Chicago Humanities Festival Events

Chicago Humanities Festival is a great organization that works to give people of all ages opportunities to continuously explore the humanities. They host annual festivals like the fall Chicago Humanities Festival, the spring stages, sights and sounds festival, and variety of programs throughout the year that promote the study of the humanities. They are focused on making the humanities a vital and vibrant part of every day life through encouraging people to get involved. The Chicago Humanities Festival was founded by a group of people that believed that the humanities was a rich asset to everyone, and the intention of creating a day devoted to the humanities turned into a festival. Throughout the years many notable artists and performers have come to the festivals or participated in events held at the center. There are a constant source of events highlighting literature and the visual arts, creating great opportunities to get involved.

The month of October has no shortage of great lectures, and from the list of topics everyone is bound to find something that sparks their interest. On Sunday October 16th art historian S. Hollis, Clayson is presenting Shedding Artificial Light on Art History from 3:30 to 4:30. This lecture discusses the French Impressionists fascination with light, and the influences that the incandescent light bulb had on the Parisian artists when introduced in 1881 to Paris. The event is held at Harris Hall in room 107 and is $5.00 for general admission and free for faculty and students.

On Sunday October 23rd, African historian Emily Osborn's lecture Melting Pot: African Culture, studies the continents' past though a variety of methodical tools and approaches. Her next book Recycling Traditions: Aluminum Casting and the Making of a Modern African Diaspora offers a history of technology transfer and diffusion. She looks at the social and cultural history of Africa when discussing the way in which the indigenous people re-use material in creative interpretations, for example using scrap metal to make cookware. Don’t miss this fascinating lecture from 12:30 to 1:30 at The Law School, Glen A. in the Lloyd Auditorium. General Admission is $5.00 and free for faculty and students.

Going into the month of November, you don’t want to miss art detective Francesca Casadio’s CSI: Picasso. Casadio is the senior conservationist at the Art Institute of Chicago and a chemist. She recalls her latest adventure in solving the mystery about Picasso’s paint. She talks of examples from the Art Institute all the way to Southern France, highlighting his works and revealing technology that is rewriting art history. This will be held at the Chicago Cultural Center in the Claudia Cassidy Theater on November 6th from 12:00 to 1:00 pm.

Be sure to check out the list of events at the Chicago Humanities Festival and take advantage of one of Chicago’s greatest resources.