Author: Isaac Jacobs

Theater

Weinberg/Newton Gallery Presents New Makers Workshop

Isaac Jacobs

The Weinberg/Newton Gallery at 688 N. Milwaukee has announced the gallery’s first-ever experimental makers workshop, initiated and led by Chicago-based movement artist Joseph Lefthand. In a first-time collaboration with Chicago-based artists Isaac Couch and Sarah Whyte, the workshop explores impactful alternatives to institutional violence and navigates sustainable forms of social and political change. Led by Lefthand, who works at the intersection of art and social practice, the three artists consider the relationship between personhood and institutional violence, utilizing elements of performance and design to conceive wearable art that re-imagines the human form as transitory, lucid, ethereal, and disruptive. 

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ArchitectureTechnology

Barbara Kruger Projections Debut on Art on theMART

Isaac Jacobs

In partnership with Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Art on theMART today announced a major new addition to its fall program: a projection by renowned conceptual artist Barbara Kruger. The projection will be shown twice nightly at 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. starting Sept. 17 and continuing through Nov. 25. The new work’s debut coincides with the Art Institute of Chicago’s presentation of Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., an in-depth look at four decades of Kruger’s practice, the largest and most comprehensive presentation of Kruger’s work in twenty years.

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Art

21c Museum Hotel Chicago Announces Lineup for “Curator Conversations”

Isaac Jacobs

21c Museum Hotel Chicago today announced the lineup for the first in-person edition of “Curator Conversations,” a free monthly discussion series. Taking place on Tuesday, July 20 at 6 p.m., in the hotel’s Main Gallery, the event will feature Chicago-based artist Emma McKee in conversation with Adia Sykes, 21c Museum Hotel Chicago Museum Manager. “Curator Conversations” brings together Chicago-based curators and artists for in-depth discussions to highlight Chicago’s rich arts community. 

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ArtMuseumsSpring 2021

Immersive Van Gogh on view at Lighthouse ArtSpace through November 18, 2021

Isaac Jacobs

Have you ever wanted a bird’s-eye-view into the minds of the great masters of art or music?  Ever tried picturing how a Mozart or Picasso envisioned the world around them? It’s an intriguing thought. The Immersive Van Gogh exhibition on view through November in Chicago’s Old Town just may give you such insight into the mind of Dutch post-impressionistic painter Vincent Van Gogh. One of the most influential and iconic artists of the modern era, Van Gogh’s tragic life preceded what would emerge as nearly unprecedented fame and influence in the world of art. 

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ArtWinter 2021

Patterns in History: Bisa Butler Portraits at The Art Institute

Isaac Jacobs , 

Creating a historical narrative can easily become an artform all its own. Weaving a cultural narrative with the potent messages worthy of conveyance from one generation to the next is no light pursuit. Transform that narrative from written language to a visual tapestry, and you bring real depth to history and culture merging into the realm of artistry. This winter, The Art Institute of Chicago will present a new exhibition that showcases the kind of artistry that makes history come alive. Bisa Butler: Portraits, on view at the museum through April 19, 2021 showcases 22 quilts in four galleries and engages viewers with poignant themes of family, community, migration and the promise of youth, artistic and intellectual legacies. Meticulously stitched with vivid fabrics that emerge in painterly portraits, Bisa Butler’s quilts convey rich, one-of-a-kind, multidimensional narratives of Black life.

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Goodman-Theatre
Theater

Goodman Theatre to Present Debut “Future Labs” Reading, Layalina by Martin Yousif Zebari

Isaac Jacobs

ayalina by Martin Yousif Zebari, the first play of Goodman Theatre’s Future Labs, makes its virtual debut, launching the theater’s newest effort to develop new plays. Directed by Azar Kazemi, Layalina examines how families maintain their love in the midst of turbulent global and social change. Future Labs develops works authored and directed by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI and other artists of color, curated by Quenna L. Barrett (Associate Director of Education and Engagement), Jonathan L. Green (Literary and New Works Manager) and Ken-Matt Martin (Associate Producer) and a Goodman Staff Evaluation Team composed of individuals of intersectional identities and in areas across the theater. The live virtual reading of Layalina streams on January 30.

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The-Long-Dream
ArtAutumn 2020

Surreality: Preview of “The Long Dream” at MCA

Isaac Jacobs ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Equal parts farce and harsh reality, the year 2020 has been something of a surreal moment for most of us. Few, if any, can boast of lives untouched by the events that have thrown our nation, nee world, into flux these past eight or night months. On our hands, we’ve got a worldwide pandemic which has amassed millions of victims worldwide and killed more than 200,000 (and still counting) in the U.S. alone; public unrest has mounted quickly over what is seen as unjust, state-absolved killings of unarmed African-Americans at the hands of police; shutdowns from coast to coast that have upended any sense of normalcy for most households; pulsing upticks in white-nationalism have taken place in the public square; and on top of all of that, we’ve got a contentious presidential election on our hands.

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Christ-Driving-The-Money-Changers
ArtSummer 2020

Finding El Greco

Isaac Jacobs

There’s something quite fascinating about a historical figure whose life’s work has transcended generations. When that figure is someone who’s motivations and movements were shrouded in mystery, their work bears even more scrutiny. Their works take on even more meaning. A new exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago seeks to unveil the mystery behind one such master by examining the works he left behind.

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Barrens-Topminnow
MuseumsSummer 2020

Shedd Aquarium Boards New Guests in Support of Conservation Efforts

Isaac Jacobs

Even though it may be closed to visitors, the Shedd Aquarium has invited new guests to the institution in an effort to further its important conservation efforts this spring. Joining with Tennessee Aquarium earlier this year, Shedd launched a new effort to safeguard the endangered Barrens Topminnow (Fundulus julisia) from extinction. Welcoming six individual fish from the species, Shedd began a head-start program for the fish, listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in October 2019. In the short time since its launch, the effort has already marked an important milestone.

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