“Through Fish Eyes” is a unique performance that utilizes dance to create awareness of and evoke empathy in audiences about our dwindling marine ecosystems. This art-science-dance work follows the relationship between mankind and the ocean, starting at a time when man lived in harmony with nature and ending with the current fragmented world. It brings a voice to water which is all around us in so many forms. The once abundant and thriving ocean has been ravaged by humans. The relationship between man and water is no longer sacred and the damage is done. Humanity is the hand that has been destroyed, but can it now be the hand of change?
This work was initially conceptualized by Kasi Aysola & Madhvi Venkatesh. Research and fieldwork was done at the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, Australia. The creative development of this piece has been funded by the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative, The Boston Foundation, and the Boston Cultural Council.
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Through Fish Eyes’ cannot be classified merely as a Bharatanatyam piece – though it has fast-paced rhythmic sections drawn from the art form’s toolkit. It cannot be classified as a Nature drama – though it has marvelous depictions of marine life. It cannot be classified as romantic yearning for the past – though it portrays the idyllic times of yore. At best, ‘Through Fish Eyes’ can be considered a Call to Arms. It is a devastating depiction of the present and an urgent beseeching to imagine new futures.” – Aditya Venkataraman, Narthaki.com
“Transported to a faraway place…dynamic music, intricate movements, percussive detailed footwork impressed a story that was well thought out and executed” -Raquel Lake, Dance Metro DC
This project has been funded by the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative, The Boston Foundation’s Live Arts Boston program, and the Boston Cultural Council. PrakritiDance uses the vocabulary of Indian dance to narrate a story that is so relevant to the world today.
“Through Fish Eyes” has been choreographed by Kasi Aysola, and conceptualized by Kasi Aysola & Madhvi Venkatesh.
Dancers: Kasi Aysola
Archana Raja
Madhuvanti Sundararajan
Harini Nilakantan
Sangeeta Chettia
Kavisha Prajapathi
Join us for a special panel discussion exploring the wide world of mass timber design and construction, coinciding with the opening of our new exhibition, ReFramed: The Future of Cities in Wood.
This program is FREE with advanced registration. Both In-Person & Virtual options are available. Following the panel discussion, attendees will be able to view the new exhibit.
Mass timber brings many advantages to architecture and construction by virtue of its prefabricated versatility, relative light weight, low embodied carbon, and natural beauty. It is the only commonly used building material that grows back and has shown to provide health and wellness benefits for those who spend their days immersed in wooden environs. Best of all, the United States and Canada have abundant forestlands that are managed for long-term sustainable harvest. What else can wood do? Find out at this presentation and spirited discussion with leaders in mass timber design, engineering, construction, and testing.
ReFramed: The Future of Cities in Wood and associated “Talking Timber” lecture series are created in partnership with the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and with the support of presenting sponsor the Softwood Lumber Board.
Friday March 17th is a night of fun at our Open Haus! This month’s theme is Starkbierfest! We will have German Bier on tap and food for purchase!
After the debauchery of Faschingszeit (carnival season), we have started into Fastenzeit (lent). Fortify yourself for this time of austereness by trying some “liquid food” – the genius invention of 17th century Paulaner monk Salvator who decided to help his fasting brothers by brewing a batch of “strong beer” which was rich in nutrients and calories.
To this day, all of Bavaria’s breweries create a version of Starkbier during lent. Just like the originator, Salvator from the Paulaner Brewery, most varieties end with the “-ator” appendix: Optimator, Triumphator, Maximator, Terminator, and countless others. During our March Stammtisch Open Haus you can taste some of those delicious brews.
Our Open Haus is a great way to meet new friends, or bring your friends and introduce them to the Haus! This event is located in our popular 2nd Floor Brauhaus.
Free parking at 5/3 Bank after 6:00 PM located at Western and Gunnison
Join us on Saturday, February 25th for Wagner’s Nightmare. Wagner’s Nightmare is a tongue-in-cheek send-up to the most controversial and influential artist of all time, Richard Wagner. It’s culmination is here, in an album of music Wagner would not like.
For better or for worse, incendiary opinions, vitriolic identity politics, and polarizing depictions of national identity are some of the most prevalent themes in today’s discourse. Whether we are enthralled by this mania or exhausted by it, we cannot escape it. In this emaciated public landscape, depleted of empathy and nuance, artists are in a unique position to comment both as insiders and observers to this arena.
With this in mind, we are proud to present this recital tour as the culmination of a nearly two year project in which we reveled in one of classical music’s most incendiary, vitriolic, and polarizing figures: Richard Wagner. The man and his music are iconic, absurd, and influential…and so are the controversies and outrage that have surrounded him since he set pen to paper. Through essays, podcasts, videos on special themes, and a full length album (released on February 16, 2023) Wagner’s Nightmare explores in a light-hearted manner, the reasons why Wagner is so widely admired and roundly derided. There is one theme which unites all these varied activities: whatever we do somehow always circles around a something Wagner famously hated.
We hope that by approaching Wagner with equal amounts of praise and pot-shots, respect and ridicule, sincerity and satire, our audiences will reflect on how they themselves regard today’s polarizing, overwrought, and sometimes absurd social climate.
Musical Program will Include:
Music by…Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, Erik Satie…and more!
Daniel Orsen is a violist in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, prior to which he freelanced in Boston where he performed with A Far Cry, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Fermata Chamber Soloists, and the Phoenix Chamber Orchestra, and was the artistic dire ctor of Jamaica Plain Chamber Music. Daniel has performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and appeared as soloist with the Fermata Chamber Soloists and Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble. His festival credits include Krzyzowa, Ravinia, Prussia Cove, Verbier, and the Perlman Music Program. Daniel has an interest in cultural and intellectual history, which is manifesting itself here, in Wagner’s Nightmare. His writing has also been published in The Anglican Way and The Journal of the American Viola Society.
Daniel is a native of Pittsburgh, PA. He was taught and mentored by members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Credo, and the Perlman Music Program before his Conservatory with Kim Kashkashian. He plays on a 2013 Philip Injeian viola and a 2014 Benoit Rolland bow, both specially made for him.
With regular engagements in festivals, concert series, and competitions in both Europe and the United States, French-American pianist Pierre-Nicolas Colombat has been recognized by audiences and international juries alike for his collaborative artistry. After publishing his doctoral dissertation (Boston University), he moved to Basel, Switzerland to continue his studies with Jan Schutsz. Through his work as a concert organizer, writer, and performer Colombat actively seeks out creative ways to bring the living heritage of classical music into the 21st century. His main duo partners include Daniel Orsen (violist), Kathrin Hottiger (soprano), and Vinicius Costa (bass-baritone).
Cost:
Friends of DANK Haus (what is this?): $15
General Public: $20
Please Note: Free parking is located at 5/3 Bank located at Western and Gunnison Avenue.
Chicago Cultural Alliance Job Announcement Operations Specialist (Full-Time/Hybrid)
Position: Operations Specialist Salary range: $45,000 to $50,000/year + benefits Reports to: Executive Director Type: Full-time, 40 hrs/week. *Note: This is a hybrid position (2 days/week in-office; 3 days/week remote). How to apply: If interested, please send a cover letter and resume to [email protected] with “Operations Specialist” as the subject. Only complete applications will be considered. Applications can be addressed to Mónica Félix (Executive Director). Process: We will accept applications until the position is filled. 1st interview: 30-min Zoom call; 2nd interview: in person in office.
About Us
The Chicago Cultural Alliance’s mission is to connect, promote, and support centers of cultural heritage for a more inclusive Chicago. We are an active consortium of over 40 cultural heritage museums, centers, and historical societies that span 28 neighborhoods and 7 suburbs in the Chicagoland area and represent over 30 different cultures from around the world. Our programs include the annual Activating Heritage conference, World Dumpling Fest, Journey Chicago, knowledge sharing opportunities, and support services. Learn more about our mission, programs, and members at https://www.chicagoculturalalliance.org/
About the Position
The Chicago Cultural Alliance (CCA) is seeking a full-time Operations Specialist. This role is essential to ensuring that the CCA team is meeting project deadlines while enforcing practices that reinforce organization and efficiency standards. The ideal candidate is someone with an eye for detail and the ability to adapt to the various needs of a nonprofit environment. We are seeking applicants who will embrace operations and administration with an understanding that this role is central to our organization’s ability to support centers of cultural heritage efficiently and with the greatest impact.
The ideal candidate should expect to commit a minimum of 3 years to this role. This role is not a good fit for anyone preparing to transition to graduate school or transition to another professional role. We encourage applications from serious candidates looking to join a team of dedicated nonprofit professionals who are passionate about advocating for Chicago’s cultural institutions and fostering a deeper sense of cross-cultural understanding through our work.
Click to read the full job announcement and instructions on how to apply:
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.
