Posted inAgenda

Calligraphy, puppets, and protest

Whether you’re a calligraphy explorer or a hand-lettering veteran, check out the Newberry (60 W. Walton) today. They’ll be joined by the Chicago Calligraphy Collective for a Calligraphy Fair. From 10 AM-noon, they’ll have a breadth of demonstrations and hands-on how to’s that cover everything from gothic lettering and creative caps to arabic calligraphy and […]

Posted inAgenda

World AIDS Day screenings, the Buttcracker, and more

Last week, the annual winter flower shows opened at the city’s conservatories in Garfield Park and Lincoln Park. This year, the theme at Garfield Park Conservatory (300 N. Central Park) is “Snow Day,” which they’re channeling with a 12 feet tall “tree” created with white poinsettias, as well as oversized snowmen hidden throughout the conservatory’s […]

Posted inAgenda

Black Arts Movement School, Looking for Jean-Luc, and more

It’s the final week to catch the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s “SAIC Faculty Sabbatical Triennial” exhibition, which features work produced by 38 faculty members who completed a sabbatical or a similar paid leave during the last three academic years. Not only does this show represent the breadth of ideas and creative practices […]

Posted inArt Feature

Jessica Labatte finds beauty in the detritus of everyday life

Being a parent requires attentiveness, and when you can muster it, patience. In many ways, parenting small children is not unlike being an artist; both necessitate curiosity, mindfulness, and a certain amount of nimbleness. The works in Jessica Labatte’s solo exhibition at Western Exhibitions, “Knee-deep in the cosmic overwhelm,” form a web of connections between […]

Posted inAgenda

Healing with art, Sex Demon, Studs & Spikes, and more

When we think about holistic healing, what are the tools that people have available to change their selves and, by proxy, their communities? Tonight, the youth and community equity organization Chicago Beyond hosts two Chicago artists, Fantasía “Fanni” Ariel and Eddie “EDO” Santana White, in a panel discussion about the power of healing through the […]

Posted inArt Review

Patching things up

For International Repair Day on Saturday, October 15, artist and environmental activist Jenny Kendler, 42, hosted “Before and After: Mending a Life” along with artists Catherine Schwalbe and Katie Vota. “Before and After: Mending a Life,” a social practice project initiated by Schwalbe in 2021, was hosted by Kendler next to Mending Wall, Kendler’s interactive installation […]

Posted inCity Life

Continuing education

It’s never too late to learn a new skill, or polish an old one. Chicago has many organizations that offer adult education classes and workshops designed to teach students new concepts, technical skills, or even new dance moves. Taking a class is a good way to set an ongoing friend date if you’re someone who […]

Posted inArt Feature

A new home, a new energy

When I first set out to profile gallerist and art dealer Mariane Ibrahim, she didn’t exactly decline, but she didn’t immediately say yes, either.  After being heavily profiled over the past couple of years—both for her curatorial style as well as her unconventional path to Chicago’s gallery scene via Seattle—the gallery’s focus was understandably on […]