Bulletin
Community Possible | Englewood
823 W. 63rd St. Wednesday, July 20, noon–7pm. Free. RSVP at bit.ly/29SUFak. (773) 651-2400. greaterenglewoodcdc.org
Come to the 63rd Street Farmers Market to join Greater Englewood Community Development Corporation and U.S. Banks Community Possible and discover all the ways in which Englewood can grow! Take part in a combination of fun events and opportunities to share ideas. RSVP to enter a raffle. (Anne Li)
Great Migration Blues Trail
Buddy Guy’s Legends Blues Lounge, 700 S. Wabash Ave. July 22–August 11. Daily, 10am. $60. Purchase tickets at bit.ly/29N1e0s. (866) 346-7664. aprpullman-portermuseum.org
Travel on Chicago’s Great Migration Trail tour, from historic Bronzeville to the Pullman National Monument. Explore the destinations that became home to the half million people who migrated to Chicago from the Deep South, and immerse yourself in the history of blues. (Adia Robinson)
A March to End Rape Culture
Congress St. and Michigan Ave. Sunday, July 24, 1pm. Free. bit.ly/29ZepIn
Join Chicago-based feminist organiza-tion FURIE in its second annual rally to end rape culture and gender-based violence. Formerly known as “Slutwalk,” the re-named event will kickoff as a rally and speak-out in Grant Park before turning into a march through downtown. The organizers welcome attendees to share their stories and make their voices heard. (Emily Lipstein)
Keeping Government Accountable for Clean, Safe Water
Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle St., Room C500. Wednesday, July 27, noon–1:30pm. RSVP at bit.ly/illinoiscleanwater. Free. (312) 436-1274. ilcampaign.org
In the wake of the environmental crisis in Flint, Michigan, a growing number of CPS schools are finding unacceptable levels of lead in their drinking water. Panelists include reporters for WBEZ and the Tribune, legal experts, and a physician-attorney-toxicologist; they will answer questions about clean, safe water in Illinois and how experts are keeping officials accountable. (Emily Lipstein)
History of Black Activism in Chicago
Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. Wednesday, July 27, 5:30pm–8pm. Free. (773) 702-2388. bmrc.lib.uchicago.edu
This presentation, hosted by the Black Me-tropolis Research Consortium, will feature research from BMRC scholars. Topics include activism in Chicago’s African migrant community, and black women’s contributions to both Harold Washington’s Mayoral Campaign and grassroots health activism in the city. (Anne Li)
Visual Arts
Islamic Art and the Art Institute: A Century of Exhibitions and Acquisitions
Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave. Tuesday, July 19 through Monday, September 26. Monday–Wednesday, 1pm–5pm; Thursday 10:30am–8pm; Friday 1pm–5pm. $25. (312) 443-3600. artic.edu
From antiquarian books to jewel-encrusted prints, this exhibition peeks into the last century of the Art Institute’s displays on Islamic art and culture. Intriguing archival documents and photographs will track exhibitions over time, including collections like the popular Antique Oriental Rugs of 1947, and those dating back to the 1890s. (Isabelle Lim)
Petcoke: Tracing Dirty Energy
Museum of Contemporary Photography, 600 S. Michigan Ave. Opening Reception Thursday, July 21, 5pm–7pm. Through Sunday, October 9. Free. (312) 663-5554. mocp.org
This exhibition explores the little-known impact of petcoke, a dust-like waste product of oil refining processes in the Chicago region. Through photography, video, sculpture, and interactive maps, the exhibition marries environmental awareness and art. Featuring work by Rozalinda Borcila, Terry Evans, and Brian Holmes, among others. (Isabelle Lim)
Summer Saturday: Art Bike Ride
Meet at Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Saturday, July 23. 10:30am–1pm. Free. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org
As part of the Center’s Summer Saturday series, this biking art tour—led by Erika Dudley and Patric McCoy—explores public art in Kenwood and South Bronzeville. With periodic stops steeped in history and culture, pedal for as long as your legs can hold up. (Isabelle Lim)
Archival Workshop: Preserving the Riches of One’s Legacy
The DuSable Museum of African American History, Ames Auditorium, 740 E. 56th Place. Saturday, July 23, 2pm–4pm. Free with museum admission of $10. (773) 947-0600. dusablemuseum.org
Learn to preserve beloved family keepsakes so that they may be cherished through generations to come. Professionals will teach workshop-goers to protect, organize, and maintain personal collections of photographs, digital files, and other artifacts. (Sara Cohen)
Ode to the City Mixed Media Workshop Series
Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative, 1450 E. 70th St. Saturdays, 1pm– 3pm. Through August 27. Free. (708) 655-5348. See full calendar and register at odetothecity.org
The range of poets, artists, and creators teaching this workshop series will be sure to inspire you to make something of your own. Ode to the City is a grassroots arts initiative targeting communities with stories to tell and art to create. All are welcome—bring family and friends. (Baci Weiler)
Pet Portrait Slam
Bridgeport Art Center Sculpture Garden, 1200 W. 35th St. Sunday, July 31, noon–4pm. (773) 940-2992. projectonward.org
Project Onward, a gifted team of fifty up-and-coming community artists with mental and developmental disabilities, presents a day of outdoor pet appreciation. Bring pets along or have their photo at the ready to receive a personalized portrait to treasure. (Sara Cohen)
MUSIC
Matthew Skoller at Buddy Guy’s Legends
Buddy Guy’s Legends, 700 S. Wabash Ave. Thursday, July 21, 9:30pm. $10. 21+. (312) 427-1190. buddyguy.com
It’s no shock that Matthew Skoller is performing at Buddy Guy’s Legends on Thursday—he’s been appearing there, alone and with his band, since the venue opened. It was twenty-seven years ago when Skiller first graced the Buddy Guy’s stage, but since then his prowess with the blues harmonica has itself become legendary, and he’s taken his passionate harp blowing all over the world. For blues fans, this is a great opportunity to see a master at his longtime stomping ground. (Olivia Stovicek)
The Stylistics Revue
The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave Friday, July 22. Doors 7pm, show 8pm. $15. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com
Back in the seventies, the Stylistics were one of the most popular groups within Philly soul, the lush genre that birthed the careers of Teddy Pendergrass, Patti Labelle, and disco. Come hear the now-quartet perform (sans some original members) hits like “Betcha by Golly, Wow” and “You Are Everything.” (Christian Belanger)
MAD Science at the Dojo
The Dojo. Saturday, July 23, 8pm–midnight. $5 at the door. facebook.com/thedojochi (message for address on day of show). thedojochi@gmail.com
In collaboration with AMFM Magazine, the DIY venue the Dojo presents a six-band lineup with acts ranging from funk-inspired hip-hop to lo-fi rock to spoken word poetry. The impetus for the blowout show is, apparently, that, “Everyone has been contaminated by toxic glow in the dark serum that inspires people to uncontrollably turn up!” ( Jake Bittle)
Thanks for Coming @ Fat City
Fat City, 3147 S. Morgan Ave. Sunday, July 24, 5pm. facebook.com/fatcityonmorgan
Three bedroom folk acts will perform at a Bridgeport venue-studio-workshop, with New York-based act Thanks for Coming (check out “i just want to get high & die” and “i don’t want to do my homework ep”) at the top of the bill. The show will start at 5pm so everyone can get to their actual bedrooms at a reasonable hour. ( Jake Bittle)
Lucy Dacus with Daughter
Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. Wednesday, July 27. Doors 8pm, show 9pm. $26 standing room, $36 seats. 17+. (312) 526-3851. thaliahallchicago.com
Cool off with these chill indie bands at WXRT’s official Lollapalooza aftershow. Opening band Daughter is no stranger to Chicago, having opened for The National here in 2014. While Richmond-based Lucy Dacus has only been around since 2015, she’s embarking on a cross-country tour to celebrate the release of her debut album. Listeners should be ready for emotional lyrics that, ever so quietly, pack a punch. (Emily Lipstein)
Tory Lanez
Reggies, 2105 S. State St. Monday, July 29, 10pm. $20. 18+. (312) 949-0120. reggieslive.com
Tory Lanez, the Toronto rapper who sometimes goes by the much better moniker Argentina Fargo (as in the bank, not the North Dakota city), is coming to Chicago. To get a quick taste of the sugary hooks in store, watch the strangely compelling, highly dramatic video for “Say It,” his biggest hit to date. (Christian Belanger)
Stage & Screen
Eyes on the Rainbow: A Film with Assata Shakur
Pop Up JUST Art Gallery, 729 W. Maxwell St. Wednesday, July 20, 6pm–8pm. Free. RSVP online. (312) 355-5922. sji.uic.edu
Since Assata Shakur escaped prison, where she was sent after her conviction for killing a New Jersey state trooper, the former Black Panther has lived in Havana, Cuba, which accepted her as a political refugee. Hear about the life and ideas of the first woman to be listed on the FBI’s most-wanted list at this feature film, one of a series on Cuba. (Adam Thorp)
Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night
Tuley Park, 501 E. 90th Pl., Thursday, July 21, 6:30pm. Gage Park, 2411 W. 55th St., Wednes-day, July 27, 6:30pm. Washington Park, 5531 S. Russell Dr., Friday, July 29, 6:30pm. Free. (312) 595-5600. chicagoshakes.com
“If music be the food of love, play on,” Duke Orsino extols in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. This traveling tour of the play, part of a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, establishes that appreciation of the playwright’s work continues. (Adam Thorp)
BCH@BING: Summer of Spike: Get on the Bus
BING Art Books, 305 E. Garfield Blvd. Thursday, July 21, 7pm–10pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.org
There’s still time to catch the last couple weeks of Black Cinema House’s Spike Lee screening series. Third in line, Get on the Bus is Lee’s immortalization of the inaugural Million Man March that took place in 1995: a major gathering of black men in Washington, D.C with a mission to bring politicians’ attention to the plight of urban communities. (Bridget Gamble)
Movies Under the Stars: Our Lives at Work
Archive House, 6918 S. Dorchester Ave. Friday, July 22, 9pm–11pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.org
Black Cinema House hosts an outdoor screening in partnership with Chicago Film Archives of a series of short films about work and workers. Loretta Smith, the director of a piece about a bathroom attendant’s life and work, will discuss her film after the screening. (Adam Thorp)
Kiarostami
filmfront, 1740 W. 18th St. Friday, July 22, 8pm. Free. filmfront.org
Prolific Iranian director, writer, and producer Abbas Kiarostami braved political turmoil in his home country to create cinematic masterpieces portraying raw and intricate depictions of humanity. Commemorating his recent passing, filmfront plans to screen one of his internationally recognized films—come by to find out which one. (Sara Cohen)
Holá Cuba! Shorts Night
Pop Up JUST Art Gallery, 729 W. Maxwell St. Wednesday, July 27, 6pm–8pm. Free. RSVP online. (312) 355-5922. sji.uic.edu
Shorts Night, part of the documentary film series Holá Cuba!, will shine light on the crusaders of historical literacy campaigns in the Caribbean nation. Follow a dedicated group of female Cuban educators in Maestra, and experience the “lectores” of nineteenth-century cigar workers in With the Stroke of a Chaveta. (Sara Cohen)
BCH@BING: Summer of Spike: Jungle Fever
BING Art Books, 305 E. Garfield Blvd. Thursday, July 28, 7pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.org
Throughout the month, Black Cinema House is screening four films by Spike Lee in a series at BING. Last but not least, see the iconic director’s nineties exploration of interracial dating, Jungle Fever, which celebrates its twenty-fifth birthday this year. (Bridget Gamble)
Silverhead
filmfront, 1740 W. 18th St. Friday, July 29, 8pm. filmfront.org
Though it’s only July, the Pilsen cine-club is helping patrons shift into a Halloween state of mind with Silverhead, a 2016 movie about an ax murderer who relocates to the South Side of Chicago, where he continues his murderous spree and finds himself being watched by a strange man. Filmmaker Lewis Vaughn is to be in attendance. (Bridget Gamble)
Black Cycle
South Side Community Arts Center, 3831 S. Michigan Ave. Monday, August 1, 6:30pm. Free. (773) 373-1026. sscartcenter.org
From Court Theatre’s Spotlight Reading Series, which stages readings of overlooked plays from playwrights of color, comes Cheryl Lynn Bruce’s adaptation of Martie Charles’s Black Cycle. The drama follows beauty salon owner Vera as she faces the challenges of motherhood. (Sara Cohen)
Lit
John Koethe and David Trinidad at the Co-op
Seminary Co-op Bookstore, 5751 S. Woodlawn Ave. Thursday, July 21, 6pm. Free. RSVP online. (773) 752-4381. semcoop.com
This double-header reading will feature two accomplished poets reading from their latest collections. They are John Koethe, a Wisconsin-based philosophy professor whose work has been described by Jorie Graham as “poetry of magnificent undertow,” and David Trinidad, a poet known for his deft explorations of pop culture and city life who is also a professor of creative writing at Columbia College. (Jake Bittle)
Reading the Black Library: South Side Storytelling
Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. Tuesday, July 26, 6pm–7pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.org
There’s barely space in this blurb for the star-studded roster of this panel on black storytelling in Chicago, presented in the Arts Bank’s Johnson Publishing Library: incisive poet Nate Marshall, intrepid WBEZ journalist Natalie Moore, and hip-hop renaissance man Rhymefest, moderated by scholar, writer, and artist (and long-ago Weekly alumna) Eve Ewing. (Jake Bittle)
Harry Potter Midnight Release Party
57th Street Books, 1301 E. 57th St. Saturday, July 30, 8pm–Sunday, July 31, 12am. Free. (773) 684-1300. semcoop.com
For a few magical, anomalous nights in the early aughts, bookstores all across the country stayed open late. Recapture those days, and their requisite wand-making workshops, costume contests, and trivia games, with the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the official script book of a play featuring Harry Potter as an over-worked Ministry of Magic stiff, with a job and kids, just like you. (Lewis Page)
Ode to the City Poetry Workshop Series
BING Art Books, 307 E. Garfield Blvd. Tues-days, 6pm–8pm. Through August 30. Free. (708) 655-5348. See full calendar and register at odetothecity.org
Bring a pen, paper, and your voice to this free workshop series, offered by Ode to the City and taught by professional poets. Ode to the City is a grassroots arts initiative targeting communities with stories to tell and art to create. All are welcome—bring family and friends, too. (Baci Weiler)