BULLETIN
Winter Break Back-to-School Celebration
Mandrake Park Fieldhouse, 3858 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Thursday, January 5, 1pm–6pm. Free. (312) 747-9938. mpacchicago.com
Suitable for students of all ages, this back-to-school event invites attendees to jump in a bouncy house, receive a free haircut, get study tips, and learn about job opportunities. (Michelle Yang)
Two DOPE Chicks: Women Working in the Cannabis Industry
Avalon Public Library, 8148 S. Stony Island Ave. Thursday, January 5, 6pm–8pm. Free. RSVP online. twodopechicks.com
It stands for Developing Opportunities for Personal Empowerment, of course. The cannabis education organization will provide opportunities for all, even just the “canna-curious,” to learn and network. Industry businesswomen Shaleen Title and Edie Moore are guest speakers. (Juan Caicedo)
Bronzeville Youth 360 Summit
Phillips Academy High School, 244 E. Pershing Rd. Friday, January 6, 9am–2pm. Free. RSVP online. (312) 577-5555. tcbinc.org
A resource fair with youth-led workshops, this summit for high schoolers covers topics including social justice and advocacy, relationships between youth and law enforcement, and art and self-image. Enjoy a raffle, some live performances, and the meals provided. (Elaine Chen)
Housing, Poverty, and the Divided City
School of Social Service Administration, 969 E. 60th St. Friday, January 6, 1pm–3pm. Free. (773) 753-4483. ucsc.uchicago.edu
The First Friday Social Change Forum series is a new monthly social justice program hosted by the UofC’s University Community Service Center. The first event will discuss housing and economic development in Chicago through a Q&A and a panel consisting of Charlie Barlow, Wendell Harris, and Marisa Novara. (Michelle Yang)
Social Media Etiquette for Small Businesses
CBQ Beauty Bar, 4532 S. Cottage Grove. Saturday, January 7, 7pm–10pm. $40. RSVP online. (773) 413-8348. 29elevenconsulting.com
Small business owners interested in constructing or developing their business’s online presence may benefit from this class hosted by 29Eleven Consulting. Attendees will discuss how tools like analytics and content development can help them convey a positive impression online. (Juan Caicedo)
VISUAL ARTS
Riot Grrrls
Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave. Thursday, December 15, 2016 through Sunday, June 18, 2017. 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. Opening reception Friday, January 13, 6pm–9pm. Through March 10. Open 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. 125 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. Opening reception Friday, January 13, 6pm–10pm.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
Basement Boogie at Punch House
Punch House, 1807 S. Allport St. Thursday, January 5, 9pm. (312) 526-3851. punchhousechicago.com
DJ Communicator (Jerry Reyes) and his friends will provide a selection of “Disco / 80s / boogie” tracks as part of Punch House’s ongoing Song Selector series of nightly DJ sets. Communicator, a self-described “vinyl junkie” with a pedigree at venues across the city, DJs at Punch House on the first Thursday of every month. (Jake Bittle)
Screamin’ End
Buddy Guy’s Legends, 700 S. Wabash Ave. Tuesday, January 10, 9:30pm. $10. 21+.(312) 427-1190. buddyguy.com
Screamin’ End, aka “Krazy Eddie & Friends,” is a Chicago band playing a mixture of classic rock, rockabilly, and blues, stage presence augmented by a double bass covered in skulls. Come check out their performance of their latest album Juke Joint, recorded in a Memphis studio containing Elvis’s microphone and Jerry Lee Lewis’s piano (according to the band’s own website; could not be independently verified). (Christian Belanger)
STAGE & SCREEN
Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
Studio Movie Grill Chatham, 210 W. 87th St. Thursday, January 5, 7pm. $6. (773) 322-1450. southsideprojections.org
Nat Turner was “troublesome property” when he led the slave rebellion now named for him, and he continues to be troublesome for those discussing him today. South Side Projections and Black World Cinema team up to present a film that intertwines documentary and dramatization, with each dramatization featuring a different actor as Turner. (Cynthia Mao)
Plato’s Phaedrus
Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. Friday, January 6, 7pm. Free. (773) 702-8596. filmstudiescenter.uchicago.edu
The worry that the comic strip Calvin once voiced to the comic strip Hobbes—“What if somebody calls us a pair of pathetic peripatetics?”—evidently isn’t shared by UofC film professor d. n. rodowick, who will be screening the second film in his experimental series about philosopher walks (from the ancient Greek peripatetikos). This one is loosely based on the Phaedrus, Plato’s dialogue about love, poetry, and rhetoric. (Christian Belanger)
“Karl Wirsum” Screening
Hyde Park Art Center, Muller Meeting Room, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Sunday, January 8, 1pm–4pm. Free. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org
Any Hairy Who devotees who happen to be in the neighborhood would be well advised to stop by while this fourteen-minute film, about one of the art movement’s earliest members, is looped at the art center where the Hairy Who had its first exhibition. Said devotees might also be well advised to bring the whole family—a companion workshop will teach participants to make Wirsum-inspired puppets. (Julia Aizuss)
Group 312 Films
Chicago Art Department, 1932 S. Halsted St. Sunday, January 8, 8pm–10pm. (312) 725-4223. chicagoartdepartment.org
After an absence last month, the filmmaking collective returns to welcome in the new year. The monthly topic for the group’s film short screenings hasn’t been announced yet, so the only way to find out for yourself is to stop by. (Julia Aizuss)
Open Mic Mondays
Beverly Art Center, 2407 W. 111th St. Monday, January 9, 7pm; 6:30 artist signup. Select Mondays through April 17. Free. 18+. (773) 445-3838. beverlyartcenter.org
To an amateur artist who craves feedback, an open mic is a godsend, and as such events go, the Beverly Arts Center’s offering is top-notch. You simply must come have a drink, perform your songs and stories in verse and prose, and delight in other offerings during your time offstage. (Neal Jochmann)
38 Women Movement Workshop
Hyde Park Arts Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Wednesday, January 11, 5pm–8pm. Free. RSVP at exhibitions@hydeparkart.org. Suggested ages 18-70+. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org
Dance, chat, and improvise to share your lived experiences with other women as a part of HPAC’s (Re)Public. Choreographer Philippa Donnellan, who choreographed the original 38 Women performance in Ireland, will guide participants through collaboratively inventing and performing “new narratives of your own choosing.” (Emily Lipstein)