.  manacontemporarychicago.com

Diamond and Weinstein reveal their interpretation of social interactions and the human condition through an exhibition of videos displaying animated moments, as well as reels of couples sharing brief, seemingly mundane exchanges. The exhibition is spread through the hallways of three different floors, challenging viewers’ sense of how place affects emotion and interpretation of personal interactions. (Rachel Henry)

Alex Becerra: Sueños Eróticos

Shane Campbell Gallery, 2021 S. Wabash Ave. Opening reception Saturday, February 4, 1pm–3pm. Through Saturday, March 18. Free. (312) 226-2223. shanecampbellgallery.com

L.A.-based painter Alex Becerra puts up a collection of his vivid work, picturing distorted, sexualized figures rendered in flurries of thick paint and brash strokes, dreamscapes of horror and fantasy. Imposing, provocative, and rude have all been critiques levied on Becerra since his 2014 debut, but here the artist labeled “The Outlaw” by Modern Painter has more up his sleeve. (Isabelle Lim)

White Seam

Zhou B Art Gallery, 1029 W. 35th St. Through Friday, February 10. Free. (773) 523-0200. zhoubartcenter.com

Polish designer Agnieszka Kulon brings a multimedia exhibition to the Zhou B Art Center, focusing on her “fascination with the color white.”  The exhibit is conveyed through fashion design, video montage, and a set of collaborative projects with fellow Chicago artists in the fields of sculptural painting, video, and sound design. (Austin Brown) 

Hecho en CaSa

National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. Through May 7. Tuesday–Sunday, 10am–5pm. (312) 738-1503. nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org

Francisco Toledo has spent much of his life founding and developing artistic and cultural institutions in his native Oaxaca. This retrospective of his work not only celebrates his legacy as a champion of literacy and expression but also showcases his symbolic, politically conscious paintings. (Jake Bittle)

Riot Grrrls

Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave. Through Sunday, June 18. Tuesday, 10am–8pm; Wednesday–Sunday, 10am–5pm. $12 adults, $7 students; free Tuesdays. (312) 280-2660. mcachicago.org

As one would expect judging by the name “Riot Grrrls,” this exhibit is a refreshingly direct challenge to the sexism that has long permeated the art world. This stunning collection features a series of abstract works by eight prolific, pioneering female painters including Mary Heilmann and Charline von Heyl, as well as works from the generation of female artists that followed. (Bridget Newsham)

Spencer Rogers: Modern Abstractions

S. Rog Gallery, 739 S. Clark St., 2nd floor. Through March 10. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 10am–5pm, and by appointment. Free. (312) 884-1457. sroggallery.com

It takes a painter’s imagination to curate an exhibition as dazzling as “Modern Abstractions,” comprised of mind-blowing macro photographs selected for interesting detail and exploded in vibrant, dripping acrylic paint. Over a hundred copies will be made of each of these images, which will be on sale to all attendees. Snacks also provided. (Neal Jochmann)

Onward! Movements, Activists, Politics, and Politicians

Uri-Eichen Gallery, 2101 S. Halsted St. Through Friday, February 3, by appointment only. Free. (312) 852-7717. uri-eichen.com

Photographer Michael Gaylord James’s exhibit spans fifty-four years of politics, from the Berkeley Free Speech Movement to Black Lives Matter, from JFK in Mexico to Obama at Chicago State. He hopes to show that there’s reason for hope in the long march toward progress. (Joseph S. Pete)

MUSIC

AMFM Presents: The Jazz Series

Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. Saturday, February 4, 7pm–10:30pm. $5. rebuild-foundation.org

AMFM’s Jazz Series visits the Stony Island Arts Bank, where an exhibition of Glenn Ligon’s neon rendition of the words of Daniel Hamm, who was part of the “Harlem Six” wrongly convicted of murder in the 1960s, sets the space. Drop on in and catch the bars and melodies of Freddie Old Soul, Selah Says, Krystal Metcalfe, and Rich Jones. (Joshua Falk)

Jugrnaut and Boi Jeanius Present: Sweatshop Dance Party

Reggies, 2105 South State St. Thursday, February 2, 9pm–2am. $7 before 11pm, $10 after. RSVP for discounted entry from 9-9:30pm. 18+. (312) 949-0120. reggieslive.com

At only twenty-three years old, 2010 winner of the Latin Mixx’s annual Best Midwest DJ contest Boi Jeanius has quickly risen to live up to his stage name. His unrelenting work to improve his craft—he has been performing live every weekend on 103.5 KISS FM for the past four years—is reflected in both his work and his following. Sweatshop is Boi Jeanius and Jugrnaut’s triumphant return to Reggies after a year since their last 18+ party, and it will feature a performance by BigBodyFiji. (Andrew Holt)

Thaddeus Tukes’ Valentine Vibes

Room 43, 1043 E. 43rd St. Sunday, February 12, first set 7:30pm, second set 9:30pm. $10; $5 for children and students. hydeparkjazzsociety.com

A frequent collaborator with the SAVEMONEY crew, the sometime student and all-around jazz pro Thaddeus Tukes will be bringing his vibes (and vibraphone) to Room 43 on the twelfth. It’s anyone’s guess what the musical polymath will bring to this classic jazz club, but it’s bound to be exciting. (Austin Brown)

“Scratch Mania” Chicago Record Release Party

606 Records, 1808 S. Allport St. Sunday, February 5, 1pm–5pm. Free. All ages. facebook.com/606records

Turntable enthusiasts will be gathering for gear and tunes this Sunday at 606 Records, where DJs Are Not Jukeboxes will be debuting their Scratch Mania production tool and Teklife member DJ Gant-man will be performing. (Austin Brown)

STAGE & SCREEN

Apply: Teen Talk Theater

South Side Art Center, 3831 S. Michigan Ave. Now through February 2. Contact: Natalie Battles. (773) 373-1026. sscartcenter.org

The application is now open for a free ten-week after school program, where ages fourteen to eighteen learn activist-based theater arts curriculum. It covers all theater components from playwriting to performance, while fine-tuning written and oral communication skills. Program begins on February 22. (Nicole Bond)

Group 312 Films – Old Black Magic

Chicago Art Department, 1932 S. Halsted St., suite 100. Through February 10. Free. Contact Ciera McKissick at amfmmag@gmail.com for appointments. chicagoartdepartment.org

This powerful interdisciplinary exhibit weaves film, photography, poetry, performance art, visual art, music and dance, to cast a new spell on the perceptions of Blackness. Featured artists include Amir George, Krista Franklin, Joshua Ishmon, Lonnie Edwards and Reginald Eldridge. (Nicole Bond)

Chicago Film Archives – Sales and Rentals

329 W. 18th St. (312) 243-1808. chicagofilmarchives.org

CFA is a non-profit institution dedicated to preserving films reflecting Chicago and Midwest historical culture, with initiatives like their Annual Home Movie Day and their ongoing acquisition of professional films by local filmmakers. CFA offers rentals of short and feature-length films from $100-$250 to skilled projectionist, and parts of their collection are available for purchase. (Nicole Bond)

Blues for an Alabama Sky

Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. Through February 12. $38–$68. (773)753-4472. courttheatre.org

Pearl Cleage’s 1999 play explores the effects of the Great Depression on a set of characters living in the wake of New York’s Harlem Renaissance, the interwar cultural movement among the Black community in the famous New York neighborhood. The play is part of a larger celebration of the Harlem Renaissance around the South Side, including jazz concerts with poetry readings and an exhibition at the Beverly Arts Center. (Christian Belanger)

Film Screening of Food Patriots

West Pullman Chicago Public Library, 830 W. 119th St. Thursday, February 2, 12pm—1:30pm. Free. (312) 747-1425. chipublibrary.com

After their son falls ill with a foodborne superbug, filmmakers Jeff and Jennifer Spitz change their eating habits forever by raising backyard chickens, growing their own food, and setting out on a journey to change the way Americans think about food. (Drew Holt)

K Love the Poet presents Black Love

Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. Wednesday, February 8. 7pm. $15 Advance/$20 Door. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com

National spoken word artist K Love brings her annual birthday concert to the Promontory. Black Love is the theme. It will no doubt reign supreme, with a soulful tapestry of spoken word, hip-hop, and theater. And if K Love is not enough to set the scene, also coming to the stage are PHENOM and Harold Green. (Nicole Bond)

Barron Trump(-Themed Show) at the Revival

The Revival, 1160 E. 55th St. Saturday, February 4, 8pm. $10, $5 for students. (866) 811-4111. the-revival.com

This week’s show at Hyde Park’s Revival comedy venue will attempt to make light of the subject on everyone’s lips—the absurdities of the Trump family (including his creepy, oft-ridiculed son) and the horrors unleashed by Trump and his cronies in the first week of the presidency alone. (Jake Bittle)

A Women’s History of HIV/AIDS

Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Avenue. Monday, February 6, 9am–5pm. Free. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org

A traveling exhibition originally created by students at the University of Cincinnati will make a temporary stop in Hyde Park to give an alternate history of the AIDS epidemic and of how the women who experienced it have become “survivors and history makers.” (Jake Bittle)