Play For All invites children and families with disabilities and Museum members to come and experience CCM’s inclusive, multisensory exhibits and programs. The museum opens at 10 am for Play for All guests to enjoy an exclusive hour of play, before opening to the general public at 11 am. The first 250 children and families with disabilities who register will receive FREE admission! Pre-registration is required for free admission. Guests can come and go all day.
Accessibility: Quiet Spaces, Wheelchair Accessible
Website: https://www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org/play-for-all
deCRIPtion is a program done in partnership between Bodies of Work and Access Living that offers monthly poetry and storytelling workshops built by and with disability in mind both in-person and virtually.
Clock Stammer: A Tactile-Acoustic Poetry Workshop (in-person)
“Feel the poem, hear time as it crips- tactile and acoustic storytelling for every bodymind.”
What does time feel like when it slows down, speeds up, or moves in unexpected ways? Clock Stammer is a hands-on poetry workshop where we use touch, sound, and everyday materials to explore how our bodies and minds experience time differently, shaped by our disability, mental health, or daily life in general. Together, we’ll make tactile “clocks” or mosaics that map our moods, energy, and daily rhythms. Using simple materials like fabric, foil, or string, we’ll create and share poetic pieces that can be touched, heard, and felt. Open to everyone; no prior art or poetry experience needed.
In addition to kinds of access listed in our event tags, deCRIPtion trains and works with Access Doulas and fosters a space of interdependence. If you need assistance writing, reading, speaking, or with other aspects of a workshop, there will be someone who will do their best to assist you. During the registration process, please let us know what other access needs or barriers you have and we will do our best to ensure you are able to come be fully in community with us. We routinely create image descriptions, larger font materials, or other access tools when requested with enough notice and where appropriate to the workshop.
Registration and more information at the link below:
Join us at the Nature Museum for a sensory friendly morning event for guests with disabilities and Veterans to explore our exhibits and experiences in a relaxed and accepting environment with their family members and companions.
Exclusive access for registrants 9:00am – 10:00am. Free tickets include museum admission for the day. Exhibits and experiences modified to be low sensory until noon.
Modifications for our Sensory Friendly Morning include:
Limited capacity with advanced registration
Exhibits modified for lower light and sound stimuli
Sensory friendly critter connections & first flight butterfly release
Accessibility supports available year-round:
Sensory kits
Quiet room for sensory breaks
And more
Accessibility: Sensory Friendly
https://tickets.naturemuseum.org/events/2373ee15-add0-fe29-d3bc-ae36ed2b0d9a
The Neo-Futurists are bringing The Infinite Wrench to United Church of Rogers Park. At The Infinite Wrench, you’ll see thirty plays in sixty minutes written and performed by The Neo-Futurist Ensemble. Each play offers something different, be it funny, profound, elegant, disgusting, topical, irreverent, terrifying, or musical; all are original, truthful and tackle the here-and-now, inspired by the lived experiences of the performers. With new plays every week, The Infinite Wrench is The Neo-Futurists’ ongoing and ever-changing attempt to shift the conventions of live performance and speak to this unreached or unmoved by traditional theater.
The United Church of Rogers Park is ADA-Accessible. All tickets are Pay-What-You-Can.
Accessibility: Wheelchair Accessible
https://neofuturists.org/events/tiw-at-united-church-of-rogers-park/
At Best of The Infinite Wrench, The Neo-Futurists will choose thirty of our favorite plays of the year and remount them for one last hurrah. Join the entire Neo-Futurist Ensemble as they take the stage together, turning back the clock in the name of experimental performance art and nostalgia. This performance will have ASL interpretation.
Accessibility: ASL interpreted.
https://neofuturists.org/events/best-of-the-infinite-wrench/
The Chicago Poetry Center presents BLUE HOUR, a free monthly in-person reading series and generative writing workshop. Our November featured readers are Iain Haley Pollock & Keetje Kuipers.
Each event takes place at Haymarket House (800 W. Buena) and includes a brief open mic followed by two featured poets. Pre-registration is free and recommended. The open mic includes five readers drawn lottery-style from a hat that goes out at 7:15. The reading starts promptly at 7:30. Each open mic poet reads one poem or for three minutes, whichever comes first.
The Chicago Poetry Center presents BLUE HOUR, a free monthly in-person reading series and generative writing workshop. Our November featured readers are Iain Haley Pollock and Keetje Kuipers.
Each event takes place at Haymarket House (800 W. Buena) and includes a brief open mic followed by two featured poets. Pre-registration is free and recommended. The open mic includes five readers drawn lottery-style from a hat that goes out at 7:15. The reading starts promptly at 7:30. Each open mic poet reads one poem or for three minutes, whichever comes first.
EVENT DETAILS FOR November 19:
– Workshop (registration required) begins promptly at 6 p.m., ends at 7 p.m.
– Performance space doors open and open mic sign-up begins at 7 p.m.
– Reading (registration recommended but not required) begins at 7:30, followed by community gathering time.
– Reading registration is free; the workshop is sliding scale with a suggested donation of $10.
About the Reading:
The Blue Hour reading features readings by two poets from Chicago and beyond, preceded by a five person lottery-style open mic and followed by community gathering time.
About the Workshop:
The Blue Hour generative writing workshop is suitable for writers and poetry fans of all levels. We will discuss a poem together, then Marty will guide the group through individual writing on an exploratory prompt that draws on themes from the poem.
About the Space:
Accessibility, Health, & Safety:
– All restrooms at Haymarket House are gender-neutral, including single-user and stalled restrooms.
– Each event includes ASL interpretation. Haymarket House is ADA compliant and fully wheelchair-accessible; email curator@poetrycenter.org to ensure ramp access and with any other accessibility needs.
– Masks are strongly encouraged for all indoor events, and the space is equipped with a professional air filtration system.
Join us for a FREE docent-led tour with ASL interpretation designed to ensure everyone can fully enjoy and engage with our exhibitions. This special tour will provide deeper insights into the art and stories on view, while making the experience accessible to our Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.
Play For All invites children and families with disabilities and Museum members to come and experience CCM’s inclusive, multisensory exhibits and programs. The museum opens at 10 am for Play for All guests to enjoy an exclusive hour of play, before opening to the general public at 11 am. The first 250 children and families with disabilities who register will receive FREE admission! Pre-registration is required for free admission. Guests can come and go all day.
Accessibility: wheelchair accessible, quiet spaces.
The Chicago Poetry Center presents BLUE HOUR, a free, public monthly in-person reading series and generative writing workshop. Our October featured readers are Rhoni Blankenhorn & Alicia Wright.
Each event takes place at Haymarket House (800 W. Buena) and includes a brief open mic followed by two featured poets. Pre-registration is free and recommended. The open mic includes five readers drawn lottery-style from a hat that goes out at 7:15. The reading starts promptly at 7:30. Each open mic poet reads one poem or for three minutes whichever comes first.
EVENT DETAILS FOR OCTOBER 15th:
The workshop (registration required) begins promptly at 6 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m.
Doors open and open mic lottery registration starts at 7 p.m. — the open mic begins promptly at 7:30, followed by our amazing featured readers.
Reading registration is free; the workshop is a sliding scale with a suggested donation of $10.
Register for the workshop here (required, and sells out quickly):
https://BHWorkshopOct2025.eventbrite.com
And RSVP for the reading here (recommended):
https://Oct2025BlueHour.eventbrite.com
View the livestream here:
https://www.youtube.com/@chicagopoetrycenter/streams
ABOUT THE READING:
The Blue Hour reading features readings by two poets from Chicago and beyond preceded by a five person lottery-style open mic and followed by community gathering time.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:
The Blue Hour generative writing workshop is suitable for writers and poetry fans of all levels. We will discuss a poem together then Marty will guide the group through individual writing on an exploratory prompt that draws on themes from the poem.
ABOUT THE SPACE:
Accessibility Health & Safety:
– All restrooms at Haymarket House are gender-neutral including single-user and stalled restrooms.
– Each event includes ASL interpretation. Haymarket House is ADA compliant and fully wheelchair-accessible; email curator@poetrycenter.org to ensure ramp access and with any other accessibility needs.
– Masks are currently strongly encouraged for all indoor events and the space is equipped with a professional air filtration system.
OCTOBER FEATURES:
Rhoni Blankenhorn is a Filipina American writer. Her poems can be found in The Slowdown, Asian American Writers’ Workshop’s The Margins, Narrative, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of fellowships and scholarships from Bread Loaf, Saltonstall, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Rhoni’s poetry debut, Rooms for Dead and the Not Yet, won the Trio Award, and was published with Trio House Press (July, 2025).
Alicia Wright is the author of “You’re Called By The Same Sound” (Thirdhand Books, 2025) and the forthcoming essay chapbook “A Coin, A Moth, A Literary Journal” from DoubleCoss Press. Her poetry appears in Kenyon Review, Chicago Review, and The Paris Review, among others. She is the editor of Annulet and publisher of Annulet Editions. She lives in Iowa City, where she works as Managing Editor of The Iowa Review.
ABOUT THE HOST:
Marty McConnell is a poet educator and healer based in Chicago. She is the author of when they say you can’t go home again what they mean is you were never there winner of the 2017 Michael Waters Poetry Prize; her first full-length collection wine for a shotgun received the Silver Medal in the Independent Publishers Awards and was a finalist for both the Audre Lorde Award and a Lambda Literary Award. Her first nonfiction book Gathering Voices: Creating a Community-Based Poetry Workshop is available through YesYes Books. She is the co-creator and co-editor of underbelly a web site focused on the art and magic of poetry revision. An MFA graduate of Sarah Lawrence College her work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Best American Poetry Southern Humanities Review Gulf Coast and Indiana Review.
To learn more about the series and history go here ( https://www.poetrycenter.org/reading-series/)
Accessibility: ASL Interpreted, gender-neutral bathrooms, wheelchair accessible.
Play For All invites children and families with disabilities and Museum members to come and experience CCM’s inclusive, multisensory exhibits and programs. The museum opens at 10 am for Play for All guests to enjoy an exclusive hour of play, before opening to the general public at 11 am. The first 250 children and families with disabilities who register will receive FREE admission! Pre-registration is required for free admission. Guests can come and go all day.
Accessibility: wheelchair accessible, quiet spaces.
Art/Access Lab: Open Lab provides artists in the disability community an affinity space for artists to share emerging projects, test ideas, and gain perspective on their work through community exchange.
Attendees are invited to support the creative process by first experiencing emerging projects that are in the development phase, then participating in a moderated conversation that delves into that work. Guided by the needs of the artist, this conversation may explore the themes presented in the work, invite the audience to ask questions and share critique, or the artist may ask questions to the audience regarding their experience of the work.
*Hybrid Event* Attend in person or via Zoom
Doors at 1:30pm
Event starts at 2:00pm
Event ends at 4:00pm
Accessibility: ASL interpreted, open captions, sensory friendly, virtual or in-person.
https://highconceptlabs.org/events/art-access-lab-october-2025
Along with the Chicago River, sway and dance with the wind, light, and grasses, finding symbiotic nature within and around yourself in a city!! Asian Body Therapist Jennifer O”Hara and award-winning dancer/choreographer Ayako Kato will guide you to sense our physicality with the way of nature! This is a part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks program and will take place at River Esplanade Park between 10 am – 12 pm on Sat, August 23, 2025. We gather at the large water fountain (upon registration, you will receive more detailed info). For more information about the event and free registration, please visit Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/noitp-art-of-being-move-with-waterways-river-esplanade-park-ver-3-2-tickets-1360601398409?aff=oddtdtcreator
Ayako Kato URL: www.ayakokatodance.com
A Gathering: Artists Design the Future & Community Of The Arts share the journey to accessible, inclusive ETOD work-live development in South Shore.
Imagine how art and culture build community, wealth and wellness and generate dynamic entrepreneurial zones.
Sisters in Cinema Media Arts Center is a fully accessible venue hosting ADtF for this conversation. Inclusivity and accessibility impact our work to center an arts and culture ecosystem in South Shore.
This gathering celebrates Disability Pride Month, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and innovation in arts and ownership.
Accessibility: ASL Interpreted, wheelchair accessible, all gender restrooms.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-gathering-tickets-1493522860079?aff=oddtdtcreator
Chicagoland DPOCC, UIC Disability Cultural Center, and Center on Racial and Disability Justice Hosts 5th Annual Accessible Juneteenth
For immediate release
2025 Accessible Juneteenth
Wednesday, June 18th, 2025
4 to 7:30 PM CDT
UIC Quad (near the UIC Student Center East Building)
750 S. Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60607
Join the UIC Disability Cultural Center, the Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition (supported by UIC’s Institute on Disability and Human Development), and the Center for Racial and Disability Justice at Northwestern University for the fifth Accessible Juneteenth, where we celebrate the Black disability community! We want to make Juneteenth a fun and accessible experience for all, including disabled people in the African Diaspora. We will have the following at the event:
Food
Performances
Open MicExhibitors
Family-friendly, Non-alcoholic Event
About Accessible Juneteenth 2025
This year, DJ Matt returns to bless us with music fit for our Accessible Juneteenth celebration.
We’ll kick the evening of performances off with Victoria Boateng’s djembe, and Accessible Juneteenth MC Donna will be BACK hosting an Open Mic where you can share your talents in singing, spoken word, playing instruments, and more! Pinqy Ring and J Bambii will headline the performances this year.
Sign up for the open mic now! Sign-ups for spots in person will be limited.Link to sign up for Open Mic: https://forms.gle/vSsJML6wQnXL8CXa8
We are excited to share food from Cook It Mama Café (sandwiches & salads with vegan & gluten-free options).
We’ll have tables where you can meet people from Black-owned and disability-owned/friendly organizations and businesses. If you’re a Black and/or disability-owned/friendly business and organization, and you would like to be an exhibitor, sign up at: https://forms.gle/ECokkvxpo9qqu1UZ9
We are also looking for volunteers to help run many aspects of Accessible Juneteenth; if you’re interested, sign up at: https://forms.gle/rv8thrYGcSxunYcX9
Access Information
ASL and captioning will be provided for the Open Mic and showcase portion. We’ll have tents for shade, and the nearby Latino Cultural Center will be available for a quiet, cool-off space! For the care of immunocompromised people in our community, please wear a mask indoors. We’ll have extras on hand! Accessibility requests, questions, or event inquiries can be sent to dcc@uic.edu
What to Expect
4:30pm Welcome and Announcements
5:00pm Open Mic & Showcase
Throughout: Food! Exhibitors! And more
Getting there
Accessible Juneteenth will be located along the north side of the UIC Quad (behind UIC Student Center East); 750 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL
From Halsted Street, enter Student Center East, and go to the back campus-facing doors. Continue straight between Lecture Centers C and D to the Quad.
From Harrison Street (near Blue Line west entrances), cross Harrison to the east of the tall white dorm with the Starbucks in it, and continue down the main sidewalk through campus. Go between Lecture Center A and B to enter the Quad.
From Taylor Street, go straight through the covered corridor through the Science and Engineering Labs, and continue straight. Go between Lecture Center E and D to the Quad.
From Taylor and Morgan, follow the path from the corner into campus, and veer slightly left to approach the Lecture Centers. Go between Lecture Center E and F to enter the Quad.
Go to a visual map with these access routes
The best address for scheduling pick-ups or drop-offs is Student Center East, a wheelchair-accessible building at 750 S Halsted St.
TRANSIT
Two blocks away from the West exit of the UIC/Halsted Blue Line train station.
The 7-Harrison and 60-Blue Island/26th CTA buses pick up on Harrison, in front of the Behavioral Sciences Building.
VISITOR PARKING LOTS
Halsted and Taylor Lot
Harrison Street Parking Structure (1100 West Harrison Street)
This event is brought to you by: Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition, The Institute on Disability and Human Development, UIC Disability Cultural Center, and Center for Racial and Disability Justice (Northwestern University)
Contact UIC Disability Cultural Center for more information or if you have any questions about the event: dcc@uic.edu.
Join us for a moderated community conversation exploring how artists of South Asia and the diaspora navigate careers at the intersection of art and disability. This event invites participants into a community-building experience that highlights the resilience of artists with disabilities working in creative fields that are often not designed with accessibility in mind. Together, we will engage in critical reflection and discuss how humanities-based institutions can lead the way in fostering more inclusive and accessible spaces.
The conversation will be moderated by Anand Venkatkrishnan, an intellectual historian of South Asian religion and author of Love in the Time of Scholarship: The Bhāgavata Purāṇa in Indian Intellectual History.
Featured speakers include:
Pooja Pittie, a Chicago-based visual artist living with a progressive form of muscular dystrophy, whose work explores the tension between a slowing body and an active, curious mind.
Grishma Shah, a self-taught painter and public health professional whose experience with a physical disability inspires her art and advocacy for disability as a valued identity.
Priya Rama, an Ohio-based artist who channels chronic migraines into vivid, expressive work, encouraging creativity as a response to chronic pain and stress.
ASL interpretation and online participation options will be available. Please RSVP to receive a zoom link morning of the event. Mask-wearing is strongly encouraged in person.
This program is supported by a Healing IL grant from the Field Foundation and Illinois Humanities.
Chicago Industry Exchange / Workshop
Join Lucas Joaquin, a producer on the recent A24 release Death Of a Unicorn, for an illuminating conversation about producing independent films.
Event will take place in the Claudia Cassidy Theater.
About Lucas Joaquin
headshot: Lucas JoaquinLucas Joaquin is a creative producer in New York City and a founding member, with producer Drew Houpt and writer/director/producer Alex Scharfman, of the production company Secret Engine.
Recent films include Death Of a Unicorn written and directed by Scharfman, starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, with A24, Ley Line, and Square Peg (SXSW 2025); Hold Your Breath directed by Karrie Crouse and Will Joines, starring Sarah Paulson released by Searchlight (TIFF 2024); House of Spoils directed by Bridget Savage-Cole & Danielle Krudy, starring Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, released by Amazon MGM Studios; and Andrew Semans’ Resurrection (Sundance 2022) starring Rebecca Hall and Tim Roth released by IFC Films and Shudder.
He was Executive Producer of Ira Sachs’s Peter Hujar’s Day, starring Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall (Sundance, 2025); Blow the Man Down, directed by Bridget Savage-Cole & Danielle Krudy (TIFF, 2019), released by Amazon Studios; and Ira Sachs’s Frankie, starring Isabelle Huppert and Marisa Tomei, (Cannes 2019) released by Sony Pictures Classics.
Before co-founding Secret Engine, Joaquin produced several acclaimed features, including Ira Sachs’s Keep the Lights On, Love Is Strange, and Little Men. He was a Sundance Creative Producing Lab Fellow, a member of AMPAS, has taught at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, and worked for several years with the prolific production company Parts & Labor (The Witch, Beginners).
Directed by Darren Thornton
Countries Ireland Year 2016
Synopsis
Released after a short stint in prison, Mary finds everything and everyone around her changed. Her best friend Charlene is engaged, but, convinced she’ll never find a date, refuses Mary a “plus one” at the wedding. Incensed, Mary sets out to prove Charlene wrong… but is she? A tough and tender comedy about friendship, first love, and finding your true self.
Language English
Run Time 82 minutes
Directed by Raine Allen-Miller
Countries United Kingdom Year 2023
Synopsis
In this visually vibrant, exhilarating modern romance, a chance meeting between Yas and Dom, two twenty-somethings both reeling from bad breakups, sparks an electrifying day of soul searching in South London. The two form an unlikely connection as they help one another nurse their heartbreak, hoping to restore their faith in love.
Join HCL, UDF, and Bri Beck for a facilitated community conversation surrounding the nuanced challenges of cross disability access in personal, professional, and communal spaces.
As disabled people, we often navigate the complexities of self-disclosure, accessibility, and supporting one another—especially when our access needs conflict. How do we balance personal well-being with community care? How can we acknowledge and navigate these tensions while fostering inclusivity?
Facilitated by Bri Beck, a licensed clinical professional counselor, this workshop invites participants into a thoughtful discussion on the realities of conflicting access needs. Together, we will explore expectations, boundaries, and the emotional complexities that arise when our needs don’t align. Through guided conversations and small-group discussions, we’ll reflect on real-life scenarios, share strategies, and consider how to create more inclusive spaces without sacrificing individual support.
All are welcome to join this important dialogue on the nuances of accessibility, interdependence, and the challenges of building truly inclusive communities.
ACCESSIBILITY: ASL Interpreted, Open Captions, Sensory Friendly, Wheelchair Accessible
Award-winning author and longtime climate and human rights activist Rebecca Solnit joins Chicago Humanities to explore how our actions can shape the future and the liberating possibilities of embracing uncertainty. In her latest collection of essays, No Straight Road Takes You There, Solnit dissects topics like climate change, feminism, democracy, hope, and power, and urges us to heed the stories we tell or have been told, and the ways those stories can be, or should be changed. She asks us to embrace unpredictability, slowness, and imperfection in the politics of how to change the world.
ACCESSIBILITY: Assistive Listening Devices, Open Captions, Quiet Spaces, Wheelchair Accessible
CONTACT: Marty McConnell, Blue Hour curator, marty@poetrycenter.org
The Chicago Poetry Center invites you to this year’s final three editions of Blue Hour, voted “Chicago’s best reading series 2025” by the Chicago Reader! Blue Hour is a free monthly in-person reading series paired with a generative writing workshop.
The next Blue Hour will take place on Wednesday, April 16. The writing workshop will run from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by the open mic and featured readers from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Our features for the night are Ayokunle Falomo and Viola Lee.
Ayokunle Falomo is Nigerian, American, and the author of “Autobiomythography of” (Alice James Books, 2024), “AFRICANAMERICAN’T” (FlowerSong Press, 2022), two self-published collections and “African, American” (New Delta Review, 2019; selected by Selah Saterstrom as the winner of New Delta Review’s 8th annual chapbook contest). He is the recipient of fellowships from Vermont Studio Center, MacDowell, and the University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program, where he obtained his MFA in Creative Writing—Poetry.
Viola Lee graduated from NYU with an MFA in Poetry. Her book “Lightening after the Echo” was published by Another New Calligraphy. She has published poems in literary journals throughout the US, including Barrow Street, Bellevue Literary Review, and Another Chicago Magazine. Her poems were finalists in the Pleiades Prufer Poetry Prize and the 2022 Mississippi Review Poetry Prize. Her manuscript “The Only Home” was a finalist in the 2023 Switchback Books’ Gatewood Prize, Semi-finalist in the 2023 Perugia Press Poetry Prize and finalist in the 2024 X.J. Kennedy Poetry Prize.
Registration for the April edition of the Blue Hour reading is available https://AprilBlueHour.eventbrite.com.
Registration for the April edition of the workshop is available https://april25-bluehour-workshop.eventbrite.com.
The workshop and reading both take place at Haymarket House located at 800 W. Buena in Chicago. The reading includes a brief open mic followed by two featured poets. Pre-registration is free and recommended.
May’s featured poets will be Nadia Alexis and Keith S. Wilson. Information about the series, including upcoming features and the history of the series, can be obtained here.
ACCESSIBILITY: ASL Interpreted, Wheelchair Accessible
Play For All invites children and families with disabilities and Museum members to come experience CCM’s inclusive, multisensory exhibits and programs. The museum opens at 10 am for Play for All guests to enjoy an exclusive hour of play, before opening to the general public at 11 am. The first 250 children and families with disabilities who register will receive FREE admission! Pre-registration is required for free admission. Guests came come and go all day.
Accessibility: Wheelchair Accessible, Quiet Spaces
https://www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org/accessibility-and-inclusion#pfa
Sunday, April 27
8 a.m.–10 a.m.
Lincoln Park Zoo is offering Sensory-Friendly Morning hours to benefit guests of all ages! People with disabilities or chronic illness, or members of the Deaf community, can experience the zoo grounds and animal buildings in a comfortable and inclusive environment. Modifications include limited capacity and muted attractions. This is a free event, but it does require advanced registration.
During Sensory-Friendly Morning, the Gift Shop will be open at 8 a.m. and Eadie Levy’s Landmark Café will sell beverages starting at 8:30 a.m. The Endangered Species Carousel and Lionel Train Adventure will operate with music and noises at lower levels. Not all animal buildings may be open, and some animals may not be in their public viewing spaces.
At 10 a.m., the zoo will be open to the public and begin typical operations.
View the zoo’s accessibility map HERE and its accessibility page HERE to help plan your visit.
Lincoln Park Zoo is certified Sensory Inclusive by KultureCity. Download the free KultureCity app with Lincoln Park Zoo’s social story on iOS or Android
Please enter at the West Gate or East Gate. You must present your registration email to zoo ushers.
Paid parking is available at the zoo’s parking lot located at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive (2400 N. Cannon Drive). The zoo is also accessible by train via the Armitage and Fullerton stations and by bus via the 22, 36, 151, and 156 routes.
All Lincoln Park Zoo events take place rain or shine. You may still enjoy the wonderful animal buildings if it rains, and the carousel is covered.
There is no smoking at Lincoln Park Zoo for the health of the animals in our care. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for additional guidelines.
Pets are not allowed at the zoo, but licensed service animals are welcome.
For more information, email access@lpzoo.org.
Sunday, July 20
10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo is a free program for all people who benefit from visiting the zoo without crowds and other sensitive environmental elements. This includes guests with sensory sensitivities, disabilities, and chronic illness. All guests are welcome at Sensory-Friendly Day. This limited-capacity event requires advanced registration.
During Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo, animal buildings may be open—but some animals may not be in their public viewing spaces. Low-sensory activities will be available.
While you may enter before or after your one-hour timed entry window, you are strongly encouraged to come during your assigned timed entry window to help limit crowd sizes. Limited crowd size is one of the most important ways to make this day sensory-friendly. Thank you.
View the zoo’s accessibility map HERE and its accessibility page HERE to help plan your visit.
Lincoln Park Zoo is certified Sensory Inclusive by KultureCity. Download the free KultureCity app with Lincoln Park Zoo’s social story on iOS or Android
Upon arrival, present your registration email to zoo ushers. Please note: This event is only happening at Farm-in-the-Zoo. The rest of Lincoln Park Zoo will operate as usual.
Paid parking is available at the zoo’s parking lot located at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive (2400 N. Cannon Drive). The zoo is also accessible by train via the Armitage and Fullerton stations and by bus via the 22, 36, 151, and 156 routes.
All Lincoln Park Zoo events take place rain or shine.
There is no smoking at Lincoln Park Zoo for the health of the animals in our care. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for additional guidelines.
Pets are not allowed at the zoo, but licensed service animals are welcome.
For more information, email access@lpzoo.org.
Join us at the Nature Museum for a sensory friendly morning event for guests with disabilities and Veterans to explore our exhibits and experiences in a relaxed and accepting environment with their family members and companions.
Exclusive access for registrants 9:00am – 10:00am. Free tickets include museum admission for the day. Exhibits and experiences modified to be low sensory until noon.
Modifications for our Sensory Friendly Morning include:
Limited capacity with advanced registration
Exhibits modified for lower light and sound stimuli
Sensory friendly critter connections & first flight butterfly release
Accessibility supports available year-round:
Sensory kits
Quiet room for sensory breaks
And more
Join us at the Nature Museum for a sensory friendly morning event for guests with disabilities and Veterans to explore our exhibits and experiences in a relaxed and accepting environment with their family members and companions.
Exclusive access for registrants 9:00am – 10:00am. Free tickets include museum admission for the day. Exhibits and experiences modified to be low sensory until noon.
Modifications for our Sensory Friendly Morning include:
Limited capacity with advanced registration
Exhibits modified for lower light and sound stimuli
Sensory friendly critter connections & first flight butterfly release
Accessibility supports available year-round:
Sensory kits
Quiet room for sensory breaks
And more
In Hands Up! Forgiveness, seasoned performers bring profound and deeply moving stories to life. Storytellers with and without disabilities share real-life experiences that reveal the transformative power of compassion, wisdom, and kindness in the face of pain and betrayal. These stories illuminate the difficult choices people make to let go of hurt, reminding us that forgiveness is a choice, not an obligation. It is sometimes less about absolving others and more about healing for oneself. The show will incorporate the uplifting and transformative djembe drumming performed by Victoria Boateng. In addition, the theme will be explored through the movement, music, and expressions evoked by the dances of ReinventAbility. This show invites us to see forgiveness not as an act of weakness, but as a courageous, self-nurturing choice that teaches us about the depths of empathy and strength we carry within.
This touch tour will include the opportunity to touch fabric swatches and accessories created to match the pieces on display, which will give tour-goers additional sensory information about select objects in the Dressed in History: A Costume Collection Retrospective exhibition. While this tour can be especially meaningful for visitors who are blind or have low vision, any Museum visitor will enjoy the experience.
Play for All invites children and families with disabilities to come and experience Chicago Children’s Museum’s inclusive, multisensory exhibits and programs free of charge with pre-registration. The museum will open at 10 am for pre-registered guests with disabilities and CCM members, before opening to the public at 11 am. Guests are welcome to come and go all day.
CCM‘s Play for All initiative creates a community where play and learning connect for visitors of all abilities. For accessible accommodations call (312) 321-6551 or email us at customersupport@chicagochildrensmuseum.org.
Once again, we will spend the Saturday morning before the Academy Awards “digging deeper” into some of this year’s most provocative nominees. This year, Oscar’s ballot aligns closely with ChicagoIFF’s programming, not just by sharing several titles in common but by showcasing a lively diversity of international cinema as well as English-language films that dwell in complex ways on ideas of nation and nationality. After an hour or so of clips and commentary, we will shift into 20 minutes of Q&A. Attendees will vote on their own favorites, with winners announced at the end of the session.
Recommended viewing: The Brutalist (in cinemas), Emilia Pérez (Neflix), Flow (multiple streaming services), or The Girl with the Needle (multiple streaming services)
Please note: The discussion does not include screenings of films.
Accessibility: captioned
https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/event/diggingdeeper-oscars/
Join award-winning screenwriter and playwright Virgil Williams (The Piano Lesson, Mudbound) in a Master Class on writing for film and television. Moderated by screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson (The Americans, Respect). Networking event to follow (with cash bar).
A veteran television writer and producer, Williams’ extensive credits include last year’s critically acclaimed adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Other credits include ground-breaking dramas ER and 24, as well as six seasons of CBS’s long-running procedural drama Criminal Minds. In November of 2017, Williams celebrated the release of his feature film debut, Mudbound. He also served as Executive Producer and originally adapted the script from the novel by Hilary Jordan. The critically acclaimed film was named the ‘Best Film of 2017’ by the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post and has earned numerous awards and accolades, including an Academy Award Nomination for Williams and cowriter/director Dee Rees for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also adapted Pulitzer Prize-winner Dana Canedy’s bestselling memoir A Journal for Jordan for director Denzel Washington and starring Michael B. Jordan. Williams was born and raised in Chicago, and his scripts often draw from his experiences growing up as a bi-racial kid in a city with a long history of racial tension.
Moderator
headshot: Tracey Scott WilsonTracey Scott Wilson wrote the teleplay for MGM’s film Respect; served as a co-executive producer and writer on Fosse/Verdon; and was a co-executive producer on FX’s award-winning series The Americans, where she wrote for five seasons and received two WGAE awards, two Peabody awards, and a Golden Globe. Tracey is also a renowned playwright (Buzzer, The Good Negro, The Story), and has received several distinctions, including the 2003 AT&T Onstage Award, the 2007 Weissberger Playwriting Award as well as the 2007 Time Warner Storytelling Fellowship. Currently, she is the Barbara Berlanti Professor in LGBTQ Writing for the Stage and Screen in the Department of Radio/Television/Film at Northwestern University.
Please note the film following the talk will not feature captions.
Accessibility: captions for the discussion only
https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/event/cixlab-virgilwilliams/
Join us at the Nature Museum for a low sensory morning event for guests with disabilities and Veterans to explore our exhibits and experiences in a relaxed and accepting environment with their family members and companions.
Exclusive access for registrants 9:00am – 10:00am. Free tickets include museum admission for the day. Exhibits and experiences modified to be low sensory until noon.
Modifications for our Low Sensory Morning include:
Limited capacity with advanced registration
Exhibits modified for lower light and sound stimuli
Sensory friendly critter connections & first flight butterfly release
Accessibility supports available year-round:
Sensory kits
Quiet room for sensory breaks
And more
The theatrical production of Frozen brings Disney’s beloved animated film to life and fills the stage with winter magic. Bring your friends and family for this holiday extravaganza, a snowy Disney fairytale reimagined for the stage by Paramount Theatre.
The open captioning setup includes a LED screen close to the stage. Purchase tickets to these performances online, over the phone or in person. Standard ticket prices apply.
https://paramountaurora.com/events/frozen-the-broadway-musical/
Calm Waters is an exclusive event for guests with disabilities and Veterans to explore Shedd Aquarium’s exhibits and experiences in a comfortable and accepting environment. Modifications for this event will include limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration.
Modifications for Calm Waters Include:
Limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration
A sensory friendly app
A low-sensory animal spotlight with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation
An animal encounter opportunity
Complimentary 4D Experiences during the event
Family members and companions are welcome.
https://www.sheddaquarium.org/plan-a-visit/accessibility/calm-waters
KCM welcomes children with disabilities and their families for an afternoon of learning and play focused on them. Our Museum campus is designed for universal accessibility with a purpose to encourage linguistic, cognitive, motor and social skills for all children ages birth to 8. -16 hands-on Museum exhibits. -One-on-one interactive activities with trained, registered therapy animals and other partners. -Quiet room for stimulation breaks. -Museum staff providing play support and guidance. -A free family pass for 4 to return to the Museum.
Accessibility: Sensory Friendly
Philip Metres will read from his new book Fugitive/Refuge, an extended qasidah reflecting on exile and family histories of forced migration from global violence. Chicago poet Faisal Mohyuddin will read from his new book Elsewhere: An Elegy, a meditative and spare collection on fatherhood and grief.
Murmurs from the poets:
A toast to the migrants
the authors of movement
who write with their
feet
— Philip Metres, from Fugitive/Refuge
We have always been the displaced children of displaced children,
Tethered by distant rivers to abandoned lands, our blood’s history
lost.
— Faisal Mohyuddin, from Ghazal for the Diaspora
This event is part of the Poetry Foundation’s fall 2024 season, Murmuring Americas. All Poetry Foundation events are completely free of charge and open to the public, though advanced registration is encouraged. The performance space is ADA-compliant and wheelchair-accessible, and the program will feature CART captioning and ASL interpretation. For more information about accessibility at the Poetry Foundation, please visit our Accessibility Guide.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/events/1602229/fugitive-refuge
Written by Chicago poet Timothy David Rey, Zip! is a prophetic and ghostly timewarped drama about Nancy Reagan’s fervor for astrology, interlaced with a Black gay love story, set on the eve of the AIDS epidemic and the Reagan assassination attempt. The play runs approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.
Zip! is a 2023 semi-finalist for the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Further development occurred during the author’s time as a 2022 fellow in the playwriting cohort of the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ+ Writers-Faculty Advisor, Jewelle Gomez. Zip! was given its second table-read as part of the 2021 End Of Play Program (hosted by the Dramatist Guild of America/ The 24 Hour Plays NYC).
Some of Rey’s other plays include White/House (Finalist, eta New Play Initiative, 2020), Gloria, The (Almost) Last Picture Show, and The Monologue Play: An Ongoing Work Exploring Race, Sex, Identity…And The American Myth (‘22,‘23 Changing Worlds/ Arts Work Fund Award Recipient).
Director: Roger Ellis
Cast: David Goodloe, Caren Skibell, Stephen Glaspie, Wannapa Pimtong Eubanks, Anniela Hubidoro, Saleem Hue Penny, and Donovan Session.
Production Team: Opening Graphic-Rob Riutta/ Ross Parsons, Choreography-Ayako Kato, Props-Julie Williams, Sound-Ayme Frye.
Murmurs from ZIP!:
NANCY: I tell you I’ve been honing my foresight over the past few months, ever since my husband’s inauguration, and it’s getting stronger every
day.
— Timothy David Rey, from ZIP!
This event is part of the Poetry Foundation’s fall 2024 season, Murmuring Americas. All Poetry Foundation events are completely free of charge and open to the public, though advanced registration is encouraged. The performance space is ADA-compliant and wheelchair-accessible, and the program will feature CART captioning and ASL interpretation. Please note, this event will not be livestreamed. For more information about accessibility at the Poetry Foundation, please visit our Accessibility Guide.
KCM welcomes children with disabilities and their families for an afternoon of learning and play focused on them. Our Museum campus is designed for universal accessibility with a purpose to encourage linguistic, cognitive, motor and social skills for all children ages birth to 8. -16 hands-on Museum exhibits. -One-on-one interactive activities with trained, registered therapy animals and other partners.-Quiet room for stimulation breaks. -Museum staff providing play support and guidance. -A free family pass for 4 to return to the Museum.
Accessibility: Sensory Friendly
https://www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org/outreach-programs/eap/
Three award-winning poets read from their latest collections grappling with landscapes of grief. National Book-winning Chicago poet Daniel Borzutzky’s The Murmuring Grief of the Americas exhumes the necrophilic underbelly of carceral capitalism and authoritarianism in the hemispheric Americas. Pulitzer Prize-winning language poet Rae Armantrout’s Go Figure tries to find humor and consolation in a disaster-ridden world. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Forrest Gander’s novel-poem Mojave Ghost takes grief on a memory-ridden pilgrimage home, walking 800 miles across the Mojave Desert.
Murmurs from the poets:
We ask the murmurers what they want to do with themselves now that they don’t get to live anymore. They say they want to love all the things they could not love when they were
alive.
— Daniel Borzutzy, from The Murmuring Grief of the Americas
A sentimental journey through a doomsday
scenario
— Rae Armantrout, from Go Figure
Walking the rift, they keep their voices small. Shallow vibrations scuttle along the fracture
zone.
— Forrest Ganders, from Mojave Ghost
This program is part of the Poetry Foundation’s fall 2024 season, Murmuring Americas. All Poetry Foundation events are completely free of charge and open to the public, though advanced registration is encouraged. The performance space is ADA-compliant and wheelchair-accessible, and the program will feature CART captioning and ASL interpretation. For more information about accessibility at the Poetry Foundation, please visit our Accessibility Guide.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/events/1597650/the-murmuring-grief-of-the-americas
Kelsey Street Press, a small press with an explosive history of publishing radical queer and trans BIPOC and women authors, celebrates its 50th anniversary. Publishing experimental feminist poetics since 1974, Kelsey Street Press has been pivotal in addressing gender disparity in publishing. Their formidable lineage includes Etel Adnan, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Renee Gladman, Fanny Howe, Erica Hunt, Bhanu Kapil, Myung Mi Kim, Camille Roy, and Cecilia Viçuna.
Four poets with recent or forthcoming publications from Kelsey Street Press will read at this event. Kiran Bath is the author of Instructions for Banno (2024), a debut collection which moves through ritual, ruptured diary, field notes, and family genealogy to grapple with the inherited trauma of becoming a South Asian bride (banno). Jennifer (JP) Perrine is the winner of Kelsey Street Press’s 2023 QTBIPOC Prize for Beautiful Outlaw (forthcoming in 2025). Rena Rosenwasser, a co-founder of the press, has four poetry collections published by the press across four decades: Elevators (2011), Isle (1992), Simulacra (1986), and Desert Flats (1979). Metta Sáma is the author of Swing at your own risk (2019), a formally inventive and incisive critique of anti-blackness in the US empire.
Reading 6-7:15 PM
Reception with open bar 7:15-8:30 PM
Murmurs from the poet:
America,
this land is my land this land is her land
from the Mexican border to the New England
shoreland this land is Not your land this body is
Not your body this tongue is Not your tongue this
language will cut you will peel back the
flesh
— Metta Sáma, from Swing at your own risk
The Interior is the City within the
Self
— Rena Rosenwasser, from Elevator
Omissions in language are intentional. We do not speak of = We do not recognize = It’s not possible. A negation. A mirror that shows you as
invisible.
— Kiran Bath, from Instructions for Banno
any answer I give is a half-answer
any answer arrives through the mouth of an
american
— Jennifer Perrine, from Beautiful Outlaw
This program is part of the Poetry Foundation’s fall 2024 season, Murmuring Americas. All Poetry Foundation events are completely free of charge and open to the public, though advanced registration is encouraged. The performance space is ADA-compliant and wheelchair-accessible, and the program will feature CART captioning and ASL interpretation. For more information about accessibility at the Poetry Foundation, please visit our Accessibility Guide.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/events/1597497/kelsey-street-press-50th-anniversary
At the heart of the Play For All initiative is the belief that every individual, regardless of their abilities, deserves an enriching museum experience.
Accessibility: sensory-friendly
Join Abra Berens in conversation with Greta Johnsen for delicious insights into innovative recipes with simple and sustainable ingredients. With a background in Midwestern farming, the celebrated author and chef shares her farm-to-table approach with tips for the climate and your own kitchen. Walk away with a packet of seasonal recipes and inspiration to start conversations around your own table!
This event will have ALDs onsite at the Box Office.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/abra-berens-x-greta-johnsen/
The Neo-Futurists present an ADA-Accessible and ASL-interpreted performance of The Infinite Wrench in partnership with Free Street Theater at Pulaski Park.
At THE INFINITE WRENCH you’ll see thirty original plays in sixty minutes, written and performed by The Neo-Futurist Ensemble.Each play offers something different, be it funny, profound, elegant, disgusting, topical, irreverent, terrifying, or a song; all are truthful and tackle the here-and-now, inspired by the lived experiences of the performers. With new plays every week, THE INFINITE WRENCH is The Neo-Futurists’ ongoing and ever-changing attempt to shift the conventions of live performance and speak to those unreached or unmoved by traditional theater.
The Infinite Wrench will be preceded by a performance from the Free Street Youth Ensemble. Free Street will present a short excerpt from one of their recent works. Since 1969, Free Street Theater has been at the forefront of creating inclusive & accessible theatre in Chicago. Free Street is a femme-led arts and culture organization that centers original performance work by Black, Brown, and Immigrant communities; queer artists; youth artists; and work that is committed to the thriving and well-being of people on the South and West Sides of the city. We believe in the theater as a space to uplift joy and justice, especially racial, economic, and environmental justice in Chicago.
Tickets to this performance are pay-what-you-can. Please reserve them in advance. Masks are required.
Accessibility: ASL Interpreter
Join us for an extraordinary fusion of art and narrative in a unique storytelling event, on Saturday, August 31 (2-4 pm) at South Asia Institute.
Eight dynamic South Asian American artists from the highly acclaimed group exhibition, Are Shadow Bodies Electric?, a section of the groundbreaking exhibition, What is Seen and Unseen: Mapping South Asian American Art in Chicago series, will candidly share details of their personal artistic journeys.
This is a unique opportunity to hear them recount their experiences of creating art while navigating the complexities of their intersectional identities, and to celebrate the achievements of the diverse group who have contributed to shaping the South Asian American art landscape in Chicago. The program will be led by Jitesh Jaggi, a Chicago based Moth award-winning storyteller.
Featured artists:
Tara Asgar, Sabba S. Elahi, Brendan Fernandes, Amay Kataria, Shaurya Kumar, Tulika Ladsariya, Udita Upadhyaya, and Kunal Sen
This event and the exhibition ” What is Seen and Unseen” is part of Art Design Chicago, a citywide collaboration initiated by the Terra Foundation for American Art that highlights the city’s artistic heritage and creative communities.
Summer Screenings is Cinema/Chicago’s annual free film series that casts a spotlight on a different country’s national cinema each week all summer.
These shorts, all featured at past Festivals, display the brilliance and variety of our city’s incredible filmmakers. They explore a friendship in crisis (A Real One), the sisterhood bonds (Video Funeral), the inherent comedy of an overprotective mother (Grizzlies), a meditative cab ride (Saya), the meaning of success (Winning in America) and a supernatural animation (Step Into the River).
DIRECTED BY McKenzie Chinn, Linh Tran, Fawzia Mirza, Anam Abbas, Alex Heller, Weijia Ma, and Amrita Singh
Accessibility includes open captions and wheelchair accessibility.
Synapse Arts turns 20! The Birthday Bash is a celebration of Synapse Arts in a welcoming, festival-type environment.
All attendees will get a cupcake and have access to our open events: performances, dance films screenings, games.
But when you donate at the level of your choice, you can add some additional flair to your Birthday Bash experience, including a Interactive Museum tour, pre-registration for dance classes, and more!
Please see accessibility features available at the event:
– Sensory considerations
– ASL events
– Front desk people trained on welcoming service animals
– Spaces accessible for wheelchair users and people with mobility assistance devices
– Rest area (with Maggie Bridger, a sick and disabled dance artist, scholar, and access worker interested in re-imagining pain through the dancemaking process)
– All gender restrooms
– Masks available and encouraged but unable to require due to park
For additional assistance, questions, or to request specific accommodations, please contact info@synapsearts.com or text 947-2CREATE (947-227-3283).
Orientation video with captions: https://vimeo.com/984444567
Birthday Bash – Access and Location Information, also known as “wayfinding”: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qaBNxVdcxQ6lv4MqhQGTsBgXLvW4ASyXqLqgrGm-HJY/
Accessibility includes sensory considerations, ASL events, wheelchair accessible, rest area, all gender restrooms, and sighted guide.
The Chicago Poetry Center and The Green at 320 S. Canal are proud to reintroduce this free, weekly reading and open mic series co-curated by CPC’s Poets in Residence Tarnynon Onumonu and Timothy David Rey.
Join us on certain Monday nights in July at 6pm. in this beautiful setting to hear outstanding featured poets perform their work in this partnership between Chicago Poetry Center and The Green at 320 S. Canal. After every poetry performance, there will be an open mic for any individual that would like to share poetry of their own!
https://www.poetrycenter.org/poetry-the-green-at-320-summer-2024/
Millennium Park Summer Music Series features a wide variety of music from established and emerging artists at the iconic Jay Pritzker Pavilion.
Corinne Bailey Rae
English singer/songwriter/musician Corinne Bailey Rae shot to stardom with her self- titled #1 U.K. debut album in 2006, featuring the global hits “Put Your Records On” and “Like A Star.” Over the course of her career she has released four critically acclaimed studio albums—Corinne Bailey Rae, The Sea, The Heart Speaks in Whispers, and Black Rainbows—and earned two Grammy Awards, two MOBOS, and has been nominated for multiple awards including the BRIT Awards, Mercury Music Prize and BET Awards. Her work for film and television includes the theme to Stan Lee’s Lucky Man (SKY1), “The Scientist” for Universal Pictures’ Fifty Shades Darker opening title and soundtrack which charted globally, and in 2020 her song “New to Me” was performed in the film The High Note by Tracee Ellis Ross. Bailey Rae has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Mary J. Blige, Al Green, Herbie Hancock, KING, Paul McCartney, Kele Okereke, Eric Benet, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Questlove, Salaam Rami, RZA, Tyler The Creator, Paul Weller, Richard Hawley, Stevie Wonder, Tracey Thorn, Pharrell, Logic, Mick Jenkins and many more.
Terrace Martin
A five-time GRAMMY-nominated artist, producer and multi-instrumentalist from LA’s Crenshaw District, Terrace Martin is renowned as one of the world’s leading jazz musicians AND hip-hop producers. This singular standing is captured on his countless influential collaborations including Kendrick Lamar (good kid, M.A.A.D. city & To Pimp a Butterfly), Stevie Wonder, Travis Scott, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Herbie Hancock, and Leon Bridges’ “Sweeter” (performed at the DNC). From his own acclaimed releases like the protest anthem “PIG FEET”, and his GRAMMY-nominated, star studded album, DRONES (featuring Kendrick, YG, Leon Bridges, Cordae, and more) to the GRAMMY-nominated Dinner Party (The musical supergroup of Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder), and his most recent single “Chucks (feat. Channel Tres)”. Among the most versatile creatives in a generation, Terrace’s path is leading him in parallel with the greats like Quincy Jones or Dr. Dre, while also launching his vibrant, progressive, genre-crossing record label record label Sounds of Crenshaw.
This event includes ASL interpretation, wheelchair accessibility, assistive listening devices, audio description, digital programs, and large print programs.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park9.html
Millennium Park Summer Music Series features a wide variety of music from established and emerging artists at the iconic Jay Pritzker Pavilion.
Béla Fleck
Few musicians in any category seem as uncategorizable as Béla Fleck. After initially making his mark with the progressive bluegrass group New Grass Revival, Fleck proceeded to take his instrument, as New York Times critic Jon Pareles noted, “to some very unlikely places.” He formed the Flecktones, a groundbreaking group whose repertoire ranged from fusion to Bach; the group celebrates its 46th anniversary this year. In addition, he has played jazz with Chick Corea, American roots with his partner, banjoist Abigail Washburn, written concertos for banjo and orchestra, and created a documentary film and album, Throw Down Your Heart, that examined the banjo’s African roots. Along the way, he has won 18 Grammys across 10 categories.
Zakir Hussain
The pre-eminent classical tabla virtuoso of our time, Zakir Hussain is appreciated as one of the world’s most esteemed and influential musicians, one whose mastery of his percussion instrument has taken it to a new level, transcending cultures and national borders. A child prodigy, accompanying India’s greatest musicians and dancers from his early years, and touring internationally while still in his teens, Zakir has been at the helm of many genre-defying collaborations including Shakti, Remember Shakti, Masters of Percussion, Diga, Tabla Beat Science, CrossCurrents, Sangam and Grammy-award winners Planet Drum and Global Drum Project. A revered composer and educator, Zakir is the recipient of countless honors, most recently the 2022 Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy, the 2022 Aga Khan Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in January, 2023, the title of Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award.
Edgar Meyer
Aptly described by The New Yorker as “the most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively un-chronicled history of his instrument,” double bassist and composer Edgar Meyer is at home in a broad spectrum of musical styles. A MacArthur Fellow and Avery Fisher Prize winner, he is eminently at home within classical music, both performing traditional works and also his significant catalog of original solo, chamber, and orchestral pieces. His 30-year relationship with Yo-Yo Ma has yielded seven recordings together, and his upcoming projects include a duo recording with jazz bassist Christian McBride and a recording of all four of his concertos with the Knights and the Scottish Ensemble, produced by Chis Thile.
Rakesh Chaurasia
Like Zakir Hussain, Rakesh Chaurasia comes from Indian classical music royalty. His uncle, Pandit Hariprasad Chaursia, is widely considered the greatest bansuri player in India, and Rakesh — who started playing at age five — is deemed his most brilliant student. Not only has he mastered the techniques of Indian classical music, he has developed additional techniques allowing him to venture into other styles of playing, particularly with his crossover band Rakesh and Friends. A composer as well as flautist, he has written and performed on numerous Indian movie soundtracks, and in 2007 was awarded the Indian Music Academy Award.
This event includes ASL interpretation, wheelchair accessibility, assistive listening devices, captioning, open captioning, digital programs, and large print programs.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park9.html
This summer, DCASE is pleased to present the Millennium Park Summer Film Series, presented by Pluto TV, on Tuesdays from July 16 through August 20. Films start at 6:30pm (with the exception of the double feature starting at 6pm). All films are open caption. Gates open at 5pm.
Guests may take a seat at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion or lounge on the Great Lawn as crowd-pleasing movies are presented on the state-of- the-art, 40-foot LED screen. Address for Paratransit is 201 E. Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601. For more information about accessibility at Millennium Park visit https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park1.html.
In partnership with the Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals (CAFF), each screening will also showcase one of the many independent film festivals that are a part of Chicago’s vibrant film community.
August 13 – Wonka
(116 minutes, PG)
Highlighting the 40th anniversary of Chicago International Children’s Film Festival
Starring Timothée Chalamet, this 2023 musical fantasy film tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a character in the 1964 novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl, depicting his early days as an innovative chocolatier.
This event includes wheelchair accessibility, assistive listening devices, accessible seating, open captioning, and large print programs.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park7.html
This summer, DCASE is pleased to present the Millennium Park Summer Film Series, presented by Pluto TV, on Tuesdays from July 16 through August 20. Films start at 6:30pm (with the exception of the double feature starting at 6pm). All films are open caption. Gates open at 5pm.
Guests may take a seat at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion or lounge on the Great Lawn as crowd-pleasing movies are presented on the state-of- the-art, 40-foot LED screen. Address for Paratransit is 201 E. Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601. For more information about accessibility at Millennium Park visit https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park1.html.
In partnership with the Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals (CAFF), each screening will also showcase one of the many independent film festivals that are a part of Chicago’s vibrant film community.
July 30 – Barbie
(114 minutes, PG-13)
Highlighting the one-year anniversary the launch of Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals
Nominated for eight Academy Awards, Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
This event includes wheelchair accessibility, assistive listening devices, accessible seating, open captioning, and large print programs.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park7.html
This summer, DCASE is pleased to present the Millennium Park Summer Film Series, presented by Pluto TV, on Tuesdays from July 16 through August 20. Films start at 6:30pm (with the exception of the double feature starting at 6pm). All films are open caption. Gates open at 5pm.
Guests may take a seat at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion or lounge on the Great Lawn as crowd-pleasing movies are presented on the state-of- the-art, 40-foot LED screen. Address for Paratransit is 201 E. Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601. For more information about accessibility at Millennium Park visit https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park1.html.
In partnership with the Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals (CAFF), each screening will also showcase one of the many independent film festivals that are a part of Chicago’s vibrant film community.
July 23 – Coco
(105 minutes, PG) (Played in English audio with Spanish subtitles)
Highlighting the 40th anniversary of Chicago Latino Film Festival
From Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz, despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.
This event includes wheelchair accessibility, assistive listening devices, accessible seating, open captioning, Spanish captioning, and large print programs.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park7.html
The Chicago Air and Water Show presented by the City of Chicago is the largest FREE show of its kind in the United States. The show can be viewed along the lakefront from Fullerton to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach as the focal point.
This event includes audio description and wheelchair accessibility.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_air_and_watershow.html
Vocalist Michelle Coltrane, daughter of Alice Coltrane, and harpist Brandee Younger come together for An Oral History of Alice Coltrane. Part conversation, part performance, the event features oral histories and biographical stories of Alice Coltrane interwoven with performances and demonstrations from Brandee Younger, bringing the stories to life.
Through creative works and masterful performances, Alice Coltrane’s pioneering practice has changed the music world. She grew up playing music in her Baptist church, and by the 1950s established herself as a proficient bebop pianist in the Detroit scene. She met John Coltrane in 1963 and was his primary musical collaborator until his death in 1967. Prolific in her creation, Alice’s innovative style incorporated both gospel and jazz, leading to iconic works like Journey in Satchidananda (one of Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums). Once a profound musician, beloved spiritual leader, and pragmatic businesswoman, Alice Coltrane is now remembered as deeply giving human, known for her emphasis on charity work, education, and spiritual guidance.
MCA Music Talks pair powerhouse musicians with artists, activists, writers, and thinkers to take on big ideas in art and culture. These intimate evenings of performance and conversation reveal art world anecdotes, shared ideas, and creative inspirations.
This program is organized by Laura Paige Kyber, Assistant Curator of Performance, in partnership with The John & Alice Coltrane Home.
English CART Captioning and ASL are provided.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/music-talk-an-oral-history-of-alice-coltrane/
Summer Tuesdays come alive on the MCA terrace with free concerts highlighting artists from Chicago’s internationally renowned music community. Enjoy live music while relaxing on the lawn with your own picnic, or savor snacks and drinks available for purchase. Then head inside to catch the MCA’s summer exhibitions—we’re open late on Tuesdays and free for Illinois residents.
This Tuesday enjoy the soulful sounds of Rudy de Anda, whose romantic bilingual songs are the perfect company for a summer night.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/tuesdays-on-the-terrace-rudy-de-anda/
This event is wheelchair accessible.
Summer Tuesdays come alive on the MCA terrace with free concerts highlighting artists from Chicago’s internationally renowned music community. Enjoy live music while relaxing on the lawn with your own picnic, or savor snacks and drinks available for purchase. Then head inside to catch the MCA’s summer exhibitions—we’re open late on Tuesdays and free for Illinois residents.
After a two-year hiatus, beloved Chicago vocalist Maggie Brown returns to the MCA Terrace with her seasoned quintet.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/tuesdays-on-the-terrace-maggie-brown/
Summer Tuesdays come alive on the MCA terrace with free concerts highlighting artists from Chicago’s internationally renowned music community. Enjoy live music while relaxing on the lawn with your own picnic, or savor snacks and drinks available for purchase. Then head inside to catch the MCA’s summer exhibitions—we’re open late on Tuesdays and free for Illinois residents.
In conjunction with the Guatemalan Consulate, this Tuesday we will be joined by Jorge Morataya-Marimba, whose band will grace the MCA stage to serenade us with the sounds of the Guatemalan national instrument: marimba.
Lineup:
Jorge Morataya
Zuleika Díaz
Carlos Ortiz
Ángel de Leon
Please note that this event will be taking place inside the Edlis Neeson Theater and seating will be limited.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/tuesdays-on-the-terrace-jorge-morataya-marimba/
On Sunday, June 23 from 10am to 3pm, Lincoln Park Zoo will host Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo. Modifications include limited capacity. This is a free event, but it does require advanced registration. Please register HERE.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sensory-friendly-day-at-farm-in-the-zoo-tickets-910936173617
Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo is a free program for all people who benefit from visiting the zoo without crowds and other sensitive environmental elements. This includes guests with sensory sensitivities, disabilities, autism, PTSD, and dementia to name a few. All guests are welcome at Sensory-Friendly Day.
During Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo animal buildings may be open, but some animals may not be in their public viewing spaces. There will also be low sensory activities.
Timed Entry Window: While registered guests will be let in before or after their one-hour timed entry window, guests are strongly encouraged to come during their timed entry window to help limit crowd sizes. Limited crowd sizes is one of the most important ways to make this day sensory-friendly. Thank you.
View the zoo’s accessibility map HERE and accessibility page HERE to help plan your visit.
Lincoln Park Zoo is certified Sensory Inclusive by KultureCity. Please download the free KultureCity app with Lincoln Park Zoo social story.
iOS Android
Upon arrival guests need to present their registration email to zoo ushers. This event is only happening at Farm-in-the-Zoo. The rest of Lincoln Park Zoo will have typical operations for the day.
Paid parking is available at the zoo’s parking lot located at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive (2400 N. Cannon Drive). The zoo is also accessible by train via the Armitage and Fullerton stations and by bus via the 22, 36, 151, and 156 routes.
All Lincoln Park Zoo events take place rain or shine.
There is no smoking at Lincoln Park Zoo for the health of the animals in our care.
Pets are not allowed at the zoo, but licensed service animals are welcome.
For any questions, please email access@lpzoo.org.
On Sunday, June 23 from 10am to 3pm, Lincoln Park Zoo will host Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo. Modifications include limited capacity. This is a free event, but it does require advanced registration. Please register HERE.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sensory-friendly-day-at-farm-in-the-zoo-tickets-910936173617
Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo is a free program for all people who benefit from visiting the zoo without crowds and other sensitive environmental elements. This includes guests with sensory sensitivities, disabilities, autism, PTSD, and dementia to name a few. All guests are welcome at Sensory-Friendly Day.
During Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo animal buildings may be open, but some animals may not be in their public viewing spaces. There will also be low sensory activities.
Timed Entry Window: While registered guests will be let in before or after their one-hour timed entry window, guests are strongly encouraged to come during their timed entry window to help limit crowd sizes. Limited crowd sizes is one of the most important ways to make this day sensory-friendly. Thank you.
View the zoo’s accessibility map HERE and accessibility page HERE to help plan your visit.
Lincoln Park Zoo is certified Sensory Inclusive by KultureCity. Please download the free KultureCity app with Lincoln Park Zoo social story. iOS Android
Upon arrival guests need to present their registration email to zoo ushers. This event is only happening at Farm-in-the-Zoo. The rest of Lincoln Park Zoo will have typical operations for the day.
Paid parking is available at the zoo’s parking lot located at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive (2400 N. Cannon Drive). The zoo is also accessible by train via the Armitage and Fullerton stations and by bus via the 22, 36, 151, and 156 routes.
All Lincoln Park Zoo events take place rain or shine.
There is no smoking at Lincoln Park Zoo for the health of the animals in our care.
Pets are not allowed at the zoo, but licensed service animals are welcome.
For any questions, please email access@lpzoo.org.
Accessible Juneteenth 2024
Tuesday, June 18th, 2024
4pm to 7:30pm
Welcome and Announcements at 4:30pm
Open Mic & Showcase at 5:30pm
Place: the UIC Quad (behind UIC Student Center East); 750 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL. See the map at https://go.uic.edu/2024_AccessibleJuneteenth_Map for more details on where the Quad is located, which public transportation stops and garages are nearby, and where paratransit and rideshare can pick/drop you off.
Date and Time: Tuesday, June 18th, 2024 from 4pm to 7:30pm
Come and celebrate our fourth Juneteenth, when we celebrate the black disability community and the victories we accomplished! We want to make Juneteenth a fun and essential accessible experience for all, including disabled people in the African Diaspora. The theme for the 4th Annual Accessible Juneteenth celebration is Black National Anthems.
This year, we will have a DJ who will bless us with music fit for our Accessible Juneteenth celebration. We will kick the evening of performances off with Domo Moons’ rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” We will host an open mic where you can share your talents in singing, spoken word, playing instruments, and more! Sign up for the open mic at go.uic.edu/OpenMicJuneteenth or at the event in-person. But hurry, because spots are limited! Don’t miss feature performances from RISE, DomoMoon, Victoria Boateng, Cherlnell Lane, Complex Theory and MORE Special Guests.
There will be food, giveaways, and resources given out by vendors, including those from Black-owned and disability-owned/friendly organizations and businesses.
ASL and captioning will be provided for the open mic and showcase portion. In care of immunocompromised people in our community, masking is required for our indoor spaces. We’ll have extras on hand!
If you cannot attend the celebration in person, that is okay! Watch the live stream on Chicagoland DPOCC’s Facebook page (@ChiDPOCC) on June 18th.
This event is brought to you by:
Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition
The Institute on Disability and Human Development
UIC Disability Cultural Center
UIC Black Studies
UIC Black Cultural Center
Access Living
NIDILRR : National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research
DCAL : The Disability Culture Activism Lab
Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
UIC Black Cultural Center
Raising Cane’s
IPlayGames
Cook It Mama
MORE Sponsors and Vendors to be announced, stay tuned!
In these short films from the queer underground, unruly rebels trespass, shoplift, scheme, skate, surf, fuck, and joyfully plot their revenge on a society which seeks to punish deviance. Featuring a live DJ set by easygoingtech at 9pm.
America loves outlaws. Curious paradox: a police state which valorizes those who don’t fall in line, provided they have the right combination of individualism and normative appeal. Our ideal outlaws can transgress for themselves, for family, maybe for a love interest—but never for a group. Never for a community. Above all, our mythic outlaw, whatever his motivations, works alone. The valorized American outlaw-hero could either be a criminal living in bold defiance of the law or an upright citizen forced to tragically buck the rules of society due to unusual circumstances. But what about those who can neither disregard the law nor take temporary hiatus from its approval? Those for whom adhering to the rules of society means destruction?
Stealing testosterone to redistribute to trans men, trespassing to dance, shoplifting to feed your friends, defiling a colonizer’s grave, assassinating a billionaire: these short films find in criminality the potential for new social forms, beautiful acts of love, and collective liberation. The rules are fucked up. Why not break them?
7:30pm show will be followed by a Q&A with “The Beach Boys” writer/director Milo Talwani, moderated by program curator Henry Hanson with Live CART captioning.
THE FILMS
Hormonal (Maz Murray, 2023) 12:22, UK
Young trans guy Gary catches eyes with brooding trans geezer Ian across the square of their Essex hometown, and unwittingly walks into a testosterone heist plot… (Instagram: @maz_murray @chazzamnazza_makesstuf)
Cicada (FRANK/ie CONSENT, 2021) 6:30, USA
A single-take dance video shot in an abandoned industrial lot, set to a radio broadcast switching between music and Trump-era punditry. Used tires, hula hoops, cereal, chalk circles, and a burning mattress. (Instagram: @soysage)
Skate Bitches (Samuel Shanahoy, 2012) 17:10, Australia
A DIY film about an all-girl skate gang who steal each other candy, terrorize the streets and are BFF’s. Will the gang survive the drama of a new girl on the block? (Instagram: @teeveedinner)
FUCK THE FASCISM – The Crossroad of Two Worlds (MariaBasura, 2020) 9:35, Chile
A group of queer activists take revenge on colonizers past and present through guerilla pornography. (Instagram: @basurapandemicx_2.0)
Play Structure (FRANK/ie CONSENT, 2020) 2:28, USA
In this mixed-media music video combining live action and various animation styles, mischief-makers dance in the burning streets of Atlanta. (Instagram: @soysage)
The Beach Boys (Milo Talwani, 2024) 20:32, USA
Two trans surfer bros are on a mission to suicide bomb Jeff Bezos…but not before spending one last, perfect day riding epic waves and smoking dank kush. (Instagram: @autobimbophilia)
https://facets.org/programs/disorderly-conduct/
This salon-style gathering invites attendees to share and discuss artwork, short performances/readings, clips, scenes, and anything else they might be working on. Sharing a project is optional. For those who wish to share, projects in any medium are welcome: time-based work (video, dance, song, spoken word, etc) should be limited to five minutes and any fine art should not require installation.
The event will begin with a short welcome and introduction to the Art/Access Lab series presented by HCL and UDF. The rest of the event will consist of short showings interspersed with time to mingle with fellow artists with disabilities.
Virtual attendees will have the option of attending the showings and discussions in the main zoom space or breaking off into smaller groups through break out rooms.
The event is intended to be relaxed, with attendees invited to come, go, and participate in whatever way feels best for them. The event will wrap with a short announcement of upcoming Arts/Access Labs and information about how to participate in future gatherings, including paid opportunities to show works-in-progress.
We encourage those who would like to share to sign up through the registration form. When possible, we will also accommodate day-of sign ups.
A few more logistics about sharing projects:
Digital files can be submitted in advance to info@highconceptlabs.org or brought to the event on a USB drive.
A projector, mixing board, microphone, and speakers will be available for use.
Small items (visual art, crafts, etc.) may be passed around among attendees.
Other visual art may be free standing or leaned against a wall.
Text-based work may be read aloud by the artist, or another attendee.
HCL and UDF staff are happy to provide additional support as needed.
Who Should Attend
Art/Access Labs are centered around artists with a lived experience of disability including Deaf, disabled, sick, neurodivergent, and Mad artists, and those working through their relationship to these categories, working in all mediums, with anyone who is invested in fostering a vibrant creative ecosystem inclusive of artists with disabilities.
RSVP
Advanced registration is appreciated but not required.
https://highconceptlabs.org/events/art-access-lab-welcome-salon
“The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love, we begin to move toward freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. That action is the testimony of love as the practice of freedom.”
—bell hooks
Liberation is defined as the act of being freed from imprisonment, slavery, or some type of captivity. Love and liberation are two things that go hand in hand. One cannot exist without the other. There are different kinds of love: self, familial, platonic, romantic, community, cultural–– the bounds are limitless. How has love acted as a liberating force in your life? Contributing youth artist are asked to consider the theme of “Love and Liberation” broadly and to interpret this prompt creatively in their submissions.
ASL and CART captioning are provided.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/21minus-love-and-liberation/
A work-in-progress sharing, this event will consist of both the movement- and the textual-based research explored over the course of the residency.
ASL is provided for this event.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/dance_residency.html
Love is a universal language; it transcends identity and culture. Love is more than a feeling; it is a tough invitation that encourages sacrifice and commitment. Love is a never-ending journey that is always beginning. But what is love in the absence of compassion and wonder?
#OTVTonight, your favorite intersectional Late Show, returns to MCA Chicago for an intimate evening filled with care and admiration for the stories that help us to cultivate a bond that is strong enough to heal, prepare, and transform unstable foundations.
Join us in the Edlis Neeson Theater for the premiere of handpicked titles inviting us to open a window into love, interspersed with artist interviews, live DJ sets, pop-up performances and more — all hosted by OTV’s Co-Founder and Executive Diva, Elijah McKinnon. Remember, the future of television is intersectional. If you don’t believe it, let OTV show you.
For live updates on #OTVTonight: A Window Into Love, visit bit.ly/otvtonight.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/otvtonight-a-window-into-love/
Join us to celebrate the last Family Day of the season!
Sueños Music Festival will be raffling two pairs of tickets for the Sueños Music Festival event.
Join us as we bring together incredible local artists for a day of workshops and interactive experiences.
Salvador Andrade will be leading a collaborative workshop using found objects that draw inspiration from Mexican textiles.
Mr. Pintamuro, known for his captivating artwork that merges Aztec and Mayan storytelling with Japanese anime, will share his expertise and creativity with families.
Printmaker Atlan Arceo will guide participants of all ages through a workshop on various print techniques for all ages.
The Mexican Consulate of Chicago is collaborating with us to share two stories from Home is Somewhere Else, directed by Carlos Hagerman and Jorge Villalobos, which is a unique and timely animated documentary that tells stories of immigrant youth, exploring each character’s inner world alongside their colorful hopes, and dreams for a better future.
Don’t miss our family workshop, Tell Me About Your Wings, to learn more about the traditional techniques of indigenous cultures in Mexico, such as the Wixárika, in commemoration of Jorge Marín’s sculpture Wings of Mexico.
Last but not least, Borderless Magazine will be conducting family interviews for all ages to highlight stories that will be published in the near future!
Designed and led by Chicago artists, Family Day is a monthly program that allows families and youth to connect and engage with contemporary art through activities and performances for all-ages. Enjoy FREE admission while taking part in workshops, open studio sessions, gallery tours, performances, and more.
Activities are facilitated in English and Spanish with ASL interpretation provided.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/family-day-migration-stories/
Watch the city breathe life into the stories of ten local young filmmakers. From documentaries to music videos, this program represents the city’s long-term love affair with art and culture.
Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Virtual Screening
Available to stream globally April 22 @ 12:00pm CT through April 28 @ 11:59pm CT for a 48-hour watch window with Closed Captions.
https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/film/cineyouth2024-chicagolens/
Join House of DOV in the Dance Studio for an intimate view of the rehearsal process and participate in the creation of a new work by Drew Lewis with live music by Family Junket.
Drew Lewis (he/him) is a performer, choreographer, composer and educator originally from Oak Park, IL. He graduated magna cum laude from Cornish College of the Arts in 2016. Drew has performed extensively with Sidra Bell Dance New York, C-LS, Project 44, Attack Theatre, The Joel Hall Dancers, The Lyric Opera of Chicago and in projects by Lucy Riner and Erin Kilmurray. In 2020, Drew formed his own small ensemble, House of DOV, whose debut performance was selected as a finalist for the Chicago Reader’s Best of 2021. House of DOV has since performed throughout Chicago, including the full-length Heavy Objects, commissioned and presented by Steppenwolf Theatre, and Drew has created works for many other venues and projects.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/dance_residency.html
Soulfully rooted in playful praise, this Praise House Language workshop will be a creative circle of expression with testimonials, dance, art-making and song. Through a guided process that centers care, participants of all experiences and backgrounds are able to step into the rehearsal process being used to develop “Praise House Ceremony”. The workshop facilitation is informed by Keisha Janae’s spiritual and faith-based experience.
Previously a teaching artist and Alumni of Columbia College Chicago, Keisha taught house dance on the west and southside of Chicago. She is a well-established improvisational movement artist, accompanied as a soloist for “ Black Monument Jazz Ensemble,” “Sebau,” Katherine Davis, and Ben LaMar Gay. She’s also performed for the Instigation Festival, Freedom From Freedom Too, BraveSoul Movement, and Project Tool. Keisha has been honored as the 2021 3arts Make a Wave awardee, 2021/22Links Hall resident artist, BeBe Millers Solo/Duo Dancing Project Mentee, and Featured in Chicago Takes 10. Passionate about community engagement, Keisha is a Housing Case Manager helping the homeless and underprivileged populations stabilize their housing and health and also personally develop. A creative care community facilitator, she encourages her audience to discover themselves and find release through artistic forms of self-expression. Her aspirations are to rebuild the bonds between family and community through the creative arts and the spiritual upliftment of praise.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/dance_residency.html
Soak is a dance-based performance project that emerges from a study of public bathing. This work considers how both dance and bathing practices carve out space to imagine new ways of relating to our bodies and each other. This piece explores the movements of pleasure and leisure, collectively created social space, and the relationship between body, sound, and environment.
Amalia Raye Wiatr Lewis (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist working with living beings, experiences, and objects. Rooted in ecological wonder and an exploration of the sacred, she works with dancers, non-dancers and sound artists to create site-specific performances and public interventions. She holds a BA from Bennington College in Vermont, where she studied choreography, visual art and anthropology, and an MFA from the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art in Trondheim, Norway. She has performed with national and international artists at galleries and museums and has shown her own work in the U.S., Mexico, Norway, France, Germany and Pakistan.
This performance will include ASL Interpretation.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/dance_residency.html
On Sunday, April 28 from 8-10am, Lincoln Park Zoo is offering Sensory-Friendly Morning hours for guests with disabilities, chronicle illness, or Deaf to experience the zoo grounds and animal buildings in a comfortable and inclusive environment. Modifications include limited capacity and muted attractions. This is a free event.
Register for FREE tickets HERE.
During Sensory-Friendly Morning, Gift Shop will be open at 8am and Landmark Café will sell beverages starting at 8:30am. Endangered Species Carousel and Lionel Train Adventure will operate with music and noises muted. Not all animal buildings may be open, and some animals may not be in their public viewing spaces.
At 10am, the zoo will be open to the public and begin typical operations.
View the zoo’s accessibility map HERE and accessibility page HERE to help plan your visit.
Lincoln Park Zoo is certified Sensory Inclusive by KultureCity. Please download the free KultureCity app with Lincoln Park Zoo social story.
Guests may only enter at West Gate and East Gate, and they need to present their registration email to zoo ushers.
Paid parking is available at the zoo’s parking lot located at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive (2400 N. Cannon Drive). The zoo is also accessible by train via the Armitage and Fullerton stations and by bus via the 22, 36, 151, and 156 routes.
All Lincoln Park Zoo events take place rain or shine. We have some wonderful animal buildings you can still enjoy if it rains, and the carousel is covered.
For any questions, please email access@lpzoo.org.
Accessibility: Sensory-Friendly
Love is a universal language; it transcends identity and culture. Love is more than a feeling; it is a tough invitation that encourages sacrifice and commitment. Love is a never-ending journey that is always beginning. But what is love in the absence of compassion and wonder?
#OTVTonight, your favorite intersectional Late Show, returns to MCA Chicago for an intimate evening filled with care and admiration for the stories that help us to cultivate a bond that is strong enough to heal, prepare, and transform unstable foundations.
Join us in the Edlis Neeson Theater for the premiere of handpicked titles inviting us to open a window into love, interspersed with artist interviews, live DJ sets, pop-up performances and more — all hosted by OTV’s Co-Founder and Executive Diva, Elijah McKinnon. Remember, the future of television is intersectional. If you don’t believe it, let OTV show you.
For live updates on #OTVTonight: A Window Into Love, visit bit.ly/otvtonight.
Accessibility: Sensory Friendly, ASL, English and Spanish captions, quiet spaces
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/otvtonight-a-window-into-love/
Join House of DOV in the Dance Studio for an informal showing of a new work-in-progress by Drew Lewis, featuring music by Family Junket.
Accessibility: ASL
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/dance_residency.html
Curiosities of Wellness in Bodies of Grief and Joy
Glimpse into the rehearsal process of building choreography in the round for 7 dancers. While this work currently has several sections from 2 previous iterations, this open rehearsal (with possible audience participation) will focus on a new section. Join us as we stumble along together to sounds written by Lee and arranged and performed by Sharon Udoh on the piano. Laughter and tears are encouraged.
Sensory-Friendly Morning is a free program for all people who benefit from visiting the MCA without large crowds and other sensitive environmental elements. This includes visitors with sensory sensitivities, disabilities, autism, PTSD, dementia, and more. On these mornings, lighting at the museum is dimmed, sounds from artworks and environmental noise is kept at a minimum, a quiet space is available to visitors for breaks, and a Chicago-based artist facilitates a sensory-friendly art-making experience.
Sensory-Friendly Morning aims to be a welcoming space to experience contemporary art in a judgment-free environment.
WHO: Beverly Arts Center in partnership with the Beverly Area Arts Alliance – https://www.thebeverlyartscenter.com | https://beverlyarts.org/
WHAT: “This Living Earth – Our Shared Gaia” Exhibition
WHEN: April 5 – 27, 2024
WHERE: Beverly Arts Center, Simmerling 2nd Floor Gallery, 2407 W. 111th St, Chicago, IL 60655
ARTISTS’ RECEPTION
“This Living Earth — Our Shared Gaia” opening reception will be held on Friday, April 5, 2024, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Admission to the family-friendly exhibition and reception is free to the public.
Facebook Event Invitation: https://www.facebook.com/events/1090169548901618
Beverly Arts Center is pleased to present the art exhibition titled “This Living Earth – Our Shared Gaia” in its second floor gallery, which is a cross section of visual observations from nature by 12 northern Illinois / Indiana artists in a variety of media. Both naturalism and abstraction are investigated by this group of artists: Sharon Bladholm, Gabriella Boros, Victoria Fuller, Kathryn Gauthier, Fletcher Hayes, Mike Barret Kolasinski, Basia Krol, Deborah Maris Lader, Kim Laurel, Dorothy Mason, Gregory Mejia, Renee McGinnis.
The Gaia theory as a world concept focuses on observing how the biosphere and the evolution of life forms contribute to the stability of our planet. Hortus Botanicus (the botanical garden) is the underlying common influence that permeates each of these artists’ work, whether of landscape, plant, water and animal study or as allegorical metaphors for our natural world in flux. Works exhibited are a figurative treatment of our nature subjects sometimes alluding to other symbolic meanings.
Those symbols of our natural world are expanded on as pattern, texture, color, form and light. We invite you to observe this diverse group of visual expressions compiled by the curator/artist team of Kim Laurel and Fletcher Hayes.
“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” — Henry David Thoreau
Accessibility: Wheelchair Accessible.
Chicago Children’s Museum’s Play for All initiative creates a community where play and learning connect for visitors of all abilities. Play for All invites children and families with disabilities to come and experience CCM’s inclusive, multisensory exhibits and programs.
The museum will open at 10 a.m. for pre-registered children and families with disabilities and CCM members before opening to the public at 11 a.m. The first 250 children and families with disabilities who register will receive FREE admission! Pre-registration is required for free admission.
Accessibility: Wheelchair Accessible, Accessible & All-Gender Restrooms, Sound-reducing Headphones, Open Captions, Assistive Listening Devices, Quiet Spaces.
Sensory-Friendly Morning is a free program for all people who benefit from visiting the MCA without large crowds and other sensitive environmental elements. This includes visitors with sensory sensitivities, disabilities, autism, PTSD, dementia, and more. On these mornings, lighting at the museum is dimmed, sounds from artworks and environmental noise is kept at a minimum, a quiet space is available to visitors for breaks, and a Chicago-based artist facilitates a sensory-friendly art-making experience.
Sensory-Friendly Morning aims to be a welcoming space to experience contemporary art in a judgment-free environment.
Accessibility: sensory-friendly
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/sensory-friendly-morning-8/
A family fun film with story & games
A crayon who is mistakenly labeled “r-e-d” could never draw anything right until a friend changed everything and helped him be true to himself!
Accessibility: The film includes the story, an interactive quiz and ASL lesson, all presented with ASL performance, enhanced text, voice over, animation & original music.
Details
March 10, 2024 @ 2-4 p.m.
Chicago History Museum
1601 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614
Free with RSVP at bit.ly/Red-ASL-Film
Parking
Public parking is conveniently located one block north of the Museum near Clark and LaSalle streets at 1730 N. Stockton Drive. $10 with Museum validation.
Presented by Sally Is Sarah Productions, CHS, Chicago History Museum
https://www.sallyissarahproductions.com/events/red-chicago-history-museum
About the Event
In MOBY DICK; or, The Whale, award-winning filmmaker and visual artist Wu Tsang embarks upon a feature-length, silent-film telling of Herman Melville’s great American novel. The film features original orchestral music composed by Caroline Shaw and Andrew Yee with Asma Maroof, which is performed live by the Chicago Sinfonietta.
This adaptation, written by Sophia Al Maria and directed by Tsang, follows the white whale above and below the surface of the water, developing a visual cosmology that resists the exploration and exploitation of the earth under imperial colonialism. Tsang’s approach pairs the classic story of the whaler’s ”floating factory” with the beginnings of the film industry. MOBY DICK; or, The Whale was shot entirely on a soundstage combining silent-era filmmaking techniques with Virtual Production, a virtual reality game engine projecting surreal ocean environments.
The narrative is interwoven with extracts by the Sub-Sub-Librarian, a character played by acclaimed poet Fred Moten, and tackles the novel’s subterranean currents, encountering the resistance of the ship’s hydrarchy, or organizational structure, and collectives of “mariners, renegades, and castaways,” as described by historian C.L.R. James. Exploring overlapping histories of industrialism, extractivism, colonialism, ecological and spiritual crisis, the film creates a multilayered surreal filmic adaptation of the 1851 novel.
The MCA’s presentation of MOBY DICK; or, The Whale is organized by Nolan Jimbo, Assistant Curator.
Accessibility: audio description, CART captioning
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/live-arts-moby-dick-or-the-whale/
Calling ALL champions to Chicago Children’s Museum! Participate in event activities, including roller sled hockey, handcycling, wheelchair racing, bocce, Judo, group exercises, and See & Touch Prosthetics display. All of our inclusive, multisensory museum exhibits and programs will also be available during Play For All.
The first 500 children and families with disabilities who register will receive free admission.
The museum opens at 10 am for Play For All guests and members exclusively and at 11 am to the general public.
Accessibility: assistive listening devices, quiet spaces, wheelchair accessible
In January, artists A. Martinez and Gaby Martinez take over the MCA with their collaborative quilt making inspired by Faith Ringgold. Additionally, musician Ben LaMar Gay performs for families to interact with his music, and KIDO Chicago, the award-winning kids boutique in the South Loop, has a pop-up at the museum.
Designed and led by Chicago artists, Family Day is a monthly program that allows families and youth to connect and engage with contemporary art through activities and performances for all-ages. Enjoy FREE admission while taking part in workshops, open studio sessions, gallery tours, performances, and more.
Activities are facilitated in English and Spanish with ASL interpretation provided.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/family-day-quilts-and-stories/
This is an opportunity for members of the TCA to enter into conversation with Christina and Cortney, the founders of #BlkGrlsWurld, about their growth and evolution as Black womxn publishers, event organizers, and lovers of punk, hardcore, and metal.
Coinciding with the Faith Ringgold: American People exhibition, this event highlights the creativity, influence, and impact of Black Femme creatives across generations.
ASL is provided.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/youth-led-programming-tca-blkgrlswurld/
Strawdog Theatre Company in partnership with Chicago Loop Synagogue presents Hershel & The Hanukkah Goblins. In this musical adaptation of Eric Kimmel’s Caldecott Honor-winning book, a traveling troupe of actors comes to town to find no one celebrating Hanukkah. To save the holiday, they must tell the tale of Hershel of Ostropol & his quest to outwit the goblins who haunt the old synagogue!
Audio Description will be available for this performance in-person and via the live stream. Audience members must RSVP for in-person audio description by emailing accessibility@strawdog.org. There will be an in-person Touch Tour at 10:15am. Those tuning into the live stream will be able to watch a pre-show Audio Description.
Accessibility: Audio Description, Touch Tour, Sensory Friendly
https://www.strawdog.org/hershel
This year, the Chicago-based artist Lotus L. Kang transformed the museum’s atrium with her mesmerizing work Molt (New York-Lethbridge-Los Angeles-Toronto-Chicago- ) (2018–2023). To celebrate the final weeks of the commissioned installation, Kang speaks with MCA Assistant Curator Jack Schneider.
ASL and CART captioning will be provided.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/talk-lotus-l-kang-and-jack-schneider/
Let’s reclaim and rewrite our stories as disabled people through writing and drawing together! Too often disabled individuals have their stories told to them by medical professionals and cultural norms. It’s time to get the power back and tell our own tales!
Rewritten Narratives is a workshop for participants who self-identify as disabled and/or chronically ill, whether the disability is apparent or non-apparent. This could mean anything from physical disabilities, learning disabilities, “invisible” disabilities, and disabilities caused by mental health concerns.
No art making skills or experiences required!
Attendees will receive transportation stipend (PACE vouchers).
Location:
Center for Mad Culture
410 South Michigan Avenue, suite 419
Chicago, IL 60605
In-person Rewritten Narratives session RSVP Link: https://tinyurl.com/rewrittennarrative
Access information:
Press Here is on the 4th floor in the Fine Arts Building. It is accessible by elevator. A wheelchair accessible restroom is available. For in-person sessions, please request ASL interpretation and identify any access needs when signing up for a session.
AI captioning will be available for virtual workshop sessions. For virtual sessions, contact B at brandolph@accessliving.org or (312) 640-2100 with access requests. Please allow 2-3 weeks’ advance notice for ASL interpretation requests, both virtual and in-person.
About the facilitator:
Brian “B” Randolph (they/them) is an art therapy graduate student from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Brian specializes in portraiture, drawing the human form, and the writing/drawing of comics. B is working with their supervisor, disabled artist and art therapist, Sandie Yi, to create disability culture and art at Access Living this year.
Sponsor Information:
This project is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, Bodies of Work: Network of Disability Art and Culture, and the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL). DCAL, a teaching lab housed under the department of art therapy and counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and Shirley Ryan Abilities Lab. The contents of this project were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTCP0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this project do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
Let’s reclaim and rewrite our stories as disabled people through writing and drawing together! Too often disabled individuals have their stories told to them by medical professionals and cultural norms. It’s time to get the power back and tell our own tales!
Rewritten Narratives is a workshop for participants who self-identify as disabled and/or chronically ill, whether the disability is apparent or non-apparent. This could mean anything from physical disabilities, learning disabilities, “invisible” disabilities, and disabilities caused by mental health concerns.
No art making skills or experiences required!
Attendees will receive transportation stipend (PACE vouchers).
Location:
Center for Mad Culture
410 South Michigan Avenue, suite 419
Chicago, IL 60605
In-person Rewritten Narratives session RSVP Link: https://tinyurl.com/rewrittennarrative
Access information:
Press Here is on the 4th floor in the Fine Arts Building. It is accessible by elevator. A wheelchair accessible restroom is available. For in-person sessions, please request ASL interpretation and identify any access needs when signing up for a session.
AI captioning will be available for virtual workshop sessions. For virtual sessions, contact B at brandolph@accessliving.org or (312) 640-2100 with access requests. Please allow 2-3 weeks’ advance notice for ASL interpretation requests, both virtual and in-person.
About the facilitator:
Brian “B” Randolph (they/them) is an art therapy graduate student from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Brian specializes in portraiture, drawing the human form, and the writing/drawing of comics. B is working with their supervisor, disabled artist and art therapist, Sandie Yi, to create disability culture and art at Access Living this year.
Sponsor Information:
This project is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, Bodies of Work: Network of Disability Art and Culture, and the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL). DCAL, a teaching lab housed under the department of art therapy and counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and Shirley Ryan Abilities Lab. The contents of this project were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTCP0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this project do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
Let’s reclaim and rewrite our stories as disabled people through writing and drawing together! Too often disabled individuals have their stories told to them by medical professionals and cultural norms. It’s time to get the power back and tell our own tales!
Rewritten Narratives is a workshop for participants who self-identify as disabled and/or chronically ill, whether the disability is apparent or non-apparent. This could mean anything from physical disabilities, learning disabilities, “invisible” disabilities, and disabilities caused by mental health concerns.
No art making skills or experiences required!
Thursday sessions will be held via Zoom from 2-4pm.
Attendees will receive transportation stipend (PACE vouchers).
Join the Rewritten Narratives Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83239461202?pwd=Zml3ZFdDdkhHQU5tTytrM1B5SzlzUT09
Meeting ID: 832 3946 1202
Passcode: AL2023
Access information:
AI captioning will be available for virtual workshop sessions. For virtual sessions, contact B at brandolph@accessliving.org or (312) 640-2100 with access requests. Please allow 2-3 weeks’ advance notice for ASL interpretation requests, both virtual and in-person.
About the facilitator:
Brian “B” Randolph (they/them) is an art therapy graduate student from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Brian specializes in portraiture, drawing the human form, and the writing/drawing of comics. B is working with their supervisor, disabled artist and art therapist, Sandie Yi, to create disability culture and art at Access Living this year.
Sponsor Information:
This project is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, Bodies of Work: Network of Disability Art and Culture, and the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL). DCAL, a teaching lab housed under the department of art therapy and counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and Shirley Ryan Abilities Lab. The contents of this project were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTCP0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this project do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
Dancing with Parkinson’s is a partnership program between The Joffrey Ballet and Northwestern Medicine built for people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers, friends, and family members.
This class offers a supportive space to explore the artistry of dance, ranging across the styles of ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and improvisation. In this class, we connect the mind to movement, inviting expression and exploration in where it may not have been before: moving the body in conjunction with others and with music, evoking creativity and connection. This program was built so everyone can experience the joy and freedom of dance, no matter age, status, or ability.
Accessibility: low lighting, quiet spaces, wheelchair accessible
https://joffrey.org/education/community-engagement/dancing-with-parkinson-s/
Free Dance Day brings together people of all ages and experience levels to enjoy a day filled with dance classes, performances, and festivities, all for free!
This annual open-house style event is a chance to try out dance classes in a relaxed, communal setting. Visit Synapse’s home studio as an Arts Partner in Residence with the Chicago Park District to try out a free movement class, bring kids to try ballet and hip hop classes, and see the Synapse Performance Troupe perform.
Come for Free Dance Day, then stay for the free Boo! Bash presented by Loyola Park, which includes a DJ dance party, crafts, snacks, and a Halloween-y photo booth.
Schedule and registration details available at www.synapsearts.com.
Accessibility: ASL interpreter, large print programs, quiet spaces
Experience Red: A Crayon’s Story like you never have before! This storybook video features Deaf American Sign Language master signer Crom Saunders signing the words to the animated book, with music and sound effects bringing the story to life. Then we’ll watch and play along with fun interactive games conducted by students and teachers from the Indiana School for the Deaf.
Crom will visit in person and play theater games with the kids after the video. This event will have a live interpreter.
Best for kids in preschool and elementary school and their family and friends.
More information at https://oakpark.librarycalendar.com/event/asl-storybook-red-crayons-story
The Peer Mental Health Support Group is an opportunity for Disabled-identifying people and those exploring their relationship to disability identity to share and hold space for one another in an accessible and virtual setting.
Facilitated by disabled art therapist Bri Beck, LCPC, ATR, this group is meant to offer an opportunity for participants to share current concerns, thoughts/emotions, and offer support to others through validation, encouragement, and even practical ideas to cope. This group will also explore art as an emotional outlet.
This group is not considered, nor should it be a substitute for traditional group therapy, however, topics of mental health, emotional wellness, self-advocacy, and healthy relationships will be addressed in a structured and confidential space. Participants may attend as many or as little group meetings as needed. Group norms will be reviewed every week.
Join the group via Zoom
Zoom Meeting ID: 818 5920 1086
Zoom Meeting Passcode: AL2023
For any questions, please email bbeck@accessliving.org.
Fall 2023 meeting dates are as follows:
(Off September 4 – Labor Day)
Monday, September 11
Monday, September 18
Monday, September 25
(Off October 2)
Monday, October 9
Monday, October 16
Monday, October 23
(Off October 30)
Monday, November 6
Monday, November 13
Monday, November 20
(Off November 27)
December 4
December 11
December 18
Access Information:
Automatic captioning is available in Zoom.
Due to high demand for live captioning (CART) and ASL interpretation services during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are asking participants to submit access requests 2-3 weeks in advance. Please contact bbeck@accessliving.org with requests.
Sponsor information:
This event is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, Bodies of Work: Network of Disability Art and Culture, and the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL), a teaching lab housed under the department of art therapy and counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
As a platform for creative disability art and advocacy projects, DCAL uses a peer support and collective care model in which disability community members and art therapy graduate students collaborate as disability culture makers for social change. Bodies of Work is a part of the Department of Disability and Human Development within the College of Applied Health Sciences at University of Illinois-Chicago.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
On Sunday, September 24 from 8-10am, Lincoln Park Zoo is offering Sensory-Friendly Morning hours for guests with disabilities, chronic illness, or Deaf to experience the zoo grounds and animal buildings in a comfortable and inclusive environment. Modifications include limited capacity and muted attractions. This is a free event, but it does require advanced registration.
Sensory-Friendly Morning is a free program for all people who benefit from visiting the zoo without crowds and other sensitive environmental elements. This includes guests with sensory sensitivities, disabilities, autism, PTSD, and dementia to name a few.
During Sensory-Friendly Morning, Gift Shop will be open at 8am and Landmark Café will sell beverages starting at 8:30am. AT&T Endangered Species Carousel and Lionel Train Adventure will operate with music and noises muted. Not all animal buildings may be open, and some animals may not be in their public viewing spaces.
At 10am, the zoo will be open to the public and begin typical operations.
View the zoo’s accessibility map HERE and accessibility page HERE to help plan your visit.
Lincoln Park Zoo is certified Sensory Inclusive by KultureCity. Please download the free KultureCity app with Lincoln Park Zoo social story. iOS Android
Guests may only enter at West Gate and East Gate, and they need to present their registration email to zoo ushers.
Paid parking is available at the zoo’s parking lot located at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive (2300 N. Cannon Drive). The zoo is also accessible by train via the Armitage and Fullerton stations and by bus via the 22, 36, 151, and 156 routes.
All Lincoln Park Zoo events take place rain or shine. We have some wonderful animal buildings you can still enjoy if it rains, and the carousel is covered.
There is no smoking at Lincoln Park Zoo for the health of the animals in our care.
Pets are not allowed at the zoo, but licensed service animals are welcome.
For any questions, please email access@lpzoo.org.
Accessibility: sensory friendly
https://sensory-friendly-morning-at-Lincoln-Park-Zoo.eventbrite.com
Join us for the first public reading of the 2023 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellows together at the Poetry Foundation. The Poetry Foundation awards five Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships annually. Among the largest awards offered to young poets in the US, the $27,000 prize is intended to support exceptional US poets between 21 and 31 years of age.
This is a hybrid event, which will be offered in-person and via livestream.
Introducing the 2023 Fellows
Bhion Achimba (they/he) grew up in rural southeastern Nigeria and came to the US as a Scholar-at-Risk fellow at Harvard University. Their manuscript Cantos from the Crossing won the 2023 Center for Book Arts chapbook prize and will be published in November 2023. They earned an MFA in literary arts from Brown University; edit Dgëku, a literary magazine that publishes writing by queer Africans; and serve on the editorial board of TransitionMagazine.
Roda Avelar (she/they) is a trans woman poet from Fresno, California. She earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of California Riverside, where she taught creative writing and English composition, and a BA in English literature from California State University Fresno. She was a Milkweed Editions summer intern in 2019, and a 2022 Community of Writers fellow. She creates work that imagines queer people and people of color in science fiction, mythology, and queer liberation.
Ariana Benson (she/they) is a southern Black poet born in Norfolk, Virginia. Their debut collection, Black Pastoral, won the 2022 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. Benson has received a Furious Flower Poetry Prize, a Porter House Review Poetry Prize, and the 2021 Graybeal-Gowen Prize for Virginia Poets. Benson is a proud alumna of Spelman College, where she facilitates creative writing and storytelling workshops for HBCU students. She strives to fashion vignettes of Blackness that speak to its infinite depth and richness in her writing.
Chrysanthemum (she/her) is a poet, a performance artist, and a public historian. Her honors include the 2023 Justin Chin Memorial Scholarship from Lambda Literary; fellowships from Artist Communities Alliance and Kundiman; and a championship with her team at the Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam and the first-ever FEM Slam. Chrysanthemum was born to Vietnamese parents in Oklahoma City, where she came of age around the NW 39th Street and Asian American enclaves. She now calls Providence, Rhode Island, home.
Willie Lee Kinard III (he/they) is a poet, designer, and musician. Kinard earned a BFA from the University of South Carolina and an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh. His publications include Orders of Service, winner of the 2022 Alice James Award, and a self-published chapbook/mixtape, chroma. The recipient of fellowships from The Watering Hole and the Pittsburgh Foundation, Kinard is from Newberry, South Carolina, and currently teaches at the University of South Carolina.
In-Person Attendance
Masks are strongly encouraged and available at check-in for those who would like to wear one. Please note that some event performers may choose to perform without a mask. The Foundation reserves the right to update this policy if community levels of COVID-19 increase significantly. Read our full COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidelines.
Livestream Attendance
The livestream link will be shared with registered guests on the day of the event. In order to receive the livestream details, please register in advance here.
The Poetry Foundation’s events are completely free of charge and open to the public. This event will include CART captioning and ASL interpretation. For more information about accessibility at the Poetry Foundation, please visit our Accessibility Guide.
Join us for an evening of enchantment as the Poetry Foundation transforms into Herman’s Lounge, a one night only jazz cabaret named in honor of the magician Black Herman. Dee Alexander (with John McLean), Ben LaMar Gay, keiyaA, and Gabrielle Octavia Rucker will interweave Chicago’s unique relationship to improv, poetry, and jazz. Co-curated by Jared Brown, Janelle Ayana Miller, and Noa Fields.
Born on Chicago’s west side, Dee Alexander is one of the city’s most gifted and respected vocalist/songwriters. Her talents span every music genre, from gospel to R&B, blues to neo-soul, yet her true heart and soul are experienced in their purest form through jazz. Growing up in a household steeped in recordings of Dinah Washington, Ms. Alexander names Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Chicago saxophonist Henry Huff among her major influences, setting her on the path to becoming one of the most accomplished voice improvisers in the world today. Ms. Alexander is currently a WFMT Jazz Radio host. Her performance is accompanied by John McLean.
Ben LaMar Gay is an interdisciplinary composer who moves sound, color, and space components through folkloric filters, producing brilliant electro-acoustic collages. An explorer of many mediums who has been called a “visionary musician” by the New York Times, Gay has found a form of creative expression that begins with improvisation and expands beyond the limits of any single genre. With more than 20 years in vibrant experimental music scenes, Gay’s talents have earned him residencies globally, most recently as a Mellon Foundation Archival Fellow. He has been a member of the Association of the Advancement of Creative Musicians since 2010. Receiving accolades for a parade of more than seven albums, his release Open Arms to Open Us solidified his place in the firmament of the Chicago Jazz Renaissance and was revered as one of the best albums of 2021 by the Washington Post, Pitchfork, JazzTimes, and Digital Berliner. Gay is a beneficiary of the 2018 3Arts Award and the 2019 Worldwide Award from BBC DJ Gilles Peterson.
Chakeiya Camille Richmond, a.k.a. keiyaA, is a musician, writer, and performer from Chicago, living in NYC.
Gabrielle Octavia Rucker is a writer, editor, and teaching artist from the Great Lakes, currently living in the Gulf Coast. She is a 2020 Poetry Project Fellow and a 2016 Kimbilio Fiction Fellow. Her debut poetry collection, Dereliction, is currently available via the Song Cave.
Jared Brown (co-curator) is an artist born in Chicago. They consider themselves a data thief, understanding this role from John Akomfrah’s description of the data thief as a figure that does not belong to the past or present. As a data thief, Jared Brown makes archeological digs for fragments of Black American subculture, history, and technology. Jared repurposes these fragments in audio, text, and performance to investigate the relationship between history and digital, immaterial space. Jared Brown holds a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and moved back to Chicago in 2016 in order to make and share work that directly relates to their personal history.
Janelle Ayana Miller (co-curator) is a grandchild of the Great Migration, a Midwesterner with Southern inflection. Her practice is rooted within familial and communal aesthetics, looking deeply into bridging self and time as an act of place making.
Accessibility:
Masks are strongly encouraged and available at check-in for those who would like to wear one. Please note that some event performers may choose to perform without a mask. The Foundation reserves the right to update this policy if community levels of COVID-19 increase significantly. Read our full COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidelines. Guests are encouraged to register in advance.
The Poetry Foundation’s events are completely free of charge and open to the public. This event will include ASL interpretation. For more information about accessibility at the Poetry Foundation, please visit our Accessibility Guide.
Sensory-Friendly Morning is a free program for all people who benefit from visiting the MCA without large crowds and other sensitive environmental elements. This includes visitors with sensory sensitivities, disabilities, autism, PTSD, dementia, and more. On these mornings, lighting at the museum is dimmed, sounds from artworks and environmental noise is kept at a minimum, and a quiet space is available to visitors for breaks. During Sensory-Friendly Mornings, preregistered individuals and their families can visit the museum to explore exhibitions at their own pace, and join a Chicago-based artist for a sensory-friendly art-making experience. The museum is closed to the general public until 11:30 am; at that time, the lights and artworks return to usual operations.
Sensory-Friendly Morning aims to be a welcoming space to experience contemporary art in a judgment-free environment.
Accessibility: sensory-friendly, ASL interpreted, captioning, low lighting, quiet room, Spanish captioning, wheelchair accessible
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/sensory-friendly-morning-6/
Poetry @ The Green at 320 continues for the summer season this July!
The Chicago Poetry Center and The Green at 320 S. Canal are proud to reintroduce this free, weekly reading and open mic series co-curated by CPC’s Poets in Residence Tarnynon Onumonu and Timothy David Rey.
Join us on Monday nights in July at 6:00 pm in this beautiful setting to hear outstanding featured poets perform their work in this partnership between Chicago Poetry Center and The Green at 320 S. Canal. After every poetry performance, there will be an open mic for any individual that would like to share poetry of their own!
ABOUT JULY’S FEATURED PERFORMERS:
July 10: Stephanie Liang is a Chinese-American poet whose work explores grief, family, identity, and longing. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Rainy Day Magazine, Runestone, and Masks. When she’s not writing (or thinking about writing), you can find her exploring new places, trying new foods, or playing music. Stephanie is originally from Kansas but now resides in Chicago.
July 17: Alanis Zoe Castillo Caref is a writer-poet activist-artist from Chicago. She received her BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Communication and Creative Writing. Alanis was a finalist for the 2021 Undergraduate Creative Writing Awards and won second place in The Hip Hop Workshop 2022 Spoken-Word/Poetry Competition. She also has poetry published in The Fashion Network magazine. Alanis has performed at Story Lab Chicago, Do Not Submit, Slam Diáspora, and Exhibit B. Currently, she is the Marketing Coordinator at Guild Literary Complex.
July 24: Ron is a first generation Mexican-American, from Chicago, who used to live up north, but has spent almost a decade living on the South Side. They dropped out of college to work on their poetry and have been writing for as long as they can remember. Their writings include doodling poems on the sides of notebooks, and just writing wherever and whenever they can. Their poems focus on mental health and have themes of nature throughout. Ron has been to multiple open mics all over the city and is in a poetry band that plays at Marquette park on the Southside. They didn’t start taking poetry seriously until last Spring but prides themselves on sharing a poem a day across social media platforms.
July 31: Olivia Scheidler (she/her) has been a high school educator for 10 years. Her poetry students have done way cooler things than her, but she has performed at the MOTH, South Side Story Slam and many a friends’ backyard. For fans of sad folk songs, moon picnics, and fun facts.
ABOUT THE CO-CURATORS:
Tarnynon (Ty-yuh-nuh) Onumonu is an artist and licensed Paraprofessional born and raised in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood on the southeast side of Chicago and is extremely proud of and humbled by her SouthSide citizenship and West African lineage. In 2017, she took second place in the Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Awards and represented Chicago on the Lethal Poetry Team at the 2018 National Poetry Slam. She has been a Poet in Residence at the Chicago Poetry Center since January of 2019 and has been featured in Newcity Magazine and South Side Weekly.
Timothy David Rey is a writer/performer who works in poetry, plays, and monologue (both fictional and autobiographical). He teaches creative writing and performance throughout the city of Chicago and its suburbs. He is a 2015 Semi-Finalist for the Guild Literary Complex’s Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Poetry Award, and one of the winners of Project Exploration (The Poetry Center of Chicago 2004). He is the co-founder of the LBGT Solo Performance Showcase, Solo Homo (2002-2011). Timothy’s plays and performance pieces have been seen and heard at venues throughout Chicago as well as out of state and in Panama.
ABOUT THE LOCATION:
The Green at 320 is a public park located in the West Loop and will be host to many family-friendly activities and events this summer!
The Green at 320 is located behind the building at 320 S. Canal, 1 block west of the river. The main staired entrance to the park is on the corner of Clinton and Van Buren with an ADA-accessible ramp off of Clinton. The park is located 1 block north of the Clinton Blue Line Stop. Please find more detailed transit and location information at https://320southcanal.com/.
Accessibility: wheelchair accessible
Kohl Children’s Museum was specifically designed to be inclusive of all children and adults regardless of ability. The Museum’s 17 exhibits and 2 acres of outdoor explorations are designed for play with a purpose and encourage linguistic, cognitive, motor, and social skills for children ages birth through 8.
Accessibility: sensory-friendly, quiet spaces, wheelchair accessible
On Sunday, July 30 from 10am to 3pm, Lincoln Park Zoo will host Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo. Modifications include limited capacity. This is a free event, but it does require advanced registration.
Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo is a free program for all people who benefit from visiting the zoo without crowds and other sensitive environmental elements. This includes guests with sensory sensitivities, disabilities, autism, PTSD, and dementia to name a few.
During Sensory-Friendly Day at Farm-in-the-Zoo animal buildings may be open, but some animals may not be in their public viewing spaces. There will also be low sensory activities.
Timed Entry Window: While registered guests will be let in before or after their one-hour timed entry window, guests are strongly encouraged to come during their timed entry window to help limit crowd sizes. Limited crowd sizes is one of the most important ways to make this day sensory-friendly. Thank you.
View the zoo’s accessibility map HERE and accessibility page HERE to help plan your visit.
Lincoln Park Zoo is certified Sensory Inclusive by KultureCity. Please download the free KultureCity app with Lincoln Park Zoo social story. iOS Android
pon arrival guests need to present their registration email to zoo ushers. This event is only happening at Farm-in-the-Zoo. The rest of Lincoln Park Zoo will have typical operations for the day.
Paid parking is available at the zoo’s parking lot located at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive (2400 N. Cannon Drive). The zoo is also accessible by train via the Armitage and Fullerton stations and by bus via the 22, 36, 151, and 156 routes.
All Lincoln Park Zoo events take place rain or shine.
There is no smoking at Lincoln Park Zoo for the health of the animals in our care.
Pets are not allowed at the zoo, but licensed service animals are welcome.
For any questions, please email access@lpzoo.org.
Accessibility: Sensory-Friendly
KCM welcomes children with special needs and their families for an afternoon of learning and play focused on them. Our Museum campus is designed for universal accessibility with a purpose to encourage linguistic, cognitive, motor and social skills for all children ages birth to 8.
Accessibility: sensory-friendly, quiet spaces, wheelchair accessible