Chicago Cultural Alliance

Behind the Strings: The Shanghai Quartet Documentary Film
2024-04-12 16:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Online Event
CAMOC is hosting a free virtual screening and LIVE Q&A on Behind the Strings.
This is a documentary film based on one of the outstanding string quartets on the world’s stage, The Shanghai Quartet. Learn about their lives and experience with stardom in China where Western classical music was once banned and punishable. The Quartet has been instrumental in reviving Western classical music’s popularity in China.
The event is on Friday, April 12 at 4 pm. Register at bit.ly/register-SQFilm

Call to Peace
2024-05-04 12:30 - 13:00 | The Peace School, 3121 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60657
Let’s send love, harmony and peace to humanity, nature and all living things. The Call to Peace is a call and response:
“Peace in…” all countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

This month’s SPECIAL GUEST:
Dee Lyu, Associate Executive Director
Heritage Museum of Asian Art
May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Dee Lyu is an innovative museum leader driving operational excellence and collaborative growth at the Heritage Museum of Asian Art.

Established in 2014, the Heritage Museum of Asian Art is the only museum in the Midwest focusing exclusively on Asian art. Besides their collections, they host diversified community workshops, educational programs, and special events throughout the year, aiming to foster a cross-cultural understanding and inspire a greater appreciation for the beauty and complexity of Asian art in communities throughout Chicagoland.
Dee will share details of the museum’s AAPI Heritage Month Cultural Festival 2024, focusing on the theme of unity in diversity, with activities throughout the month of May. Don’t miss learning about the Festival, the Museum and more at the May 4 Call to Peace!
Join on Zoom (Meeting ID 843 6364 2663) or Facebook Live.

5 Types of German Genealogy Documents - Webinar
2024-05-28 18:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
5 Types of German Genealogy Documents
Presented by Katherine Schober
in partnership with the German American Heritage Center & Museum
Tuesday, May 28th | 6 PM CST
What kind of documents are available for your German ancestors? What should you be looking for in your research? And most importantly, where can you find these documents? Come learn the answers to these questions and more in this webinar with researcher and genealogist Katherine Schober. Handouts and resources will be provided. The presentation will be around 50 minutes with 10 minutes for questions at the end.
$20 for GAHC&M or DANK Haus members
$30 for non-members
The Zoom link will be sent to registrants one day prior to the event. The recording of the event will be available to view for 30 days after the event.
Katherine Schober will take you through how to research effectively in your genealogy search. Born in St. Louis, she earned her Masterâs degree in the German language through Bowling Green State University/University of Salzburg. She then spent three additional years in Austria, teaching English and translating German (with a focus on history). In 2014, she moved back to the States with her Austrian husband, and, although they are now in America, German is still the main language spoken in their home.
Register
The German American Heritage Center & Museum is located in Davenport, IA. Their mission is to preserve and enrich for present and future generations knowledge of the German immigrant experience and its impact on the American culture.

Artecito Virtual
2024-05-30 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-06-13 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-06-27 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-07-11 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-07-25 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-08-08 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-08-22 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-09-05 18:00 - 19:00 and 8 more dates | Online Event
Artecito es un proyecto criado por OPEN Center for the Arts y Lincoln Park Zoo para explorar diferentes temas de la naturaleza y conservación del medio ambiente a través de las artes

"20 Days In Mariupol" Ukrainian Film
2024-06-15 14:00 - 15:30 | 2249 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60612, 2249 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL, 60612, United States
An AP team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city, they capture what later become defining images of the war: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more.
After nearly a decade covering international conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, for The Associated Press, 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL is Mstyslav Chernov’s first feature film. The film draws on Chernov’s daily news dispatches and personal footage of his own country at war. It offers a vivid, harrowing account of civilians caught in the siege, as well as a window into what it’s like to report from a conflict zone, and the impact of such journalism around the globe.

Artecito Virtual Quetzal
2024-09-05 18:00 - 19:00 | Online, IL, United States
Artecito is a free online workshop in Spanish developed by OPEN Center for the Arts and Lincoln Park Zoo that uses the arts to engage families with nature in ways that resonate with local holidays, culture, and wildlife. With a related art activity, workshops highlight wildlife and nature to encourage children and families to think about nature and their relationship to it in creative ways.

Quetzales are birds that are known for their long and beautiful tail feathers. Are there any other birds you are familiar with that have massive tail feathers?

Join us as we explore more about Quetzales with our friends at Lincoln Park Zoo!

https://bit.ly/ArtecitoVirtual

Alden B. Dow: A Way of Life
2024-09-16 12:00 - 13:00 | Online Event
Midland, Michigan’s significance in the development of the Mid-Century Modern Movement is well deserved thanks to native son, and Michigan’s Architect Laureate Alden B. Dow F.A.I.A. Introducing modernism to Midland and creating over 100 structures there, Dow inspired numerous architects, designers and builders to create modern and organic structures in this small city. From 1930 to 1970 over 430 individually designed MCM structures were created and have now been documented to share.
From the beginning of his career Dow’s designs inspired freedom of thought and innovation. “Gardens never end and buildings never begin” is how he defined his own form of organic architecture, seamlessly integrating nature and structure together. Please join us for a special, free virtual opportunity to hear Craig McDonald, Executive Director of the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio talk about what influenced Dow, his body of work, and the legacy of Mid-Twentieth Century Modern Architecture he initiated.

Noted Chicago Bridge Designers
2024-09-25 12:00 - 13:00 | Online Event
A look at a quintet of designers who impacted bridge design in Chicago and throughout the United States.
While it would be hyperbole to call Chicago “a city of bridges”, it certainly has its fair share crossing the Chicago River. The city has more moveable bridges than any other in the United States. Multiple waterways, car and pedestrian traffic, and heavy railroad infrastructure require bridges of all shapes and sizes in the city–some of which have amazing histories often overlooked. Behind the bridges are their designers: Ralph Modjeski and Joseph Strauss began their storied careers and opened their first offices in Chicago before receiving national and international acclaim; John Alexander Low Waddell and John Greiner were already famous before they erected structures in Chicago; an architect and urban planner, Edward Bennett, worked to instill the principles of the City Beautiful movement in his bridge designs which was contained in the Chicago Plan of 1909. This virtual program will discuss these designers and the functional beauty these bridges bring to Chicago.

Virtual Kinderschule Open Haus
2025-02-26 19:00 - 20:00 | DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, 60625, United States
You are invited to our new virtual Open House. Prospective families will have the opportunity to learn about our excellent Preschool and Kindergarten program. During this virtual meet, you will learn about our teaching philosophy, you will meet the teachers and the administration and can ask all the questions you may have about our fully immersive German preschool and Kindergarten program.
When and How
February 26, 2025 | 7pm CST
You will receive the participation link once you have registered.
Questions?
Contact us at kinderschule@dankhaus.com or call 773-561-9181 Ext. 1

Constructing Architectural Networks: Ukraine [VIRTUAL]
2025-06-12 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
Join us for a discussion with architects working on material logistics and mutual aid networks during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This program is hosted in collaboration with the exhibition Constructing Hope: Ukraine which is currently on view at the CAC through September 1, 2025.
The second exhibition of this work in the United States after premiering at the Center for Architecture in New York in 2024, Constructing Hope: Ukraine focuses on decentralized reconstruction efforts, presenting the work of grassroots initiatives happening inside and outside of Ukraine. The speakers, Kseniia Kalmus (artist and co-founder of Livyi Bereh) and Ada Wordsworth (founder and director of KHARPP), will sit with the exhibition curators to discuss their work to provide support for rebuilding and repairs across Ukraine. Come join this special opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of how supporting locally can create a collective good.

Constructing Ecological Landscapes: Ukraine Webinar
2025-07-10 08:00 - 17:00 | Virtual, Chicago, IL, United States
Join us for a virtual discussion for the closing of the exhibition Constructing Hope: Ukraine. This program is hosted in collaboration with the exhibition Constructing Hope: Ukraine which is currently on view at the CAC through September 1, 2025.
This panel, the closing event of the public programming for the Constructing Hope: Ukraine exhibition, will feature speakers Asia Bazdyrieva and Darya Tsymbalyuk, whose research and creative practices engage with the environmental, cultural and political dimensions of war and recovery in Ukraine.
In dialogue with the exhibition, the conversation will explore how both natural and built landscapes are shaped by imperial histories, extractive infrastructures, and ongoing ecological violence. It will also reflect on the role of cultural knowledge, grassroots recovery and interdisciplinary research in shaping resistance and imagining more just and resilient futures.
The event will include presentations by the speakers, followed by a conversation with exhibition curators Betty Roytburd, Ashley Bigham, and Sasha Topolnytska, and conclude with an audience Q&A.

Constructing Ecological Landscapes: Ukraine [Webinar]
2025-08-06 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
Join us for a virtual discussion for the closing of the exhibition Constructing Hope: Ukraine. This program is hosted in collaboration with the exhibition Constructing Hope: Ukraine which is currently on view at the CAC through September 1, 2025.
Free with Advanced Registration
This panel, the closing event of the public programming for the Constructing Hope: Ukraine exhibition, will feature speakers Asia Bazdyrieva and Darya Tsymbalyuk, whose research and creative practices engage with the environmental, cultural and political dimensions of war and recovery in Ukraine.
In dialogue with the exhibition, the conversation will explore how both natural and built landscapes are shaped by imperial histories, extractive infrastructures, and ongoing ecological violence. It will also reflect on the role of cultural knowledge, grassroots recovery and interdisciplinary research in shaping resistance and imagining more just and resilient futures.
The event will include presentations by the speakers, followed by a conversation with exhibition curators Betty Roytburd, Ashley Bigham, and Sasha Topolnytska, and conclude with an audience Q&A.

American Prophets: James Baldwin & Queer Spirituality (ONLINE)
2025-09-16 18:00 - 19:00 | American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, 60601, United States
Despite James Baldwin’s disavowal of Christianity in his youth, he continued to engage the symbols and theology of Christianity in works such as The Amen Corner, Just Above My Head, and others. With his new book Jimmy’s Faith: James Baldwin, Disidentification, and the Queer Possibilities of Black Religion, author Christopher W. Hunt shows how Baldwin’s usage of those religious symbols both shifted their meaning and served as a way for him to build his own religious and spiritual vision.
Hunt is interviewed by Northwestern professor Ivy Wilson. Books will be available for purchase and Hunt will sign them following the program.
This is the livestream of an in person program at the American Writers Museum. When you register for this event, you will receive access to the livestream link. If you would like to attend the program at the AWM, get your tickets here.
This program is presented in conjunction with the AWM’s forthcoming special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture, opening November 2025. American Prophets is supported by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative.

From Ancient Oracles to Modern Mystics: Mystische Frauen
2025-10-23 19:00 - 21:00 | DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, 60625, United States
Join us this Hallows’ Eve season as we explore the myst of German women whose spiritual visions transcended the limits of reason. From ancient prophetesses and medieval visionaries to latter-day stigmatists, these women offer us glimpses beyond the boundaries of human perception–reminding us that the world we see may not be all that exists.
Don’t miss this evening of history, mystery, and storytelling!
Can’t make it to the in-person event? Mike Haas will be hosting an online version here the following Thursday, October 30, from 7-9 PM CT.

From Ancient Oracles to Modern Mystics: Mystische Frauen
2025-10-23 19:00 - 21:00 | DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, 60625, United States
From Ancient Oracles to Modern Mystics: Mystische Frauen
Presented by Mike Haas
Join us this Hallows’ Eve season as we explore the myst of German women whose spiritual visions transcended the limits of reason. From ancient prophetesses and medieval visionaries to latter-day stigmatists, these women offer us glimpses beyond the boundaries of human perception–reminding us that the world we see may not be all that exists.
Don’t miss this evening of history, mystery, and storytelling!
Can’t make it to the in-person event? Mike Haas will be hosting an online version here the following Thursday, October 30, from 7-9 PM CT.
