Even though in Chicago the weather has been a bit rainy and grey, the holidays are approaching and bringing a new year; we know the snow will be here soon enough!

Chicago Gallery News is excited and ready to celebrate the New Year with our upcoming January-March issue, packed with events and openings in 2012! Grab your copy soon, and visit our website to check for the winter openings schedule, to be posted soon.

You don’t have to wait until January to get out and about though, and December’s not over yet. CGN has a list of things to do to keep you busy for the next couple of weeks when, hopefully, you have a little free time to enjoy the city.

See a movie

at the Gene Siskel Film Center

Regular movie theaters will be noisy and crowded this season, so why not venture to another theater like the Gene Siskel Film Center? December offers opportunities to see anything from Le Havre, a feel good film where a shoeshine man shields an African illegal immigrant child from the law, to The Interrupters, directed by Steve James, director of Hoop Dreams, in collaboration with the author of There Are No Children Here and more.

Visit siskelfilmcenter.org for schedules. 

Stop by a gallery

Roots and Culture is presenting an exhibition of international artists through January 8, with a Q+A session December 18 at 2pm to mark the occasion of International Migrant’s Day.

• 1034 N. Milwaukee

65GRAND exhibits Bob Jones through December 31^st in a show called Mountains and matte.  The work featured is in between sculpture and painting.

Bob Jones

• 1369 W. Grand 

Devening Projects and Exhibitions presents Mark Booth: The Sea is Represented by an Irregular Shape until January 29^th.   Booth is a Chicago based artist and received his MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

• 3039 W. Carroll

Hear Holiday Music

Stop by the Harold Washington Library downtown to hear holiday concerts throughout the month.  December 15 at 2pm in the library’s grand lobby the Chicago Bar Association Symphony and Chorus performs.

• 400 S. State

Listen

At the Poetry Foundation on December 16 at 7pm Kenneth Goldsmith, poet, DJ, essayist, and UbuWeb founder, will be presenting “My Career in Poetry or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Institution,” a talk about poetic community, ambition, and his new book Uncreative Writing.

• 61 W. Superior

 Hop on the Holiday Express

At the Chicago Botanic Garden, from 10-6 until January 1^st visit the 10,000 sq foot miniature train that winds through Chicago landmarks including Navy Pier, Soldier Field, The Art Institute and Chinatown. The Joutras Gallery will also feature a gingerbread house display. See thousands of festive lights decorating the gardens inside and out! On select days hear carolers and participate in family activities. Visit chicagobotanic.org for more details and to purchase tickets.

Don’t miss the last opportunity of 2011 to shop at the Farmers’ Market at the Botanic Garden.  On December 18 from 10-2 the gardens host a winter farmers’ market with local vendors. It’s a perfect opportunity to purchase some green friendly holiday presents, stock up on your local favorites for the winter, or pick up a few ingredients for your holiday dinner. Expect to see a range of items from free-range meat to veggies, baked goods, handmade pottery, flowers, and soaps! 

Learn more about all of these events and more at chicagogallerynews.com  

The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) offers an engaging range of exhibitions throughout the year, and like many arts institutions, their programming is possible due in part to the support from donors.  This Friday, the museum is holding their annual benefit auction to drum up that critical support.  Guests will be able to enjoy a festive party while mingling with other photography fans and artists. And the auction is tough to beat, as always.

After the benefit, MoCP is offering their current exhibition, Current Unseen, as well as an upcoming screening and lecture. Read on for all the details. 

The Party 

MoCP’s annual gala and auction this Friday, November 18th begins at 6pm at 301 N Justine St. This year’s theme is prohibition, so get ready for a night full of custom cocktails and rich art. The silent auction offers fine prints by established and emerging artists, and helps support the world of contemporary photography.

Click HERE for a preview 

You may bid on works by artists such as John Baldessari, Penelope Umbrico,  Theun van Rees, and more

Also available during the bidding are several photo ‘experiences,’ including personal portrait sessions with photographer Dawoud Bey and filmmaker/photographer Sandro. You can also bid on a behind the scenes tour of Christie’s, New York for you and a friend!  Absentee bids are welcome (call Jeff Arnett at 312.369.7779 to place a bid. He’s super helpful and really nice.)  Click HERE to purchase tickets 

Olivo Barbieri 

John Sparagana  

At the Museum:

Crime Unseen, MOCP’s current exhibition will run until January 15^th.

Featuring the work of 8 artists who actively engage with myth and reality as they question the roles of memory, the media, and evidence in solving and remembering crime. All of the artists in Crime Unseen grapple with a retelling of disturbing crimes. Using photography and other methods, the artists reactivate historical material and open it up to further contemplation. By drawing on techniques of photojournalism, forensic photography, and documentary landscape (Karen Irvine, Curator and Associate Director). 

Angela Strassheim, Evidence #11 

Upcoming Events

November 30^th from 6-9pm, in conjunction with Crime Unseen, MOCP will screen video work by artists considering the potential for everyday objects, ordinary surroundings and average people to become evidence of something beyond the familiar.

December 1^st at 7pm at the Glessner House Museum, Corinne May Botz will give a lecture about her Nutshell Series of Unexplained Death. Botz photographed a series of miniature crime scene models that were built in the 1940s and 50s by progressive criminologist and heiress Frances Glessner Lee to help detectives learn to better assess visual evidence.  

The Museum of Contemporary Photography is free and is located at 600 S Michigan Ave Hours are: Mon-Sa, 10am – 5pm, Thur 10-8pm+ Sun 12-5pm

   Krisanne Johnson  

Glass Curtain Gallery presents Black Gossamer, a group exhibition opening November 17^th where several artists are exploring black identity.

Glass Curtain Gallery comments, “An anxiousness exists among people of color because there is still an expectation to "perform," explain and react to one's Blackness in society, maybe even make excuses for it, both within and outside "black" culture. One outlet utilized to express this dichotomy is through dress.”

“This exhibition showcases the work of black contemporary artists who use and draw inspiration from clothing, fashion, textiles and fabrications to explore and uncover recent revolutions in black identity.” (Class Curtain Gallery)  

 Wangechi Mutu 

Black Gossamer exhibits an impressive collection of work from several artists, including New York based Kenyan artist, Wangechi Mutu. Mutu’s work has been shown in venues such as: the Tate Modern, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, MOMA, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, and at the Royal Academy in London.

Other artists include: Aisha Bell, Sheila Bridges, Myra Greene, Marlon Griffith, Krisanne Johnson, Kalup Linzy, Ebony G. Patterson (colum.edu/Student_Life/DEPS/)

Black Gossamer will include multiple opportunities to attend gallery talks and hear from some of the artists as well as curator, Camille Morgan. See below for a list of corresponding events.

Marlon Griffith, LOUIS (from the Powder Box School Girl series), 2009 

Located at 1104 S. Wabash on the 1^st floor of the historic Ludington building at Columbia College, Glass Curtain Gallery exhibits emerging and mid career artists. By presenting museum-quality exhibitions, workshops, and visiting artist lectures, Glass Curtain acts as a catalyst in the dialogue for students in the arts. 

Ebony G. Patterson 

For more information about the exhibition click here 

Exhibition Programming

November 17: Opening Reception 5:00-8:00pm

November 18 : "Taboo Fashion and Chameleon Identities" Gallery Artist Talk with Artists Aisha Bell and Ebony G. Patterson, 11-12:30pm

November 22: Critical Encounters Cafe Society discussion with artist Myra Greene and Curator, 4-6pm

February 1: Closing Reception - African American Heritage Month Kickoff Celebration, 5:30 - 7:30pm

Friday, November 18^th at 7pm, the National Museum of Mexican Art will be hosting a world book premiere for Chicanas of 18^th Street, a collection of testimonies from six Pilsen-based female activists. Meet the authors and take this opportunity to gain access to lessons learned from this movement and what it means for today’s Latino community. 

“Women discuss how education, immigration, religion, identity, and acculturation affected the Chicano movement (University of Illinois Press).”

Through in-depth interviews with the activists we get a look at the unique movements for social reform that took root and grew in Chicago’s South Side neighborhood.

“Highlighting the women's motivations, initiatives, and experiences in politics during the 1960s and 1970s, these rich personal accounts reveal the complexity of the Chicana Movement, conflicts within the Movement, and the importance of teatro and cultural expressions to the movement. Also detailed are vital interactions between members of the Chicana Movement with leftist and nationalist community members and the influence of other activists groups such as African Americans and Marxists (University of Illinois Press).”

Mary S. Prado, author of, Mexican American Women Activists: Identity and Resistance in Two Los Angeles Communities comments, “The personal testimonies allow readers to see the dynamics that transform community members into activists. This engaging study appeals to students and scholars of women’s studies, political science, sociology, and Latina studies.”

19^th street mural

Joe Allen, Pilsen resident, and author of People Wasn’t Made to Burn says, “Pilsen is a neighborhood that is aware of its own history, where the past is adored on the walls of the buildings and the viaducts that crisscross the neighborhood, but it doesn’t do it like a museum does to celebrate the past. [Rather, it is to] remember what has to be done today and the future.” 

Part of the Barrett Park mural on Cermak road  

Activism isn’t new to the historically revolutionary neighborhood and this book provides insights that have inspired and paved the way for future community members’ fight. 

Come a little early and check out the current exhibitions at the National Museum of Mexican Art, Dia de Muertos XXV (Day of the Dead), Neptuno, and Claro y Obscuro.

The National Museum of Mexican Art is located at: 

1852 W. 19^th Street, Chicago 60608

Normal hours are: Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm

Visits are always free

Call for more info: 312-369-9294

This weekend is an exciting time for art lovers in Chicago. The annual SOFA CHICAGO is back, now with an extra emphasis on art & design. Visit Navy Pier Friday-Sunday to see a wide range of art presented by international galleries and dealers. You’ll find many rare objects and works of art, as well as have access to outstanding lectures. Experts are around every corner, so the opportunities to learn and explore are endless. Once again SOFA is partnering with The Intuit Show of Folk & Outsider Art, so you may enjoy two fairs under a single roof. 

Visit sofaexpo.com to learn more about special exhibits and lectures at the fair to get the most out of your visit. This year’s lectures (click here for info) range from The Bluffer’s Guide to European Jewelry to Cartooning In Conflict: An Illustration of the Futility of War and It's the End of the World As We Know It...But My Art is Fine! A guide to protecting your art. Most of the lectures take place Friday and Saturday, with just one on Sunday, so plan ahead if you’re hoping to get in on the learning. Lectures are included with admission.  Tickets to the fair are available online, or at the door.  

There is certainly enough activity to keep you busy all three days this weekend.  Play hooky and come to the fair on Friday, or just wait until after work and catch some gallery openings Friday evening. Chicago Gallery News is providing a courtesy shuttle between SOFA, the Museum of Contemporary Art + the River North Gallery District all weekend. The shuttles will take you to openings on Friday.  On Saturday evening, there will be an extra stop at KM Fine Arts for their special fall exhibition, Eyes Wide Shut. KM Fine Arts is located on the 25^th floor the John Hancock Center, so you’ll have a fabulous view of the city and the lakefront from the gallery, not to mention cocktails! 

Several galleries in the River North District will have extended hours all weekend (including on Sunday!) and many will be holding opening receptions Friday evening. Take the free shuttle to Franklin + Superior and enjoy the opportunity to visit the culturally rich River North District where streets are lined with galleries and great restaurants. 

River North Gallery District

SOFA + Shuttle Hours

Friday: 11am-7pm  •  Shuttle: 12-7pm

Saturday 11am-7pm  •  Shuttle: 12-7pm

Sunday 12-6pm  •  Shuttle: 11am-2pm

For more information about SOFA and galleries visit: Chicagogallerynews.com