Museums – Page 5 – Clef Notes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts

Chicago Set to Experience FRIDA: IMMERSIVE DREAM

December 3, 2021 Isaac Jacobs FRIDA, Lighthouse Immersive

Lighthouse Immersive, North America’s leading producer of ground-breaking experiential art exhibits, and Maestro Immersive Art announce their newest immersive art installation, FRIDA: IMMERSIVE DREAM. On the heels of their critically acclaimed show, Immersive Van Gogh (now on-view in 15 cities), Lighthouse Immersive and Maestro Immersive Art have set their sights on the art and life of Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), the beloved 20th century Mexican artist best known for compelling self-portraits and radiant pieces inspired by her life in her native country of Mexico. The exhibition features some of the artist’s best-known works “brought to life” by the world-renowned master of digital art, Italy’s Massimiliano Siccardi, again accompanied by composer Luca Longobardi’s resonant score. Vittorio Guidotti is the show’s Art Director. A brilliant, bold and uncompromising painter, Kahlo’s work is globally recognized for its raw emotional vitality, vibrant color work and unflinching intimacy.

Dream-Exhibition-at-Hyde-Park-Art-Center

Art Museums

Hyde Park Art Center Presents Biennial Exhibition, “Dream”

October 8, 2021 Oscar Peterson Hyde Park Art Center

Chicago’s Hyde Park Art Center has announced Dream, an exhibition of new works culminating the Art Center’s biennial Center Program, a professional development program for the elevation of emerging and mid-career artists, now in its 10th year. Guest-curated by Asha Iman Veal, this exhibition will occupy the entire first floor galleries from December 12, 2021 – March 20, 2022, featuring works by twenty artists from Center Program’s 2020-21 cohort.

Art Autumn 2021 Museums

Marvel Up Close and Personal

October 1, 2021 Patrick Curran Museum of Science and Industry

Growing up, my friends and I all had our favorite, go-to Marvel Comic superheroes. The number of which is a long and varied. Spanning over 80 years, with iconic heroes like Captain America, Spider-Man, The Thor and Black Panther and larger-than-life villains like Doctor Doom, Magneo and Thanos, the library of super-personas emanating from the Marvel universe has always offered great fodder for escape, creating written storylines that have gone one to become part of American culture. Today more than ever, that is true, with the library branching out into the cinematic universe. Marvel has become more than just a niche escape for fans of comic fantasy seemingly influencing everything from commerce to culture. It’s contemporary popularity notwithstanding, Marvel Comics and characters have actually been influencing popular American culture, in some form, for over the last 80 years. A new exhibition at The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) entitled Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes and its curator, Ben Saunders, hope to enlighten visitors about Marvel’s true influence while bringing to life the legendary characters we’ve all come to know.

Museums

Newberry Library Exhibit Pushes Boundary Breaking Women to the Forefront

August 20, 2021 Isaac Jacobs Gertrude Abercrombie, Gwendolyn Brooks, Katherine Dunham, Katherine Kuh, Newberry Library, Ruth Page

A new exhibition from the Newberry Library puts the spotlight on Chicago as a site of historic, boundary-pushing experimentation in art, literature, and dance. At the center of the exhibition are five women whose lives and careers embodied a uniquely Chicago style of avant-garde creativity in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s: Artist Gertrude Abercrombie, poet Gwendolyn Brooks, dancers Katherine Dunham and Ruth Page, and curator Katharine Kuh.

Art Museums

Frida Kahlo: Timeless, Debuts at the College of DuPage

July 18, 2021 Isaac Jacobs

On Friday, June 25, the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage began offering virtual tours of Frida Kahlo: Timeless, a one-of-a-kind, multifaceted exhibition of original artwork by iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Art Museums Spring 2021

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

June 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.

Museums

Chicago History Museum to Reopen on City’s Birthday, March 4

January 28, 2021 David Henley

The Chicago History Museum recently announced it would welcome visitors back this spring. To ensure our guests and staff return

Museums

Shedd Aquarium Plans to Safely Reopen to the Public on January 27

January 23, 2021 Patrick Curran COVID-19, Shedd Aquarium

Following the announcement from Governor Pritzker on January 18 concerning Chicago’s shift to Tier 2 COVID-19 mitigation standards, Shedd Aquarium announced that it is prepared to safely reopen to its members on Wednesday, January 27. Members will enjoy three full days of exclusive access before the aquarium reopens to the general public on Saturday, January 30.

Museums

Museum of Contemporary Art Awarded $2.5M from The Andrew Mellon Foundation

September 27, 2020 Vickie Moore Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, The Andrew Mellon Foundation

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.

Museums Summer 2020

Shedd Aquarium Boards New Guests in Support of Conservation Efforts

June 1, 2020 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.