Blog Archives

Chicago Calling at Molly Malone's

9/30/2014

Monday, October 13 (7 p.m.)

Molly Malone's Irish Pub
7652 Madison Street
Forest Park, IL

"Chicago Calling at Molly Malone's" happens during the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival. Chicago Calling is a multi-arts collaboration festival in which artists in Chicago work with artists outside of Chicago, both in the U.S. and abroad. These collaborations include a range of art forms, such as music, dance, film, literature, and intermedia, and they are prepared or improvised. Some Chicago Calling events involve live feeds between Chicago and other locations.

Links:

Talking with Extinct & Endangered Species

9/26/2014

Monday, October 6th

(6:00-7:00, 7:15-8:30 p.m.)

Mozart Park Fieldhouse
2036 N. Avers Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647

all ages, free & open to the public

You're invited to come to an arts workshop at Mozart Park, which also happens during the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival. During this workshop we will:

Learn more about Project Passenger Pigeon. The passenger pigeon went extinct 100 years ago, and throughout 2014 a number of initiatives and events have been happening that commemorate this occasion.
Talk about several Chicago-based individuals who have been leaders in the areas of nature conservation and ecology -- such as Joy Bergelson, Steve Sullivan, Suzanne Malec-McKenna, and Joel Greenberg.
Write poetry and fiction, and create visual art inspired by extinct and endangered species.

These arts workshops are free and open to the public, and all ages welcomed. Participants are invited to bring writing utensils and paper, although supplies will be provided if needed. Sometimes we play music and explore other art forms, so if you have a musical instrument that you'd like to bring, or if you have art supplies (e.g. colored pencils, pastels, etc.) you can bring those. We often use an upright piano during workshops as well.

Location: Mozart Park is in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. It's on the north side of Armitage Ave. -- several blocks east of Pulaski Rd., just south of Dickens and Shakespeare Streets. Our workshop series happens in the room to the left of fieldhouse lobby; some workshop sessions may happen outside in the park, weather permitting.

Transportation & parking: Mozart Park can be reached by public transportation (such as the #73 Armitage Ave. bus, and not far from the Logan Square and Western Ave. stations on the CTA's blue line. Mozart Park has a parking lot on Armitage, east of Avers.

Registering for Chicago Heroes & Arts Journeys: You can register for this workshop series at the Chicago Park District website.

Additional info: You can contact us by clicking here (if you have questions about this workshop or to RSVP). Click here to find out more about the Chicago Heroes & Arts Journeys workshop series.

Links:

Artist Maya Lin's Sound Ring immerses listeners in a world of endangered species" by David Leveille (PRI's The World, 6/12/2014)

Chicago Calling at SRBCC

9/25/2014

Sunday, October 5 (6:30 p.m.)

Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center
4046 W. Armitage Ave.
Chicago, IL 60639

$7 suggested donation, $5 for students

Performers: Kimberly Sutton (cello), Joe Vajarsky (tenor saxophone), Deirdre Harrison (vocals), William Jason Raynovich (cello), Adam Zanolini (saxophones and flute), Ed Herrmann (percussion and invented instruments), Will Soderberg (electronics), Dan Godston (cornet), Przemyslaw Bosak (instruments), Shanna Sordahl (cello, laptop), Spencer Hutchinson (alto saxophone), Lou Ciccotelli (drums), and Robert Lopez (percussion). With Adam Mokan (technical assistance).

Program:

Potluck dinner -- bring something yummy to share or just come to enjoy the bounty!
Performance of "Music for 1,2, or 3 People" by Christian Wolff
Gift Circle facilitated by Lara Oppenheimer
Articular Facet performance:"Parallelograms" by Marina Rosenfeld; and a sonic homage to the Wilderness Act at 50 -- "Hat Creek Chorus" by Ed Herrmann, "Bees and Trains" by Will Soderberg, and a score from the "Helix Aspersa Series" by Eric Glick Rieman

Chicago Calling at SRBCC occurs during the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival. Chicago Calling is a multi-arts collaboration festival; during the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival people in Chicago work with people outside of Chicago -- both here in the U.S. and abroad. These collaborations include a range of art forms, such as music, dance, film, literature, and intermedia -- and they are prepared or improvised. Some Chicago Calling events involve live feeds between Chicago and other locations.

The Chicago Calling Arts Festival is part of the 19th Annual Chicago Artists Month, which highlights the work of hundreds of artists throughout Chicago with performances, exhibitions, open studios, tours and neighborhood art walks. September 27 – October 31, 2014, Chicago Artists Month (CAM) will invite residents and visitors to meet artists and see their work at venues across Chicago. The 2014 theme, “Crossing Borders,” showcases 20 featured programs and artists in neighborhoods ranging from Avondale to Andersonville, Lakeview to Little Village, West Town to Wicker Park and Lawndale to the Loop.

CAM is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in collaboration with the Chicago Park District and numerous community partners.

Links:

Myth/Science Dubcology at the Experimental Sound Studio

9/24/2014

Saturday, October 11 (8 p.m.)

Experimental Sound Studio
5925 N. Ravenswood Ave.
Chicago, IL 60660

$10 donation

You are invited to attend Myth/Science Dubcology, an electro-acoustic improvised performance event that features Norman W. Long (field recordings, samples, electronics), Angel Elmore (piano, clarinet), Avreeayl Ra (percussion), and Dan Godston (trumpet, small instruments). Curated by Norman W. Long.

Myth/Science Dubcology is a tribute to Sun Ra on the centenary of his birth, as well as Washington Park, reflecting on the creative and cultural space that Sun Ra and the park creates. Myth/Science Dubcology follows Norman’s practice of gardening, collecting and creating as a way to connect people to history, space, ecology and community. This practice fulfills a need for us to understand our ecology, history and sense of place through sound. Through this understanding we can improve our communities. Norman will be improvising and processing my recordings live with Dan Godston and Angel Elmore. This performance will be in the spirit of creativity in using sound and space as Sun Ra and the park’s designer Frederic Law Olmsted had in composing and designing. It is also important to note that he will be working with the Creative Audio Archive and their archive of Sun Ra recordings.

Concert attendees are invited to come early and check out Untitled (expeditions) by Alice Hargrove in ESS's Audible Gallery. Untitled (expectations) is a series of images exploring moments on the periphery of the chaos of daily life. The work brings to the fore images of memories or reflections on the passage of time, and wanderings of not only place but mind. The photographs are an amalgam of moods, colors, and emotions—images steeped in the tones of memory, loss, and a visceral sublime. Hargrave injects the work with subjectivity through the liberal manipulation of color and color processes, investigating how fugitive photographic substrates literally color memory. Curated by Sandra Binion.

Myth/Science Dubcology happens during the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival. Chicago Calling is a multi-arts collaboration festival; during the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival people in Chicago work with people outside of Chicago -- both here in the U.S. and abroad. These collaborations include a range of art forms, such as music, dance, film, literature, and intermedia -- and they are prepared or improvised. Some Chicago Calling events involve live feeds between Chicago and other locations.

The Chicago Calling Arts Festival is part of the 19th Annual Chicago Artists Month, which highlights the work of hundreds of artists throughout Chicago with performances, exhibitions, open studios, tours and neighborhood art walks. September 27 – October 31, 2014, Chicago Artists Month (CAM) will invite residents and visitors to meet artists and see their work at venues across Chicago. The 2014 theme, “Crossing Borders,” showcases 20 featured programs and artists in neighborhoods ranging from Avondale to Andersonville, Lakeview to Little Village, West Town to Wicker Park and Lawndale to the Loop.

CAM is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in collaboration with the Chicago Park District and numerous community partners.

Links:

Our Next Workshop: Oscar Brown Jr., Abbey Lincoln & Maggie Brown

9/21/2014

Monday, September 22nd
(6:00-7:00, 7:15-8:30 p.m.)

Mozart Park Fieldhouse
2036 N. Avers Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647

all ages, free & open to the public

You're invited to come to our next arts workshop at Mozart Park, which focuses on the work and legacies of Oscar Brown Jr., Abbey Lincoln and Maggie Brown. We will:

Learn more about those artists' work, and listen to several songs that they recorded and/or composed.
Talk about how songs composed, recorded and performed by those three artists relate to Civil Rights dynamics of the 1950s till today.
Write poetry and create music inspired by the work of Oscar Brown Jr., Abbey Lincoln and Maggie Brown.

These arts workshops are free and open to the public, and all ages welcomed. Participants are invited to bring writing utensils and paper, although supplies will be provided if needed. Sometimes we play music and explore other art forms, so if you have a musical instrument that you'd like to bring, or if you have art supplies (e.g. colored pencils, pastels, etc.) you can bring those. We often use an upright piano during workshops as well.

Location: Mozart Park is in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. It's on the north side of Armitage Ave. -- several blocks east of Pulaski Rd., just south of Dickens and Shakespeare Streets. Our workshop series happens in the room to the left of fieldhouse lobby; some workshop sessions may happen outside in the park, weather permitting.

Transportation & parking: Mozart Park can be reached by public transportation (such as the #73 Armitage Ave. bus, and not far from the Logan Square and Western Ave. stations on the CTA's blue line. Mozart Park has a parking lot on Armitage, east of Avers.

Registering for Chicago Heroes & Arts Journeys: You can register for this workshop series at the Chicago Park District website.

Additional info: You can contact us by clicking here (if you have questions about this workshop or to RSVP). Click here to find out more about the Chicago Heroes & Arts Journeys workshop series.

Links:

Gift Circles

9/17/2014

Lara Oppenheimer is facilitating a gift circle at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center on Sunday, October 5 -- during the 2014 Chicago Calling Arts Festival.

Here is some information about gift circles and the gift economy that Lara Oppenheimer has provided:

Gift economy is the original economy, the family economy, the tribal economy - where you ask for what you need and offer what you have. Barter and money are for outside the tribe. Lots more about gift economy in Lewis Hyde's book The Gift.

Gift economy is the human economic equivalent of the mycelial network that connects trees and other plants in an ecosystem, moving resources from areas of abundance to areas of need. See Mother Tree video.

A gift circle is a very simple form of gift economy, developed by Alpha Lo (featured in the Fairfax gift circle video below)

What happens at a gift circle?

We meet, mingle and eat. Then we form a circle and people take turns expressing a need. All kinds of things have been asked for: bodywork, milkcrates for organizing, help healing a broken heart, garden help, career counseling, new recipes, etc. The need is spoken with no expectation of it being fulfilled. People in the circle respond if they feel it.

Then people go around again and offer a gift, something they would like to share with no expectation of it being accepted. A wide range of things have been offered: a bag of pears, an Indian dinner delivered to your door, instruction on how to make the perfect pie crust, conversation in Arabic, French, Italian & Spanish, research help (from a librarian), help writing a simple will (from a lawyer), etc, etc.

Afterwards, people check in with those who responded to the gifts/needs/wishes and schedule them! (Bring your calendars/planners/phones!

Short videos of some gift circles on the West Coast:

"It takes a village" by the gift circle in Fairfax, CA
"What's a gift circle? A peek into the Oakland gift circle"

Lara Oppenheimer learned about gift circles at the 2010 Social Forum in Detroit. She brought the idea back to Chicago starting a gift circle series in homes and galleries as well as a 10 month series at the former Mess Hall. In her partnership with the Chicago Time Exchange and her recent LinkUP residency at Links Hall, she explored how the exchange of needs and gifts fits into art making and creative community, developing a performance piece about the shame and power of need and paying all collaborators with time credits. Currently she is working in eco-restoration to experience a healthy human place in nature's economies and gather inspiration for art, events and exchanges.

Links:

Red Rover Series Experiment #79: Ferguson Goddam

9/16/2014

A Special Event with 100 Thousand Poets for Change

Saturday, September 27 (7-9 p.m.)

OuterSpace Studios
1474 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60642

$4 suggested donation

"Ferguson Goddam" is part of the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival and Chicago Artists Month. Chicago Calling is a multi-arts collaboration festival; during Chicago Calling 2014 people in Chicago work with people outside of Chicago -- both here in the U.S. and abroad. These collaborations include a range of art forms, such as music, dance, film, literature, and intermedia -- and they are prepared or improvised. Some Chicago Calling events involve live feeds between Chicago and other locations.

On September 27, 2014, many poets around the world will make their voices heard. To declare the change they'd like to see most in the U.S. and throughout the international community, events are being staged worldwide as part of 100 Thousand Poets for Change. This will be the fourth year of events originally conceived by poet and Big Bridge editor Michael Rothenberg.

In Chicago, Red Rover Series has asked 25 local poets to participate in a satellite event for 100 Thousand Poets for Change on Saturday, September 27th from 7-9pm at Outer Space Studio in the Wicker Park neighborhood. Our theme is "Ferguson Goddam." Inspired by Nina Simone's song "Mississippi Goddam," this night of poetry and activism will address the recent shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

All proceeds from the event will go to assist the family of Michael Brown: "The fund, established by the parents of Michael Brown, will assist the family with legal, burial and travel costs as they investigate their son's killing."

FEATURING: The Next Objectivists, Aricka Foreman, Jay Besemer, Laura Goldstein, Fernando Olszanski, Ladan Osman, Cean Gamalinda, Jennifer Karmin, Adam Gottlieb, Toni Asante Lightfoot, Kevin Gunnerson, Kenyatta Rogers, David Moran, Timothy David Rey, Lew Rosenbaum, Dan Godston and Keith Wilson.

The 19th Annual Chicago Artists Month highlights the work of hundreds of artists throughout Chicago with performances, exhibitions, open studios, tours and neighborhood art walks. September 27 – October 31, 2014, Chicago Artists Month (CAM) will invite residents and visitors to meet artists and see their work at venues across Chicago. The 2014 theme, “Crossing Borders,” showcases 20 featured programs and artists in neighborhoods ranging from Avondale to Andersonville, Lakeview to Little Village, West Town to Wicker Park and Lawndale to the Loop.

CAM is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in collaboration with the Chicago Park District and numerous community partners.

Links:

Chicago Calling on WZRD

9/15/2014

Friday, October 3 (10 p.m.-midnight)

WZRD Chicago (88.3 FM)
and streaming at wzrdchicago.org

You are invited to listen to WZRD on the evening of October 3rd, when --

We talk about upcoming Chicago Calling 2014 programs;
We talk with Della Watson (Bay Area Correspondence School), Eric Glick Rieman, and Gary Heidt (Van Reipen Collective) about their recent work; and
William Jason Raynovich (cello), Deirdre Harrison (vocals), Adam Zanolini (saxophones, flute), Angel Elmore (clarinet), Will Soderberg (electronics), Ed Herrmann (skatch box), Dan Godston (trumpet) and Przemyslaw Bosak (instruments) perform in-studio. Including scores by Christian Wolff and Ed Herrmann.

"Chicago Calling at WZRD" happens during the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival. Chicago Calling is a multi-arts collaboration festival; during the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival people in Chicago work with people outside of Chicago -- both here in the U.S. and abroad. These collaborations include a range of art forms, such as music, dance, film, literature, and intermedia -- and they are prepared or improvised. Some Chicago Calling events involve live feeds between Chicago and other locations.

The Chicago Calling Arts Festival is part of the 19th Annual Chicago Artists Month, which highlights the work of hundreds of artists throughout Chicago with performances, exhibitions, open studios, tours and neighborhood art walks. September 27 – October 31, 2014, Chicago Artists Month (CAM) will invite residents and visitors to meet artists and see their work at venues across Chicago. The 2014 theme, “Crossing Borders,” showcases 20 featured programs and artists in neighborhoods ranging from Avondale to Andersonville, Lakeview to Little Village, West Town to Wicker Park and Lawndale to the Loop.

CAM is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in collaboration with the Chicago Park District and numerous community partners.

Links:

Our Next Arts Workshop: W.W. Denslow & Edward Gorey

9/14/2014

Monday, September 15th
(6:00-7:00, 7:15-8:30 p.m.)

Mozart Park Fieldhouse
2036 N. Avers Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647

all ages, free & open to the public

You're invited to come to our next "Chicago Heroes & Arts Journeys" workshop about two great artists -- W.W. Denslow and Edward Gorey. During the workshop we will:

Learn more about W.W. Denslow's life and work -- including his the children's books that he illustrated, his collaborations with L. Frank Baum, and his work in the Fine Arts Building.
Talk about Edward Gorey's work and legacy -- including his formative years growing up in Chicago, the books that he wrote and illustrated, and several artists whom he has influenced.
Create visual art inspired by Denslow and Gorey's artworks.

These arts workshops are free and open to the public, and all ages welcomed. Participants are invited to bring writing utensils and paper, although supplies will be provided if needed. Sometimes we play music and explore other art forms, so if you have a musical instrument that you'd like to bring, or if you have art supplies (e.g. colored pencils, pastels, etc.) you can bring those. We often use an upright piano during workshops as well.

Location: Mozart Park is in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. It's on the north side of Armitage Ave. -- several blocks east of Pulaski Rd., just south of Dickens and Shakespeare Streets. Our workshop series happens in the room to the left of fieldhouse lobby; some workshop sessions may happen outside in the park, weather permitting.

Transportation & parking: Mozart Park can be reached by public transportation (such as the #73 Armitage Ave. bus, and not far from the Logan Square and Western Ave. stations on the CTA's blue line. Mozart Park has a parking lot on Armitage, east of Avers.

Registering for Chicago Heroes & Arts Journeys: You can register for this workshop series at the Chicago Park District website.

Additional info: You can contact us by clicking here (if you have questions about this workshop or to RSVP). Click here to find out more about the Chicago Heroes & Arts Journeys workshop series.

Links:

Our Arts Workshop on September 29th: Marc Smith and the Poetry Slam

9/10/2014

Monday, September 29th (6:00-7:00, 3:15-7:30 p.m.)

Mozart Park Fieldhouse
2036 N. Avers Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647

all ages, free & open to the public

Sometimes one person can make a worldwide difference – one of those people is Marc Kelly Smith, the Slampapi of Slam Poetry. Charlie Newman and Wayne Allen Jones will lead our next “Chicago Heroes & Arts Journeys” workshop about Marc Smith, the origin of the Slam, and its growth into an international community around the world.

During the workshop we will:

Learn more about Marc Smith's ideas about and work in poetry.
Find out more about what a Poetry Slam and a Slam Poem are.
Review the development of Poetry Slams from its origin in Chicago to the present.
Write and perform slam poems in a Poetry Slam.

These arts workshops are free and open to the public, and all ages welcomed. Participants are invited to bring writing utensils and paper, although supplies will be provided if needed. Sometimes we play music and explore other art forms, so if you have a musical instrument that you'd like to bring, or if you have art supplies (e.g. colored pencils, pastels, etc.) you can bring those. We often use an upright piano during workshops as well.

Location: Mozart Park is in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. It's on the north side of Armitage Ave. -- several blocks east of Pulaski Rd., just south of Dickens and Shakespeare Streets. Our workshop series happens in the room to the left of fieldhouse lobby; some workshop sessions may happen outside in the park, weather permitting.

Transportation & parking: Mozart Park can be reached by public transportation (such as the #73 Armitage Ave. bus, and not far from the Logan Square and Western Ave. stations on the CTA's blue line. Mozart Park has a parking lot on Armitage, east of Avers.

Registering for Chicago Heroes & Arts Journeys: You can register for this workshop series at the Chicago Park District website.

Additional info: You can contact us by clicking here (if you have questions about this workshop or to RSVP). Click here to find out more about the Chicago Heroes & Arts Journeys workshop series.

Links: