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  • April 2024

  • Fri 12
    April 12, 2024 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

    If The Sky Could Dream: Art, Climate, Community, and Social Change

    • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
    • Talks and Gatherings
    Heritage Museum of Asian Art 3500 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL, United States

    As part of EXPO ART WEEK, Elizabeth Corr, Associate Director of Arts and Cultural Partnerships at the National Resources Defense Council, discusses environmental activism in art, including past exhibitions at […]

  • Fri 12
    April 12, 2024 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

    3831 CINEMA: FOR THE LOVE OF BLACK ARTISTS

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

    We're thrilled to host filmmakers Rachel Gadson and Briana Clearly for rotational film screenings as part of Art After Hours Powered by Gertie, for EXPO art week! Sponsored by Arete […]

  • Fri 12
    April 12, 2024 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

    Cooking Class | Brezeln: German Pretzels

    • Food and Drink
    • 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 2 pretzel making classes this fall. Why? We LOVE pretzels! These pretzel-making classes will be offered in-person. We will host up to […]

  • Fri 12
    April 12, 2024 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Jazz Series: Jazz Appreciation Month

    Jazz Series: Jazz Appreciation Month

    • Music, Film, and Theater
    Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center 4046 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

    The Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center is hosting their very own Jazz Appreciation Month series of events. This years line-up includes Chris Madsen, Raíces Latin Jazz, Julián Pujols Quall, La Cantera […]

  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 10:00 am - 11:30 am

    Scottish American History Forum

    • Talks and Gatherings

    Date: April 13 | 10:00 am - 11:30 am Location: Topic: Scottish American Military Society – The Legacy and the Pride Presenter: Kenneth A. Lloyd, National Commander, The Scottish American […]

  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Ukrainian Easter Egg Workshop

    Ukrainian Easter Egg Workshop

    • Workshops and Classes
    2249 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60612 2249 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    Let your creative juices flow as you create a piece of artwork to add to your treasure trove. Each workshop is 4 hours long from 10:am-2:pm. Dates: March 9, March […]

    $45
  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 10:30 am Kino, Kaffee und Kuchen

    Kino, Kaffee und Kuchen

    • Music, Film, and Theater
    DANK Haus German American Cultural Center 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

    Date: Start Saturday, January 06, 2024 Time: Location: Location DANK Haus Room 206, 2nd Floor KINO, KAFFEE UND KUCHEN  Saturdays at the DANK Haus in Room 206 10:30 - 11:00 […]

  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 10:30 am - 2:30 pm Puerto Rican Arts Alliance: Studio Arts Program

    Puerto Rican Arts Alliance: Studio Arts Program

    • Workshops and Classes

    El Rinconcito is a free open art space for creative expression for people ages 12-25. You can meet people like you who are interested in arts, painting, drawing, printmaking, and […]

  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 11:00 am - 3:00 pm FREE Guided Tours at the National Hellenic Museum

    FREE Guided Tours at the National Hellenic Museum

    • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
    National Hellenic Museum 333 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL, 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 […]

  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

    Urban Jazz Day: Joel Hall @ Ruth Page

    • Music, Film, and Theater
    Ruth Page Center for the Arts 1016 N. Dearborn St, Chicago

    Join members of the Joel Hall Dancers & Center family at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts for FREE classes in the signature style of the Joel Hall Dancers, […]

    Free
  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm Constructing Jathi Choreography with Harini Nilakantan

    Constructing Jathi Choreography with Harini Nilakantan

    • Dance
    Kalapriya Studio 2101 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, United States

    Weekly Saturdays 1:15 - 2:15 PM Harini Nilakantan is a student of Aacharya Choodamani Guru Smt. Roja Kannan, and has over two decades of experience in this art form. In […]

  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

    Scenes of Parkway Ballroom

    • Music, Film, and Theater
  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

    ACCE x Dima Zaghal Present: Home “وطن”

    • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
    Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education 55 W Van Buren Street, Suite 220, Chicago, IL, United States

      Saturday, April 13th, 2024 | 2:30-4:00 pm ACCE x Dima Zaghal Present: Home "وطن" Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education 55 West Van Buren Street, Fifth Floor Chicago, IL 60605 […]

  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

    Fresh Legacies: A Conversation with Joel Hall Dance Center

    • Dance
    • Talks and Gatherings
    Newberry Library 60 West Walton Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    How did the Joel Hall Dancers get their start? What’s their future? How do you keep a Chicago legacy fresh and vibrant - while championing new visions and growth? Join […]

    Free
  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

    Artist Tour With Indrani Nayer-Gall

    • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
    • Talks and Gatherings
    South Asia Institute 1925 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States

    Dive deep into The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness, where you will have a rare opportunity to ask a Paglee questions. Indrani Nayer-Gall is a member of The Paglees Collective […]

  • Sat 13
    April 13, 2024 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

    Art and Madness: A Storytelling Night

      South Asia Institute 1925 South Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60616

      Where does art come from? Who is an artist? Does the artist create the art or is it the art that makes the artist? Join us at South Asia Institute […]

      $15,25
    • Sun 14
      April 14, 2024 - September 28, 2024

      Exhibit Opening – Shared Lines: The AAPI Experience on Route 66 by Sammy Yuen

      • Exhibitions and Gallery Events
      Chinese American Museum of Chicago 238 W. 23rd St, Chicago, IL, United States

      CAMOC presents “Sammy Yuen, Shared Lines: The AAPI Experience on Route 66” from April 14, 2024 to September 28, 2024. Explore AAPI stories through line drawings, with four additional Chicago-specific […]

      Free
    • Sun 14
      April 14, 2024 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

      Spring Serenity: Tai Chi 6-Session Class with Peter Wang

      • Workshops and Classes
      Heritage Museum of Asian Art 3500 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL, United States

      Take a step towards greater harmony and wellness by joining our Tai Chi class. Immerse yourself in the gentle art of Tai Chi and discover the transformative power it holds […]

    • Sun 14
      April 14, 2024 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Tai Chi Classes with Peter Wong

      Tai Chi Classes with Peter Wong

      • Workshops and Classes
      3500 S Morgan Street 3500 S Morgan St 3F, Chicago, IL, United States

      Take a step towards greater harmony and wellness by joining our Tai Chi class. Immerse yourself in the gentle art of Tai Chi and discover the transformative power it holds […]

      $10.00 – $15.00
    • Mon 15
      April 15, 2024 Arab American Heritage Month

      UIC Arab American Heritage Month April 2024 Programming

      • Cultural Festivals and Fairs
      Arab American Cultural Center UIC UIC 701 S Morgan, Chicago, IL, United States

      The Arab American Cultural Center is partnering with a diversity of institutions at UIC and outside to celebrate and educate about Arab American history, culture, diversity, joys, pains, and identities. […]

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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.