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ART

Union League Club Monet Takes $9 Million

“The most-prized piece in the Union League Club of Chicago’s art collection sold at auction Tuesday night for just over $9 million, topping the median of the predicted range of $7 million to $10 million,” telegraphs Crain’s.

Driehaus Announces “A Tale Of Today”

The Driehaus Museum has announced “A Tale of Today: Materialities,” an expansive contemporary exhibition “that invites viewers to discover the history and architectural richness of the Museum through the eyes of artists who are rooted in the Midwest.” The Museum held a submissions open call in 2023, “asking artists to identify a material from the Museum, research its history, and produce site-specific responses that connect the fabric of the building to distant shores, traditions and ideologies. The commissioned works connect the past and present in original and compelling ways, linking different cultures to specific materials and allowing visitors to see the Nickerson Mansion through different perspectives.”

Guest curator Dr. Giovanni Aloi assembled a dynamic, three-floor exhibition, organized by the Driehaus Museum, that includes works from Rebecca Beachy, Jonas Becker, Olivia Block, Barbara Cooper, Richard Hunt, IOTO, Beth Lipman, Luftwerk, Dakota Mace, Bobbie Meier, Laleh Motlagh, Ebony G. Patterson, Jefferson Pinder and Edra Soto, working across disciplines. “A Tale of Today: Materialities” will run February 7-April 25, 2025.

Wrightwood 659 As Chicago’s “Buzziest Art Destination”

On a Lincoln Park side street, Wrightwood 659 is “a small, quiet, mighty art-world presence,” profiles WBEZ. The founder is Fred Eychaner, “the chairman of the media company Newsweb Corporation. Eychaner is a prominent Democratic donor, philanthropist and arts steward, having served on the boards of trustees for both the Joffrey Ballet and the Art Institute. According to the Washington Post’s list of the top fifty megadonors of the 2024 election cycle, he gave at least $32.7 million to Democratic causes.”

The private Eychaner “recruited the world-famous architect Tadao Ando, who had designed Eychaner’s own house, to convert 659 West Wrightwood into Wrightwood 659… Most of the space’s exhibitions are presented by Alphawood Exhibitions, an affiliate of the Alphawood Foundation, a grant-making organization promoting ‘an equitable, just and humane society,’ also founded by Eychaner.”

Hyde Park Art Center Promotes Mariela Acuña To Director Of Exhibitions

Hyde Park Art Center has promoted Mariela Acuña to director of exhibitions and residency programs. Acuña is an art administrator and curator from San José, Costa Rica. As exhibitions and residency manager at Hyde Park Art Center, she has led the Jackman Goldwasser Residency, which supports local, national and international artists and curators. She will continue to oversee the Art Center’s residencies, plus its publishing platform Green Lantern Press, and the Artists Run Chicago Fund, the regranting initiative which has distributed over a million dollars to nearly a hundred artist-run platforms since 2020. In her new role, Acuña will also oversee a program of twelve exhibitions each year at the Art Center. More HPAC here.

Minnesota Museum Of American Art Triples Gallery Space With $14.5 Million Wing

The Minnesota Museum of American Art, which has reopened as “The M,” now offers “more than 6,000 square feet of gallery space in St. Paul’s historic Pioneer-Endicott Buildings, and the new wing hosts a rotating exhibition of more than 150 artworks from the museum’s permanent collection. The makeover of the St. Paul museum includes a restoration of the 1889 Cass Gilbert-designed stained glass arcade ceiling,” reports the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Toledo Museum Of Art Swaps Crypto For Digital Art

The Toledo Museum of Art used a variety of cryptocurrencies “to buy an NFT in a new series by the artist collective Yatreda,” the name of which is four cryptic glyphs, reports the Art Newspaper. “Abyssinian Queen” (2024) is “the fifth digital work in the museum’s collection.” Yatreda—based between Ethiopia, Kenya and the United States—is the museum’s 2024 digital artist-in-residence.

Spudnik Press Names Interim Executive Director

Spudnik Press has named Meg Duguid as interim executive director. Duguid will lead the press after a period of rebuilding and structural shifts, planning to increase the community’s membership as well as outreach and partnerships across Chicago. “She brings her leadership and development talents to facilitate the necessary growth of the organization to return to a place of stability. This position will provide the direction and structure to expand its reach and effectiveness to implement the press’ new mission and priorities.” More Spudnik here.

DESIGN

Chicago Humanities Shares Jeanne Gang Appearance

The Chicago Humanities presentation “Jeanne Gang: The Art of Architectural Grafting” is on YouTube here. In the fifty-five-minute program, “she digs into how we can better recognize the cultural and environmental value in our existing building stock and expand on it in ways that bring new beauty and opportunity to our communities.”

“Framed Views” At Chicago Architecture Center

The Chicago Architecture Center presents “Framed Views: Open House Chicago Photography,” which opens November 23 and runs through June 1, 2025. The exhibition showcases Chicago’s built environment through the work of forty-five finalists from the nonprofit’s first photography contest, which was part of this year’s Open House Chicago. The photos, taken from over 1,300 submissions, are divided into interior, exterior, detail, and black-and-white categories, “capturing participants’ unique experiences as they engaged with Chicago’s stunning architecture during Open House Chicago. A panel of expert photographers will judge the entries and select a winner in each category in early December.” More here.

CTA Announces Holiday Trains Across All Eight Lines

In its thirty-third year, the CTA holiday fleet will continue its tradition through Chicago’s neighborhoods. “Today, as the train pulls into each station, Santa waves to riders from his sleigh on an open-air flatcar carrying his reindeer and decorated holiday trees. Each car of the train is wrapped with holiday and seasonal images. Thousands of twinkling lights outline the shape of the train and windows, with even more lights running across the tops of the cars.” Dates and details from the CTA here.

National Public Housing Museum Announces Ambassadors

“The National Public Housing Museum, the first museum in the United States dedicated to telling the stories and sharing the history of public housing in the country, has announced its newest team members: eight professional Museum Ambassadors who are current public housing residents,” the museum relays. “New hires Tameka Williams, Kira Bowman, Leonetta Dunn, Loretta Gholar, Gil Jones, Gentry Quinones, Donya Robinson and Trevia Virgin are all graduates of a Cultural Workforce Development Training Program offered by the Museum in partnership with the Chicago Housing Authority’s Workforce Opportunity Center. The Ambassadors will play a crucial role in making the National Public Housing Museum a welcoming space for all when the Museum opens to the public in early 2025.” More on the museum here.

Black Ensemble Theater’s Uptown Artist Housing Plan Gets Alder’s Support

Alder Angela Clay announced support for the Free To Be Village development from Black Ensemble Theater that will build fifty-three affordable apartments as well as a performing arts center, maps Block Club. “Located across from the existing theater, the new development at 4427 North Clark would include an arts and education center along with a residential building providing affordable one- and two-bedroom apartments to artists.”

Pokémon Go To Skynet

“Pokémon Go players have been unwittingly mapping the entire world to train a geospatial AI model whose most obvious use cases are for robotic navigation and possibly the military,” reports Jason Koebler at 404 Media. “Niantic says it is using data generated by Pokémon Go players to create a ‘Large Geospatial Model’ that can navigate the real world and power robots.”

DINING & DRINKING

Is The Tiny Martini Era Upon Us?

A few snapshots of what may be in store for restaurant in 2025, surveys the Infatuation, including mini martinis, masa (“There’s been an uptick in Mexican restaurants breaking down corn into masa to make tortillas in San Francisco, picaditos in Atlanta and tamales in Chicago”) and eastern European food (“At Anelya in Chicago, a zarusky cart is on the loose. It roves around with appetizers like chicken liver, and trout roe tarts, best enjoyed with a horseradish vodka infusion before eating your weight in chicken halushki”).

Eater’s Fourteen Best New American Restaurants Includes Bucktown’s Mirra

“Chicago has a well-earned reputation as one of the country’s best cities for Mexican food. Here, chefs showcase locally grown Mexican ingredients and heirloom masa processed by Mexican immigrants,” lists the national Eater site. “The most exciting new entry into the genre, Mirra, takes this formula and maps it onto the blueprint pioneered by Masala y Maiz, the landmark Mexico City restaurant that blends Mexican and Indian flavors without gimmickry.” More Mirra on Instagram here.

FILM & TELEVISION

Report Issued On Sustainability Of Chicago Film

A Chicago-based sustainability consultant, Ecofixr, has taken a look at the local film industry in a report here. “Designed for everyone from producers to production assistants, this hub offers valuable insights to inspire productions and events to reduce environmental impact, cut wasteful costs and create a positive footprint in our unique region [in a] journey toward meaningful change in the Midwest and beyond.”

Louisiana Retains Film Tax Incentive

“A committee of the Louisiana Senate voted to retain the state’s tax incentive for film production, while reducing the cap on the program from $150 million to $125 million,” updates Variety.

Disruption Ensues: Comcast Spins Off NBCUniversal Cable Channels For $7 Billion

A “new venture will house channels like E!, USA and MSNBC,” reports the Wall Street Journal. (The cast-off ventures also include Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.) “People familiar with the situation [said] that it will be better off without a business that was once its crown jewel.” At a Wednesday morning meeting with MSNBC personnel that included Rachel Maddow, Chris Jansing and Katy Tur, the new leader of Comcast’s tentatively named “SpinCo,” Variety reports, “could not definitively say the network wouldn’t have to change its name or remove NBC’s peacock from its logo… The executive did not have immediate answers about whether a unit for collecting and verifying news separate from that of NBC would have to ‘built from scratch.’”

The media conglomerate is keeping Bravo, reports Variety. “As Comcast spins off most of the NBCUniversal cable networks—USA, MSNBC, CNBC, E!, Oxygen, Syfy and Golf Channel—into a separate organization, it strikingly has decided to keep Bravo in the original company alongside NBC, Peacock and Telemundo… In a world of zombie cable networks, Bravo is one of the few channels still pulling its weight with original fare. Bravo’s lineup has helped fuel Peacock with megahits like ‘Vanderpump Rules,’ which gave the network its most-watched episode of all time last year with part one of its season ten reunion.”

STAGE

Critic Kris Vire Remembered

At the Tribune, Chris Jones collects reactions to the passing of writer Kris Vire. “Kris was both a critic and a champion of Chicago theater. Like people who love something best, he wasn’t afraid to speak the truth to those who need to hear it, while celebrating the best aspects of the amazing Chicago cultural scene,” said Frank Sennett, former president and editor-in-chief of Time Out Chicago. “Kris was just a delight.” Says Jones, “His work was rich in style and flair and his voice was very recognizable as his own.”

“One of my great regrets for Kris is that he did not get the opportunity to be a stronger voice in the last few years,” Vire’s partner Jose Torres posted on Facebook. “The few staff/full-time writing and editing opportunities that appeared in major Chicago media outlets over the past few years were often down to him and a very small pool of competitors. Kris had countless ideas for covering, challenging and advocating for the Chicago arts and culture scene. We often lamented the [destruction] of arts and culture news desks across the country over the years by private equity firms—Chicago certainly wasn’t spared.”

Editor John Dugan tweets: “Kris Vire, among the finest writers I had the pleasure of working with and briefly editing, just passed away. Great Chicago theater critic.” Vire’s most recent Chicago magazine piece ran earlier this month, a profile of photographer Mark Ballogg’s incursions into local artists’ workspaces.

Fire Atop Joffrey Tower Doused

Fire crews rushed to the Joffrey Tower on Tuesday night “and lined State Street alongside the high-rise,” reports WLS-TV. The blaze, “a boiler fire that started in a utility room,” was struck out after about twenty minutes. “The Joffrey Tower is located across Benton Place—a named alley—from the Chicago Theatre. It houses a two-story Walgreens store on the ground floor, the headquarters of the Joffrey Ballet, and twenty-three stories of residences.”

Minneapolis’ James Sewell Ballet Closing After Thirty-Five Years

The James Sewell Ballet is unable to “keep pace with the cost of living,” reports the Minnesota Star Tribune. The company will “close at the end of its thirty-fifth season in March… citing a changing arts funding landscape as a major reason for the decision.” Says artistic director James Sewell, “We’ve been in a strategic planning process for the last year and a half, and we’re realizing that the playing field in which we’ve operated our business model for thirty-four years really was not sustainable… That business model, the way we were fundraising, how we could earn money, all of those things were under threat.”

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

New Executive Director For 3Arts

3Arts has elevated Cat Tager, director of development and partnerships, to executive director, effective January 1, 2025. Tager, a professional musician in addition to being a longtime former board member and veteran arts administrator, succeeds 3Arts founding executive director Esther Grimm, who will serve as executive advisor January-March 2025. 3Arts’ mission is to invest in individual artists in the Chicago area, including women artists, artists of color, and deaf or disabled artists. More 3Arts here.

Shedd Unveils Sculpture In New Entryway

Visitors to the Shedd Aquarium will now enter beneath a hanging sculpture above Shedd’s brand new atrium. “The Once and Forever Lake Michigan” features 1,600 individually suspended fish made of vitreous china and modeled after native species in Lake Michigan. “The new, permanent art installation is just one of many major updates the aquarium has made to a transformed and greatly enhanced entry experience—evolved to make the Shedd’s building more accessible and make entering the aquarium more streamlined and welcoming.”

The Bill That Would Enable Trump Administration To Smash Nonprofits At Will

“Everyone from museums and nonprofit galleries to universities and art publications should be concerned,” reports Hyperallergic. “The House, which will continue to be under the control of Republicans along with the Senate and the White House next year, is already considering a new bill, the so-called Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (or HR 9495), which would grant the U.S. secretary of the treasury the power to strip nonprofits of their tax-exempt status if they’re designated to be a ‘terrorist-supporting’ organization—essentially allowing the Trump administration to arbitrarily target nonprofits viewed as political enemies.”

Jesse White Tumblers Turn Sixty-Five

“Some 20,000 kids have learned to backflip and somersault from the team of teachers, including ninety-year-old politician Jesse White himself,” reports the Sun-Times. In 1959, White “assembled his first group of kids for a gym show in the field house at the Rockwell Gardens housing project on the Near West Side. At the time, White was an elementary school gym teacher and had yet to enter politics.”

Adler Planetarium Reaccredited

The Adler Planetarium has been reaccredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest recognition afforded to the nation’s museums. There are only about 1,100 accredited museums in the United States. “Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. The Adler has been accredited since 1971. All museums must undergo a reaccreditation review at least every ten years to maintain accredited status.” More Adler here.

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