As Minnesota’s Attorney General, Keith Ellison prosecuted the police officers in the murder trial of George Floyd and grappled with how to deliver justice to the Floyd family while putting an end to police brutality once and for all. Now, in the face of new stories of police abuse filling the news once again, Ellison joins Chicago Humanities to ask the key question: how do we break the wheel of police violence and finally make it stop turning?
This event will have open captions and ALDs.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/keith-ellison/
In April 1952 Ralph Ellison published Invisible Man, his first and only finished novel and a work that is regarded today as one of the most important American literary works of the twentieth century and a stark account of America’s racial divisions. Alongside Ellison’s notable written works survives an archive of photographs he took throughout his life, spanning the 1940s–90s. Now 29 years after his death, Ralph Ellison: Photographer is the first book dedicated to Ellison’s photography practice. Join editors Michal Raz-Russo (Gordon Park Foundation), John Callahan (Lewis & Clark College), Bethany Collins and writer Adam Bradly (UCLA) in a conversation on Ellison’s photography, career, and creative.
This event will have open captions and ALDs.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/ralph-ellison/
Congresswoman Katie Porter is known for challenging those in power and using her iconic whiteboard to demand answers on behalf of the American people. However, few know of her journey from Iowa farm girl to a single mom who had never run for office defying expectations by winning her seat in a historically conservative district in Orange County, California. Join Porter for an intimate conversation about her family, career, her new book, I Swear, and her upcoming run for the US Senate.
This event will have open captions and ALDs.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/katie-porter/
Comedian Lane Moore wrote the book on How To Be Alone but building real, healthy friendships as an adult is ten times more difficult! In her new book You Will Find Your People: How to Make Meaningful Friendships as an Adult, Moore shares everything she’s learned about how to finally make friends as an adult, how to identify your attachment style, choose better friends, become a better friend yourself, and how to handle friendship breakup grief, which can be even more brutal than most romantic breakups. Join Lane Moore and writer/actor Mara Wilson (Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame, Matilda) for a fun-filled evening full of stories, advice, and sharing as we try and figure out a better way to find our chosen family.
Come enjoy dinner and drinks at Chop Shop before or after the conversation with Lane Moore and Mara Wilson. A book signing will follow this program.
This event will have open captions, ASL Interpretation and ALDs.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/moore-wilson/
Rainn Wilson–beloved comedic actor, producer, writer–brings his unique perspective and humor to the traumas of our modern world. Wilson is calling for a Soul Boom, a spiritual revolution that could help us solve some of today’s biggest issues, including mental illness, racism, sexism, climate change, and economic injustice. The Office star will sit down with the Vice President of Second City, Kelly Leonard, in Chicago for a chat about spiritual thinking and profound healing, peppered with plenty of Kung Fu and Star Trek references, as only Rainn Wilson can.
A photo opportunity with Rainn Wilson will be available only for audience members who pre-order or purchase on-site pre-signed copies of Soul Boom.
This event will have open captions and ALDs.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/rainn-wilson/
Susanna Hoffs is a legend in the music industry. As the co-founder of the Bangles, she produced three platinum-selling albums and is the voice behind indelible pop hit after pop hit. Now, this famed songwriter has ventured into a new kind of writing with her debut novel, This Bird Has Flown, a story of music, secrets, and sex. At Chicago Humanities, Susanna will take the stage with the host of The Interview Show, Mark Bazer for an in-depth conversation about her new novel, the music business, and her illustrious life. Following the conversation, Susanna Hoffs will be taking the stage for a brief solo performance.
Come enjoy dinner and drinks at Chop Shop before or after this event.
This event will have open caption and ALDs.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/susanna-hoffs/
The Chicago Poetry Center presents BLUE HOUR, a free, public monthly in-person reading series and generative writing workshop.
Blue Hour is in-person for this season! Each event takes place at Haymarket House (800 W. Buena) on the third Wednesday of the month and includes a brief lottery-style open mic and two featured readers from Chicago and beyond, preceded by a generative writing workshop. All readings are also livestreamed! This month, we are thrilled to present two stellar featured readers: Maya Pindyck and Julian Randall.
2022-2023 Season Schedule Preview:
September 21: Faylita Hicks and Hila Ratzabi
October 19: Willie X. Lin and Dipika Mukherjee (co-sponsored by Kundiman Midwest)
November 16: Carlos Cumpián and Jennifer Scappettone
January 18: Kemi Alabi and Jessica Walsh
February 15: Natasha Mijares and D. Santina Ruiz
March 15: Kien Lam and Danni Quintos (co-sponsored by Kundiman Midwest)
April 19: Maya Pindyck and Julian Randall
May 17: CM Burroughs and Eugenia Leigh
About the Workshop:
The Blue Hour generative writing workshop begins promptly at 6 p.m., ends at 7 p.m., and is designed for writers and poetry fans of all levels. Each workshop includes discussion of a poem by one of the night’s featured readers, followed by guided individual writing using an exploratory prompt that draws on themes from the poem. Registration is required, and the workshop is sliding scale with a suggested donation of $10.
To register for the workshop on April 19, visit https://BHwApril.eventbrite.com for more details.
About the Reading:
The Blue Hour reading includes a brief open mic followed by two featured poets from Chicago and beyond. 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.
To register for the reading session on April 19, visit https://AprilBHrdg.eventbrite.com for more details.
About the Space:
Haymarket House is a community space in the heart of Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood committed to uplifting the work of writers, artists, thinkers, activists, and educators who are committed to all struggles for a better world. This event includes professional ASL interpretation. Haymarket House is fully ADA-compliant and wheelchair accessible. Please let us know if you have any specific accessibility questions; if you use a wheelchair, please contact curator@poetrycenter.org to coordinate use of the ramp. Masks are not required but are encouraged and will be available to anyone who needs it.
Join us anytime throughout the day for accessible dance events! Have fun while earning how to be more inclusive in your practice. We’ll be moving together, enjoying a showcase of works in progress, watching a short film, engaging and building community that includes dancers with disabilities.
FREE events with adjacent free parking and CTA nearby.
10:00-11:45 Everybody Can Dance inclusive movement workshop.
12:00-12:20 Informal showing of 3 works in progress.
12:20-1:45 Lunch with DIY Access stations open to provide hands on instruction for providing AI captions online.
1:45-2:30 AccepDance workshop (based on Autism Movement Therapy)
2:45-3:00 Film Showing “JMAXX and the Universal Language.”
3:00-3:30 Panel Discussion with JMAXX and the filmmaker
3:30-4:30 Adaptive Hip Hop workshop
Accessibility: ASL interpreted, audio description, captions, wheelchair accessibility
On May 6, Barak adé Soleil premieres a new work, SHIFT, that amplifies the presence of Black neurodiverse and disabled bodies by occupying the museum’s spaces both digitally and physically.
SHIFT is a new commission comprised of a video installation in one of the MCA’s public stairwells, accompanied by a live performance. In the dreamlike video installation that runs from May 2nd through June 19, the presence of Black neurodiverse and disabled bodies infiltrates a spiral stairwell within the museum, where they are shown from many angles and at multiple scales, both at rest and as they shift. adé Soleil’s installation offers rest, and the everyday gestures of these bodies, as forms of political resistance for Black people—challenging the media’s often violent interpretation of these bodies as lazy or near death. In the live event on May 6, a promenade of performers traverse inaccessible staircases, recalibrating the flow of activity within the museum and challenging simplistic depictions of Black disabled bodies in real time.
This performance is durational and will move through different areas of the museum, including the MCA Plaza and front steps, the northwest spiral staircase, and both public lobbies. The majority of the performance will take place in the spiral staircase on the west side of the museum’s first floor, and will be visible from various angles on multiple floors. The available space for viewers will change based on the location of the performance as it moves through the museum, and MCA staff will be available to facilitate the audience’s movement to maintain access to elevators, passageways, and stairwells. Portable stools will be available for visitors who wish to use them, where possible. ASL interpretation will be provided. Designated areas for wheelchair and mobility device users will be available on the staircase landings. The MCA Commons, on the museum’s second floor, will display a livestream of the performance as it takes place for visitors who wish to stay in one location. The livestream will also be available for visitors to join from their mobile devices from elsewhere in the museum. Live audio description will be provided: devices will be available at the museum and audience members may also use their personal devices to access the audio description through a URL provided on-site.
Accessibility: ASL interpreted, audio description, touch tour, wheelchair accessible
Alonzo King LINES Ballet returns to the Harris stage for the first time since 2015. The celebrated contemporary ballet company, whose mission is to nurture artistry and the development of creative expression in dance, through collaboration, performance, and education, will perform in a matinee program for children and families.
Accessibility: ASL interpreter, assistive listening devices, large print programs, sensory-friendly, quiet spaces, wheelchair accessible
https://www.harristheaterchicago.org/alonzo-king-lines-ballet/family
To commemorate Women’s History Month, the Arts & Culture Project at Access Living is partnering to host a virtual film screening and panel discussion of the My Girl Story documentary on Saturday, March 25 from 12-2pm.
This event will explore the importance of mental health care among Black girls and resources available to them and their families.
My Girl follows the lives of two Black girls from Detroit, Monay and Shokana, who are fighting to become the girls they want to be. The documentary aims to give context to what Black girls across the country are experiencing today and to challenge the institutional and systemic barriers that prevent black girls especially those with disabilities from achieving their potential.
Register via Eventbrite to get the Zoom link:
Access Information:
Live CART captioning and ASL will be provided during the panel discussion.
Partners:
My Girl Story
Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition
Access Living
Empowered Fe Fe’s
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, Shirley Ryan Abilities Lab, 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.
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. The contents of this film 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 film do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
LabE is a series of monthly cohort meetings addressing particular needs of disabled dance artists.
The LabE gathering on April 2nd is designed to be a safe, disability-centric space where artists can come together to share a work-in-progress, try out new ideas, workshop concepts, and experiment with new scores. Hosted by Maggie Bridger, this inclusive event is open to all artists who seek a supportive community where they can connect with peers who share similar experiences and offer and receive support, encouragement, and constructive feedback.
This gathering aims to foster community connections among Deaf, disabled, sick, neurodivergent, and Mad artists while providing a platform for artists to explore their creativity and showcase their unique perspectives.
In-progress projects will be presented by Sydney Erlikh & Deb Goodman.
If you are an artist who is interested in showcasing your art or working through new ideas, please reach out to Maggie at mbridg8@uic.edu to participate in this event.
LabE is open to all Chicago-area dance artists who self-identify as Deaf/deaf/hard of hearing, sick, mad, neurodivergent, disabled or living with a disability, and/or who have lived experience with disability or impairment. This space is particularly meant for those interested in exploring disability and impairment-informed modes of practicing dance.
Additional Access Information is available at https://highconceptlabs.org/news-2/labe-launches-at-experimental-station. For any other questions or requests regarding accessibility accommodations, please contact HCL’s Accessibility Coordinator, Yolanda Cesta Cursach Montilla (yolanda@highconceptlabs.org).
Accessibility: captioning, sensory-friendly, quiet spaces, wheelchair accessible
Opening reception for Voices Embodied
Highlighting a relationship between disability and community, Voices Embodied: Uplifted is boldly displayed throughout the Design Museum of Chicago. The work of fourteen artists is displayed to reconsider the space in a way that is moody, engaging and vulnerable. Colorful work, visible in the large public-facing windows engages the community while the dark vault space located in the back of the museum becomes a place of contemplation where viewers are close in proximity to the pieces. All the selected works come from individual perspectives but are displayed in such a way that the work begins to relate and support one another.
While being bold and colorful, and expressing pride, the work is invitational. The pieces in Voices Embodied: Uplifted demonstrate the strength of a supportive community.
The interior of the Design Museum of Chicago is wheelchair accessible. There is a ramp that leads to the entry but the entrance door is not automated. Restrooms are located in the basement, accessible by an elevator. For individual access requests, please visit saic.edu/access.
This Wednesday, March 1st Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance is hosting beekeeper Jonathan Bennett for a virtual lecture from 6:30pm – 8pm. Jonathan encourages people of all ages and abilities to keep bees if it is of their interest. In his presentation he will share ways he has adapted his beekeeping to his physical ability and future plans to continue to improve the adaptability of his apiary to his physical ability.
This virtual lecture will have ASL Interpretation and auto-generated closed captioning available.
About the speaker: Jonathan Bennett is as unique as he is interesting. He has faced challenges his entire life having been born with spina bifida. He hasn’t let this stop him from pursuing his agricultural ambitions as he got his education from the College of the Ozarks with his bachelor’s in animal science and agriculture business. In recent years, he has expanded the family farm outside Cabool, Missouri producing registered shorthorn cattle, pure Spanish goats, and bees. He currently maintains 5 production hives and several nucleolus colonies.
If you would like to request an accommodation, the registration form has a space to let us know or please feel free to connect with access@garfieldpark.org.
Curb Appeal Gallery is pleased to announce their inaugural exhibition and the Chicago debut of Molly Joyce’s Perspective. Begun in 2019, Perspective is a sound and video work that captures perspectives of the disability experience. Created through interviewing over 40 participants around topics that encompass elements of disability—including care, interdependence, weakness, and cure—Joyce has composed and performed a work that invites audiences to consider the kaleidoscopic and nuanced experiences that inform what it means to be disabled. Created with disability aesthetics and accommodations in mind, Perspective features open-captioned videos, lending a sense of visual primacy to the stories of the disabled participants and their valuable perspectives. In addition to screening Perspective, Curb Appeal is delighted to host a brief conversation between Joyce and one of the project interviewees, Chicago artist Andy Slater (from 7:00-7:30pm).
Accessibility: Curb Appeal is wheelchair accessible. In addition to open captioning on the video work, we will provide ASL interpretation and CART-captioning for remarks and a brief conversation between Molly Joyce and Andy Slater. Masks are required for entry and will be provided if needed. Please note, Curb Appeal is an apartment gallery and doubles as a home to our gallery dog.
Join us in person for a lecture by distinguished alum Athena LaTocha followed by an audience Q&A.
Location: The Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall, 111 S. Michigan Ave.
Athena LaTocha (BFA 1992) is an artist whose massive works on paper explore the relationship between human-made and natural worlds. The artist incorporates materials such as ink, lead, earth, and wood while looking at correlations between mark-marking and displacement of materials made by industrial equipment and natural events. LaTocha’s process is about being immersed in these environments while responding to the storied and, at times, traumatic cultural histories that are rooted in place.
Presented in partnership with SAIC Alumni Engagement.
This event is free, non-ticketed and open to the general public.
This event will be live captioned by Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services. The auditorium is wheelchair accessible and hearing assisted devices are available. For additional access requests, visit saic.edu/access.
Accessibility: live captions, assistive listening devices, wheelchair accessible
Hands Up! Misunderstood Minds is performing lived at the Northeastern Illinois University Stage Center (3701 W. Bryn Mawr) on Saturday, March 11 at 8:00 pm. Tellin’ Tales Theatre’s Hands Up! Misunderstood Minds explores shared experiences around mental illness. Personal stories intertwine into a beautiful and heartwarming account of individual journeys with mental health. The goal of the performance is not to lead people to conclusions, but to give them a more informed perspective on the topic. The show will incorporate video images of Project Onward visual artists with mental and developmental disabilities. Learn more and order tickets at TellinTales.org
Accessibility: ASL interpreter, all gender restrooms, wheelchair accessible
Join us in person for a lecture by artist Torkwase Dyson followed by an audience Q&A.
Location: The Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall, 111 S. Michigan Ave.
Working in painting, drawing, and sculpture, Torkwase Dyson combines expressive mark-making and geometric abstraction to explore the continuity between ecology, infrastructure, and architecture. Dyson deconstructs, distills, and interrogates the built environment, exploring how individuals—particularly Black and Brown people—negotiate, negate, and transform systems and spatial order. Throughout her work and research, Dyson seeks to confront issues of environmental liberation, envisioning a path toward a more equitable future.
This event is free, non-ticketed and open to the general public.
This event will be live captioned by Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services. The auditorium is wheelchair accessible and hearing assisted devices are available. For additional access requests, visit saic.edu/access.
Join LYNX Project for a performance celebrating the unique styles of our commissioned composers for this year’s Amplify Series, a project setting the poetry of primarily non-speaking autistic individuals to music. Snapshots of Every Voice celebrates what artists want to share through art song. Performances in this series showcase the diversity and richness of art song repertoire, allowing us to experience music that deeply resonates within us.
This performance will feature music by the season’s Amplify Series composers as well as a Q&A session following the performance:
Eugenia Cheng
Shane S. Cook
Corinne Klein
Paul Novak
Matthew Recio
The program will also feature a performance of Michelle Isaac’s 2020 commission from LYNX Project, “Hope”, with text by Benjamin Smidt.
Performers:
Quinn Middleman, mezzo-soprano
Samuel James Dewese, baritone
Florence Mak, piano
Accommodations:
Relaxed performance atmosphere (movement, fidgets, stims welcome in our space)
Quiet space outside concert hall
No clapping — handwaving and snapping for applause
For additional information about accommodations, or to make a request, please contact Michelle Ravitsky at michelle@lynxproject.org
https://www.lynxproject.org/calendar/2023/3/5/snapshots-of-every-voice-composers
Join us for our first gathering of LabE, a series of monthly cohort meetings addressing particular needs of disabled dance artists, such as studio access, development and production support, and platforms for promoting Chicago’s sick, Deaf and disabled dance artists.
During our initial meeting on February 5, we’ll gather to collectively compile a list of accessible dance studios, classes and performance spaces in Chicago. We’ll come together and build community while crowdsourcing our favorite spaces to rehearse, take class and perform in the Chicago area.
When: Sunday, February 5, 2023, 1-3pm Central
Where: This is a hybrid event. The in-person portion will take place at the Experimental Station (6100 S Blackstone Ave, Chicago, IL 60637). The online portion will take place via Zoom, with the zoom link sent out to all registrants in advance of the event. We are still experimenting with our hybrid setup and appreciate your patience and collaborative spirit in working out the kinks!
Who: Open to Chicago-area dance artists who self-identify as Deaf/deaf/hard of hearing, sick, mad, neurodivergent, disabled or living with a disability, and/or who have lived experience with disability or impairment. This space is particularly meant for those interested in exploring disability and impairment-informed modes of practicing dance.
Access Information: AI Captioning available via zoom. The first floor of Experimental Station, where the event will be held is wheelchair accessible, including accessible bathrooms.
We ask that all attendees wear masks for the duration of the event, but please note that Experimental Station is a public building and that there will likely be unmasked people in the building. For those unable to mask or to risk being in a public space, we are offering a virtual option to join the event via Zoom. Attendees will be asked to indicate whether they prefer to attend online or in-person upon registration, though the are welcome to switch their registration type and all registrants will be provided the link to attend on Zoom.
This event is intended to be relaxed, welcoming and comfortable for all in the space. We will have multiple forms of seating available, as well as a few stim tools. You are welcome to come and go, bring your own access tools, and move about the space as needed during the event.
Please refrain from wearing any scented perfume, cologne, lotion, etc.
Contact: Please reach out to Maggie Bridger at magbridger@gmail.com with any questions about access needs or requests for access services/tools not mentioned here.
Captions (virtual only), Sensory Friendly, Wheelchair Accessible, and Virtual
Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, Executive Order 9066 led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. Every year, the Japanese American community in Chicago comes together to commemorate E.O. 9066 as a reminder of the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all.
The film “Resettlement: Chicago Story” tells an intergenerational story of the Yamamoto family several years after camp, as they struggle to rebuild their lives and make ends meet through their family dry cleaning business.
The film screening will be followed by a presentation of the companion learning website and Q&A. There will be a reception with complementary food and beverages following the program. The program will have ASL and CART/Live Captioning provided, the film will be presented with Open Captions and Open Audio Description.
Reception: ASL interpreter and CART
Film: Open Caption and Audio Description
Play for All: Adaptive Sports Event for Children and Families with Disabilities
What: Calling ALL champions! At this event with Dare2tri, visitors will discover the endless possibilities for athletes with disabilities. All visitors are encouraged to participate in event activities, including roller sled hockey, handcycling, wheelchair racing, bocce, Judo, group exercise, and a See & Touch Prosthetics display.
Who: The first 500 children and families with disabilities who register will receive free admission!
Where: Chicago Children’s Museum
When: January 21, 2023 at 10 am to 12 pm (CCM opens to the public at 11 am)
What is the Caribbean? What does Caribbeanness mean to artists of the Caribbean diaspora?
On opening day of the MCA exhibition Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora 1990s-Today, join Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator Carla Acevedo-Yates and artists Christopher Cozier, Teresita Fernández, and María Magdalena Campos-Pons for a roundtable discussion. Building upon an in-depth conversation included in the catalog accompanying this exhibition, the curator and artists explore ideas behind the exhibition, how they see themselves as artists, and how they work within certain parameters, frameworks, and structures of the art world.
MCA Talks highlight cutting-edge thinking and contemporary art practices across disciplines. This presentation is organized by Daniel Atkinson, Manager of Learning, Adult Interpretive Programs, and the MCA’s Visual Art and Learning teams.
This program includes ASL interpretation and captioning.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/talk-on-thinking-and-being-caribbean-a-roundtable-discussion/
This event is a collaboration between the MCA Chicago and the Chicago Humanities Festival.
Join us for a conversation with one of the great literary voices of our time, Elizabeth Alexander.
In her latest book The Trayvon Generation, Alexander tenderly writes about the young people whose worldview has been indelibly shaped by persistent and visible racially motivated violence and asserts the unresolved problem of the color line at the center of the American experience. Join Alexander for a wide-ranging discussion about the power of art and culture to understand and confront issues of race, class, and injustice, and the ways in which Black artists, scholars, and activists have always revealed the “problem, the hope, and the possibility of America.” Moderated by Romi Crawford, Professor of Visual and Critical Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
This Dialogue presentation is organized by Daniel Atkinson, Manager of Learning, Adult Interpretive Programs, and Otez Gary, Curatorial Assistant, in collaboration with the Chicago Humanities Festival.
This event will be ASL interpreted and captioned.
https://visit.mcachicago.org/events/dialogue-keynote-elizabeth-alexander-on-the-trayvon-generation/
Lincoln Park Zoo’s Sensory-Friendly ZooLights will be on Tuesday, November, 29 from 4:30-10pm.
During Sensory-Friendly ZooLights music will be muted or played at low volume, lights will be static, and crowd size is very limited.
CLICK HERE to purchase tickets via Eventbrite. Tickets are $5 each.
The Eventbrite page does contain more information about the event. For general ZooLights information check Lincoln Park Zoo’s website. For more information about accessibility at Lincoln Park Zoo, check-out the accessibility page.
ZooLights Sensory-Friendly Night tickets (promo code SensoryFriendly):
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/zoolights-sensory-friendly-tickets-nov-29-tickets-443603017567?aff=lpzwebsite2022
ZooLights general information:
https://www.lpzoo.org/event/zoolights/
Accessibility at Lincoln Park Zoo:
https://www.lpzoo.org/visit/accessibility/
For any further questions, please email access@lpzoo.org or bgreen@lpzoo.org or call 312-742-2067.
We invite you to our newest fundraising campaign, in which we raise awareness and funds for people with myositis. Funds will help patient programs, enhance professional education efforts, and research for cures. We will have a non-competitive walk, fitness demonstrations and activities, nutrition and wellness components, and family fun!
We support patients with this rare disease that involves the inflammation of the muscles, causing weakness, swelling, and muscle damage that appears gradually. When patients are diagnosed with myositis, they may have problems grabbing objects, getting up from a chair, going upstairs, putting their arms up, and many more complications.
Free entrance, but donations are much appreciated – https://www.funfitflex.org/
DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
10 AM – 12:30 PM
740 E 56th Pl, Chicago, IL 60637
Join us in person for a lecture by art critic Holland Cotter followed by an audience Q&A.
Location: The Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall, 111 S. Michigan Ave. (doors open at 5:45pm)
Holland Cotter is co-chief art critic and a senior writer at the New York Times. He has received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing on Art from the College Art Association, and the inaugural award for Excellence in Criticism from the International Association of Art Critics. Cotter is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
This event will be live captioned by Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services. For additional access requests, visit saic.edu/access.
Patti Smith is one of America’s most acclaimed singer-songwriters, and she is also a beloved photographer and poet. In A Book of Days, Smith shares over 365 photographs – inspired by her wildly popular Instagram – to take readers through a year in the legendary life of this visionary poet, writer, and performer. Join Patti Smith for an intimate performance and conversation charting Smith’s life, music, and passions.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/patti-smith/
It’s often said that social media is bad for our mental health, and while that can be true, the full story isn’t so cut and dry. At CHF, Nicole Wetsman, Health Tech Reporter for The Verge moderates a panel between Dr. Megan Moreno, a leading researcher on adolescent social media, and Margot Lee, a high-profile young adult influencer about how curating public images affect our well-being.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/verge-social-media/
You probably know that algorithms play a huge role in what we see online, but what happens to society when this type of curated content begins to influence our real lives? Join The Verge Deputy Editor Alex Heath and a special guest for a conversation about how personalized and relatable content on social media is redefining our feeds and creating a new lens through which millions view the world.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/future-feed/
We’ve all been told too much social media is bad for us, but why is that? At CHF, New York Times investigative reporter and author of The Chaos Machine Max Fisher explains how, through the pursuit of unfettered profits and maximum engagement, Big Tech has rewired our minds, and instigated a cultural shift toward polarization and misinformation. Join him and David Pierce (editor at large at The Verge) for a behind-the-scenes look at how social networks prey on psychological frailties, driving people to extreme opinions and actions.
A book signing will follow this program.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
Join Reza Aslan (No god but God and Zealot) for the spellbinding tale of a martyr for democracy. Howard Baskerville was a 22-year-old missionary who went to Iran in 1907 and died fighting in the Persian Constitutional Revolution. Was he the “American Lafayette of Iran” or a naive “white savior”? In this talk, Aslan explores what Baskerville’s story illuminates about how seriously we take our democratic ideals and whose freedom we actually support.
Pre-order your book and gain access to a book signing and meet and greet with Aslan following this program.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
In the wake of the midterm elections, join former presidential candidate, political activist, and spiritual thought leader Marianne Williamson for an intimate conversation with Sen. Nina Turner about the state of American politics. In an era of divisiveness, Williamson comes to CHF with a new vision for American politics built on social responsibility, democracy, and deep human values.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/marianne-williamson/
Despite the isolation, degradation, and cruelties of the criminal justice system, American prisons are filled with the art of the people incarcerated in them. At CHF, Nicole R. Fleetwood (Marking Time) is joined by interdisciplinary artist Maria Gaspar for a conversation about how these artists use limited supplies in harsh conditions to create elaborate works with an important political message.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/nicole-r-fleetwood-maria-gaspar/
In 2010, Chelsea Manning disclosed thousands of classified US military and diplomatic records to the public while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. Since her initial sentencing and conviction, followed by early release, Manning has become a globally recognized whistleblower and activist. Join her in conversation with Nadya Tolokonnikova (of the feminist protest and performance art group, Pussy Riot) for a conversation about Manning’s memoir README.txt; and her journey fighting for institutional transparency, political activism, government accountability, and trans rights.
A book signing will follow this program.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/chelsea-manning/
Jim Jarmusch isn’t just the director and screenwriter for classics of independent cinema, including Stranger Than Paradise, and star studded films like The Dead Don’t Die, he’s also a prolific collage artist. At CHF, Jarmusch chats with writer Jonathan Ames (creator of HBO’s Bored to Death and author of You Were Never Really Here, A Man Named Doll, and The Wheel of Doll) about being a dilettante and art in its many forms.
A book signing will follow this program.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/jim-jarmusch/
You’ve probably seen Devin Allen’s photography on the cover of TIME magazine, featuring images of protests in response to the police murders of Freddie Gray (2015) and George Floyd (2020). At CHF, join Allen—who has spent nearly a decade documenting the Black Lives Matter movement—for a conversation with Michal Raz-Russo, Programs Director at the Gordon Parks Foundation, about No Justice, No Peace, Allen’s latest book honoring the connection between past and present racial justice activism.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/devin-allen/
Picture an art critic, and you probably think of Jerry Saltz: a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer on the importance of art in our cultural lives. At the top of his field, Saltz has a knack for making contemporary art cool and accessible in a way few critics have before. In a conversation with Michael Darling, Saltz looks at how visionary artists have documented and challenged our culture, our times, and our lives.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/jerry-saltz/
Join Saturday Night Live alum, standup comedian, and caricature artist Kevin Nealon for an evening of stories: from backstage at SNL with Chris Farley and Dana Carvey to hanging out in Tiffany Haddish’s vegetable garden. At CHF, Nealon will chat with former SNL castmate Tim Meadows about his new book I Exaggerate: My Brushes with Fame (Abrams), a collection of original, full-color portraits drawn by Nealon himself alongside endearing personal stories of his famous friends.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
A book signing will follow this program.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/kevin-nealon/
What happens when people get their news from the pulpit? At CHF, Bonnie Kristian (author of Untrustworthy and columnist at Christianity Today), Russell Moore (Editor in Chief at Christianity Today), and David French (senior editor at The Dispatch) unpack this question. Join them for a discussion about the power the evangelical church wields in shaping the political ideologies of its worshippers and the impact of this on America’s already prevalent knowledge crisis.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
A book signing will follow this event.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/church-state-information-crisis/
Heralded as the “best short-story writer in English” by Time, and winner of the Man Booker Prize for Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders is the perfect author to help us make sense of our era through fiction. At CHF, Saunders sits down with Peter Sagal for a chat about his latest collection Liberation Day, featuring timely short stories exploring power, ethics, and justice through his trademark prose.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/george-saunders/
“If a law can’t protect a person from lynching, isn’t lynching the law?” asks Margaret A. Burnham, director of Northeastern University’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, in her new book By Hands Now Known. At CHF, Burnham and Courtney Pierre Joseph (Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies at Lake Forest College) explain the ways America’s legal system allowed and encouraged racial violence during the Jim Crow era, how those atrocities extend into today, and what we can do to repair a broken system.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/margaret-burnham/
Seymour Hersh has been at the forefront of investigative journalism ever since his Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé of the Vietnam War’s Mỹ Lai Massacre. At CHF, Hersh sits down with David Greising, President of the Better Government Association, to talk about what Hersh has learned over the course of his storied career—from Vietnam to Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and beyond—and why the public service of a free press is so important to protecting democracy.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/seymour-hersh/
Mass media rarely tells a three-dimensional story of violence in Chicago, but sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh does. At CHF, Venkatesh goes beyond perfunctory news coverage for a story about a community coming together to save a group of teenagers from gun violence. Join him for a conversation with Rudi Batzell about a national crisis and what it would be like to live in a society without guns.
Open captions and assistive listening devices available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/sudhir-venkatesh/
The public has always been fascinated by conspiracy theories, but lately more people have started believing in them: from speculations about John F. Kennedy’s assassination to notions that 9/11 was an inside job. At CHF, Michael Shermer (founding publisher of Skeptic magazine) talks with Meghan Daum (The Problem With Everything, The Unspeakable Podcast) about the personality traits and societal factors at play in conspiratorial thinking and how we can counteract these narratives.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
A book signing will follow this program.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/michael-shermer/
We often hear the legends of a musician’s “big break,” but what happens before that? In her memoir Maybe We’ll Make It, Grammy-nominated country singer-songwriter Margo Price gets real about the struggles to survive and succeed in a music industry that is often unkind to women. Aspiring musicians, join Price and CHF at the Old Town School of Folk Music for an intimate chat with Jes Skolnik about building a career, followed by a solo performance.
A book signing will follow this program.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/margo-price/
Jeff Garlin is a man of many talents: he is a writer, producer, director, actor, photographer, and stand-up comedian. His impressive filmography includes: Curb Your Enthusiasm, WALL-E, Toy Story 3 & 4, and Paranorman, among others. At CHF, Garlin returns home for a chat with fellow comedian Susie Essman about his career, his city, and his stand-up special: Our Man in Chicago, which features his signature style of storytelling and improv.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/jeff-garlin/
America is witnessing a frightening trend: the rise of extremist groups, like the Proud Boys, infiltrating our politics. At CHF, leading extremism reporter Andy Campbell (author of We Are Proud Boys: How a Right-Wing Street Gang Ushered in a New Era of American Extremism) sits down with Michael Fanone, a former Trump supporter, DC Metropolitan police officer, and author of Hold the Line. Together with Kathleen Belew (Associate Professor of History at Northwestern University and author of Bring the War Home), they’ll discuss how extremist groups have influenced violence in America and abroad, and what we can do to organize against the radicalism they espouse.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/extremism-america/
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Will Bunch calls higher education the great political and cultural fault line of American life. Join Bunch and Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Anthony S. Chen, as they explore the central question of Bunch’s latest book After the Ivory Tower Falls: How has the fracturing of American people into two groups (one educated and the other not) contributed to political, cultural, and economic unrest; and what can we do to bridge the divide?
At CHF, renowned legal scholar Daniel S. Medwed explains how America’s judicial system is stacked against the innocent. Join him and Lake Forest College legal studies professor Stephanie Caparelli for a conversation demystifying the procedural rules, systemic bias, and court culture that make up the barriers to exoneration. We’ll discuss how our justice system operates, what justice actually looks like, and possible solutions for the future.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/daniel-medwed/
Miranda July has gained a cult following over the span of her award-winning career as a filmmaker (Me and You and Everyone We Know and Kajillionaire), writer (No One Belongs Here More Than You), and artist (her latest project, Services, is both a sculpture and a book). Chill with July at CHF for a chat about her life so far – as recently highlighted in the release of her mid-career retrospective.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/miranda-july/
For artist and MacArthur Fellow Rick Lowe, art doesn’t only hang on walls in museums, art is all around us. Art is street murals celebrating Black-owned businesses. Art is the Project Row Houses in Houston’s historic Third Ward. Art is the act we take as members of our communities. At CHF, Lowe reflects on community-based creative practices and the power of art to remake our public lives.
12TH ANNUAL COUNTERBALANCE
SEPTEMBER 24TH & 25TH, 2022
presented by Access Living, Bodies of Work, MOMENTA, and ReinventAbility.
IN-PERSON PERFORMANCES
(A virtual viewing option will be available in October)
Hoover-Leppen Theatre
CENTER ON HALSTED
3656 N. Halsted
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
7:30pm
Doors open at 7:00pm
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
2:00pm
Sensory Friendly Performance
Doors open at 1:30pm
ACCESS FEATURES
Wheelchair Accessible, ASL Interpretation, Open Captioning, Audio Description, All Gender Restrooms
SAFETY PROTOCOLS
Masks Required
Proof of Vaccination
or Negative Covid Test
17+ – Gianmarco’s stand up has been featured on Comedy Central, Netflix, PBS, Amazon (Comics Watching Comics season 8 winner), and Real Housewives of New York (really). His first special, Shelf Life, was nominated for three NY Emmy Awards and was selected as an NPR 2020 comedy pick.
Shows will be held at 162 E Superior St.
— Most tables seat 4 total guests. You may be seated with strangers if your party has less than four guests.
— All shows are 17 and over. 21+ To drink.
— No dress code. No drink minimum!
— Shows run about an hour and 15 minutes.
— Doors open 60 minutes prior to show-time. Arriving at least 15 minutes before show time is always a good idea!
— Seating is first come first serve with a strict no-call, no-show policy. Please call the comedy bar if you are running late!
— Additional sanitary and safety measures are being implemented in consideration of our staff and guests. All attendees are required to follow suggested safety practices and anyone in violation of state regulations may be asked to leave the premises with no refund.
— Under section 4-156-720 of the municipal code of Chicago, this performing arts venue may not charge an admission fee, minimum purchase requirement, membership fee, or other fee or charge imposed for the privilege of entering the premises. Any donations are purely voluntary.