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  • April 2022

  • Sat 9
    April 9, 2022 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

    Amin Gulgee Performance: “Kiss of the Spider Woman”

    • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
    • Member Events
    • Music, Film, and Theater
    South Asia Institute 1925 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States

    The South Asia Institute will host Amin Gulgee Performance “Kiss of the Spider Woman". About this event This will be a collaborative performance work with 13-17 participants which will take […]

    FREE
  • Sun 10
    April 10, 2022 @ 8:00 am - 9:30 am

    First Blacks Chicago Online Concert

    • Music, Film, and Theater
    • Online Events
    Online Event

    "First Blacks Chicago" is a celebration of Black Chicago trailblazers! "First Blacks Chicago" was created by the Haitian American Museum of Chicago (HAMOC), and in 2019 HAMOC invited Crossing Borders […]

    FREE
  • Sun 10
    April 10, 2022 @ 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

    Online Artist Talk: Embodied Dualities

    • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
    • Online Events
    • Talks and Gatherings
    Online Event

    This is part of NIAM's series of programs for E/Merge: Art of the Indian Diaspora. Using very different materials, processes, forms, and strategies, artists Sarika Goulatia, Rit Premnath, and Kaveri […]

    FREE
  • Tue 12
    April 12, 2022 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

    Online Artist Talk: SAMDI

    • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
    • Online Events
    • Talks and Gatherings
    Online Event

    Join HAMOC and SAMDI for an artist talk and Q&A. About this event SAMDI is a contemporary Haïtian artist based in Miami. His work, described by the artist as Sen […]

    $5
  • Wed 13
    April 13, 2022 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

    Swedish Easter Crafts for Adults

    • Member Events
    • Workshops and Classes
    Swedish American Museum 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL, United States

    Get ready for Easter at the Swedish American Museum’s craft evening. Learn some Swedish traditions and create some beautiful decorations. This event is for adults and children 12 and over. […]

    $20
  • Wed 13
    April 13, 2022 @ 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm

    Jazz de La Isla

    • Music, Film, and Theater
    Latin Music Project Center 2958 north Milwaukee ave, Chicago, IL, United States

    Join PRAA for a special music event with Roy McGrath, a Chicago based tenor saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and educated in Boston, […]

    $10 – $15
  • Thu 14
    April 14, 2022 @ 1:44 pm

    Lost Goddess Civilizations of Old Europe

    • Member Events
    • Talks and Gatherings

    The Ukrainian National Museum invites you to a presentation on ancient civilizations by scholar Marilyn Hrymak. Learn about the mysteries of the Trypillia civilization, who existed from 7500 to 3500 […]

  • Thu 14
    April 14, 2022 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Kaffeeklatsch

    Kaffeeklatsch

      Online Event

      DANK Haus hosts a gemütliche chat online every Thursday at 5:30pm, with German speakers at every level welcome. We will be talking about "Gott und die Welt", and this Klatsch […]

      FREE
    • Thu 14
      April 14, 2022 @ 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

      Neighborhood Nights feat. Congressman Quigley

      • Cultural Festivals and Fairs
      • Food and Drink
      • Talks and Gatherings
      DANK Haus German American Cultural Center 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

      Come enjoy a beverage with a spectacular view from our Skyline Lounge & Terrace. A perfect place to meet your neighbors and socialize. Each 2nd & 4th Thursday of the […]

      ​Free admission; drinks available for purchase
    • Fri 15
      April 15, 2022 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

      Kulturküche | German Pretzels Cooking Class

      • Cultural Festivals and Fairs
      • Food and Drink
      • Talks and Gatherings
      • Workshops and Classes
      DANK Haus German American Cultural Center 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

      The Pretzel Blitz is back! We are hosting 5 pretzel making classes in April. Why? We LOVE pretzels! These pretzel-making classes will be offered in-person. We will host up to […]

      $25 – $30
    • Fri 15
      April 15, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

      Opening Reception: Emergence

      • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
      South Side Community Art Center 3831 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

      This exhibition positions SSCAC as an important anchor for Black LGBTQ artists who belonged to its community. About this event We invite you to come out and celebrate the opening […]

      FREE
    • Fri 15
      April 15, 2022 @ 7:30 pm - 11:00 pm

      Open Haus Stammtisch | Frühlingsfest

      • Cultural Festivals and Fairs
      • Food and Drink
      • Talks and Gatherings
      DANK Haus German American Cultural Center 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

      Friday April 15th is a night of fun at our Open Haus! This month’s theme is spring (Frühling in German)! We will have German Bier on tap and food for […]

      Free admission; drinks available for purchase
    • Sat 16
      April 16, 2022 @ 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

      Spring Community Powwow

      • Member Events
      • Talks and Gatherings
      American Indian Center 3401 West Ainslie Street, Chicago, IL, United States

      Everyone welcome at the Spring Community Powwow, Saturday, April 16. Dinner served at 5pm, Grand Entry at 6:30pm.

      FREE
    • Thu 21
      April 21, 2022 - May 1, 2022

      38th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival

      • Music, Film, and Theater
      Online Event

      Produced by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago, the 38th Chicago Latino Film Festival, April 21st-May 1st, will showcase films from all over Latin America, Spain, Portugal and the United States. […]

    • Thu 21
      April 21, 2022 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

      Art After Work: Earth Day

      • Online Events
      • Workshops and Classes
      Online Event

      Intuit partners with Weinberg/Newton Gallery to host a special edition of Art After Work in celebration of Earth Day. About this event Join Intuit for Art After Work, a free […]

      FREE
    • Thu 21
      April 21, 2022 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Kaffeeklatsch

      Kaffeeklatsch

        Online Event

        DANK Haus hosts a gemütliche chat online every Thursday at 5:30pm, with German speakers at every level welcome. We will be talking about "Gott und die Welt", and this Klatsch […]

        FREE
      • Thu 21
        April 21, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

        Artecito Virtual: Selvas

        • Online Events
        • Workshops and Classes
        Online Event

        Artecito is a Spanish-language workshop for families presented in partnership between OPEN Center for the Arts and Lincoln Park Zoo Las selvas tropicales tiene un ecosistema muy diverso, la selva […]

        FREE
      • Thu 21
        April 21, 2022 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

        NHM Virtual Book Club: The Beekeeper of Aleppo

        • Online Events
        • Talks and Gatherings
        Online Event

        On Thursday, April 21st at 7pm we will be discussing The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri Virtually via Zoom About this event Join the National Hellenic Museum’s Virtual Book Club! […]

        FREE
      • Thu 21
        April 21, 2022 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

        Irish Art in Practice: Women’s Work?

        • Online Events
        • Talks and Gatherings
        Irish American Heritage Center 4626 N. Knox Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

        The Irish American Heritage Center, in partnership with the Consulate General of Ireland, Midwest, presents Irish Art in Practice. Join Jennifer Keating, Ph.D. as she brings us through the world […]

        FREE
      • Fri 22
        April 22, 2022 @ 11:00 am - 3:00 pm Swedish Museum Pop-Up Cafe

        Swedish Museum Pop-Up Cafe

        • Food and Drink
        • Talks and Gatherings
        Swedish American Museum 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL, United States

        Join us at the Museum for a fika in our spring pop-up café! It will be open from April 22nd - 24th @ 11 A.M. to 3 P.M. If the […]

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      501(c)3 | © 2025 Chicago Cultural Alliance | Website by David Carling – FutureNotion

      J. Gibran Villalobos

      Board Member

      J. Gibran Villalobos is an arts administrator, educator, and cultural worker. He has served as Senior Program Officer for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, as the Interim Executive Director of the Chicago Artists Coalition, and faculty lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Previously, he has held posts as Assistant Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Partnerships and Community Engagement Manager for the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Cultural Liaison for the Chicago Park District, and Curator-in-Residence for the Chicago Cultural Center. In 2016 he attended the Advocacy Leadership Institute and was invited to the White House Office of Public Engagement, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to speak to issues affecting Latinos in Chicago. In 2017 he launched an inaugural summit of Latinx artists and administrators across the U.S; for this project he was awarded the Act Up Award by the Chicago Community Trust. His work has been presented at the Fabrica de Arte Cubano during the 2017 Havana Biennial. In 2019 he was an inaugural recipient of the Field Foundation’s Leaders for a New Chicago Award as well as the Americans for the Arts 2019 Leaders of Color Fellowship. In 2020, he joined the Civic Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy where he worked with government and nonprofit sector participants to think about effective policy for Chicago’s cultural industries. He helped establish the Auxiliary Board at the National Museum of Mexican Art. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Department of Arts Administration & Policy.

      Gibran holds a BA in Art History and a BS in Public Relations from Northern Arizona University and an MA in Arts Administration & Policy and MA in Modern Art History & Theory from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

      He has contributed to exhibitions such as Direct Message, presenting the artwork of Chicago artistic collectives and their relation to language and civic engagement. As part of an international project, he has convened the MCA Chicago with the Tate Modern, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Queens Museum and other institutions to create dialogue on civic engagement within contemporary art institutions. He has written catalog entries for Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Rodrigo Lara Zendejas, and Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford. In 2021, he is contributing to the upcoming retrospective on the work by artist Andrea Bowers focusing on the activism and archives of Emma Lozano. He is curator of the symposium Fractures: Creating Around Devastation focusing on water ecology, civic engagement, activism, and architecture.

      Loreal Robertson

      Board Member

      Loreal Robertson is a native Chicagoan who recently returned home in 2021 where she began working at the University of Chicago. In her role she oversees and monitors a range of programs, services, and resources to support the retention, wellness, belonging, and success of graduate students. Additionally, her role includes informing strategic priorities, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, professional development, student advancement and the support of students who may be experiencing financial academic, or personal challenges, including students with disabilities and international students.

      Loreal has over 10 years of experience in higher education and student affairs. In 2021 she received the Inclusion and Diversity Champion Award from Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK), where she was previously employed. Loreal’s personal and professional philosophy is creating and promoting spaces and opportunities where everyone can see themselves as part of an experience and feels represented.

      Loreal holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Arkansas, a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from TAMUK.

      Loreal is a financial and active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, an avid reader, and enjoys traveling with family and friends.

      Warren Frank

      Treasurer

      Warren Frank is a retired CPA and CFO, and current Adjunct Professor at Columbia College.

      Warren worked at such CPA firms as KPMG, PwC, and Deloitte, and Not For Profit organizations as National Association of Realtors, Chicago Associations of Realtors, Anixter Center, and Chinese American Service League.

      Warren is a Chicago resident in the Lakeview neighborhood. He attended Loyola University of Chicago for his bachelor degree and Northwestern University for his master degree.

      Colleen McGaughey

      Board Member

      Colleen McGaughey (she/her) is the director of development at the National Public Housing Museum, where she leads the strategic direction of the museum’s fundraising efforts with a focus on creative and community-centric approaches.

      Mario Longoni

      Board Member

      Mario Longoni is a cultural anthropologist (“Lead Environmental Social Scientist”) in the Keller Science Action Center at the Field Museum. For over 20 years, he has worked with individuals and organizations to surface and activate cultural and natural assets (specific strengths and characteristics) to help communities meet the challenges they face.

      Rob Fojtik

      Board Member
      Rob Fojtik is Vice President for Neighborhood Strategy at Choose Chicago, the city’s official tourism and convention promotion bureau. In this capacity, Rob oversees efforts to promote and support Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods to visitors from near and far. Programs include the award-winning Neighborhood Content Creator program that leverages resident-made digital content, and Chicago Alfresco, a $2.5 million placemaking initiative created in partnership with the Chicago Department of Transportation to transform public spaces into community plazas for outdoor enjoyment.

      Before coming to Choose Chicago, Rob was a Senior Advisor to Mayor Lightfoot on economic development and international relations at City Hall, as well as LGTBQ+ affairs and the expanded outdoor dining program. In this role, he also worked to recommend and place over 150 civic leaders and residents onto City boards and commissions. Prior to government service in the Lightfoot administration, Rob ran her winning campaign in the crowded 2019 Chicago mayoral race as Chief of Staff. In past lives, Rob has worked as a public affairs manager for a Fortune 500 company downtown; had misadventures in management consulting, art sales, and personal cheffing; and spent time in Washington DC working for former Secretary of Defense William Cohen. Rob also served a one-year appointment at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence as a policy advisor on Central and Eastern Europe. In this role, he was part of the NSC’s interagency process to develop a comprehensive sanctions regime on Russia as a consequence of its 2014 invasion of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine.

      After receiving his BA in Slavic Languages and Literature at Northwestern University, Rob lived and worked in the Czech Republic teaching English and tending bar before moving to Washington, D.C. to pursue a MA from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies (CERES). He enjoys cooking, learning foreign languages, hiking with his partner and their dog, and visiting Chicago’s many neighborhoods.

      Paul Durica

      Board Member

      Dr. Paul Durica is the Director of Exhibitions at the Chicago History Museums and worked in a similar capacity at The Newberry Library. From 2015-2020, he served as the Director of Programs and Exhibitions with Illinois Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

      Prior to that he drew upon his work as a writer, researcher, and teacher to produce a series of free and interactive talks, walks, and reenactments focused on narratives from Chicago’s past that resonate with its present.

      These public history programs led to collaborations with cultural institutions in the city such as the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Chicago History Museum, Newberry Library, Chicago Architecture Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Chicago Cultural Center among others.

      Each program made use of both his original research and the skills of the arts organizations, community groups, local businesses, and publications that acted as my partners. Some of these programs, such as the full-scale reenactment of the Haymarket Affair in 2011, involved recruiting and directing over 300 volunteers and 1,000 participants.

      To produce these programs successfully, he wrote grants; managed budgets; generated web content; worked closely with program partners of varying sizes and resources; and identified, engaged, and sustained a diverse multi-generational audience.

      Lynessa Rico

      Board Member

      Dr. Lynessa M. Rico is the Associate Chair of the Business Psychology Department at the The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Chicago campus. She is also a business mentor at 1871.

      Lynessa is a results-driven Strategic Consultant with over 25 years of experience enabling leaders to meet strategic business objectives by identifying and aligning business growth opportunities with strategic direction of culturally diverse organizations. By leveraging her strategic experience in identifying and impacting business growth opportunities and maximizing profits in retail firms and higher education institutions, Lynessa leads workshops focused on the creative mindset, women’s entrepreneurship, emotional intelligence, and the value and application of design thinking within entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Her services also include consulting with and educating leadership on emotional intelligence, the power of design thinking and the creative mindset, and leadership styles to support inclusive, creative workplaces. She has presented to leadership and innovation teams in small, mid-size, and Fortune 500 companies.

      Lynessa received her undergraduate degrees in Marketing and Management from Wichita State University. She then went on to earn a master’s degree in Business Administration from Wichita State University with a focus in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. After earning her master’s degree, Lynessa received her doctorate in Business Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology where she successfully completed her dissertation titled, “The Relationship Between Personality Types and Color Preference for Color Combinations.” Her current research interests include women’s entrepreneurship, design thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, and entrepreneurship self-efficacy.

      Outside of work and research, Lynessa enjoys mentoring start-ups and judging pitch competitions. Lynessa currently resides in Chicago, Illinois with her four cats. She is an avid long-distance runner, having completed 5 full marathons (and counting), and enjoys watching musical theater.

      Briana Thomas

      Board Member

      Briana Thomas is the Museum Associate at the Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education (a core member of the Chicago Cultural Alliance). She wears many hats including developing exhibition content, facilitating community programs (children and adults), liaising with visitor artists, and other responsibilities. Her previous experience in the nonprofit space includes her tenure as the Financial Empowerment Coordinator at AMERICORPS Sharing Life Center as well as engaging with the public at the Dallas Arboretum. Her past professional experience has remained rooted in marginalized communities. It is their needs, discourse and histories that she has routinely been tasked with protecting and showcasing in the face of poor infrastructure, and willing ignorance. Creating safe spaces is an ancestral practice she has inherited.