2012 Programs

 

Eye on India: Words on Water Author Talk with Urvashi Butalia
July 15, 2012
The Dance Center

Institute Executive Director Jane M. Saks and writer/publisher Urvashi Butalia discussed and investigated global issues related to women, gender, culture and identity through the mediums of the novel and arts and media.
 
This conversation was part of the Words on Water series presented by the Eye on India Festival (July 12-22, 2012).
 
In its second year the Festival showcased a rich blend of Indian classical and world music along with an interesting mix of Indian art and culture from the fields of literature, film, cuisine and dance. The festival was produced in partnership with Columbia College, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Old Town School of Folk Music and the Goodman Theater.
 

Jomama Jones: *RADIATE*
Produced by Jane M. Saks in association with Victory Gardens Theater
April 19-21, 2012
Victory Gardens

Legendary expatriate performer Jomama Jones brought an intimate concert version of her sold-out smash show, RADIATE to Chicago.  “RADIATE glows..." said The New York Times, "making it hard to resist this sequined earth-mother's soulful embrace." Accompanied by her collaborator and musical director, Bobby Halvorson, Jones performed songs from her CDs Lone Star, Radiate and the upcoming EP Six Ways Home while sharing tales from her life's journey and her surprising observations of the America to which she returned. Jomama Jones speaks to the comeback in us all!

In Jeopardy? Europe and the Transatlantic Alliance
A Partnership with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
April – May 2012

The Institute was proud to partner with The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and other organizations for the G8/NATO public program series, In Jeopardy? Europe and the Transatlantic Alliance. This series is being launched in preparation for the G8 and NATO Summits to be held in Chicago in May, which also coincides with this year's celebration of the Council's 90th anniversary.The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is one of the two principal partners of the city's G8/NATO Host Committee. Working with a consortium of local and international organizations, The Chicago Council has planned a suite of activities around the Summits. The In Jeopardy? Europe and the Transatlantic Alliance series will feature public programs on topics such as the future of the transatlantic alliance, the world economy, and other pressing global issues.

 

No Woman, No Cry film screening
April 16, 2012
Gene Siskel Film Center

The Institute was honored to partner with Lifeway Foods and Every Mother Counts to bring this special screening of Christy Turlington Burns' documentary film No Mother, No Cry to Chicago. Institute Executive Director, Jane M. Saks moderated a discussion with Christy Turlington and Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky immediately following the film.

Small Ensemble Concert featuring Sonia Sanchez
Friday, April 6, 2012
Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, Harold Washington Library

The Institute was proud to partner with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble for this exploration of music and the spoken word in the jazz canon. Featuring poet, writer, and Civil Rights activist Sonia Sanchez, this program explored the languages of improvisation and jazz as they intersect with the spoken and written word . The program took inspiration from historical and contemporary collaborations between word and sound, originating with the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s-70s that gave rise to a whole generation of formative African-American literature, poetry, music, and activism. An important figure in African-American literature, Sanchez has had a profound impact on this literature's oral tradition.

 

New Paradigms: Mickalene Thomas in conversation with MCA curator Naomi Beckwith
March 30, 2012 7pm
Reception After Dark 8pm.      
Art Institute Chicago, Fullerton Hall                                                           

The Institute was proud to partner with the Leadership Advisory Committee of the Art Institute of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute to present a discussion with celebrated New York-based artist Mickalene Thomas, whose elaborate paintings expand on traditional notions of beauty. She discussed her artwork and shared insights from her residency at Versaille Foundation Munn with Naomi Beckwith (MCA Curator). The conversation continued with a reception at After Dark featuring special gallery tours, DJs, appetizers, and a cash bar.

 

Lorraine O'Grady Lecture
March 15, 2012
Museum of Contemporary Art

Lorraine O'Grady is an artist and critic whose installations, performances, and texts address issues of diaspora, hybridity, and black female subjectivity. This Critical Encounters event was co-sponsored by the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Departments of Art + Design and Photography, and The Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media.

 

Out at CHM: Curators Bare All
March 8, 2012
Cocktails at 5:30pm
Program at 6:30pm
Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark Street.  

For the sixth year, the Institute was a proud partner of Out at CHM, an annual series at Chicago History Museum discovering the history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Chicago.  In a moderated conversation with Northwestern University professor Bill Savage, Out in Chicago co-curators Jill Austin and Jennifer Brier shared their experiences developing the exhibition.

 

Not Ready To Make Nice: The Guerrilla Girls in the Art World and Beyond
March 1 – April 21, 2012
Opening Reception: March 1, 5-8pm
Glass Curtain Gallery
Public Conversation: March 1, 6-7pm
Educator/Student Open House: March 2
Conaway Center

The Guerrilla Girls have engaged in a major initiative, focusing on art and activism through a dynamic collaboration with the Institute, the Department of Exhibition & Performance Spaces, the A + D Gallery, the Center for Book and Paper Arts, and Critical Encounters at Columbia College Chicago. Their project compromised an Institute Fellowship; a 6-week solo exhibition with new works and installations; community actions; and a series of student workshops and public programs. Beginning in October 2011, founding members of the group had the first of two campus residencies, culminating with the opening of the solo exhibition at two locations on March 1, 2012, the Glass Curtain Gallery and the A + D Gallery. In the Public Conversation, Neysa Page-Lieberman, Exhibition Curator and Director, Department of Exhibition and Performance Spaces, and Institute Executive Director Jane M. Saks were in conversation and conducted an audience Q&A with the artists. The Educator/Student Open House hosted a conversation with the Guerrilla Girls and Chicago-area educators, students and activists. A major Chicago initiative, this project illuminated and contextualized the important past and current work of these highly original, provocative, and influential artists who champion feminism and social change.   

Miss Representation
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Pre-Reception: 5:30-6:15PM
Film Screening: 6:15-8:00PM
Audience Talk-Back: 8:00-8:30PM
Film Row Cinema

The Institute was proud to co-sponsor this screening of Miss Representation in partnership with Chicago Foundation for Women's Leadership Councils, Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition's Associate Board, and Women Employed's Advocacy Council. Institute Executive Director  Jane M. Saks moderated a post-event talk-back on gender and discrimination in the modern media landscape.The acclaimed documentary interweaves stories from teenage girls with provocative interviews from Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Lisa Ling, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, and Gloria Steinem about the media and its message.