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NewsReview: ‘Two Trains Running’ at Court Theatre is a blast of an August Wilson play, set in the 1960s
In a week where a regional theater just won a Tony Award for decades of excellence, one hopes for serendipity. And that’s precisely what Court Theatre delivers with a blisteringly entertaining new Ron OJ Parson production of August Wilson’s “Two Trains Running” — Wilson’s 1960s play perhaps best known for the defiant, tragicomic line “I want my ham!”
Chicago has some high-profile vacancies for artistic directors. If any of those search committees are looking for a locally committed director who knows how to allow for the full poetic expression of a great American playwright’s ideas while also empowering actors and offering an audience a fast-paced, funny and unstinting night at the theater, Parson is that director. Read more
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NewsCourt Theatre wins Regional Theatre Tony Award
The Tony Awards® Administration Committee has announced that based on the recommendation by the American Theatre Critics Association, Court Theatre will be the recipient of the 2022 Regional Theatre Tony Award.Read more.
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NewsRadio dramatist Arch Oboler, EX’36, shone a light on the horrors of humanity—in fiction and in reality.
Oboler—a fiction writer, radio dramatist, and filmmaker—has largely been forgotten, but from the 1930s through the ’50s he was a household name. A technical innovator, he experimented with novel sound effects and 3D film. And as an entertainer with his finger on the pulse of shifting mores, he depicted the horror he saw in humanity. His platform and message made Oboler one of the earliest, most prominent American voices condemning fascism. Read more
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NewsTalking the Walk: A Profile of Composer Augusta Read Thomas
In an interview, the Pulitzer-finalist composer and University of Chicago professor spoke eloquently about her craft and the myriad decisions that go into creating the vibrant, deeply hued works that have made her one of the most frequently performed living composers in America. Along the way, her speech sometimes morphed seamlessly into song, as she illustrated a thought with melodic volleys of crisp nonsense syllables. Read more
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NewsAs an artist, Theaster Gates has always had an appreciation of history. But his work is very much about what comes next.
Ten years ago, the artist Theaster Gates bought an old bank on Chicago’s South Side that was set to be demolished. The neighborhood near Dorchester Avenue had seen decades of divestment, rising poverty rates, and violence, so Gates struck an agreement to purchase the building from the city for one dollar—on the condition that he raise the funds to rehabilitate it. Read more
Events

Event
Zachary Samalin - "The Masses Are Revolting" - Anna Kornbluh & Nasser Mufti
Monday, May 23, 2022
6:00 PM

Event
Robert Meister - "Justice Is an Option" - Karin Knorr Cetina & Sanjay Seth
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
5:00 PM
Exhibitions

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Bob Thompson: This House Is Mine
Tuesday, February 15, 2022 to Sunday, May 15, 2022

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2022 MFA Thesis Exhibition: Beautiful Snail
Friday, May 6, 2022 - 6:00 PM to Sunday, June 12, 2022 - 9:00 PM
Event
Exhibition: [Re]Framing Graphic Medicine
Monday, May 9, 2022 - 9:00 AM to Friday, July 15, 2022 - 4:45 PM

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Unsettled Ground: Art and Environment from the Smart Museum Collection
Tuesday, March 22, 2022 to Sunday, June 26, 2022

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Exhibition: Joseph Lindon Smith: The Persepolis Paintings
Thursday, January 27, 2022 - 10:00 AM to Sunday, August 28, 2022 - 4:00 PM
News

News
University of Chicago's Rockefeller Chapel is home to world's 2nd largest carillon
ABC News
April 26, 2022

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Theaster Gates’ Chicago art incubator breaks ground, and more
The Architect's Newspaper
May 4, 2022

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The Mesmeric and Complex Beauty of Yeesookyung’s "Translated Vase"
The Chicago Maroon
Apr 27, 2022

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A shooting star of a talent, gone too soon (“Bob Thompson: This House Is Mine”)
The Chicago Reader
Apr 14, 2022

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UC’s Korngold Festival soars with belated U.S. premiere of “Die Kathrin”
Chicago Classical Review
Apr 8, 2022

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More Than a Stage Play, “What to Send Up When It Goes Down” Promotes Healing
ChicagoDefender
Mar 22, 2022
Around Chicago

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‘i said what i said’: Q&A With Multimedia Visual Artist Jewel Ham
The exhibition, organized by Anthony Gallery in collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation, is part of a yearlong partnership to amplify the work of emerging and established contemporary artists like Ham. The show “invited viewers on an emotional journey that contextualizes the need for an unapologetic expression to be part of our reparational demands.”

Around Chicago
Artist Brandon Breaux’s ‘Everyday Black Heroes’ Honors A Modern Hero Each Day
Black artists, activists and educators are recognized this month in the South Side artist's nod to living history at the Stony Island Arts Bank and on Instagram.

Around Chicago
12 immersive art spaces that champion Black creativity
Theaster Gates’s Rebuild Foundation transformed the Stony Island Arts Bank – a defunct 1923 neoclassical bank in Chicago’s South Side – into a hybrid gallery, library and community space for neighbourhood residents to share their heritage.

Around Chicago
How Chicago’s Rebuild Foundation Is Reaching Locals During Covid-19
UChicago Professor Theaster Gates' Rebuild Foundation has set up a food repository intended to meet the needs of its surrounding community.

News
Designer Duro Olowu Sees Chicago Through Art
“[Featured in the exhibition] are artists who made things in isolation, with love and integrity and passion, under so many circumstances. Even if the work is political, dealing with AIDS or oppression or subjugation, you feel the need and the passion of all these artists, the idea of leaving something behind, something meaningful and yet very familiar.”

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Fifth Third to invest $20 million in South and West side opportunity zones
Such private investments are “critical to our mission of transforming our communities,” the mayor said at an event today to announce the Fifth Third funding.

Around Chicago
Where to Find Free Art in Chicago Every Day of the Week
The Smart Museum of Art is free and open to the public every day of the week, writes Urban Matter.

AROUND CHICAGO
The 5 Best Design Destinations for September 2019
September is a big month for Chicago as well. On September 19, the Chicago Architecture Biennial will return for its third edition, with free public exhibitions, full-scale installations, and other programming. Expo Chicago—the city’s most important art fair—will take place concurrently at Navy Pier. Architecture fans should plan to visit the Chicago Architecture Center at its new home in a Mies van der Rohe building overlooking the Chicago River. The CAC is offering discounted joint passes to the Architecture Biennial and Expo Chicago with the option to add one of its acclaimed walking tours. If you go, make time to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House and Unity Temple, which were just designated UNESCO World Heritage sites.