Bulletin
The Role of TIFs in North Lawndale
St. Agatha’s Church, 3151 W. Douglas Blvd. Wednesday, November 11, 6pm–8pm. Free. Email frankbergh@gmail.com for more information. tifreports.com
St. Agatha’s Parish and Tom Tresser of the TIF Illumination Project will lead a discussion about Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and the allotment of taxpayer money in the 24th Ward. All attendees will leave with a free poster and a greater understanding of a difficult acronym. (Christopher Good)
Alternative Sources of Financing: Finance Solutions for Small Businesses
Chicago Innovation Exchange, 1452 E. 53rd St., 2nd floor. Thursday, November 12, 5:30pm–7pm. Free. (312) 853-3477. wbdc.org
As part of a series titled Boost Your Bottom Line, the Women’s Business Development Center, a nonprofit that provides assistance to women entrepreneurs, is organizing a workshop that evaluates various financial solutions for your next business venture. (Darren Wan)
#MillionStudentMarch
DePaul University, 1 E. Jackson Blvd. Thursday, November 12, 9am rally; 10am march. chicagomillionstudentmarch@gmail.com
The implicit turnout goal behind the million-blank-march formula is ambitious, but so are the goals of this event, where Chicago Socialist Alternative and a group of minimum wage hike advocates hope to strike a blow for tuition-free college, debt-free graduates, and a $15 minimum wage on every campus. (Adam Thorp)
Crowdfunding Educational Seminar
Chicago Innovation Exchange, 1452 E. 53rd St. Thursday, November 12, 12pm–2pm. (773) 288-0124. hydeparkchamberchicago.org
Intra-state equity financing, which allows small-scale investments in small businesses, has recently been signed into law in Illinois. In this seminar, the group that got the law passed will talk to small business owners about how they can use it. (Adam Thorp)
40 Under 40: Young Women Professionals Awards
The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. Thursday, November 12, 6pm–8pm. Free, $40 suggested donation. demoiselle2femme.org
Celebrate the accomplishments and potential of forty young women who are making huge strides in their fields. Witness their journey as they are inducted into the 40 Under 40 Young Women Professionals League, a philanthropic organization linking outstanding women professionals between twenty-five and forty. (Anne Li)
Change Chat
Little Black Pearl Workshop, 1060 E. 47th St. Thursday, November 12, 6pm–8pm. Free. (773) 285-1211. blackpearl.org
The Creating Change 2016 Chicago Host Committee argues that collaboration between LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter movements can bring about great progress for both communities. Next week’s Change Chats provide a platform for advocates to discuss the overlap between the two groups and matters relevant to Chicago’s LGBTQ community. (Sonia Schlesinger)
IIT Hackathon
IIT Galvin Library, 35 W. 33rd St. Friday, November 13th, 7pm, through Saturday, November 14th, 1pm. Free. Prizes $500 (1st), $300 (2nd), $200 (Peer choice). (312) 567-3616. mobihack.mobi
IIT’s MobiHACK will provide the perfect platform for brilliant middle-of-the-night ideas and inspirations at its eighteen-hour Hackathon. Participants will team up, brainstorm, and sleep if they want to at the Galvin Library, as they work to create the most original app they can. (Sonia Schlesinger)
Parent University
Illinois Institute of Technology, John T. Rettaliata Engineering Center, 10 W. 32nd St. Saturday, November 14, 8:30am–1pm. Free. (312) 567-3779. Registration required.
Is your child about to apply for college, or do you just want to start preparing early? Do you find the college admissions process or financial aid confusing? Then come join Illinois Tech for a day of college readiness workshops! (Darren Wan)
Book Talk: The Occupiers
Seminary Co-op, 5751 S. Woodlawn Ave. Sunday, November 15, 3pm. Free. (773) 752-4381. semcoop.com
Examine and discuss the Occupy movement that started at Zuccotti Park and expanded to capture the attention of a nation. Michael Gould-Wartofsky’s new book follows the organizers beyond the clearing of the park and into the continuing tumultuous and impassioned conversation. (Anne Li)
We Too Sing America
Seminary Co-op, 5751 S. Woodlawn Ave. Tuesday, November 17, 6pm. (773) 752-4381.semcoop.com
In “I Hear America Singing”, Walt Whitman hears the gruff, virile sounds of working people; in “I, Too”, Langston Hughes asserts that he, “the darker brother,” sings America too. Deepa Iyer’s book We Too Sing America continues this history of expansion by reflecting on the American experience of South Asian, Arab, and Sikh people in a time of discrimination and tension. (Adam Thorp)
Visual Arts
Giuliana Bruno
Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. Thursday, November 12, 5pm. Free. (773) 702-2787. arts.uchicago.edu
In this talk, professor Giuliana Bruno, author of Surface: Matters of Aesthetics, Materiality, and Media, will discuss her latest research on the nature of materiality. In a time of ever-evolving visual media, Bruno examines the relationships between materials and media across the arts. (Ellen Hao)
Ten x Ten 2015
Chicago Art Department, 1932 S. Halsted Ave., #100. Friday, November 13, 6pm–9pm. Free. (312) 725-4223. tenxtenchicago.com
Now in its fourth iteration, Ten x Ten aims to bring together Chicago’s visual arts and music communities. This Friday, a year of transmedia collaborations investigating the idea of improvisation will culminate in a display of screen prints and a series of jazz performances. (Sara Cohen)
Joe Hill 100 Years Part 5
Uri-Eichen Gallery, 2101 S. Halsted Ave. Friday, November 13, 6pm–10pm. Free. (312) 852-7717. uri-eichen.com
In honor of the centennial of his execution at the hands of the state of Utah, a variety of artists and musicians will gather to remember Joe Hill: labor organizer, IWW member, folk songwriter, legend. Oft-described as a cross between Guthrie and Steinbeck, Hill continues to inspire radicals a century later. (Christopher Good)
Friday the 13th with Joe Grillo
Hidden Dog, 2151 W. 21st St. Opening Friday, November 13, 6pm–10pm. Through December 18. Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday, 12pm–6pm; Friday, 6pm–8pm; Sunday 3pm–6pm. Free. (845) 652-0709. hiddendog.net
Joe Grillo is a contemporary artist famous for creating meaningful art out of the kitschy, garish materials and visuals found in the 99-cent and thrift stores of his home in Virginia Beach. This show features a collaboration between this master of pop culture alchemy and a group of Hidden Dog curators and frequent contributors. (Sara Cohen)
Following
The Learning Machine, 3145 S. Morgan St. Saturday, November 14, 7pm–9pm. Free. (773) 777-5555. yourefollowing.us
Chicago-based performance artist Luis Mejico and photographer Tyler Lumm ended a year-long relationship when Lumm moved across the country to Los Angeles. “Following” is a multimedia remembrance of all the internet interactions that the relationship left in its wake. The first ten guests will receive “very rare boyfriend moments compiled on USB Flash Drives.” (Lewis Page)
Stage and Screen
After the Revolution
ACRE TV. November 10–30. Free. acretv.org.
Architecture might bring to mind houses and skyscrapers, but it actually belongs as much to collared shirts and commas as it does to buildings—at least according to architect Xavier Wrona. Follow this architectural revolution through his television series After the Revolution, which ACRE TV will stream online, one episode a day. (Jena Yang)
BCH@BING: Kevin Jerome Everson
BING Art Books, 307 E. Garfield Blvd. November 11, 13-14, 17-18. 6pm–7pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. bingartbooks.com
A screening of films at the newly opened BING Art Books inaugurates Black Cinema House’s new monthly series featuring work from the Black Artists Retreat. Three of Kevin Jerome Everson’s films, including 2015’s Regal Unlimited, explore states of transition. From gentrification to black migration to cars, the films will be shown in a week-long series of drop-in screenings. (Clyde Schwab)
Dread Scott: Revolutionary Art, Propelling History Forward
DuSable Museum, 740 E. 56th Pl. Thursday, November 12, 6:30pm-8:30pm. Doors 6pm. $10, $5 for students and members. (773) 947-0600. dusablemuseum.org
Contemporary artist Dread Scott—creator of thought-provoking and often controversial pieces morphing issues of the past, present, and future and their solutions—will present his own works from the past twenty-five years, exploring themes of slavery, racial criminalization, and the linked civil rights and Black Lives Matter movements. (Sara Cohen)
The Mundane Afrofuturist Manifesto
Black Cinema House, 7200 S. Kimbark Ave. Friday, November 13, 7pm-9pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.squarespace.com
Exploring Afrofuturism, the possibility of “blackness” as aesthetic, and the tension between mainstream media and “Black imagination,” LA artist Martine Syms visits Chicago with her new film, The Mundane Afrofuturist Manifesto. Further exploration of the creative processes investigated in the film can ensue in the discussion after the screening, led by Syms. (Clyde Schwab)
Repairing a Nation
eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. Chicago Ave. November 13–January 3. Friday and Saturday, 8pm; Sunday, 3pm. $35, discounts available for seniors and students. (773) 752-3955. etacreativearts.org
In 1921, riots leveled the “Black Wall Street” neighborhood of Greenwood, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of the most successful black communities in America. Nikkole Salter’s play Repairing a Nation uses one family’s complex relationship with the riots as a window into themes of race, reparations, and family. (Christopher Good)
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
University Church, 5655 S. University Ave. November 13–14, 20–21. Fridays, 8pm; Saturdays, 3pm and 8pm. $12 in advance, $15 at door. (773) 363-8142. hydeparkcommunityplayers.org
Enjoy an evening of audience interaction and lighthearted theater as the Hyde Park Community Players perform this Tony Award-winning musical about six bizarre students competing for a spelling bee championship. Come thirty minutes early, and you could be an audience participant in the show. (Ada Alozie)
SS24
Southside Hub of Production, 1448 E. 57th St. Saturday, November 14, 8pm. Free. (773) 726-3127. ss24.org
Is twenty-four hours enough time to put on a show? SS24 thinks so. With only twenty-four hours to write, memorize, and perform several scenes and one-acts, the theatre troupe assures a night of unconventional performances and unpredictable content. (Ada Alozie)
Author Afternoons: Peter Ferry
Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St. Sunday, November 15, 2pm–4pm. Free. (773) 445-3838. beverlyartcenter.org
Tackling themes of aging, grief, fatherhood, love, sacrifice, and forgiveness, Chicagoan Peter Ferry’s second novel, Old Heart, will surely make for an engaging topic for BAC’s monthly local author interview series. Come with questions or comments, or simply stop by for the conversation. (Sara Cohen)
The Exchange
Black Cinema House, 7200 S. Kimbark Ave. Sunday, November 15, 4pm–6pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.squarespace.com.
Five high schoolers from the South Side travel to an art exhibition in Germany in the documentary The Exchange, the feature film debut of Chicago director Cam Be. Performances by The Ones/Add-2, who contributed to the soundtrack, will follow the documentary’s premiere. Waitlist will open thirty minutes before the show. (Jena Yang)
Agamemnon
Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. Through December 6. $38, discounts available for seniors, faculty, and students. (773) 753-4472. courttheatre.org
In the mood for tragedy? Renowned scholar Nicholas Rudall’s world premiere translation of Aeschylus’s Agamemnon brings back Sandra Marquez and Mark Montgomery from last year’s Iphigenia in Aulis as Clytemnestra and Agamemnon for Court’s “groundbreaking” second installment of the Greek Cycle. The gods invite our witness. (Rurik Baumrin)
Music
Kings of the Lobby
Reggies Chicago, 2109 S. State St. Thursday, November 12, 7:30pm. $5. 21+. (312) 949-0120. reggieslive.com
Join Chicago-based saxophonist Christopher Madsen and fellow musicians for a night of “funked-up jazz” in Reggies’ laid-back music joint. Also featuring a performance by The A.V. Club, this show promises a cool groove of fusion beats smoothly orchestrated with a medley of sax, trumpets, drums, and more. (Rachel He)
Joe Budden
The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. Friday, November 13, doors 8pm, show 9pm. $20-$35. 18+. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com
About a decade ago, east coast rapper Joe Budden signed with Def Jam and dropped the smash hit “Pump it Up.” Ten years (and one label falling-out) later, Budden’s hitting a new stride, having just dropped a new album last month, and bringing a killer lineup of buddies—D2G, Captain, and Super Fresh Bros—to the Promontory to celebrate. (Christopher Good)
Eric Roberson
The Shrine, 2109 S. Wabash Ave. Saturday, November 14, doors 8pm, show 9:30pm. $30 general admission. 21+. (312) 753-5700. theshrinechicago.com
With the most soul this side of Motown comes Eric Roberson (aka Erro), a singer and songwriter who is perhaps singlehandedly keeping R&B alive. It’s like someone put D’Angelo and Dwele in a blender, only impossibly smoother. (Christopher Good)
Regina Carter
The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. Sunday, November 15, doors 5pm, show 6pm. $18-$38. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com
This Sunday, virtuoso violinist and MacArthur “genius grant” recipient Regina Carter will bring her fiddle to the Promontory for a melodious evening. Carter’s influences know no bounds, ranging from jazz standards to Appalachian folk songs. The resulting music is a profound journey through blue-collar and black American history. (Christopher Good)
Ernest Dawkins at Logan Center
Logan Center Café, 915 E. 60th St. Tuesday, November 17, 7:30pm. Free. (773) 702-2787. arts.uchicago.edu
Ernest Dawkins, a saxophonist and composer, comes to the Logan Center for its Third Tuesday Jazz Series. Dawkins founded the Englewood Jazz Festival, now in its sixteenth year, and has composed commissioned pieces for organizations throughout the country. (Jonathan Poilpre)
Jeezy
Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. Tuesday, November 17. Doors 8pm, show 9pm. $48 standing room, $58 seats. 21+. (312) 526-3851. thaliahallchicago.com
Atlanta trap juggernaut Jeezy—aka Pastor Young—will be stopping at Thalia Hall to deliver a “one-of-a-kind experience” in support of his upcoming album, Church in These Streets. Street disciples should expect powerful sermons propelled by equally powerful beats. (Christopher Good)