Chicago Cultural Alliance

Resistencia y Libertá por Bombazo Wear
2023-07-08 - 2024-05-31 | The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, 3015 W Division Street, Chicago, IL, 60622, United States
Bomba music and dance provide resistance, self-expression, and community building for Afro-Puerto Ricans. This exhibit displays the evolution of bomba attire since the 17th century.

Celebrating 100 Years of Rafael Tufiño at ICP
2023-09-19 - 2024-08-31 | The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, 3015 W Division Street, Chicago, IL, 60622, United States
Master artist Tufiño used his art to shed light on the marginalized stories and contributions of everyday Afro-Puerto Ricans, earning him the moniker of the “Painter of the People.”

“I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli
2023-10-22 - 2024-04-14 | Illinois Holocaust Museum, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL, 60077, United States
More than a place to get a meal, the Jewish deli is a community forged in food. Explore how Jewish immigrants adapted traditions to create a uniquely American restaurant.

Chee Wang Ng: The Sustenance of Aftertaste
2023-11-04 - 2024-03-31 | Chinese American Museum of Chicago, 238 W. 23rd St, Chicago, IL, 60616, United States
CAMOC presents “Chee Wang Ng: The Sustenance of Aftertaste”. Explore Chinese American identity through postcards, street photos, and creamers. Open from Nov 4, 2023, to Mar 31, 2024 with an opening reception on Nov 4th.

The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness
2024-01-19 11:00 - 2024-04-27 18:00 (America/Chicago) | South Asia Institute, 1925 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60616, United States
South Asia Institute is pleased to announce its new exhibition, “The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness,” in collaboration with the Paglees.
The Paglees is a feminist collective of artists of South Asian origin living across the United States. Paglee or pagli means crazy woman in a number of South Asian languages. The Paglees are: Fawzia Khan, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Monica Jahan Bose, Nirmal Raja, Pallavi Sharma, Renluka Maharaj, and Shelly Bahl.
In their debut exhibition, The Paglees investigate – with fierceness, beauty, and wit – the impact on women of generations of patriarchy, religion, white supremacy, colonialism, violence, capitalism, and environmental plunder.
The title of the exhibition derives from Rosa Parks’ words: “There is just so much hurt, disappointment and oppression one can take. The bubble of life grows larger. The line between reason and madness grows thinner.” (Rosa Parks: Writings, Notes and Statements,1956-58).
Featuring mixed-media works on paper, fabric, and canvas, sculpture, performance, photography, installation, and moving image, The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness, questions and reframes the labeling of non-conforming women as crazy and the marginalization of immigrant women of color. This collective exhibition presents new decolonial narratives that center the reason and wisdom of brown women of the Global South and diaspora, and provide pathways to a creative feminist future. The Paglees believe in working in collaboration with other marginalized communities to build bridges and demand social, environmental, and legal justice for all.
THE PAGLEES
Fawzia Khan | Indrani Nayar-Gall | Monica Jahan Bose | Nirmal Raja | Pallavi Sharma | Renluka Maharaj | Shelly Bahl

What You See Is What You Get By Johan Wahlstrom
2024-01-31 - 2024-03-30 | Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Wahlstrom is a 5th generation Swedish artist from Stockholm. He began his artistic career in music and transitioned to painting in 1998. He often pulls inspiration from his previous career as a musician and from his experiences traveling the world. Wahlstrom continuously looks to critique and re-frame society through his comedic, abstract style. In “What You See Is What You Get” Wahlstrom reconnects with the artists who originally inspired him such as Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Karel Appel, and Asger Jorn. Pieces in this series comment on political and social concerns such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and current Swedish politics.

DARK TESTAMENT: A CENTURY OF BLACK WRITERS ON JUSTICE
2024-02-15 - 2024-05-06 | American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, 60601, United States
Celebrate Black History Month with a literary twist at the AWM’s Family Free Days this weekend. Enjoy free admission on Sunday, February 18 and Monday, February 19. Access to our temporary special exhibit, Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice, is also included with free admission. This exhibit closes in May.

Arte de La Borinqueña - Women's History Month
2024-03-02 - 2024-10-26 | The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, 3015 W Division Street, Chicago, IL, 60622, United States
The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture is excited to announce our new collaborative exhibition, Arte de La Borinqueña, by Creator Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, on display from March 2 – October 26, 2024.
The public opening will be on March 2, 2024, from 10 am – 2 pm and will include a “Meet and Greet” with the award-winning graphic novelist and creator of the superhero La Borinqueña, Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, from 10:30 am – 1 pm.
Through the serialized comic medium, Miranda-Rodriguez has effectively emphasized the significance of narrating Puerto Rico’s history, addressing contemporary social and environmental issues, and celebrating the diverse Puerto Rican diaspora. La Borinqueña was launched in 2016 under Miranda-Rodriguez’s studio, Somos Arte, where he serves as Creative Director and is recognized for his philanthropic contributions. The story emerged during a critical period for the Puerto Rican people, marked by an economic crisis and natural disasters in the Caribbean. La Borinqueña has transcended fiction, evolving into a philanthropic superhero movement with a collection of graphic novels, a special benefit anthology with DC Comics titled Ricanstruction, and noteworthy partnerships with NRDC, Chocolate Cortés, and others.

"In Control" Exhibit
2024-03-09 - 2024-05-05 | Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, 2320 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, 60622, United States
Join us Saturday, March 9th – May 4th, 2024 for the viewing of In Control, featuring works by Katrina Majkut!
The exhibition, In Control, surveys a plethora of modern medical products and prescriptions as they relate to contemporary reproductive justice issues, family planning, health needs and bodily autonomy. Responding to current events as early as 2009, the series’ concept relates to many new (or resurgent) U.S. civil rights movements, intersectional feminist concepts, social traditions, the history and impact of embroidery, and first and foremost, the experience of those who use these products.

Tree of Life
2024-03-10 10:00 - 17:00, 2024-03-11 10:00 - 17:00, 2024-03-12 10:00 - 17:00, 2024-03-13 10:00 - 17:00, 2024-03-14 10:00 - 17:00, 2024-03-15 10:00 - 17:00, 2024-03-16 10:00 - 17:00 | 2249 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60612, 2249 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL, 60612, United States
Join us for the opening of our Tree of Life art exhibit featuring Marta Sofia Fraser and Kateryna Tkachenko. The exhibit opens Friday, March 1, 2024 at 6:30, admission is $10 per person. The exhibit runs through March 24, 2024.

Orchids After Hours
2024-03-14 17:00 - 20:00, 2024-03-15 17:00 - 20:00 | Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencie, IL, 60022
Make a date to be whisked away by a whimsical world of 10,000 fresh, colorful blooms. Marvel at surprises under the big top as you treat yourself to light bites and colorful cocktails (available for purchase). Enjoy a vibrant night out at the Orchid Show of Wonders.

3rd Fridays Free Admission Museum Night
2024-03-15 17:00 - 20:00 | Heritage Museum of Asian Art, 3500 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL, 60609, United States
Free Admission Museum Nights take place every third Friday of each month from 5 pm to 8 pm! The tour will start at 6 PM on time. All tours depart from the reception desk, and please be sure to arrive on time. The event offers wine and appetizers.
This Friday at 7-7:40 PM, our Resident Artist 2024 – Irene Hsiao will perform at the Heritage Museum of Asian Art as part of the project If The Sky Could Dream.
About the Tour –
Learn about Asian Art in the Heritage Museum of Asian Art with a guided hour-long tour around the gallery. Museum-trained interns and volunteers will give a talk on selected artworks. Each word is packed with fascinating insights, information, and stories. During this participatory experience, you’ll connect with works from across the collection and get a close look at highlighting artworks. Visitors of all ages are welcome.
Please note tours may be canceled or postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.
About the project –
IF THE SKY COULD DREAM focuses on the Chinese dragon as a powerful being that fosters harmony. This creature is emblematic of China as well as a mythological being for many Asian and Western cultures and thus evokes a sense of mysticism, and intrigue in many communities. Representing the Chinese Dragon as a water deity, the installation series will feature images and projections of the weather and local bodies of water in Chicago.
If The Sky Could Dream is supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant
About Irene Hsiao
Irene Hsiao creates performances in conversation with visual art in museums, galleries, and public spaces, a practice that includes site-specific interaction with visual artworks and experimental engagement with artists, institutions, and the public. Find out more through our website.
Accessibility
The Heritage Museum of Asian Art’s Entrance is on West 35th Street. Take the elevator to the third floor and turn right to the Museum Reception Desk. Accessible and standard toilets are located on the same floor. Free parking space is available next to the museum via West 35th Street.
If you have any programming questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with info@heritageasianart.org or 312-842-8884.

If the Sky Could Dream: Interactive Installation, Performance, & Workshop Series
2024-03-15 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-03-16 13:00 - 15:00 | Heritage Museum of Asian Art, 3500 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL, 60609, United States
Heritage Museum of Asian Art is collaborating with 2024 Resident Artist Irene Hsiao to create a new interactive installation, performance, and workshop series called If the Sky Could Dream. Coinciding with the Lunar Year of the Dragon, the museum will showcase dragon artworks from throughout Asia, as well as include an original, contemporary vision of the dragon from an Asian American perspective by Hsiao.
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If the Sky Could Dream combines drawing, painting, dance, found materials and found spaces at the museum to reveal and celebrate the dragons among us—structural, ancestral, architectural, internal, and environmental. Because the dragon is a water deity in Chinese culture, this work also features projections of the waters of Chicago: Lake Michigan, the Chicago River, and the lakes, ponds, and lagoons of Chicago Parks.
Dates:
Friday, Feb 9, 6:00 – 8:30 PM: Preview of the Dragon Exhibition
Saturday, Feb 10, 11:00AM-12:00PM: Dragon Exhibition Opening Ceremony
Friday, Feb 16, 6:00 – 8:00 PM: 3rd Friday with Irene Hsiao
Friday, Mar 15, 6:00 – 8:00 PM: 3rd Friday with Irene Hsiao
Saturday, Mar 16, 1:00 – 3:00PM: If the Sky Could Dream Workshop – Series One
Friday, Apr 19, 6:00 – 8:00 PM: 3rd Friday with Irene Hsiao
Saturday, May 11, 1:00 – 3:00PM: If the Sky Could Dream Workshop – Series Two
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If the Sky Could Dream is supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.
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About the Artist:
Irene Hsiao is a dancer, writer, and multidisciplinary artist. She creates performances in conversation with visual art in museums, galleries, and public spaces, a practice that includes site-specific interaction with visual artworks and experimental engagement with artists, institutions, and the public. She is inaugural Artist in Residence at the Smart Museum of Art in 2020 and 2021, 2022-23 Fellow at High Concept Labs, first Artist in Residence at 21c Museum Hotel in 2022-2023, and a 2020 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist.Her performances have been presented at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Smart Museum, EXPO Chicago, Chicago Textile Week, Ragdale Foundation, Krannert Art Museum, Alma Art Gallery, Kavi Gupta Gallery, and more

FREE Guided Tours at the National Hellenic Museum
2024-03-16 11:00 - 15:00 | National Hellenic Museum, 333 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL, 60661, United States
Join us for our FREE, limited-time offer guided tours every Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. These one-hour tours offer a comprehensive journey through the museum’s rich exhibitions and artifacts.
