Jay Españo brings international perspective as the new AD for PrideArts; plus Leaders for a New Chicago awards and a new fund in honor of the late Malcolm Ewen
Tag: MacArthur Foundation
Posted inMusic
Mary Halvorson recruits singer Robert Wyatt to take her Code Girl project to the next level
You don’t get a MacArthur “genius” grant just for thinking big; you get one because your big ideas work extraordinarily well. Mary Halvorson, who was awarded the grant last year, has earned hers by moving from strength to strength. Ever since she began recording in the mid-2000s, she’s projected a strikingly personal voice on the […]
Posted inMusic
Ken Vandermark convenes a fresh group of old and new collaborators
This autumn marks 30 years since Ken Vandermark moved to Chicago. The reedist plays tenor and baritone saxophones as well as B-flat and bass clarinets, and his staggering output—he’s put out six releases this year alone, one of them a five-disc set—can be divided and analyzed according to any number of metrics, including where he […]
Posted inMusic
Cellist and former Chicagoan Tomeka Reid celebrates the release of her quartet’s second album
Next time you think you’re busy, look at Tomeka Reid’s schedule. Even though the cellist was already committed to touring Europe with Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, she just assumed the position of Darius Milhaud Distinguished Visiting Professor at Mills College in Oakland, California (even though she’s based in […]
Posted inMusic
Rhiannon Giddens honors the African and Arabic influences in American roots music on There Is No Other
Classically trained vocalist and masterful banjo and fiddle player Rhiannon Giddens is celebrated as one of the leading proponents of what’s variously called Americana or roots music. Though her aesthetic has wide appeal, she toughens it with her uncompromising determination to bear witness to the ongoing (and too often neglected) Africanist voice and history in […]
Posted inMusic
The DJs of Windy City Soul Club celebrate ten years of getting asses moving
The DJs of Windy City Soul Club celebrate ten years of getting asses moving, Sunny Woodz throws a release party with a bonkers bill in West Chicago, and more.
Posted inArts & Culture
An ear to the ground at the Third Coast International Audio Festival
A trip to “the Sundance of radio” in the golden age of podcasting
Posted inBlogs
Mayor Rahm’s principal merit pay award goes to his biggest school critic
Troy LaRaviere, one of the mayor’s most outspoken school critics, won three straight mayoral merit pay awards.
Posted inArts & Culture
Why black family violence deserves more attention
It’s a tough subject to write about, but Ta-Nehisi Coates is more than capable.
Posted inBlogs
MacArthur Foundation shifts focus to a few ‘big bets’
The “genius grants” remain, but the foundation is narrowing its focus to a few select causes.
Posted inColumns & Opinion
With the arrival of US Artists, Chicago becomes home to still more ‘genius’ grants
The arts nonprofit, which awards dozens of $50,000 fellowships yearly, joins the MacArthur Foundation in what’s becoming a hub of the ‘prestige economy.’
Posted inBlogs
Coming Tuesday: The first Good Pitch Chicago, a fund-seeking round table for documentary filmmakers
After success in other American cities, a forum that sits documentary filmmakers down with potential backers comes to the Chicago Cultural Center.
Posted inColumns & Opinion
The highs and lows of longtime WBEZ visionary Torey Malatia
The highs and lows of longtime WBEZ visionary Torey Malatia
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best Community Organization
With its assistance, 500 families have saved their homes, and a present campaign aspires to help people reclaim some of the neighborhood’s many vacant properties.
Posted inArts & Culture
Kara Walker’s war
In “Rise Up Ye Mighty Race!,” Kara Walker puts racism in sharp relief.