Chicago Cultural Alliance

Dinner and a Movie
2023-02-02 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Thursday, Feb. 2, 5 p.m. dinner and 5:30 p.m. movie
We have the great opportunity to be able to show “Historjà – Stitches for Sápmi” at the Museum. The movie has won numerous awards in Sweden. Britta Marakatt-Labba is part in “Arctic Highways” on display in the main gallery. It is in Swedish and Sami with English subtitles.
About Historja:
Before being the title of Thomas Jackson’s documentary, Historjá is the name that Swedish artist Britta Marakatt-Labba gave to her 24-meter-long tapestry in which she describes the fights of the Sámi culture, to which she belongs, for the acknowledgment of their identity and history. Leitmotifs, images, reminiscences and values of a native people who was settled in the northern part of Fennoscandia – along the borders between Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia – are at the core of one of the world’s leading Swedish artists, who works almost exclusively with needle and thread, as well as of the film dedicated to her. The director follows her work and thought regarding major contemporary issues, in the first place climate change and the fight for the right of ethnic minorities. And, while Britta Marakatt-Labba prepares an important exhibition in Germany (Documenta 14, Kassel) and invites the audience to get closer to the material and ideal universe of her productions, in the faraway land of the Sámi (which its inhabitants call Sapmí) her son carries on the century-old tradition of pastoral farming immersed in a universe suspended between past and present, utopia and reality.
Watch the trailer here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15518656/
Cost for dinner and movie is $25 for members and $20 for non-members. Movie only is $10 for all. Prepaid reservations are required for the dinner with no refunds available for cancellations within 5 days of event. Last day to reserve dinner tickets is Wednesday, Feb. 1.

Bold Byzantine Women: Empress Theodora, Anna Komnene, and St. Kassia
2023-02-02 10:00 - 11:00 | Online, IL, United States
Join NHM Discussions as we explore the lives and legacies of three of the Byzantine Empire’s most influential figures: Empress Theodora, Anna Komnene, and St. Kassia. Theirs are stories of palace intrigue, spiritual seeking, and intellectual vibrancy. In the man’s world of the Byzantine Empire, these three women left a legacy for us today.

Black Family Portraits with Seed Lynn
2023-02-01 - 2023-02-28 | South Side Community Art Center, 3831 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, 60653, United States
For this Black History Month, we’re thrilled to partner with photographer Seen Lynn to offer free family portrait to our community!

The Black family portrait, throughout history to the present, has always been an accessible, but vivid practice of self-representation that offers a more genuine and realistic portrayal of Black identity and dignity. Whether being made candidly within the family, or posing for a staged portrait, Black family portraits continue to reveal the inherent beauty, resilience, diversity, and style of our people and culture.
Learn more about our guest photographer below:

Architecture & Design Film Festival
2023-02-01 - 2023-02-05 | Chicago Architecture Center, 111 E Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL, 60601, United States
This winter the CAC will be transforming our galleries into a temporary cineplex and welcoming the New York City-based Architecture & Design Film Festival. The line-up includes 15 feature films and more than a dozen free film shorts from all across the world, each sharing a unique story of innovation and sustainability in architecture, design and fashion. Come join us for this festive celebration for the design-minded. From creative explorations of fascinating architects like Winy Maas and Geoffrey Bawa, to celebrations in artmaking from Marimekko to street art, to the behind-the-scenes drama in everything from contemporary design competitions to community preservation movements, there is something on view for most everyone.
15 stories of innovation and sustainability in architecture, design and fashion. Hosted by the Architecture and Design Film Fest in partnership with the CAC, all showings will be at the Chicago Architecture Center, 111 E Wacker Drive.
Tickets are $20/film or $15 for CAC Members. Your ticket includes a single film showing, access to view all ADFF Short Films before or after your movie time, and headphone rental as needed. Please arrive 20-30 minutes ahead of your scheduled showtime to allow for check-in.
View schedule information, film trailers and more at filmfest.architecture.org.

Online Program: From Generation to Generation: Exploring a Holocaust Survivor’s Special Relationship with his Granddaughter
2023-01-31 18:30 | Online Event
Join 3G Chicago, a newly formed group made up of grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors, for its inaugural virtual event. As antisemitism is on the rise, sharing stories about the Holocaust and its Survivors is more important than ever. Join us for an intimate conversation with one of the Holocaust’s youngest concentration camp Survivors, Sam Harris, and his granddaughter, Jessica Kreamer, as they share a story of survival and family heritage. Moderated by Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center’s SVP of Education & Exhibitions, Kelley Szany, this event will emphasize the importance of sharing our stories and the legacy of hope, resilience, and strength.
Reservations required

Reel Film Club: Colombia
2023-01-31 18:00 - 21:00 | Instituto Cervantes, 31 West Ohio Street, Chicago, IL, 60654, United States
For the price of one ticket join us for a night of Film and Food from Colombia. A reception with food and a glass of wine starts at 1800 and “Crazy About You” by Director Felipe Martinez will begin at 1900.
Lucas and Simón, friends who work in a creative agency in Bogotá, throw a party as a favor for their boss, Johana. There, Lucas meets Lina, Johana’s paisa cousin who travels to Bogotá to get a visa and study fashion design in the United States.
Madly in love, Lucas travels to Medellín to try to conquer Lina, where he will realize that before conquering her, he will have to conquer her paisa family.
Lucas y Simón, amigos que trabajan en una agencia creativa en Bogotá, hacen una fiesta como un favor a su jefa, Johana. Allí, Lucas conoce a Lina, la prima paisa de Johana que viaja a Bogotá para sacar la visa e irse a estudiar diseño de modas en Estados Unidos.
Locamente enamorado, Lucas viaja a Medellín para tratar de conquistar a Lina, donde se dará cuenta que antes que conquistarla a ella, tendrá que conquistar a su familia paisa.

Exhibit Opening: Arctic Highways
2023-01-29 11:00 - 13:00 | Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
After some delays we are excited to finally open “Arctic Highways.”
Admission to see the exhibit is free between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
This exhibit discusses the exploitation of Indigenous land and how imposed borders of nation-states have erased the natural land borders used by Indigenous peoples. Nine Sami artists and three Indigenous artists from Canada and the United States want to use this exhibit to start a dialogue, raise questions, and establish waypoints between their culture and ours. This exhibit takes us on a journey through an Arctic highway of culture and life, stretching from the past into the future.

The Negro Motorist Green Book
2023-01-29 - 2023-04-23 | Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL, 60077, United States
“The Negro Motorist Green Book” guided Black Americans to thousands of businesses for over thirty years. When the first “Green Book” was published, the American road was a metaphor for freedom: freedom to change your present situation, determine your destiny, and travel. Yet, in 20th-century America, this same road was a dangerous place for Black travelers. The land was divided by segregation — through policy and through custom. For Black people, the prejudice was severe: a systematic effort to deny their basic human rights. In an era of Jim Crow laws and “sundown towns,” communities that explicitly prohibited Black travelers from staying overnight, the “Green Book” offered critical, life-saving information and sanctuary.
Now, through The Negro Motorist Green Book, visitors will explore film, photographs, interactives, and oral histories from travelers and “Green Book” business owners; compare “Green Book” sites then and now; and appreciate historical objects from the Smithsonian and from a variety of “Green Book” sites. The exhibition includes artifacts from business signs and postcards to historic footage, images, and firsthand accounts that illustrate not just the apprehension felt by Black travelers, but also the resilience, innovation, and elegance of people choosing to live a full American existence.
Developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with award-winning author, photographer, and cultural documentarian, Candacy Taylor, Green Book offers an immersive look at the historic reality of travel for Black Americans and how the guide served as an indispensable resource for the rise of the Black leisure class in the United States. The exhibition highlights destinations created by Black Americans and strategies that affirmed their humanity, their worth, their light, and their lives – and how it was done with ingenuity, community, and with help from Victor Green and his travel guide: “The Negro Motorist Green Book.”

Paint Night
2023-01-28 19:00 - 22:00 | Magura Cultural Center, 415 W Golf Rd #7, Arlington Heights, IL, United States
“Има картини, които те карат да се замислиш, да се разходиш из миналото или да се размечтаеш за бъдещето.
Има такива, които ти говорят, разказват истории за хора, места и събития, шепнат за неизживяни любови, крещят за исторически несправедливости…или просто разказват приказки…
А има и такива, които сякаш те прегръщат и те поглъщат, просто потъваш в тях.
Аз просто открехвам вратата на една от тези къщи, завита под снежната пелена и виждам старец да седи до печката, доволен, че е нахранил животните и, че “Сечко”го е дарил с още едно агънце.
Надничам през прозореца с ледени дантели на втората и виждам, как баба реди мокрите плетени ръкавички на немирните със зачервени бузки внучета, които едва е прибрала от пързалката.
Минавам покрай третата и чувам млада майка да пее приспивна песен на рожбата си.
Това е разказ за моята разходка “в” картината на Майстора…
Заповядайте да творим заедно и да ми разкажете за вашата!” СА

Resist!: A Visual History of Protest Curatorial Conversation with Margot McMahon
2023-01-28 13:00 - 15:00 | Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, 2320 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, 60622, United States
Please join us Saturday, January 28th at 1 pm for a curatorial conversation with Margot McMahon (Resist! curator and daughter of Franklin McMahon) and UIMA Curator Adrienne Kochman regarding the exhibit of acclaimed Chicago artist, Franklin McMahon’s fifty years of protest in vibrant drawings and paintings.

Film Screening: Two Girls
2023-01-27 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-01-17 09:36 | DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, 60625, United States
Join us for a screening of Chicago director James Fotopoulos’s film “Two Girls.”
This is the story of young sisters in the American Midwest left alone with their increasingly unstable mother while their father is fighting in the Civil War. The film traces the girls’ naturally fraught sibling dynamic and the ways that their father’s absence ignites their imagination. When they meet a stranger in the forest they become enchanted by a world of creative work and nature, a welcome distraction from their volatile mother. Play and the dreamlike space they inhabit provides an expansive and ultimately grounding setting for the girls’ response to war.
Filmed in Chicago, this work is an experimentation on a children’s fairy tale. Two Girls features German actress Isolda Dychauk.
This event is available for free.
View the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfREVF44G-w
“Fotopoulos is a notably talented, prolific, and obsessive filmmaker.” – Amy Taubin, Artforum
“Perhaps no other moviemaker so categorically denies compartmentalization, falsifying dichotomies of underground and art film, narrative and abstraction, and black box and white cube, while unabashedly appropriating, celebrating, and upturning the conventions of the horror, sci-fi, hardboiled, and melodramatic genres.” – Fantasma: A James Fotopoulos Retrospective – Spectacle
“Fotopoulos is certainly an auteur who makes up in artistic integrity what he forgoes in mainstream appeal …his films are imbued with unparalleled aplomb.” – Mapping the Obscure: James Fotopoulos Retrospective – Cine-File
“Fotopoulos, a filmmaker whose visions are as audacious as they are uncompromising.” – RogerEbert.com
“There is no shot in a Fotopoulos film or video that does not mine the psychological affect of the frame, the camera placement, the lighting, the lens. ” – Screen Slate
100 min
English and German (with subtitles)
Free parking at 5/3 Bank after 6:00 PM located at Western and Gunnison

International Holocaust Remembrance Day: “Two Remain: Out of Darkness” (Act One)
2023-01-26 18:30 | Illinois Holocaust Museum, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL, 60077, United States
In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, gather with us on-site at the Museum for a live opera performance of the first act of Two Remain: Out of Darkness, in partnership with Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University.
Her Jewish identity hidden, Krystyna Zywulska was a political prisoner at Auschwitz-Birkenau. In secret, she composed lyrics to inspire fellow prisoners, even as she carried out her harrowing job in the Effektenkammer (storage room) cataloging the personal effects of thousands of prisoners before they were murdered in the gas chambers next door. Many years after the war, a journalist asks Krystyana to share her stories, hoping to record them on a tape player. Haunted and helped by the ghosts of her past— Zosia, Edka, Mariola and her younger self, Krysia — she struggles to find the words.
Join us for this unique and compelling commemorative performance that will exhibit the power of art to uplift the heart and cradle of the soul, and the strength found in the fight for survival.
Cast: Aaron Hunt, Stage Director; Andreá Jones, Soprano; Alexis Neal, Mezzo-Soprano; Dana Brown, Conductor; Pianist; Raphael Chou, Danlei Zhao, Mezzo-Soprano; Kaleigh Watkins, Soprano; and Tanya Landau, Soprano.
There will be a post-performance Q&A with Roosevelt University featuring Dana Brown, conductor and Associate Professor of Opera, Roosevelt University; Aaron Hunt, Stage Director and Actor; Tanya Landau, M.M. Voice Performance Candidate; David Kjar, Moderator and Associate Professor of Music History, Roosevelt University.
American Sign Language interpretation will be provided.
This opera is a commission from Music of Remembrance.

LaSalle Street at a Crossroads
2023-01-26 18:00 - 19:30 | Online, IL, United States
Join us for a roundtable conversation exploring ideas for a renewed LaSalle Street corridor, which currently finds itself at a crossroads. How does an austere financial district transform into a vibrant 24-hour neighborhood, and who will call this neighborhood home?
In many ways, the fate of the LaSalle Street corridor and the broader downtown are intertwined. If the most viable future for downtown is flexible adaptation to a mix of uses, there is no better place to test this hypothesis than along this iconic office corridor. Recognizing this, the City of Chicago recently launched a planning initiative for a reimagined LaSalle Street, freeing up all-important tax increment financing (TIF) and inviting development proposals.
However, there are questions about the challenges LaSalle Street must overcome: namely, what is the prescription for its aging building stock? Will tax incentives be sufficient to spark investment in complex residential conversions and protection of the corridor’s landmark architecture? And how central is a redesign and greening of the public realm to LaSalle’s long-term success or failure? Our roundtable of leading local experts in planning, design and real estate sets out to find answers.
SPEAKER: PAUL DE SANTIS
Paul De Santis is a partner and co-design director at Goettsch Partners, where he leads the design on many of the firm’s office, hotel and mixed-use projects in the U.S. and Asia. Paul’s recent work includes the LEED Platinum-certified Zurich North America Headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, and the Viceroy hotel in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. His work in Asia focuses on tall and supertall buildings, with key projects in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Wuhan. Paul received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Virginia Tech. He has membership with the AIA, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and the Urban Land Institute, and is a LEED Accredited Professional.
SPEAKER: CINDY CHAN ROUBIK
Cindy Chan Roubik is a Deputy Commissioner with Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) leading the Central, North and Northwest Planning Regions. Recently, she has managed the LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative, the Central City Recovery Roadmap, the Bronzeville Lakefront project and updates to the Fulton Market Innovation District Plan and Chicago River Design Guidelines. Cindy is a 2022 Fellow of University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy program and is a LEED accredited professional. Prior to civil service, she worked as a licensed architect for a local architecture firm on several high-rises and historic rehabilitation projects. Upon graduation from McGill University’s Architecture School, Cindy was awarded the AIA Henry Adams Medal for the top student in her graduating class, and the RAIC Gold Medal Award for most outstanding thesis. Cindy was also awarded the Alpha Rho Chi Medal Award for leadership and service.
SPEAKER: LEON WALKER
As the Managing Principal of DL3 for the last 20 years, Leon works closely with municipalities, anchor institutions, and Fortune 500 companies to implement projects that are sensitive to a neighborhood’s character while creating economic opportunities for local residents. His cutting-edge community development projects have generated thousands of jobs and brought grocery stores and medical services into the food and healthcare deserts on Chicago’s South Side. Over the next 10 years, his vision is to help create 10,000 jobs and 10 million square feet of new commercial space in Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Prior to taking on the leadership of DL3 Realty, Leon worked in corporate real estate services at Jones Lang LaSalle, and in real estate capital markets at Citicorp Securities. A graduate of the University of Chicago’s Law School, Leon also holds a Master of Business Administration from Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. He serves as a Board member of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University, and several other organizations.

Robert Burns: A Tribute to Scotland’s National Bard
2023-01-25 19:30 - 22:00 | 3855 N Lincoln Ave Chicago, IL 60613 United States, 3855 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
Join us for an evening of poetry, song and Scottish fun at Martyrs’.
Admission is free!

The Greek Diner and the Making of American Cuisine
2023-01-24 17:00 - 18:00 | Online, IL, United States
In this hour-long class, we will explore the history of the Greek diner and its profound influence on American food culture. On the eve of World War I, Greek immigrants began buying up the diners abandoned by German Americans facing anti-German persecution brought on by the war. In these kitchens, the new Greek owners would adapt traditional German travelers’ fare with a touch of the Mediterranean and a pinch of entrepreneurial spirit. The result: A truly American way of cooking and eating.

Craft Convening
2023-01-21 13:00 - 15:00 | Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, 2320 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, 60622, United States
Please join us for our second conversation on Chicago craft in the 1970s-80s with some of the city’s long-standing artists and activists, including Lourdes Guerrero, artist and educator; Indira Freitas Johnson, artist, educator and community activist; Arlene Raconcay, former director of the Chicago Artists Coalition; Fern Shaffer, artist and former director of Artemisia Gallery. Starts at 1pm Sunday October 30th at UIMA. Masks optional. The program is generously supported by the Terra Foundation Art Design Chicago.
We’ll be discussing the barriers marginalized artists faced and had to break through; the city’s art scene; craft’s increased attention, the importance of ‘making a difference’ to society, How are these issues connected to current art practices as makers, crafters and artisans? How are they different

Testimonies on Paper: Art & Poetry of South Asian Women
2023-01-21 - 2023-06-10 | South Asia Institute, 1925 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60616, United States
South Asia Institute brings together art and poetry by South Asian women to create a space for alternative narratives of femininity and identity.

Arctic Highways
2023-01-21 - 2023-04-02 | Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
This exhibit discusses the exploitation of Indigenous land and how imposed borders of nation-states have erased the natural land borders used by Indigenous peoples. Nine Sami artists and three Indigenous artists from Canada and the United States want to use this exhibit to start a dialogue, raise questions, and establish waypoints between their culture and ours. This exhibit takes us on a journey through an Arctic highway of culture and life, stretching from the past into the future.

The Promised Land
2023-01-20 - 2023-03-25 | South Side Community Art Center, 3831 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, 60653, United States
Eleven artists with ties to North and South of the Mason-Dixon Line respond to just how much Black life has always been in transit.

The Great Migration was one of the largest movements of people in United States history. It has transformed cities like Chicago, Detroit, New York and Pittsburgh between 1916 and 1970. Chicago received more than 500,000 Black Southern Americans during this time.

To Southern Blacks, Chicago was considered the “Promised Land”. Stories of big city life — jobs with good wages, homes with running water, and basic freedoms denied to Blacks in the South — made the Northern city a prime destination for Blacks coming from below the Mason-Dixon line. As the most documented migration in US history, photographers like Gordon Parks, Florestine Perrault Collins, Moneta Sleet Jr., Roy DeCarava, and Coreen Simpson created imagery that demonstrated Black life in movement.

Today, contemporary artists and image makers respond to the many migrations of African Diaspora peoples and the influences of these movements in their work.

NORTH AMERICAN FILM PREMIERE: “THE DEVIL’S CONFESSION: THE LOST EICHMANN TAPES”
2023-01-19 17:00 | Illinois Holocaust Museum, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL, 60077, United States
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, in association with MGM Television, SIPUR, Toluca Pictures, Alice Communications, and Menemsha Films, will host the North American premiere of The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes on January 19, 2023.
The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes unearths secret recordings of Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief architects of the Holocaust’s Final Solution, which definitively shows his active involvement in the planning and implementation of one of the greatest atrocities in world history. Recorded in Buenos Aires in 1957 by Dutch journalist and former SS-Officer Willem Sassen with the intention to prove the Holocaust did not happen as portrayed and without Hitler’s knowledge, these tapes show the opposite and expose Eichmann, in his own voice, stunningly contradicting claims he made during his eventual trial for crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes against the Jewish people. The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes sheds light on the hidden forces that concealed the recordings, altering the arc of history as we have understood it for more than 70 years, and provides irrefutable proof against Holocaust denial and the pernicious antisemitic hatred from which it springs.
Originally premiered as the opening film of the renowned documentary festival DOCAVIV and released as a documentary series on Israel’s tv-network KAN 11, MGM Television, SIPUR, Toluca Pictures, Alice Communications, Menemsha Films, and Illinois Holocaust Museum will bring a feature-length version of The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes to North America, beginning with its January 19 premiere in Skokie. The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes has already received worldwide attention, with prominent coverage in The New York Times, CNN, NPR, L’Express, and The Times of Israel.
The film premiere will be followed by a distinguished panel discussion with Director Yariv Mozer, Executive Producer Emilio Schenker, and world-renowned Holocaust experts Dr. Michael Berenbaum, American Jewish University, and Dr. Peter Hayes, Professor, Northwestern University. The discussion will be moderated by Richard Salomon, Vice President, Museum Board of Directors. Opening remarks will be given by Steve Stark, Chairman of Toluca Pictures, former President of MGM Television, and Executive Producer of the film.
The film is produced by MGM Television, SIPUR, Toluca Pictures, and Alice Communications in association with KAN11, with the support of The Gesher Multicultural Film Fund, The New Fund for Cinema & TV, KADAR Foundation for Culture, Arts and Science, Mifal Haipas Council for Arts&Science, Maimonides Fund, Avi Chai Foundation, Jewish Federation of Canada UIA, Azrieli Foundation, Ministry of Culture & Sports, The Israeli Film Council, and is distributed by Menemsha Films. The series is distributed by MGM.
Tickets: Members: Free; Non-Members: Museum Admission

LaSalle Street at a Crossroads
2023-01-17 09:56 | Virtual, Chicago, IL, United States
Join us for a roundtable conversation exploring ideas for a renewed LaSalle Street corridor, which currently finds itself at a crossroads. How does an austere financial district transform into a vibrant 24-hour neighborhood, and who will call this neighborhood home?
In many ways, the fate of the LaSalle Street corridor and the broader downtown are intertwined. If the most viable future for downtown is flexible adaptation to a mix of uses, there is no better place to test this hypothesis than along this iconic office corridor. Recognizing this, the City of Chicago recently launched a planning initiative for a reimagined LaSalle Street, freeing up all-important tax increment financing (TIF) and inviting development proposals.
However, there are questions about the challenges LaSalle Street must overcome: namely, what is the prescription for its aging building stock? Will tax incentives be sufficient to spark investment in complex residential conversions and protection of the corridor’s landmark architecture? And how central is a redesign and greening of the public realm to LaSalle’s long-term success or failure? Our roundtable of leading local experts in planning, design and real estate sets out to find answers.
Thursday, January 26th at 6 PM (Virtual Event)
$15 to Attend, $7 for CAC Members

The Chicago River and Lake Michigan: Confused Waters
2023-01-17 09:55 | Virtual, Chicago, IL, United States
Through the years, the land and water around Chicago have been radically altered. In 1900, the river was reversed. Meanwhile, Michigan Avenue by Grant Park used to be lakefront property! Join us as we explore the ebb and flow of our celebrated lake and river.
Standing at upper Wacker Drive and Columbus, it’s always astonishing to remember that before 1803, you would be wading in Lake Michigan. The modifications that have been made to the Chicago River have included dredging, channeling, damming, tunneling, legal decisions and breaching it at its South Branch headwaters to flow away from Lake Michigan. Likewise, we have altered the shoreline of Lake Michigan and struggled with it as it fluctuated about six feet from a record low in 2013 to a record high in 2022.
$15 to Attend, FREE for CAC Member
SPEAKER: KEVIN GRIEBENOW
Kevin is a civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience inspecting and assessing the safety of dams. A CAC docent since 1993, Kevin leads tours for guests of all ages. He has given presentations on structural engineering, innovations in construction materials, the construction and engineering feats of the 1893 World’s Fair and the design history of dams.

The Road to Global Conquest: Stalinist Expansionism and the Baltic Region, 1917-1953
2023-01-17 09:37 | IL, United States
This Friday, January 12, 2023, at 7 PM the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, Chicago, presents:
“The Road to Global Conquest: Stalinist Expansionism and the Baltic Region, 1917-1953”
A lecture by Dr. Alexander Gogun from the Free University of Berlin
Dr. Gogun is the author of Stalin’s Commandos: Ukrainian Partisan Forces on the Eastern Front (2016), which documents Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s scorched earth tactics in Ukraine and the looting, boozing, rapes, and violence of Stalin’s guerrilla forces. As Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine bares witness, aspects of Putin’s conduct of war chillingly mirror Stalin’s. This Friday, January 13, 7 PM at the Balzekas Museum, Dr. Alexander Gogun will shed light on Stalin’s expansionism, its implications for the Baltic region, and what lessons these historical events have for today.
About Dr. Alexander Gogun
Dr. Alexander Gogun is currently pursuing research at the Friedrich Meinecke Institute at the Free University of Berlin. He has taught at Potsdam University and held a fellowship at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam, the Daymel Shklar Fellowship at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, a postdoctoral fellowship at the International Institute for the Holocaust Studies Yad Vashem, the Diane and Howard Wohl Fellowship at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum as well a research fellowship at the Haddasah-Brandeis Institute – Brandeis Genesis Institute. He is the author of several monographs and editor of the document collections on Ukrainian nationalism, Soviet partisans, Nazi propaganda, and the foreign policy of the Soviet Union.
His film Stalin’s Apocalypse: Third
Address: Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture
6500 S. Pulaski Rd., Chicago, IL 60629.
Admission: FREE OF CHARGE Donations at the door are always welcome.
Reservations requested by telephone: 773-582-6500
Or by email here: admin@balzekasmuseum.org.
Refreshments, including Lithuanian beer and Kugelis, will be served
This program is sponsored in part by the Members and Donors of the Balzekas Museum and a CityArts grant through the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The Museum gratefully acknowledges these contributors for their support.

The Life and Times of Sultan Süleyman
2023-01-17 09:37 | Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago, IL, 60610, United States
This program will be held in-person at the Newberry and livestreamed on Zoom. Free and open to all. Advance registration required.
In-Person Registration
Livestream Registration
Join us as historian Kaya Şahin, author of Peerless among Princes: The Life and Times of Sultan Süleyman, and art historian Elizabeth Rodini discuss the sixteenth-century ruler, during whose reign the Ottoman Empire became a truly global power.
Süleyman presided over a multilingual and multireligious empire that promised peace and prosperity to its subjects while he clashed with the Catholic Habsburgs in Europe and the Shiite Safavids in the Middle East. His poetic output, his appearances during public ceremonies, his charity, and his patronage of arts and architecture enhanced his reputation as a universal ruler with a well-rounded character.
Behind that public façade, Süleyman led a complicated life. He grew up with an overbearing father whose legacy was an advantage and a burden. Defying established practice, he married a concubine named Hürrem whose love and affection became his true refuge. Toward the end of his life, facing both debilitating sickness and the agitations of his sons, he struggled to remain on the throne.
Peerless among Princes will be available for purchase in the Newberry Bookshop, and Dr. Şahin will sign books after the program.

Open Haus | Game Night
2023-01-17 09:36 | DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, 60625, United States
Our January Open Haus will be the best game night in town! Did you know that Germans invented the jigsaw puzzle and board games? Bring your friends and your competitive spirit and celebrate Germany with a night of German food, drink, games, and Gemütlichkeit! We’ll have games of all types – board games, card games, ping pong, foosball, and more!

New Year Kids Camp
2023-01-16 10:00 - 12:00 | Japanese American Service Committee, 4427 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Come to the JASC and experience Kakizome（書初め – calligraphy）and Hatsuike (初生け – ikebana/flower arranging）at our New Year Kids Camp!
This cultural event is a full day, in-person, drop-off day camp for children in 1st – 6th grades.
Kakizome and Hatsuike are annual traditions for the New Year in Japan. People write the first calligraphy of their resolution for the new year in Kakizome. Hatsuike is a first ceremony of the year to continue to practice diligence in ikebana.
In the camp, participants will learn the basics of calligraphy and flower arranging. Their work will be displayed in an exhibit at the end of the camp for everyone to view and appreciate the artwork of each camper.
Full capacity for the camp is 24 students. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Register now at by clicking HERE
WHEN: Monday, January 16, 2022, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
WHERE: JASC (4427 N Clark St., Chicago, IL 60640)
FEE: JASC Member: $25; Non-JASC Member: $30

Wear clothes that are OK to get stained. (Black ink is used in the calligraphy lesson)
Bring a water bottle.
Let your teacher know if you have any allergies.

No Rest: The Epidemic of Stolen Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2Spirits
2023-01-12 18:00 - 20:00 | Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, 3001 central street, Evanston, IL, 60201, United States
The Mitchell Museum of American Indian will debut a thought-provoking traveling exhibit, No Rest: The Epidemic of Stolen Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2Spirits, to remember, honor, and illuminate the plight of countless Native individuals who go missing or are murdered each year through art and activism. Opening in January 2023, the exhibition features 35 original works from 12 collaborating Indigenous artists whose work draws attention to the crimes perpetrated against Native women and 2spirit individuals in the United States.

No Rest: The Epidemic of Stolen Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2Spirits will be on display from January to September 2023. During the exhibition, the Mitchell Museum will offer educational resources, discussions, awareness events, and film screenings to connect these critical issues to a broader audience and work together to give voice to missing and murdered Indigenous women, two spirits, and families impacted by violence.

An opening reception will take place on January 12, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Tickets are free for Mitchell Museum Members and $12 for non-members. Admission for Native citizens is always free. Tickets can be purchased onsite.
For more information about this program, please contact: info@mitchellmuseum.org | (847) 475-1030 | www.mitchellmuseum.org

A Close-Up of the Opera “Albert Herring”
2023-01-12 18:00 - 19:30 | Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago, IL, 60610, United States
This program will be held in-person at the Newberry. Free and open to all. Register in advance here.
Benjamin Britten’s comedic opera, Albert Herring, tells the story of an aristocratic lady who seeks a young, unmarried woman of unstained virtue to crown as her small town’s May Queen – only to discover that no maidens of the town meet her qualifications!
At this “Close-Up” event at the Newberry, Michael Pecak, Dame Jane Glover DBE, and Stephen Sposito from Chicago Opera Theater will discuss COT’s upcoming production of Albert Herring, the Newberry’s Stuart Fraser will draw connections with the library’s extensive opera-related collection, and COT singers will perform excerpts to illustrate points of the conversation.
A wine reception will begin at 5:30 pm. Also be sure to arrive early and register for the raffle where you can win two tickets to the opening night of Albert Herring!
Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Albert Herring, conducted by Dame Jane Glover and directed by Stephen Sposito, will run January 26 through 29.

CAMOC 2023 Chinese New Year Celebration
2023-01-12 15:31 | IL, United States
Please join us in welcoming the Year of the Rabbit at our annual Chinese New Year Celebration. This year’s event will be in person. We have many performances including Chinese traditional music, singing, folk dance, QiPao fashion show, poetry, Chinese calligraphy, food, and more.
Same-day walk-in availability is not guaranteed, and there will be a $5 surcharge for same-day walk-ins. Children under 7 (infants up through six-year-olds) attend free if accompanied by a ticket-paying adult or CAMOC member. Tickets for children between 7 and 11 are half-priced. Admission to tour CAMOC’s newest exhibitions is also included! Admission to tour CAMOC’s newest exhibitions is also included!
Wearing a mask is strongly encouraged.
TO MEMBERS
***please lookout for un upcoming email that will include discount codes for both you and your guest*** Members tickets are free and member’s guest tickets are half priced.
