Winter 2021 – Clef Notes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts

Music Winter 2021

LUMINARY: Q&A with Singer/Songwriter Kelly Hunt

February 20, 2021 Fred Cummings Americana, Folk Music

When it comes to the core artistic tenants of the Folk/Americana genre, Kansas City-based singer/songwriter Kelly Hunt is what they call the genuine article. In a musical landscape that is in any given year ripe for reflection and authenticity, Hunt is an artist’s artist who revels in the stuff. And why should that surprise? Her entire ecosystem from an early age has fed a sensitivity to diverse musical voices impacting her trajectory, from her mother who sang professional opera and saxophonist father who marinated in the hottest jazz, all amid the musical ethos of Memphis, Tennessee, no less. It’s almost as if necessity dictated she evolve into a professional musician or something 180 degrees removed from the space. When that evolution did materialize, Hunt harnessed her considerable artistic resources to produce her debut album, Even the Sparrow, a stunning, stripped down acoustic paean to modern Southern roots music and the near-raw, evocative intimacy and immediacy that makes that sound so well beloved.

Theater Winter 2021

Goodman Theatre Teams with Michael Cotey on #Enough to Take on the Scourge of Gun Violence

February 2, 2021 Oscar Peterson Goodman Theatre, Michael Cotey

As one of Chicago’s world-renowned cultural institutions, the Goodman Theatre is committed to the development of a more just and equitable Chicago. Key to this commitment has been the growth of the Goodman’s Educational and Engagement outreach programs. These programs seek to use the art and tools of theater to develop generational learning and understanding of the city’s diverse cultures and voices.

Art Winter 2021

Patterns in History: Bisa Butler Portraits at The Art Institute

January 28, 2021 Isaac Jacobs Art Institute of Chicago, Bisa Butler

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.

Raymond-Rodriguez-Joffrey-Academy-of-Dance

Ballet Dance Winter 2021

Out of the Ashes: A New Role At Joffrey Academy

January 11, 2021 Fred Cummings Abbot Fund, Joffrey Academy of Dance, Joffrey Ballet, Raymond Rodriguez

Queen Elizabeth dubbed 1992 “Annus Horribilis” (horrible year) because of the various tumultuous events that had wreaked havoc within her royal family that year. Annus horribilis might also be an accurate description of the year 2020, when a once-in-a-century global pandemic wrought havoc upon our nation’s economy and social distancing mandates forced the closure of most of the nation’s arts and cultural institutions.