Edra Soto Archives - Chicago Reader

In the background stands Chicago's skyline, in the foreground is a patch of prairie with a red sign that reads: Who found Chicago? and a red fence.

Discover Chicago’s layered history

by Anjulie Rao November 28, 2023November 28, 2023

Early one morning I stood on what might be the last undeveloped piece of land in the Loop’s radius. The site of the forthcoming DuSable Park is, currently, a soil mound bursting with prairie life located where the Chicago River punctures Lake Michigan’s mouth. This, says architect Ryan Gann, who is working with Ross Barney […]

A sculpture sits on a wooden table with a wall outlet behind it. The base is a round black circle, and a golden rod extends up from the base, above which are two layers of acrylic with a gold animal head at the top.

Arts & Culture

The alchemy of everyday happiness

by Annette LePique June 12, 2023June 27, 2023

Do you possess a talisman, a lucky charm? Like the amulets of history and myth, these objects can be the beads you wore, the fragrance you sprayed, the ceramic shard you grasped during moments of triumph and survival: the alchemy of everyday happiness. It’s this shared history that imbues these items with their energy, their […]

A portrait of the artist sitting in a wicker chair. She is wearing a pink shirt and smiling at the camera. In the background is a pink umbrella that matches the color of her shirt.

Arts & Culture

Edra Soto’s Graft project comes to the Hyde Park Art Center

by Ally Fouts March 23, 2023October 16, 2023

“Prolific” understates the artworks artist Edra Soto has contributed to the cultural scene, radiating from Chicago and stretching to New York, California, Brazil, and beyond. Born in Puerto Rico, Soto treats her roots as a blueprint, building expansive bodies of work upon the boundless inspiration she finds within them. Over the course of the previous […]

A line of four dancers leaning on each other to the left. They are in pink and purple tops and wearing light-colored trousers or presenting bare legs. The background is a lacy wall with rectangular cutouts.

Arts & Culture

Tools for new movement

by Irene Hsiao September 15, 2022September 16, 2022

On September 24, Toolbox @ Twenty opens at the Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) to celebrate the Seldoms’ 20th anniversary with an exhibition and performances in a large-scale experiment in collaboration among dancers, visual artists, and the alternative visual arts exhibition space. Curated by the Seldoms’ founding artistic/executive director Carrie Hanson in collaboration with HPAC […]

Arts & Culture

Finding love on Instagram Live

by S. Nicole Lane June 25, 2020August 18, 2021

Media broadcasting network COVIDtv takes on dating.

Arts & Culture

Counting for culture

by Kerry Cardoza May 5, 2020August 18, 2021

How the census impacts arts funding

Music

Eternals front man Damon Locks creates a ‘sound essay’ at the MCA

by J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil November 7, 2017August 18, 2021

Eternals front man Damon Locks creates a “sound essay” at the MCA, Deanna Belos plays a belated release party for her Sincere Engineer project, and more.