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ART

Indiana University Cancels Survey for Eighty-Seven-Year-Old Palestinian Painter Samia Halaby

“Indiana University’s Eskenazi Museum of Art has reportedly canceled a career-spanning survey for Samia Halaby, a Palestinian artist known for her abstract paintings,” reports ARTnews. The thirty-five-work show was to have opened in February. “A representative for Indiana University said in a statement that ‘academic leaders and campus officials canceled the exhibit due to concerns about guaranteeing the integrity of the exhibit for its duration.’” As one of several Instagram stories, “Halaby posted a portrait of herself that appears in the exhibition’s catalogue, writing that ‘we hope they reverse their decision.’”

The New York Times: “Samia Halaby, an eighty-seven-year-old artist, has been outspoken in her support of Palestinians during the Israel-Gaza war… ‘It is clearly my freedom of expression that is under question here,’ said Halaby, who earned a master’s degree at Indiana University and later taught students there. She said concerns about her exhibition had been raised by a museum employee. The retrospective, which was to open February 10, had taken more than three years to organize in partnership with Michigan State University’s Broad Art Museum; agreements were already signed with grant-making foundations and museums that lent artworks to Indiana University from around the country.”

Insider Higher Education reports that Indiana University has also sanctioned tenured professor Abdulkader Sinno. “The tenured professor of political science and Middle Eastern studies is barred from teaching until next fall after booking a room for an event organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee.” A faculty-led online petition with 350 signatures in support of Sinno reads in part, “While we may differ on the Israel-Palestine conflict, every faculty member must consider their rights—not to mention the integrity of their university—in danger when the campus’s chief faculty administrator and its lawyers collude to violate principles of shared governance in order to make an example of a colleague.”

Urban Looks At “Unearth” At Cleve Carney

The Cleve Carney Museum of Art opens “Unearth” on January 20, showcasing three Chicago-based painters who highlight the city environment. “In the tradition of American painters from the early twentieth century, Karen Perl, Emily Rapport and Gwendolyn Zabicki similarly capture moments of daily life in the city of Chicago, highlighting the beauty of the city environment and natural landscapes, that can often be overlooked. The artwork showcases Chicago’s streets, buildings and structures, casual interactions and nature with pieces including ‘5400 N. Clark,’ ‘Man Watching Baseball’ and ‘Damen Ave Nocturne.’” The opening reception is January 25, 5pm-7pm. CCMA is open Wednesday-Sunday, 11am-5pm. More here.

Dalina A. Perdomo Álvarez Promoted To Assistant Curator At MSU Broad Art Museum

The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University has announced the promotion of Dalina A. Perdomo Álvarez to Assistant Curator. Since joining the MSU Broad Art Museum in 2021, Perdomo Álvarez has curated the exhibition “The Nightly News” and assisted with several major exhibitions, including “Shouldn’t You Be Working? 100 Years of Working from Home,” “DIGEST,” “Zaha Hadid Design: Untold,” “Kahlo Without Borders” and “Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of the United States.”

In 2024, Perdomo Álvarez will curate three exhibitions at the museum—the 2024 Art, Art History and Design Faculty Triennial, the 2024 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition, and “Diasporic Collage: Puerto Rico and The Survival of a People.” Perdomo Álvarez was previously the Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago and worked at The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture and the Video Data Bank.

DESIGN

City Claims “Incredible” Year For Chicago Cycling

“The city transportation department released its Cycling Strategy, billed as a ‘community-driven approach’ to creating a ‘more connected, healthy and sustainable’ city, with the goal of ‘designing and implementing 150 miles of bikeways in the coming years,’” reports the Sun-Times. “Chicago is coming off an ‘incredible year for cycling,’ after installing twenty-seven miles of ‘new and upgraded protected bike lanes,’ building eighteen miles of neighborhood greenways, distributing 1,900 free bikes and racking up a record 6.6 million trips on Divvy bikes.”

Land And Sea Dept. Set Salon In Logan Square Laundromat Space

“The owners of Longman & Eagle, Parson’s, Lonesome Rose and other restaurants and bars filed a zoning change last month for a Wrightwood Avenue property,” reports Block Club. “The building used to house Rosie’s Food Mart and Mr. Tony Laundromat and leather repair services.” The development “would add more businesses along the quieter stretch of West Wrightwood that has blossomed in recent years, with Sugar Moon Bakery, Exfolia Botanical and Necessary & Sufficient Coffee opening.”

Lincoln Park Gets 42,000-Square-Foot “Pickleball, Dining And Entertainment Concept”

SPF, “Chicago’s largest indoor pickleball facility,” has opened its first phase for reservations today for its members and later in the month for the general public. “The 42,000 square-foot pickleball, dining and entertainment concept will feature state-of-the-art amenities, new dining options and robust family programming, at 2121 North Clybourn.” More here.

Fulton Market SOM-Designed Apartments Find Financing

“A group of Chicago developers is set to start construction of a 308-unit apartment tower in the Fulton Market district after landing an $84 million loan for a project that provides the latest example of the high-demand neighborhood rising above a challenging financing landscape throughout the country,” reports CoStar. “Shapack Partners and CRG announced plans to begin work on the twenty-nine-story tower at 220 North Ada… The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed tower… will include sixty-two units with affordable rents and 12,300 square feet of ground-floor retail.”

ShadowBall Fashion Show At Macy’s State Street

Triveni Institute will present the ShadowBall Fashion Show, an event that challenges boundaries of fashion “to address critical issues of mental health and environmental sustainability.” The ShadowBall runway show will bring together “elements of creativity, empathy, and environmental consciousness,” featuring “curated ‘shadow looks,’ created from upcycled or found materials, symbolizing a commitment to sustainability and aiming to challenge the norms of consumerism.”

“Renowned crochet designer Scottie Rae Eskelund will headline the show, promising a raw and provocative exploration of human subconscious shadows, designed to evoke thought, empathy, and deep reflection on the human experience… Inspired by psychologist Carl Jung’s concept of the ‘Shadow Self,’ the production seeks to bring mental health narratives out of the shadows and into the light of collective consciousness.” Saturday, January 20 at Macy’s, 111 North State, 6pm-10pm. Tickets, $35-$105 here.

DINING & DRINKING

Ferrara Finished With Fifty-Year-Old Fruit Stripe Gum

Forest Park’s Ferrara Candy Company has pulled the plug on half-century-old Fruit Stripe, reports Food & Wine. “‘We have made the difficult decision to sunset Fruit Stripe Gum, but consumers may still be able to find the product at select retailers nationwide,’ a Ferrara Candy representative said in a statement.”

Starbucks Sued For “Ethical” Sourcing Allegedly Including Coffee From Rights-Abusing Farms

“A consumer advocacy group is suing Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee brand, for false advertising, alleging that it sources coffee and tea from farms with human rights and labor abuses, while touting its commitment to ethical sourcing,” reports NBC News.

FILM & TELEVISION

Auditorium Philms Concert Series Starts With “Blade Runner”

The Auditorium Theatre begins its Auditorium Philms Concert Series, with film scores performed in concert by the Chicago Philharmonic, with the North American premiere of “Blade Runner.” The original 1982 film (in Sir Ridley Scott’s 2007 “final cut”) will play in its entirety on the big screen on the Auditorium Theatre stage while an all-electric eleven-piece chamber orchestra made up of members of the Chicago Philharmonic perform the futuristic score by Vangelis in-sync with dialogue and sound effects from the original film. The one-night only performance is Saturday, February 17, 7:30pm. Tickets start at $59 here.

Mapping Today’s Chicago Series Location Work

“City neighborhoods might only be a few miles apart, but they can conjure vastly different worlds on shows like ‘The Bear’ and ‘Chicago Fire,’” marks Block Club. “Pilsen, Logan Square and Wicker Park are hot spots for TV filming because they’re close to local studios and they have different appearances, said Mono Wilborn, the locations manager for NBC’s ‘Chicago Fire.’ ‘Wicker Park, for instance, it’ll have many different looks. It’ll have an apartment building, really nice homes, homes with driveways, homes with coach houses.’”

LIT

Barbara’s Bookstore Owner Donald Barliant Was Eighty-Six

“Donald Barliant owned Barbara’s Bookstore for more than fifty years, expanding it from a single shop in Old Town to a chain that at one point had more than fifty locations, many in airports around the country,” reports the Tribune. “Barbara’s Bookstore was opened in 1963 by Barbara Siegel Kahn, the daughter of local authors’ agent Max Siegel, whose first store was in a three-story Victorian building at 1434 North Wells in Old Town that has since been demolished..”

“Even amid the expansion, Barbara’s maintained the vibe of a lively independent bookstore. A 1977 Tribune article likened the two Barbara’s Bookstore locations to San Francisco’s famous City Lights bookstore, while noting that the Chicago stores were ‘not as grungy.’… Today, Barbara’s Bookstore has eleven locations, all in the Chicago area.”

MEDIA

Bezos’ Washington Post Jettisons Research Department Alongside Veteran Reporters

“Top reporters have urged executive editor Sally Buzbee and publisher Will Lewis to address the gutted research department, a casualty of the paper’s roughly ten-percent staff reduction,” reports Vanity Fair. “The buyouts, they say, have ‘left us at a real disadvantage both in experience and sheer numbers.’ … ‘The solution so far is not really acceptable,’ the staffer said, noting that reallocating someone from another team ‘doesn’t replace two multiple-time Pulitzer researchers who can find anything in the world.’”

MUSIC

SoundCloud Seeks A Cool Billion

“‘The stakeholders have major investments; it’s time,’ says a former employee,” reports Billboard. “There’s a billion-dollar-plus opportunity in front of us,” SoundCloud “senior vp of creator” Tracy Chan has said. “One of SoundCloud’s former employees said most of the interest in the company came from private equity firms, not music companies.”

STAGE

Second City Instructors Set Strike

“Teachers who work at The Second City say they will go on strike and form a picket line outside the company’s Old Town theater if a contract isn’t reached by Tuesday—and there’s a good chance that actors, in solidarity, wouldn’t cross it,” reports the Sun-Times.

Steppenwolf Announces LookOut Spring 2024 Season

LookOut, Steppenwolf Theatre’s performance series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form, showcasing the work of Chicago dancers, choreographers and movement makers, has announced its spring 2024 season. Highlights from the lineup of seven unique engagements include Anjal Chande’s solo work “The Next Cup of Tea,” the culmination of seven years of development; Maggie Bridger’s “multimedia and universally accessible inquiry of pain and care”; and a work “exploring Black futures against the backdrop of empire from interdisciplinary artist Benji Hart.”

The LookOut Series also continues its curatorial residency program, offering an opportunity for a Chicago dance practitioner to curate a series of performances over a two-week span. Following the success of last season’s series work curated by Kara Brody and Amanda Maraist, this season Helen Lee curates a series entitled MERGE, with “musicians and dancers in unexpected configurations.” All LookOut performances take place in Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater. Tickets, $5-$35, are here.

Lyric Ryan Opera Center Announces Applications For Ensemble Conductor, Stage Director And Stage Manager

The Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera has set applications for singers in its 2025-26 ensemble. Singers from around the world are invited to complete an initial online application including video recordings. The Ryan Opera Center is an equal-opportunity employer/program and encourages qualified artists from historically underrepresented groups, including but not limited to those who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color, to apply for its Ensemble. Deadlines for submission range from March 18 through June 7, 2024 pending audition dates and location. Applications are free and must be submitted via YAP Tracker; free registration for a YAP Tracker account can be found here.

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

Choose Chicago CEO Lynn Osmond Stepping Down

Lynn Osmond is leaving after about twenty months running the city’s tourism arm as president and CEO, relays Crain’s. (Here’s the Sun-Times profile from March 2022: “After twenty-five years at the Chicago Architecture Center, Lynn Osmond will take over Choose Chicago as the agency prepares for a rebound in business and leisure travel.”) Adds WGN Radio: “Osmond is resigning at the end of this month, saying she wants to focus her time and energy on a family health matter. Osmond is stepping down ahead of several big events for Chicago this year, including the Democratic National Convention. As she departs, Osmond says the city’s tourism and hospitality industry is on a positive path and in a strong position to continue post-pandemic growth. Rich Gamble will act as interim Choose Chicago CEO.”

The Trib: “The organization’s interim leader, [Rich] Gamble, formerly served as COO of the Brookfield Zoo and spent sixteen years at the Chicago Tribune in various executive roles, including as publisher of Chicago Magazine. Beginning in February, he will guide the city’s tourism efforts as Choose Chicago conducts its search for a new CEO.”

“Landing Zone” Forced By Texas Governor’s Migrant Trafficking Overwhelmed; Governor Remarks

“Hundreds of migrants who recently arrived in Chicago have been staying in warming buses provided by the city and they haven’t taken a shower for days,” reports the Tribune. After a litany of indignities visited upon the migrants, the Tribune turns to causes in paragraph eighteen: “Last fall, Chicago was just starting to receive buses of migrants—mostly Venezuelan—from Texas, sent by Republican Governor Abbott to publicly challenge the city’s sanctuary promises. Sixteen months later, the buses have not stopped. The city has now received over 30,000 asylum-seekers, and it has become increasingly clear that most have no ties in Chicago, and no idea how or where to begin their new lives here.”

At a Wednesday appearance, reports Politico, Governor Pritzker reiterated the painful reality: “This is a cheap political stunt perpetuated by [the] governor in Texas, who is simply trying to score points for himself and his party.” Abbott’s party, the Republicans, Pritzker said, “is unwilling to come to the table to actually reach an agreement on comprehensive immigration reform and border security.” Pritzker hints he’s working on stopping charter flights trafficking to Illinois: “We’re trying to prevent those companies from leasing their planes to the state of Texas. You can’t tell a group of people, or an aircraft, that it can’t come somewhere. On the other hand, there are lots of things that would be a significant deterrent, and they already are working.”

Illinois Abortions Surged In Year Roe Overturned, With 17,000 Patients From Other States

“More than 56,000 abortions were performed in Illinois the year the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, marking the most pregnancy terminations statewide since the mid-1990s, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health,” reports the Tribune. “The rise in abortions that year was driven by a roughly forty-nine percent spike in out-of-state patients: Nearly 17,000 people came from other states to Illinois to terminate a pregnancy in 2022 compared with roughly 11,000 abortion seekers who traveled from other states in 2021… The number of Illinois residents having abortions in-state decreased slightly, from a little over 40,000 in 2021 to nearly 39,000 in 2022.”

“Rat Hole” Debunked

Longtime Roscoe Village residents debunk the sudden attention to the cartoon-like indentation of a long-dead distended rodent in area pavement, reports the Sun-Times. “Longtime residents on the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street say the critter isn’t actually a rat. ‘I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble or upset anybody, but it’s a squirrel,’ said Cindy Nelson, who has lived across the street from the imprint for over twenty years… Regardless, Nelson loves that the spot has become more famous. She sees people regularly stopping and photographing the rat hole throughout the day. ‘This is just so Chicago, I love it.’”

As UAW Notches Gains For Workers, Tesla Ups Pay

“Tesla Inc. notified workers at its California car plant of pay increases across its U.S. factories, the latest bump by a nonunion automaker the United Auto Workers is trying to organize,” reports Bloomberg. “All U.S. production associates, material handlers and quality inspectors are getting a ‘market adjustment pay increase’ to kick off the new year, according to a flyer posted at Tesla’s facility in Fremont, California. The document viewed by Bloomberg News doesn’t say how much of a raise workers will get. Tesla’s senior director of human resources didn’t respond to questions.”

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