July Artist Events
published: June 24, 2019NEWS:
- Sophia Nahli Allison’s (2014 3Arts/Southwest Airlines Awardee) short film A Love Song for Natasha was awarded an honorable mention by the 2019 American Film Institute DOCS Awards.
- Brandy Berry Benson (2014 3Arts/Gertrude E. Grisham Awardee) released two albums by her group, the Bach + Beethoven Experience.
- William Estrada (2016 3Arts Community Awardee) was selected as a Leadership Fellow at the National Association of Latino Arts & Culture, which includes a weeklong professional development intensive in San Antonio this month.
- Leida "LadySol" Garcia (2018 3Arts/RH, Restoration Hardware Awardee) was recently interviewed on the Teaching Artistry with Courtney J. Boddie podcast.
- Tekki Lomnicki (2008 3Arts Awardee) and Cauleen Smith (2013 3Arts/Lydia Yun Lee & Lisa Yun Lee Awardee) received individual project grants from the MAP Fund.
- Aram Han Sifuentes (2016 3Arts/Stan Lipkin & Evelyn Appell Lipkin Awardee) received a $3,000 unrestricted Maker Grant from Chicago Artists Coalition.
- Folayemi Wilson (2015 3Arts/Allstate Awardee) has been selected to create murals for the new CTA Green Line station at Damen Ave and Lake Street (anticipated completion in 2021).
- avery r. young (2012 3Arts/Merrill Lynch Awardee) will release a new album called Tubman on July 19 (preview streaming available now), as a soundtrack to his neckbone book of visual and traditional poems.
EVENTS:
HEATHER GILBERT – 2012 3Arts Awardee (lighting designer)
Ms. Blakk for President
Heather created the lighting design for this world premiere production co-written by Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble members Tina Landau and Tarrell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight). In character as Ms. Joan Jett Blakk, McCraney takes on the lead role of America's first black drag queen presidential candidate.
Now through July 21 (extended) at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted
SANDRA DELGADO – 2018 3Arts Community Awardee (playwright/actor)
Art on theMART
Sandra is among several actors performing a solo piece in this digitally-projected theatrical work presented on the façade of theMART during selected evenings now through September 29. Created by John Boesche, the piece consists of the first act of seven soliloquies by Chicago theater artists.
Now through September 29 (after sunset, Wed-Sun) at theMART façade. FREE
JACQUELINE WILLIAMS – 2011 3Arts Awardee (actor)
True West
Jacqueline is cast in this legendary Sam Shepard play about two estranged brothers, in production at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
July 5 – August 25, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted
ALBERTO AGUILAR (2011 Awardee), DIANNA FRID (2018 3Arts/Chandler Family Awardee) and HAROLD MENDEZ (2012 3Arts/Stan Lipkin & Evelyn Appell Lipkin Awardee)
Cross Currents / Intercambio Cultural
Alberto, Dianna, and Harold are among six local artists who participated in a cultural exchange with Havana-based artists as part of a 2017 MacArthur-funded program at the National Museum of Mexican Art. The results of the exchange will be on display in this group exhibition at the Smart Museum.
July 11 (reception 5-8pm) through Aug 18 at the Smart Museum, 5550 S. Greenwood Avenue FREE
BEN LAMAR GAY (2018 3Arts/Stan Lipkin & Evelyn Appell Lipkin Awardee) and FOLAYEMI WILSON (2015 3Arts/Allstate Awardee)
Celestial Messages: LP Catalog Recording
As part of the public programming around Fo Wilson’s solo exhibition Dark Matter, she invited fellow awardee Ben LaMar Gay and poet Krista Franklin to present a lyrical and musical long form poem in response to her work. The performance will be recorded for a special LP release this fall.
July 11, 6:00-7:30pm at Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Avenue FREE
VERSHAWN SANDERS-WARD (2013 3Arts/Southwest Airlines Awardee) and NEJLA YATKIN (2012 3Arts Awardee)
2019 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Awards Celebration
Vershawn and Nejla are among six artists receiving 2019 CDF Lab Artists Awards, a program that gives $15,000 cash grants to choreographers annually. Grants are combined with mentorship throughout the research, development, and performance of a newly choreographed work. The recipients will be recognized at this celebratory event.
July 11, 5:30-8:30pm at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario Street
DEE ALEXANDER – 2012 3Arts/Southwest Airlines Awardee (vocalist)
Pitchfork Music Festival
As a member of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), Dee is among several performers in their Great Black Music Ensemble, which will perform a set at this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park.
July 19, (time TBD) at Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph Street
CALAMITY WEST – 2014 3Arts/Merrill Lynch Awardee (playwright)
Christmas at Home
As part of “The Freshness Initiative” Sideshow Theatre Company will present a free public reading of Calamity’s newest play Christmas at Home, which “examines the spectrum of white privilege and its beginnings in the American home.”
July 20, 3:00pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. FREE
GINGER LANE (2017 3Arts Community Awardee), TEKKI LOMNICKI (2008 3Arts Awardee),
ANNA MARTINE WHITEHEAD (2018 3Arts/HMS Fund Awardee) with BEN LAMAR GAY (2018 3Arts/Stan Lipkin & Evelyn Appel Lipkin Awardee), ANDY SLATER (2018 3Arts/UIC Fellow), and AVERY R. YOUNG (2012 3Arts/Merrill Lynch Awardee)
Art Institute of Chicago Block Party
Six 3Arts artists are presenting short performances and workshops as part of the 2019 Block Party at the Art Institute of Chicago. Ginger choreographed Imperfect, to be performed by herself and collaborator Susan Ojala Myers (11am, Griffin Court) and she will present a physically integrated dance workshop (11:30am Stock Exchange Room). Tekki and ensemble members from Tellin’ Tales Theatre will present a workshop on storytelling (11am & 11:30am, Ryan Learning Center). Andy Slater co-presents a sound art performance with Tommy Carroll (2pm & 4pm, Stock Exchange Room). Anna Martine and Ben LaMar Gay, with other collaborators, present a music/dance performance inspired by Octavia Butler’s short story “Amnesty” (3pm, Gallery 140). Avery delivers a poetic and musical response to Alma Thomas’s Starry Night and the Astronauts painting (2pm, Griffin Court).
July 21, 10:30am–5:00pm (see above or link for specific performance times), Art Institute of Chicago
TATSU AOKI – 2010 3Arts Awardee (instrumentalist)
Tuesdays on the Terrace: The Miyumi Project
Tatsu presents the The Miyumi Project at the MCA’s Tuesdays on the Terrace jazz performance series. The Miyumi Project is one of the longest standing amalgams of Chicago's avant-garde jazz and Japanese traditional music.
July 23, 5:30–8:00pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Avenue FREE