Soleil s To-Dos!

Rising Up: Hale Woodruff’s Murals at Talladega College

21 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Chicago Cultural Center
(4th Floor Exhibit Hall)
78 East Washington Street
Chicago, IL 60602
Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 9am – 7pm

Friday - Saturday, 9 am–6 pm; Sunday, 10 am–6 pm.

To-Do!: "Rising Up: Hale Woodruff's Murals at Talladega College" features six monumentally-scaled murals painted in 1939-42 by African American artist Hale Woodruff. Never before seen outside of Alabama's Talladega College, the murals depict the 1839 mutiny by slaves on the Spanish ship La Amistad and its aftermath. Newly restored to their original, vibrant colors, the murals are accompanied by 30 paintings and prints that document Woodruff's work from the 1920s to the 1940s, making this exhibition a rare opportunity to see this important Harlem Renaissance artist's work in depth.
Soleil's Take: Sounds really cool! I went to Talladega (Alpine, actually) every summer growing up (and still go a few times each year) and went to Talladega High (senior year), but never saw the murals. Kinda crazy to see them for the first time in Chicago, but, see them I will!
Price: Free!
Other Times To-Do It: March 23 - June 16, 2013
More info: www.cityofchicago.org…

Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair

21 May 2013 14:30:00 GMT

Chicago History Museum
1601 North Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois
(312) 642-4600
Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 9:30am – 4:30pm

To-Do!: The Ebony Fashion Fair began in 1958, and over the next 50 years the traveling fashion show blossomed into an American institution that raised millions for charity and helped Johnson Publishing Company reach audiences., Show organizers overcame racial prejudice to bring the pinnacle of Europe’s premier fashion to communities that were eager to see, in real time and space, a new vision of black America that was the hallmark of Ebony and Jet magazines. Eunice Johnson took over as producer and director in 1963, and under her direction, the traveling show took on new heights as she expanded her cachet and power within fashion circles., Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair recreates the experience of the Ebony Fashion Fair through the story of Mrs. Johnson and more than 60 garments from icons of the fashion industry such as Yves St. Laurent, Oscar de la Renta, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, Christian Lacroix, and Patrick Kelly among others.
Price: $14; Seniors, $12; Children under 12, Free!
Other Times To-Do It: Through January 5, 2014
More info: chicagohistory.org…

Chaz Bojórquez - From the Streets to the Cloud

21 May 2013 15:00:00 GMT

National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 W. 19th street
Chicago, IL 60608
Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 10am – 5pm

To-Do!: Our newest exhibition featuring L.A. artist Chaz Bojórquez. Forty years ago, he embraced the “Cholo” graffiti writing of his neighborhood that significantly inspired him to develop a unique style all his own. In 1969, he created his iconic stencil of Señor Suerte, one of the earliest examples of street art in the U.S. Chaz’s artwork and reflections on intellectualized graffiti continue to draw and inspire an international urban identity within today's global community of street artists, writers, and tattooists.
Price: Free!
Other Times To-Do It: November 9, 2012 - June 30, 2013
More info: www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org

They Seek a City: Chicago and the Art of Migration, 1910–1950

21 May 2013 15:30:00 GMT

Art Institute of Chicago
Ryan Education Center, Picture Book Gallery
111 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60603
Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 10:30am – 5pm

Open Thursdays 'til 8pm.

To-Do!: During the first half of the 20th century, the city of Chicago was shaped and reshaped by waves of migration and immigration as African Americans poured in from the South and newcomers arrived from Europe and Mexico. They Seek a City is the first exhibition to focus on the art produced by the wonderfully diverse communities that made Chicago their home. Over 80 works primarily by southern- and foreign-born artists—many rarely seen by the museum’s audiences—come together for this look at the city’s rich art of migration, as Chicago became the polyglot, cosmopolitan place that it remains today., Migration and immigration were typical American experiences during the early 20th century. Over 1.6 million African Americans moved from the rural South to more industrial areas of the North and Midwest in what has become known as the Great Migration. Likewise, hundreds of thousands of European immigrants crossed the ocean, often fleeing political or religious persecution in their homelands, and thousands of Mexicans journeyed north in search of better economic opportunity, a movement that coincided with a tremendous vogue for Mexican culture among U.S. residents., Chicago was an extremely popular destination for these various populations, an unfamiliar setting that offered challenges and excitement. The artists among them responded by mining their personal and cultural contexts for inspiration. They frequently focused on the underlying social causes of migration or immigration, including violence and persecution, and addressed common themes of exile and assimilation. Significantly, many artists from different communities formed relationships, sharing educational, institutional, political, and aesthetic affiliations that crossed ethnic, racial, and social boundaries., Highlighting this diverse yet interwoven artistic production, They Seek a City includes paintings, works on paper, photographs, sculpture, and decorative arts from local cultural institutions and private collectors as well as from the permanent collection of the Art Institute. By examining the art of the city through the lens of migration, the exhibition not only traces Chicago’s rich and dynamic cultural development but also explores some of the most important social and artistic questions of the early 20th century, including the intersecting issues of racial and cultural identity.
Price: $12-23
Ticket Link: Purchase Tickets!
Other Times To-Do It: March 3 – June 2, 2013
More info: www.artic.edu…

L.A. Rebellion: Daughters of the Dust

22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Reva and David Logan Center for Performing Arts
915 E 60th St
Chicago, IL 60637
Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 7 – 9pm

To-Do!: Filmmaker Julie Dash in person, Introduction by Jacqueline Stewart, Daughters of the Dust, Julie Dash, 1991, 35mm, 112 min, new print!, The first American feature directed by an African American woman to receive a general theatrical release, Julie Dash's 1991 masterpiece announced a formidable new talent with its masterful interplay of mise en scène, symbolic markers and magical realist gestures. Set in 1902, the film focuses on an extended family of Gullah, descendants of African captives who escaped the slave trade to live on islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. On the verge of moving the entire family to the American mainland, the many members of the Peazant clan clash over the meaning and implications of this crossing. Named to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2004, Daughters of the Dust eloquently frames questions that have preoccupied many independent filmmakers of Dash's generation: the place of family and tradition in ameliorating historical wrongs, the hope of spiritual escape from a history of trauma, and the elusive possibility of finding deliverance together., Preceded by:, The Diary of an African Nun, (Julie Dash, 1977, digibeta, 15 min), Adapted from a short story by Alice Walker, this early short by Julie Dash anticipates Daughters of the Dust in its intensity, graphic simplicity, and the remarkable, pantomimed performance of star Barbara O. Jones., Preservation funded in part with a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation.
Soleil's Take: View the entire schedule!
Miscellaneous Info: L.A. Rebellion, In the late 1960s, in the aftermath of the Watts Uprising and against the backdrop of the continuing Civil Rights Movement and the escalating Vietnam War, a group of promising African and African American students entered the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Now referred to as L.A. Rebellion, these mostly unheralded artists created a unique cinematic landscape, as—over the course of two decades—students arrived, mentored one another, and passed the torch to the next group. Their fascinating, provocative and visionary films have earned an impressive array of awards and accolades at festivals around the world, in addition to blazing new paths into the commercial market.
Price: Free!
Ticket Link: Reserve Tickets!
Other Times To-Do It: April 25 - June 7, 2013
More info: ticketsweb.uchicago.edu…

Head of Passes

22 May 2013 00:30:00 GMT

Steppenwolf Theatre
1650 N Halsted St.
Chicago, Illinois
(773) 404-7336
Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 7:30 – 9:30pm

3pm Matinee on Saturdays and Sundays. Free post-show discussions are offered after every performance in the Subscription Season.

To-Do!: In anticipation of her birthday, Shelah’s family and friends gather at her home in the Head of Passes—the mysterious shifting marshlands at the mouth of the great Mississippi River. As the guests appear, so do ghosts from the past, and Shelah’s convictions about her life begin to dissolve, along with her home in the Louisiana rain. Ensemble members Tarell Alvin McCraney and Tina Landau team up again for this wise, warm world-premiere drama about faith, family and finding your place in the world.
Price: $20-78
Discounts: 2 for 1 tickets with Discount Code 13644!
Ticket Link: Purchase Tickets!
Other Times To-Do It: April 4 - June 9, 2013
Venue Info: Our parking facility consists of both a covered garage and an open-air lot, located just south of our theater at 1624 N Halsted. Just seeing the show? $10. Staying for dinner after a matinee? $12. Cash only.
More info: bit.ly…