March Artist News
published: Feb. 26, 2025
Work by Cecil McDonald Jr featured in the Lubeznik Center for the Arts exhibition "Ordinary Wonders," on view now through June 15, 2025.
OMER ABBAS SALEM (2022 3Arts/SIF Fund at The Chicago Community Foundation Awardee)
Showing now (and through March 23, 2025), The Cave features Abbas as an ensemble member. “Amidst breaking news of the first Gulf War, tragedy forces a Palestinian-American family to move from Las Vegas to Columbus, Ohio, upending their lives. Jamil struggles to hold himself and his family together as the world becomes unbalanced and terror can no longer be buried behind closed doors.”
DORIAN SYLVAIN (2023 Next Level Awardee)
On view now (and through April 6, 2025), Our Lived Experience, an exhibition curated by Dorian features artwork by Alexy Irving, Carina Vargas-Nunez, Chazarhae Morales Wiliams, Delia West, Delilah D. Salgado, Haerim Lee, Kiah Zellner-Smith, Marlen Aguirre, and Shiree Davis. Displayed at the Logan Center for the Arts, the exhibition weaves together personal narratives and collective stories “that reflect the complexities of identity, heritage, and lived realities.”
MOISES SALAZAR TLATENCHI (2021 Make a Wave Awardee)
On view now (and through April 12, 2025), Moises’ work is featured in Light Preserver at Joy Machine. This exhibition presents nine artists’ “who cultivate and ritualize joy through humor, nostalgia, vibrancy, and excitement for new possibilities. Whether reflecting on childhood fun or invoking art’s ability to rescue us from depression, each artist taps into our shared humanity—not to evade difficult realities but to find meaning and purpose amid chaos.”
CECIL MCDONALD JR. (2010 3Arts Awardee)
On view now (and through June 15, 2025), Cecil and Jessica Labatte’s exhibition Ordinary Wonders details photography’s ability to “illuminate the extraordinary brilliance within the everyday.” On view at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts, the exhibition features “staged pictures made in and around domestic spaces with family, friends, and objects elevate the mundane and develop quiet yet radical gestures of expansion and liberation.”
ARIELLA GRANADOS (2023 Bodies of Work Artist)
On March 3, Ariella presents Art Workshop with Ari Granados: Disabled Utopias in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago Disability Cultural Center. Centering her practice as a multimedia artist whose work uses performance, video, sound, and creative direction, Ariella will lead a workshop asking participants to project themselves into imagined worlds. Auto-captioning and lunch will be provided. The workshop’s venue is the Behavioral Science Building (1007 W. Harrison St, Chicago, Il 60607) in room 231.
NORMAN LONG (2011 3Arts Awardee)
On March 6, Norman plays with Bill Harris as the Long/Harris Duo at Elastic Arts. “Norman W. Long and Hill Harris’ collaboration goes back to 2020, where they recorded the record Anemoi (Amalgam) over the pandemic…Since then, they’ve collaborated on other ad-hoc projects, bills, and recording sessions.”
WINIFRED HAUN (2022 3Arts/Walder Foundation Awardee)
On March 7-9, Winifred Haun & Dancers presents FIRST DRAFT: new works by Chicago dancemakers at Links Hall. FIRST DRAFT exists to “ give Chicago choreographers the opportunity to see and present their latest works in a professionally produced context.” Before the March 9 performance, Winifred offers a Master Class for contemporary dance. The class will last 90-minute and feature a warm-up, floor work, combination, jump sequence across the floor, and more.
NICOLE MITCHELL (2011 3Arts Awardee) and AVREEAYL RA (2023 3Arts/Stan Lipkin & Evelyn Appell Lipkin Awardee)
On March 9, Nicole and Avreeayl play with Brooklynn Skye as the Nicole Mitchell Trio at the Hyde Park Art Center. The trio of Nicole playing the flute and providing vocals, Brooklynn on bass, and Avreeayl on percussion will bring a rich genre-defying performance fusing R&B and jazz to the Center.
JOVIA ARMSTRONG (2011 3Arts/Siragusa Foundation Awardee) and CAITLIN EDWARDS (2021 3Arts/Walder Foundation Awardee)
On March 9, Jovia and Caitlin play in Africlassical Futures: Jovia Armstrong + D-Composed Live Recording Session at Elastic Arts. “Jovia Armstrong will conduct a live recording session with strings, performed by D-Composed, a Black chamber music collective based in Chicago, followed by an art talk.”
FARAH SALEM (2024 3Arts/HMS Fund Awardee)
Opening March 15 (and on view through July 20, 2025), Farah’s work is featured in a solo exhibition titled Farah Salem: Uninhibited People of the Earth at the Hyde Park Art Center. The exhibition centers the idea that we don’t “exist alone, but rather in relationship with plants, rocks, animals, and unseen forces” and includes new and existing works across media. Artworks seek to reveal an “artistic reinterpretation of healing and ceremonial migratory practices of people of the Arabian Peninsula that…repair one’s relationship with oneself, the earth, and other beings.”
TEHRAY PHENOM HALE (2024 Make a Wave Awardee)
On March 15, PHENOM, Sonal Aggarwal, and Dr. Rahula Sharma present Affirming Identity and Finding Voice: Spoken Word & Storytelling Workshop at Elastic Arts. This free, experiential workshop will include activities to help participants find a voice in sharing stories that reflect identity, experiences, and ancestral journeys. No previous experience in storytelling or writing is required as facilitators will aid participants in demystifying the building blocks of creative expression.
KIKI KING (2021 Make a Wave Artist)
From March 27-29, KIKI presents Material Conditions: Two works on autonomy & reproductive justice, a split-bill evening with Julia Barbosa Landois that “mixes movement, storytelling, video, and experimental sound to explore themes of reproductive health and freedom.” KIK will present ABORT, “a multifaceted choreographic work that draws inspiration from realms of club culture and the influential contributions of Black Women in rock music.”
TULI BERA (2021 Make a Wave Awardee), RAHILA NAOMI STADEM COATS (2021 Make a Wave Awardee), and ASHWATY CHENNAT (2020 Make a Wave Awardee)
On March 28, Tulia, Rahila, and Ashwaty present J E L L O: Variants at Elastic Arts. The show brings together four musicians and mover duos for audiences to experience movement and sound unfold in real-time dialogue.
WILL LIVERMAN (2017 3Arts/Stan Lipkin & Evelyn Appell Lipkin Awardee) and JOSEPHINE LEE (2008 3Arts Awardee)
From March 15 (and through April 12, 2025), Will and Josephine are featured artists in the Lyric Opera’s production of La Bohème. The four-act opera written by Giacomo Puccini follows the lives of four struggling artists in 19th-century Paris. Will Liverman shares his vibrant baritone as Marcello and Josephine directs the children’s chorus.