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ART

Art Institute’s “Self, Made” Features Artists From The Sandor Collection

Opening this summer, the Art Institute exhibition “Self, Made: Fourteen Modern Artists From The Sandor Family Collection” “tells stories of self-invention in photography, drawing and sculpture, most of them from artists working beyond the gallery and museum system that typically validates creative work. The artworks gathered reflect the egalitarian, broad-minded vision of Richard and Ellen Sandor, who in 1978 moved into a spacious, historic apartment in Chicago.

“Prodigious art collectors alongside their day jobs as economist (Richard) and artist (Ellen), the Sandors progressively filled their walls with a remarkable constellation of works: historical and contemporary, celebrated and overlooked, exalted and humble. They prized innovation and, above all, individuality—makers with a strong sense of self.” Opens June 27. Tickets here.

Theaster Gates’ New Show Honors Ceramicist David Drake

Theaster Gates’ new exhibition, “Dave: All My Relations,” at Gagosian’s Park Avenue space in New York, “honors the legacy of the enslaved ceramicist David Drake, also known as Dave the Potter,” reports the Art Newspaper. “The show is anchored by two vessels by Drake, including one work that was returned to Drake’s descendants by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston last year in a groundbreaking restitution agreement. The other vessel comes from Gates’ personal collection and will also be returned to Drake’s descendants.”

 

DESIGN

City Moves To Landmark Bryn Mawr Historic District

“The city’s Commission on Chicago Landmarks is considering granting preliminary landmark status to the Bryn Mawr Historic District, which includes Bryn Mawr from Broadway to Sheridan Road,” reports Block Club. “It also includes the Edgewater Beach Apartments, 5555 North Sheridan, which is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Belle Shore Apartment Hotel, 5550 North Kenmore and the Manor House are also part of the district.”

Would Congestion Pricing Help Chicago?

Chicago leaders “have discussed following Manhattan’s lead in tolling roads to ease traffic. But a local version of New York’s policy might look very different,” surmises Bloomberg CityLab. “Chicago’s congestion problem is primarily on the expressways accessing downtown, rather than with circulation within the Loop itself, and the policy would need to address the major highways where traffic is much more of an issue. A report proposed installing tolls along I-294, which encircles the city and its adjacent suburbs, and some leaders are intrigued by the managed lane approach, which could introduce traffic-based charging on highways such as I-55 and I-90.”

Behind The South Portico Of The Griffin Museum Of Science And Industry

“Next year, for the first time in more than a century, the entrance [of the Museum of Science and Industry] through the south portico will be put to use again,” reports Dennis Rodkin at WBEZ. “The south portico won’t be just a new entrance. The plans also call for a small café just inside the doors—but outside the part visitors have to pay admission. It will have a balcony tucked inside those massive columns, potentially ‘a nice place to sit with a cup of coffee and look at the lagoon or the Obama’ building, Voula Saridakis, the Griffin MSI’s head curator said. ‘It’s part of the emphasis on connectivity.’”

State Street Bridge Repairs Completed

The State Street bridge, closed since April after damage and steel issues were seen, has reopened, reports Block Club. “The project included a full rehabilitation of the bridge’s center locks, replacement of the center break that damaged the roadway, and improvements to how the bridge’s leaves line up. It also involved repairing key steel structural pieces at the center of the bridge, including replacing floor beams, stringers and bracing.”

Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia Will Be Lego’s Largest Set 

Lego is planning a set to honor the completion of the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona. “The Lego version of Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia cathedral will be made of 12,060 pieces, making it the largest set ever released by the toy company. The current biggest set sold by the brand is the Art World Map, which has 11,695 pieces,” reports Dezeen.

 

DINING & DRINKING

Ithaki Hosts After-Hours Dining For Greek Easter

Ithaki Estiatorio, a new Greek restaurant in Greektown, will reopen on Saturday night through early Sunday morning  for Orthodox Easter (April 11 into April 12, from midnight to 2am), “welcoming guests following late night service to honor the holiday in true Greek tradition. Guests can dine earlier in the evening, then return to break the fast with a late-night gathering. The menu will feature traditional Greek Easter specialties such as lamb on a spit, kokoretsi and magiritsa soup, alongside Ithaki’s full menu.” Menu here. Reservations here.

Trader Joe’s Headed To Uptown, Too

Following last month’s news that Trader Joe’s would be adding a location to Logan Square, Uptown Update now reports that the grocer will be adding a new location to the Uptown neighborhood as well. “We noted a building permit was issued this morning confirming the buildout was for Trader Joe’s,” they write. “The newest location will be located at 804 West Montrose in the 811 Uptown building.”

“Bloom To Table” To Support The Bees

Chefs Richard Sandoval and Bill Kim (Urbanbelly) are hosting “Bloom to Table,” an exclusive five-course dinner supporting the Viva Abejas (Long Live Bees) campaign at Toro Chicago on April 16. “This Latin-Asian fusion experience highlights ingredients like agave and avocado that rely on the honeybee with twenty-percent of proceeds benefiting global bee conservation and the Greater Chicago Food Depository.” Forty-five seats are available. The evening affords “a rare look at how top-tier gastronomy can drive environmental advocacy.” Reservations ($145) here.

What’s Actually The Best Table In A Restaurant?

“Think you’ve been given the worst table? Here’s what’s actually happening behind the host stand,” assays Food & Wine.

 

FILM & TELEVISION

Siskel & Ebert In Living Color

The Gene Siskel Film Center on State Street has swapped out its oversized, black-and-white Victor Skrebneski portrait of the smiling duo of Gene Siskel (thumbs up) and Roger Ebert (thumbs down) on the wall that greets moviegoers just before entering the twin theaters for a color version, and posted installation images on Instagram here.

Forty-Second Chicago Latino Film Festival Announces Eighty-Two Title Lineups

Eighty-two stories from Latin America, Spain, Portugal and U.S. Latino communities (including Chicago) have been announced for the forty-second Chicago Latino Film Festival, running April 16-27 at Landmark Century Centre Cinema. Out of the fifty-one feature selections, nine are North American premieres and five are U.S. premieres; of the thirty-one shorts, five are world premieres. Eighteen features are by first-time filmmakers or documentary filmmakers who are making their feature fiction debut. Around fifty filmmakers are expected to attend. More here.

Chicago International Founder Michael Kutza To Receive Polish Culture Prize

Michael Kutza, the founder and longtime director of the Chicago International Film Festival, will be awarded the honorary badge “Meritorious for Polish Culture” on April 14 at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago. The award is “in recognition of Kutza’s decades-long dedication to promoting Polish cinema and culture in the United States.

“Through his leadership of the Chicago International Film Festival, Kutza introduced American audiences to major Polish filmmakers and their work—particularly during the 1970s through the 1990s, when Polish cinema was at the height of its global influence. Under Kutza’s direction, the Festival screened nearly 200 Polish films.”

Kara Swisher Wouldn’t Work With An Ellison Family-Owned CNN

“They have no interest in journalism,” podcast host and CNN contributor Kara Swisher says of the planned absorption of CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery by the Ellison family’s Paramount Skydance, adding, “I’m not working for you hacks.” Swisher recently signed a deal with CNN for a series, “Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever,” writes the Hollywood Reporter. At the same event, Swisher said of the Oracle billionaire, “I’ve spent a lot of time with Larry Ellison, and he’s a terrible person.”

After Warner Bid Rebuffed, Netflix Hikes Subscription Prices Again

“Netflix, for the second time in a little over a year, is raising prices for its three plans in the U.S.,” accounts Variety. “The higher pricing shows that Netflix feels it has ‘pricing power’ relative to rival streamers, in industry jargon. While some customers may cancel over the higher fees, the company—the biggest subscription-streaming provider in the world with more than 325 million customers at the end of 2025—has presumably calculated that the increased revenue per sub will offset any resulting churn.”

 

LIT

Former Logan Square Open Books Employees Criticize Management 

“Former employees of the now-closed Logan Square Open Books said they were told they were losing their jobs just a day before the company announced the store’s closure,” reports Block Club. Open Books closed its Logan Square store on March 1 “due to financial challenges and low sales there, Open Books management said. It has two remaining stores… Four staff members who worked at the Logan Square store said they were blindsided by the decision and terminated as they came into work on the same day they learned about the store closure, one day before [the store] alerted the public in early February.”

Evanston’s Edible Book Fair Cancelled

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Evanston’s Edible Book Festival (April 4) has been cancelled,” reports Hive Center for the Book Arts.

 

MUSIC

An Unhappy Muti At His 600th Chicago Concert

“It was Riccardo Muti’s 600th concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and he was not happy,” reports the Trib. “Nearly twenty minutes into the milestone concert on March 20—a concert of opera excerpts squarely in Muti’s nineteenth-century Italian wheelhouse—a burst of late arrivals shuffled onto the main floor. Soprano Lidia Fridman had just arrived onstage to sing ‘Ebben? Ne andrò lontana’ from ‘La Wally,’ the seldom-staged opera by Alfredo Catalani that was once a favorite of Muti’s idol, Toscanini.

“Spotting another surge of latecomers, the CSO music director emeritus became incensed. ‘Who came late? Out!’ he spat, to applause. ‘This is a great institution. Toscanini would have thrown you out. When you go to the airport, you go on time… We don’t entertain. We try to make you richer—spiritually, culturally.”

Melissa Auf Der Maur On Her Chicago Time

In her 400-page new book, Melissa Auf der Maur “writes about how a drunken brawl led to her meeting Billy Corgan, who then introduced her to Hole front woman Courtney Love,” as well as other moments during one of the most pivotal decades of rock music in “Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A Nineties Rock Memoir,” reports the Sun-Times. “I always believed Chicago is the coolest next to Seattle,” Auf der Maur told the paper. “Not to mention Touch and Go is my favorite label from the nineties.” To Chicago, she says, “You’re the only city that gets its own chapter other than Montreal.”

Wu-Tang Clan’s Farewell Tour Adds Chicago Area Date

Wu-Tang Clan’s “supposed final tour has entered its second year,” slates Pitchfork. “After a lengthy run last year, ‘Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber’ will stretch into late 2026.” The local stop: September 4 at Tinley Park’s Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre.

 

STAGE

Rena Butler’s New Dance Work Inspired By Carrie Mae Weems

“Some of [Rena Butler’s] most formative moments took place at the kitchen table in her grandmother’s South Side home,” reports the Sun-Times. “Butler will honor that sacred space in her new work, ‘Her Table,’” which premiered at La Femme Dance Festival at the Harris over the weekend. “The work is inspired by ‘The Kitchen Table Series,’ a seminal 1990 photo project by artist Carrie Mae Weems, who is Black. The set of black-and-white images depict Weems in different scenes around her kitchen table—embracing a lover, getting her hair brushed by her mother, applying makeup with her young daughter, conversing with friends, even sitting in solitude.”

See Opera’s “Rising Stars In Concert” At Lyric

The Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago will present “Rising Stars in Concert” on Saturday, April 25. This annual showcase of the Ryan Opera Center’s Ensemble “is a vibrant and theatrically engaging program celebrating the next generation of operatic talent.” Free. Tickets here.

Chicago Children’s Theatre Granted $10,000 From Theatre For Young Audiences

“Theatre for Young Audiences has awarded Chicago Children’s Theatre a $10,000 grant as part of the TYA Fund, a fund to support midsize theater organization members of TYA/USA,” reports Broadway World Chicago. “We’re grateful for this support from TYA/USA and the Mark Edelman Theater Fund,” said Jacqueline Russell, Chicago Children’s Theatre co-founder and artistic director. “These funds will help our efforts to offer accessible, professionally produced plays, musicals, classes and camps to Chicago children and families.”

Opera Festival Of Chicago Sets Sixth Season

The Opera Festival Of Chicago has announced tickets for its sixth season, “Bohemian Tragedy,” running this summer from June 13-July 5. A “Very Verismo!” opens the season on Saturday, June 13 at the Jarvis Opera Hall of DePaul University, while the first fully-staged opera, “La Bohème” by Giacomo Puccini, plays on Friday, June 26 and Wednesday, July 1 and Sunday July 5 at the North Shore Center in Skokie. The final production of the season is “Adriana Lecouvreur” by Francesco Cilea, with performances on Sunday, June 28 and Friday, July 3, also at the North Shore Center. More here.

 

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

Chicago’s Social Clubs See A Membership Boom

“Chicago’s social club and night life scene is enjoying a quiet renaissance, operators say, as membership-based gathering places sprout and branch out—sometimes even collaboratively—around the city to meet surging post-pandemic demand for in-person connections,” reports Crain’s. “With several clubs launching in the city in recent years and reporting triple-digit membership increases in the post-COVID era, the resurgence marks a shift for the more exclusive end of Chicago’s hospitality scene.”

Kennedy Center Firings Begin

Jobs cuts have begun at the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center, “rocking the institution ahead of a two-year closure,” reports the Washington Post (gift link). “The move arrives on the heels of Trump’s announcement, earlier this month… that Richard Grenell would no longer run the Kennedy Center. Grenell, a combative Trump acolyte who previously served as ambassador to Germany, led the center for a little more than a year, during which ticket sales cratered and Trump announced the center’s two-year closure for renovations.”

 

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