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20 events found.

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  • May 2022

  • Sat 28
    May 28, 2022 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

    Latin Music Project Presents: Fabiola Méndez – Live in Concert!

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

    Fabiola Méndez is bringing folk and contemporary Puerto Rican music to Humboldt Park’s back yard. Native to Caguas, PR, Fabiola Méndez is a cuatro player, singer-songwriter, and a composer for […]

    $10
  • Sun 29
    May 29, 2022 @ 11:00 am - 3:00 pm Swedish American Museum Pop Up Cafe

    Swedish American Museum Pop Up Cafe

      Swedish American Museum 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL, United States

      Come to the Museum and join us for Fika in the main gallery. You will always find Cinnamon rolls and Swedish coffee in addition to some other delicious baked goods […]

      FREE
    • Tue 31
      May 31, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

      Reel Film Club: Ambush / Emboscada

      • Music, Film, and Theater
      Instituto Cervantes 31 West Ohio Street, Chicago, IL, United States

      LIMITED CAPACITY - ALL SALES ARE FINAL A reception will take place prior to screening with appetizers and drinks provided, and a conversation regarding the film will proceed the screening. […]

      $20 – $30
    • June 2022

    • Wed 1
      June 1, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

      Walking in Two Worlds: Understanding the Two-Spirit/Native 2SLGBTQ+ Community

      • Online Events
      • Talks and Gatherings
      Online Event

      Join Two-Sprit leaders Gary Neumann (Salish) and Lenny Hayes (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate) on the historical roles and identities of Two-Spirit/Native 2SLGBTQ+ people and how colonization and historical and intergenerational trauma […]

      FREE
    • Thu 2
      June 2, 2022 - June 5, 2022

      Maifest | Celebrate with the DANK Haus!

      • Cultural Festivals and Fairs
      • Food and Drink
      • Talks and Gatherings
      DANK Haus Small Bar at Maifest 4715 N. Western Ave. (the parking lot at Leland/Western)

      We're so excited to see Maifest happening again this year after years off due to the pandemic! DANK Haus will be there, running the smaller bar at 4715 N. Western […]

      Drinks available for purchase
    • Thu 2
      June 2, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

      Artecito Virtual: Conejos

      • Online Events
      • Workshops and Classes
      Online Event

      Artecito is an online arts workshop for families, presented in Spanish. ¡Los conejos son animales sociales, y viven en comunidades llamada madrigueras! ¡Únase a nosotros mientras exploramos más sobre los […]

      FREE
    • Fri 3
      June 3, 2022 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

      Black Magic: A Tintype Photo Project with Adam Davis

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

      Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary artist Adam Davis brings his 1850's tintype photo practice to the South Side Community Art Center! About this event On June 3rd and June 4th, South Side […]

      FREE
    • Fri 3
      June 3, 2022 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

      Opening Reception: Harry Ahn: ‘I am not worthless, just homeless’

      • Cultural Festivals and Fairs
      • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
      • Music, Film, and Theater
      Korean Cultural Center of Chicago 9925 Capitol Dr, Wheeling, IL, United States

      Ahn’s affinity for people who are struggling came from his own experiences as a refugee in Korea. In all his rendering of the homeless, we are called to recognize the […]

    • Sat 4
      June 4, 2022 - June 30, 2022

      Harry Ahn Solo Exhibition: “I am not worthless, just Homeless”

      • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
      Korean Cultural Center of Chicago 9925 Capitol Dr, Wheeling, IL, United States

      Ahn’s affinity for people who are struggling came from his own experiences as a refugee in Korea. In all his rendering of the homeless, we are called to recognize the […]

    • Sat 4
      June 4, 2022 @ 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

      Community Parades and Activism: LGBTQ Claiming its Space

      • Online Events
      • Talks and Gatherings
      Online Event

      Exhibition Viewing La Primera Parada & Panel Discussion   An open discussion about LGBTQ/SGL activism in Chicago communities. A panel of Latin@ and African American LGBTQ/SGL leaders will discuss the […]

      FREE
    • Sat 4
      June 4, 2022 @ 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm

      A Queer History Tour of Bronzeville

      • Tour
      South Side Community Art Center 3831 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

      Community member Rachael Pierce will lead a queer-centered history tour, beginning with SSCAC. About this event Join us with Rachael Pierce on Saturday, June 4th for a Queer history tour […]

      FREE
    • Tue 7
      June 7, 2022 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

      Online Lunch & Learn: Jewish and Indigenous People of Australia

      • Online Events
      • Talks and Gatherings
      Online Event

      Travel with author and Jewish historian Irene Shaland to Australia, from Sydney and Melbourne to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest, to understand the land, its people, and their history. […]

      FREE
    • Wed 8
      June 8, 2022 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

      AfroCaribe at Night Out in the Parks

        Maplewood Playlot Park 1640 N Maplewood Ave, Chicago, IL, United States

        Join AfroCaribe (in partnership with Puerto Rican Arts Alliance) on a journey to explore the influence of African culture in the island of Puerto Rico through music, dance, songs and […]

        FREE
      • Fri 10
        June 10, 2022 @ 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm Midsommarfest

        Midsommarfest

        • Cultural Festivals and Fairs
        Swedish American Museum 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL, United States

        For three nights and two days, this vibrant and diverse community will bring together over 75,000 people to celebrate a proud Swedish summer tradition with eclectic music, great vendors, food […]

      • Fri 10
        June 10, 2022 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

        Me Llaman Calle | Puerto Rican Street Circus

        • Music, Film, and Theater
        Blackhawk Park 2318 Lavergne Ave, Chicago, IL, United States

        NIGHT OUT IN THE PARKS 2022 Me Llaman Calle | Puerto Rican Street Circus By La Vuelta Ensemble A family friendly interactive show blending circus, acrobatics and improvisation with a […]

        FREE
      • Sat 11
        June 11, 2022 @ 11:00 am - 5:00 pm UIMA Makers’ Market

        UIMA Makers’ Market

          Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art 2320 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, United States

          Stop by and shop our inaugural UIMA Maker’s Market featuring 20+ local makers! About this event June 11 - 12, 2022 11 am - 5 pm $5 admission   Participating […]

          $5
        • Sat 11
          June 11, 2022 @ 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

          Piyesta Pinoy (Philippine Fest)

          • Cultural Festivals and Fairs
          Roger C. Claar Performing Arts Center 375 W Briarcliff Rd, Bolingbrook, IL, United States

          PIYESTA PINOY IS BACK IN-PERSONI SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, June 11, 2022 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM CDT The Roger C. Claar Performing Arts Center 375 W Briarcliff Rd, Bolingbrook, […]

          FREE
        • Sat 11
          June 11, 2022 @ 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm Midsommarfest

          Midsommarfest

          • Cultural Festivals and Fairs
          Swedish American Museum 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL, United States

          For three nights and two days, this vibrant and diverse community will bring together over 75,000 people to celebrate a proud Swedish summer tradition with eclectic music, great vendors, food […]

        • Sat 11
          June 11, 2022 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

          UNVEILED: A solo performance presented by Rohina Malik

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

          UNVEILED: A solo performance presented by Rohina Malik. About this event Award-winning Chicago-based playwright, actress, and artist, Rohina Malik performs her critically acclaimed one-woman show portraying four different veiled Asian […]

          $10 – $25
        • Sun 12
          June 12, 2022 @ 11:00 am - 5:00 pm UIMA Makers’ Market

          UIMA Makers’ Market

            Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art 2320 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, United States

            Stop by and shop our inaugural UIMA Maker’s Market featuring 20+ local makers! About this event June 11 - 12, 2022 11 am - 5 pm $5 admission   Participating […]

            $5
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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.