Hosting a free, virtual holiday market, the 2020 One of a Kind Show will highlight a variety of exceptional artists, artisans and makers and offer more than three weeks of online shopping and programming.
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As one of the world’s leading institutions of higher learning, the University of Chicago is renowned for combining critical research and understanding of the past with free and open inquiry that drives new ways of thinking. The University’s campus reflects this duality with dramatic neogothic structures juxtaposed with provocative modern architecture conceived by some of the most forward-thinking designers in the world. In a new series called Sound Sites, the University of Chicago Department of Music and UChicago Presents will join past and present in music and architecture with performances by the Department’s performance faculty in some of the University’s most notable spaces.
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Anthony Freud, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s general director, president & CEO, has announced the election of Sylvia Neil as chair of Lyric’s Board of Directors, the first woman board chair in Lyric’s history. Neil was elected unanimously during Lyric’s Annual Meeting of members and the Board of Directors’ Annual Meeting in early September, after holding the position of board chair-elect for the last year. In her acceptance speech Neil said, “I am honored to be the first woman chair of Lyric, and am humbled and inspired by Carol Fox and Ardis Krainik, the extraordinary groundbreaking women general directors of our past. These are the folks that light my path forward.”
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Northlight Theatre, under the direction of artistic director BJ Jones and executive director Timothy J. Evans, has announced that it is one of a select group of nonprofit arts organizations participating in a free livestream theatrical event, an adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’ novel “It Can’t Happen Here.” The radio play, produced by Berkeley Rep and featuring David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck), will broadcast live on October 13, 2020 at 7 p.m. via YouTube.
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With the announcement that it is receiving the largest foundation grant in its history, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has recently said the $2.5 million award from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will enable the museum to take continued action in its mission to elevate contemporary art and artists, while accelerating the museum’s commitments to the values of IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, and access), during the challenges presented by the COVID pandemic. The MCA is one of 12 mid-sized cultural institutions across the country awarded funding from the Mellon Foundation’s new Art Museum Futures Fund, based in part on the vital function the museums serve in meeting the needs of their communities and their admirable response during the pandemic.
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Illinois-based Bach Week Festival’s 2020 Bachanalia, its fourth annual fall fundraiser featuring pairings of classical music with wines selected for the occasion by an advanced sommelier, will take place this season as a free, prerecorded online video presentation. The performance will premiere at 3 p.m. (CDT) on Sunday, October 18, via Facebook and YouTube. Links will be posted on the festival’s website, bachweek.org.
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Lookingglass Theatre Company has announced a one-night watch party of Eastland: An Original Musical Watch Party, Thursday, August 20 at 7pm (Central), a free online public fundraiser of the acclaimed production in support of Lookingglass Theatre Company. As the next offering in the Chicago Stories Initiative, Lookingglass invites audiences to revisit a relatively unknown piece of history that unfolded in the heart of the City. After the show, online guests may join creative team members Andrew White and Andre Pluess for a post-show conversation.
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Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) has announced the appointment of Emmanuel Neal as the organization’s new interim managing director as a part of its 2019 strategic plan facilitated by the Arts and Business Council of Chicago’s Business Volunteers for the Arts program.
Neal first joined CHRP’s board of directors in 2019 and has worked with multiple artists and organizations in various capacities, and consulting businesses of all types for the past 10 years.
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Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) have announced the recipients of the 2020 CityArts Program grants. Each year, the CityArts Program encourages Chicago-based arts and culture-focused organizations of all sizes to attain artistic excellence and financial stability by making general operating grants across all artistic disciplines. This year, the program is awarding general operating grants between $2,000 to $30,000 – and special project grants ranging from $2,500 to $56,200 – to 191 nonprofit organizations for a total of $2 million. The project grants are being awarded in alignment with the Year of Chicago Music, now continuing through 2021.
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The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater recently announced that its Board of Trustees has appointed Lori Dimun the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols President and CEO Endowed Chair, effective immediately.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Chairman David Snyder noted, “We are thrilled to have Lori leading the organization during this critical time for the Harris, and for the arts more broadly. We know that her capable leadership, strong relationships in the community, and deep commitment to the Theater’s mission will see us through the challenges of the current moment – and lead us into a bright future.”
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