OFF-SPRING – Guided Exhibit Tour with Juli Lowe, 21c Museum Manager
2023-03-10 17:00 - 18:00 UTC | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Curious about contemporary art? Learn about 21c Chicago’s current exhibition, OFF-SPRING, and the artists behind all of the works on a guided tour from 21c’s Museum Manager, Juli Lowe.
Meet us in the lobby at 5 pm to explore. Tours are free and open to the public.
Featured Image: Carrie Mae Weems, Untitled (Woman and Daughter with Make Up), 1990, Silver print

Art of Womxn: Art & Wine Tour
2023-03-16 17:00 - 19:30 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Enjoy a guided art tour of our current exhibit, OFF-SPRING: New Generations with 21c Chicago Museum Manager, Juli Lowe. Learn all about contemporary art and the artists behind the exhibition. Following the art tour, we will be celebrating women in wine with Shall We Wine CEO & Founder, Regine T. Rousseau, who be providing a tasting featuring a few of her favorite wines.
RSVP via Eventbrite here.
Meet in Galleries 5 + 6 on the 2nd Floor.
Tour starts at 5:00pm, followed by a wine tasting to follow.

Jazz Jam Session with the Matt Jarosch Quintet featuring Julia Danielle
2023-03-28 19:00 - 22:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Jazz Jam Session featuring Julia Danielle
Tuesday, March 28th, 7-10pm
Free and open to the public
21c’s Jazz Jam Sessions continue bimonthly!
Jazz jam sessions have long been the place where musicians gather to connect and perform together while honing their skills. The Matt Jarosch Quintet and vocalist Julia Danielle will kick off the night with a 30-minute set before opening the evening to Jazz musicians in the audience to come sit-in!
Musicians can sign up on-site and fill out a jam session info card listing three to five tunes they can play and improvise on from memory. The jam session host will call on musicians to perform and improvise together in front of an enthusiastic live audience. A vocal microphone, drum set, bass, bass amp, and piano will be provided, otherwise bring your axe!
The evening will feature a fundraiser for BandWith Chicago. Suggested donation is $10 (collected at the door).
Wine be served. Lure Fishbar will offer special menu items in conjunction with this event (advance purchase not required but encouraged).
Julia Danielle is an up-and-coming vocalist, arranger, educator, and composer based in the heart of the vibrant jazz scene of Chicago. As the 2022 International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition Winner, part of Julia’s prize was performing alongside The Tierney Sutton Band at the infamous Blues Alley Jazz Club in Washington D.C.

About BandWith Chicago

Founded in the Fall of 2015 by Annie Palomino, BandWith is a Chicago-based non-profit organization whose mission is to provide lasting access to high quality performing arts instruction to underserved Chicago communities.
Since its inception, BandWith has addressed the need for access to music and creativity in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. Annie Palomino launched BandWith when the band program was dropped from LEARN Campbell Charter School due to budget cuts. Starting a nonprofit allowed Annie to continue providing free access to music instruction to students at the LEARN Campbell Campus while increasing reach to new students.
Since then, BandWith has developed into a stable organization offering individual and small group instruction, weekly ensemble play and performance opportunities to participants throughout the year. BandWith’s free in-school and after-school programs are located in East Garfield Park. They include our longest standing in-school band program, the Titan Band, within LEARN Charter School. BandWith also provides an after-school performing arts program at Marillac St. Vincent’s Hope Jr. Youth Center, which includes Drumline, WestDance, Studio-Engineering and Vocal Training/Choir. This summer, we partnered with After School Matters to support our growing Drumline Program as well as Chicago West Community Music Center to launch the WestDance Program.
BandWith offers instrumental music programs at 3 additional sites that are fee-for-service. The sites of these are St. Procopius School in Pilsen, St. Helen School in Ukrainian Village, and St. John Berchmans School in Logan Square. The three fee-for-service programs ensure BandWith’s financial viability and stability, and help subsidize the cost of our free programs. All other fundraising efforts are used to support free programs.

OFF-SPRING - Guided Exhibit Tour with Juli Lowe, 21c Museum Manager
2023-03-30 17:00 - 17:30 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Curious about contemporary art? Learn about 21c Chicago’s current exhibition, OFF-SPRING: New Generations, and the artists behind all of the artworks on a guided tour from 21c’s Museum Manager, Juli Lowe.
Meet us in the lobby at 5:00 pm to explore. Tours are free and open to the public.
Featured image: Carrie Mae Weems Untitled (Woman and Daughter with Make Up), 1990

Curatorial Conversation: theNate Director and Curator Jeff Stevenson and artist Bernard Williams
2023-03-30 17:30 - 19:30 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
21c Museum Hotel Chicago is honored to collaborate with theNate on this month’s Curator Conversation. Director and Curator of the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park (theNate) and the Visual Arts Gallery at Governors State University, Jeff Stevenson will be in conversation with artist Bernard Williams. theNate is receiving a new sculpture by the artists and together Jeff and Bernard will discuss the integration of Art and Landscape within the 100-acre expanse of theNate.
The Illinois Capital Development Board, Art in Architecture, Percent for Art Program, identified funds generated from the renovation of the F Wing / Science Area at Governors State University (GSU). The best use of these funds was to commission a new sculpture for theNate. 27 artists submitted applications and three finalists were identified. Bernard Williams’ design was chosen because of its response to the site and the collection, and how it will serve as an observation deck for visitors to take in the views of the 12-acre native prairie. The direct connection between the sculpture, the prairie conservation project, and the science program at GSU demonstrates the beauty of Art in Education.

More about Jeff Stevenson
Since 2017, Jeff Stevenson has served as the Director and Curator of the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park (theNate) and the Visual Arts Gallery at Governors State University. In that time, for theNate, Stevenson has supervised over a dozen conservation projects, 6 visiting exhibitions in the sculpture park (including Chakaia Booker, Neil Goodman, Indira Johnson, Denise Milan), and 2 new acquisitions (Abbott Pattison, Terrence Karpowicz). For the gallery spaces on campus, Stevenson has coordinated the installation of over a dozen exhibitions annually.
Jeff Stevenson earned a BS degree in Medical Illustration from The Ohio State University and an MFA in Painting from Ohio University. He has exhibited his artwork in group and solo shows and has received numerous awards.
Stevenson has taught Studio Art classes, Art History, Creativity, and other subjects through Governors State University, Prairie State College, South Suburban College, Columbia College, The Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago, and Ohio University.
He has served on boards and committees with Southland Arts, the Chicago Artists’ Coalition, Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park, and the Flossmoor Village Art Commission, in his hometown, Flossmoor, Illinois.
More about Bernard Williams
Bernard Williams is an established artist based in Chicago, IL and working in painting, sculpture, installation, and public art. He holds a BFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MFA from Northwestern University. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the U.S. and has been represented by the N’Namdi Gallery in Detroit, the Thomas McCormick Gallery in Chicago, and the Ethan Cohen Gallery in New York. Williams has received recognition both regionally and nationally, including grants from the Illinois Arts Council, Artadia in New York in 2001, The Meier Foundation in Chicago in 2013, and The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation in New York in 2015. He has completed artist residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA., and the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York in 2013.
The artist began painting outdoor murals in the early 1990’s with the Chicago Public Art Group. While continuing with CPAG, Williams has added outdoor sculpture to his practice. In recent years he has created several outdoor steel sculptures in Chicago and completed the Black Tractor Project at the Arts Club of Chicago 2019. In November 2020-May 2021 he debuted a large sculptural work in the “Long Dream” group exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. In 2022 the artist installed a large outdoor steel sculpture commission celebrating the African American suffragette, Naomi Anderson, in Michigan City, Indiana. In 2023, the artist will install steel sculptures at theNate (Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park), at Governors State University in University Park, IL, and in Dallas, Texas.

For Freedoms News
2023-04-11 - 2023-04-30 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
For Freedoms News (FFN) is an artist-led reimagining of television news. Created by the artist collective For Freedoms, which centers art and creativity as a catalyst for transformative connection and collective liberation, this project began with a residency at the Brooklyn Museum concurrent with early voting in the 2022 midterm elections, continued at Untitled Art Miami Beach, as well as the unveiling of The Embrace, Boston.
This video presentation documents some of the creative experimentation from the first phase of FFN as a news program, live art installation, performance, conversation, and rallying cry from the For Freedoms ecosystem for creative civic participation. This work is being presented as a collaboration between EXPO CHICAGO and 21c Museum Hotel Chicago and is on-view at both venues.

HOW ON EARTH: Artists Address Climate Change program with NRDC
2023-04-14 17:00 - 20:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Janet Biggs, Helina Metaferia and Jennifer Wen Ma join Elizabeth Corr (NRDC) and Anne Verhallen (ATLT) to discuss their artistic practices, their works featured in EXPO CHICAGO and the inspiration behind them. Talk begins at 5:30pm and will be followed by a musical performance at 6:30pm by Kinsella & Pulse. Cocktails and light food provided.
Program is free and open to the public — registration required. RSVP here.
HOW ON EARTH: Artists Address Climate Change @ EXPO CHICAGO
NRDC and Art At A Time Like This present HOW ON EARTH , a climate-focused exhibit featuring acclaimed artists Janet Biggs, Lily Kwong, Helina Metaferia and Jennifer Wen Ma for this year’s 10th anniversary of EXPO CHICAGO. The exhibit — on view in booth 132 / Navy Pier Festival Hall — showcases the power of artists who are inspiring hope and action in their artwork to address the climate crisis.

HOW ON EARTH is complemented by a robust series of free public programming highlighting local Chicago artists grappling with environmental issues in their own practices. View the list of participating artists below, along with complete program schedule.
Learn more about HOW ON EARTH in the press release.

When you sign up to attend these events, you’ll be added to NRDC’s mailing list. You can unsubscribe from emails at any time.

Featured image: Janet Biggs (photo by Katja Aglert), Lily Kwong, Helina Metaferia (photo by Tommie Battle), Jennifer Wen Ma (photo by Andrea Spidell)

Kelly Kristin Jones: Plinths for the People co-sponsored by The Chicago Poetry Center
2023-04-15 14:00 - 15:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Plinths, the heavy platforms that hold up statues and monuments, are by their very definition not made for all. Plinths for the People takes the historical plinth and turns it into a grand stage activated by the community. Kelly Kristin Jones ensures that all stories, voices, and visions are acknowledged as community members speak their truth and perform their triumphs, creating their own kind of monument.
Join us at 21c Chicago on April 15 from 2-3pm to bear witness to those who choose to stand atop the plinth, and be inspired by Maya Odim and Luis Tubens, two Poets in Residence at The Chicago Poetry Center. Plinths for the People is co-sponsored by the Chicago Poetry Center.
Kelly Kristin Jones was raised on the westside of Chicago and received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the recipient of a number of awards and fellowships including a 2022 Individual Artists Program Grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, a 2021 Illinois Arts Council Agency Grant, a 2019 Chicago Artists Coalition HATCH residency, LATITUDE residency, and Luminarts Cultural Foundation Project Grant. She was a featured artist in the 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial.
The mission of the Chicago Poetry Center is to connect people and poetry, equitably engage poets with communities, and foster creative literacy in the city and beyond. More information is available at www.poetrycenter.org.
Maya Odim is a poet and dancer who purposefully mounts performance works in spaces existing outside of occidental performance bounds. Maya works as an interdisciplinary artist exploring rhythms, patterns and qualities of speech through both the written word and a developing choreographic praxis. Maya holds a BA in American Studies (Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT) and is an MFA Writing candidate at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).
Luis Tubens, a.k.a “Logan Lu”, was born in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood and raised in Logan Square. In 2014, he earned a B.A. in Communications, media and theater from Northeastern Illinois University. He is the 2017 Artists in Residence at Oak Park Public Library. Luis has performed poetry across the United States including with the GUILD COMPLEX, Tia Chucha Press, and the National Museum of Mexican Art. He has toured Mexico City in 2016 and 2018 presenting his work at the acclaimed “Show Socrates MX” (2016) and the National Book Fair of Leon GTO (2018) and featured in Puerto Rico at “Poets Passage” and “Gathering of Cities” at Libros AC (2019). He has also held workshops for the residents of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and students in the Chicago Public Schools. On stage, he has opened for notable acts including Saul Williams and Calle 13. He is the author of Stone Eagle (2017) published by Bobbin Lace Press, Chicago. Currently, Luis is the resident poet for ESSO Afrojam Funkbeat (2016 Best New Band and Best International Music Act, Chicago Reader) and represented Chicago in the 2014 and 2018 National Poetry Slam.

o_Man! and the Legacy of Curation
2023-04-15 15:30 - 16:30 | IL
Museum of Contemporary Photography’s Karen Irvine, Chief Curator and Deputy Director, and Kristin Taylor, Curator of Academic Programs and Collections, will lead a discussion with Natalie Krick and Kelli Connell whose collaborative project o_Man! recontextualizes Edward Steichen’s renowned 1955 exhibition, The Family of Man, which included 503 photographs narrating the human experience from a distinctly western, patriarchal perspective, and which traveled to thirty-seven countries on six continents until 1994. By removing and reordering the images with text from The Family of Man’s original catalogue and Steichen’s oeuvre, Connell and Krick offer a reconsideration of which stories are told within museum spaces, by whom, and for whom.
About the panelists:
Kelli Connell is an artist whose work investigates sexuality, gender, identity and photographer / sitter relationships. Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, J Paul Getty Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Columbus Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Dallas Museum of Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, among others. Publications of her work include PhotoWork: Forty Photographers on Process and Practice (Aperture), Photo Art: The New World of Photography (Aperture), and the monograph Kelli Connell: Double Life (DECODE Books). Connell has received fellowships from The Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, PLAYA, Peaked Hill Trust, LATITUDE, Light Work, and The Center for Creative Photography. Connell is an editor at SKYLARK Editions and a professor at Columbia College Chicago.
Karen Irvine, Chief Curator & Deputy Director, is in charge of the museum’s artistic program and has organized over sixty exhibitions of contemporary photography at the MoCP and other venues including the Hyde Park Art Center; Rockford Art Museum; Lishui International Photography Festival, China; Daegu Photography Biennale, South Korea; and the New York Photo Festival. Known for developing projects with both emerging and established artists that look at pressing justice issues, her most recent projects at MoCP include Reproductive: Health, Fertility, Agency, co-organized with Kristin Taylor, and American Epidemic: Guns in the United States. Karen has contributed texts to many publications including FOAM, Art on Paper, Panorama, and Contemporary magazines and monographs including Paula McCartney: Non-flights of Fancy (Princeton Architectural Press); Barbara Probst: Exposures (Steidl); Redheaded Peckerwood by Christian Patterson (MACK), and Trinity by Brohm and Valentina Seidel (Snoeck), amongst many others. She holds a BA in French and International Relations from Tufts University, Medford, MA, an MFA in Photography from FAMU, Prague, Czech Republic, and an MA in Art History from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Natalie Krick (b. 1986 Portland Oregon) is a Seattle based artist whose work investigates visual perception and pleasure through complicating the act of looking. She holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts and an MFA from Columbia College Chicago. In 2015 Krick was a recipient of an Individual Photographer’s Fellowship from the Aaron Siskind Foundation for her project Natural Deceptions. In 2017 Natural Deceptions was published by Skylark Editions and Krick was awarded the Aperture Portfolio Prize. Krick’s work has recently been exhibited at SF Camerawork, The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Aperture Foundation, The Museum of Sex, and Blue Sky Gallery. Her photographs has been highlighted in several international publications including BOMB, The New Yorker, Vogue Italia, PDN, Aperture, and Vrij Nederland.
Kristin Taylor, Curator of Academic Programs & Collections, leads the MoCP education programs and curates exhibitions that contextualize the museum’s permanent collection. She organized the MoCP exhibitions Beyond the Frame (2022); Reproductive: Health, Fertility, Agency (2021); Chicago Stories: Carlos Javier Ortiz and David Schalliol(2019); among others. She manages the museum’s podcast, Focal Point, which engages artists in discussion around the themes and processes in contemporary photography. Kristin holds a BFA in Painting from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MA in Visual Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago.

United States Artists Conversation with Salvador Jiménez-Flores
2023-04-15 17:00 - 18:30 | IL
Please join Judilee Reed, President and CEO of United States Artists, in conversation with Salvador Jiménez-Flores, an interdisciplinary ceramicist and 2021 USA Fellow in Craft, on Saturday, April 15 at 5pm. Attend the conversation as they discuss the politics of identity and states of double consciousness, addressing issues of colonization, migration, “the other,” and futurism through a mixture of socially conscious installation, public, and studio-based art.
Reception and viewing of the 21c exhibition, OFF-SPRING: New Generations, will begin at 5:00 pm; program will begin at 5:30 pm. Light snacks, beer and wine will be served. Presented in partnership with 21c Museum Hotel Chicago.
Free and open to the public. RSVP here.
More about United States Artists
We believe in artists and their essential role in our society.
In 2003, the Urban Institute conducted a study, which revealed that 96% of Americans valued art in their lives, while only 27% valued artists.* Motivated by the study and in response to the NEA’s severe budget cuts, four inspiring leaders of the Ford, Rockefeller, Rasmuson, and Prudential Foundations spearheaded the launch of an organization to illuminate the value of artists to American society and address their economic challenges. The organization was originally established in Los Angeles by founding CEO Katharine DeShaw in 2006, and then moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2014 under the leadership of Carolina García Jayaram. During Deana Haggag’s tenure as President and CEO, from 2017 until 2021, USA saw unprecedented growth, expanding its Fellowship award program, launching the Berresford Prize, and developing multi-year partnerships with foundations and other nonprofits to advance support for individual artists and the field.
Since our founding, we have awarded more than 750 artists and cultural practitioners with over $36 million of direct support through the USA Fellowship. Recognizing the country’s most compelling artists in all disciplines including Architecture & Design, Craft, Dance, Film, Media, Music, Theater & Performance, Traditional Arts, Visual Art, and Writing. With this unrestricted award, recipients decide for themselves how to best use the money—whether it is creating new work, paying rent, reducing debt, getting healthcare, or supporting their families.
Most recently, USA spearheaded Artist Relief, a $20 million emergency initiative to support artists facing dire financial circumstances due to COVID-19. Organized by a multi-disciplinary coalition of nonprofit individual artist funders, Artist Relief provided emergency grants to artists practicing across ten disciplines and in nearly every state and US territory starting in April 2020, distributing $5,000 grants for a total of more than $20,000,000.
To make this work possible, we actively fundraise each year and receive support from a broad range of philanthropic foundations, companies, and individuals committed to cultivating contemporary culture in the United States. Additionally, we work annually with select nominators, panelists, and USA’s Board of Trustees to determine each year’s class of awardees. It is through the intersection of these relationships, and in the spirit of collaboration, that we are honored to support the country’s most compelling artists and cultural practitioners.

*From “Investing in Creativity: A Study for the Support Structure for U.S. Artists,” 2003.

Art and Wine Tour
2023-04-20 17:00 - 18:00 | IL
Sip on a glass of wine and enjoy a guided tour of our current exhibit, OFF-SPRING. Learn all about contemporary art and the artists behind the work. Meet in Gallery 5 + 6 on the 2nd Floor. Tour starts at 5:00pm and is free and open to the public.

Try It, Good Luck, I Believe in You
2023-04-20 18:00 - 19:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
By leaning into her mantra, “voice lessons are life lessons,” Rachel Page turns simple techniques learned from her years of taking and teaching music lessons into skills that can be transferred to other aspects of our lives. By infusing her sunny attitude into a blend of performance, conversation and participation, Rachel creates an encouraging atmosphere that’s sure to bring you joy. Join Rachel for the first iteration of Try It, Good Luck, I Believe in You on Wednesday, April 20 at 6pm.
Officially, Rachel Page is an international performer, educator and consultant based in Chicago, Illinois, but when you ask her, she will tell you she’s a musician and people person. She has always been interested and inspired by others. Rachel firmly believes that voice lessons are life lessons, and regardless of origin and skillset, music connects us all. Music deepens the human experience and provides us access to emotions that we can’t always (or don’t want to) name. The work that Rachel finds most meaningful is collaborative, creative, and requires optimism, vulnerability and courage.
This mindset has led Rachel to jump off many a cliff, often in far corners of the world. She holds a master’s degree in Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy with a concentration in Business Design and Innovation, and she has operated her own private vocal studio since 2014. Rachel co-founded moxie productions in 2020 with her artistic partner Lindsay Bartlette Allen and is the co-creator and composer of Someone You Know, moxie’s premier musical. She has performed with Second City on Norwegian Cruise Lines, served as the program director for Kwan Kwan Music Theatre School in China, and lived in Barcelona where she collaborated with Eolia Conservatory to direct a well-received workshop of Someone You Know.
She knows that even in this day and age, we are all just trying our best, and she is grateful to be able to create music wherever and whenever she can.
Learn more at rachelpagesings.com

Art & Wine Tour
2023-05-11 17:00 - 18:30 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Sip on a glass of wine and enjoy a guided tour of our current exhibit, OFF-SPRING. Learn all about contemporary art and the artists behind the work. Meet in Gallery 5 + 6 on the 2nd Floor. Tour starts at 5:00pm and is free and open to the public.
Following the tour, 21c’s Artist in Residence Rachel Page will perform Try It, Good Luck, I Believe in You. The program will begin at 6pm in the Main Gallery and is free and open to the public. Learn more here.

Try It, Good Luck, I Believe in You
2023-05-11 18:00 - 19:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
By leaning into her mantra, “voice lessons are life lessons,” Rachel Page turns simple techniques learned from her years of taking and teaching music lessons into skills that can be transferred to other aspects of our lives. By infusing her sunny attitude into a blend of performance, conversation and participation, Rachel creates an encouraging atmosphere that’s sure to bring you joy. Join Rachel for the second iteration of Try It, Good Luck, I Believe in You on Thursday, May 11 at 6pm.
Officially, Rachel Page is an international performer, educator and consultant based in Chicago, Illinois, but when you ask her, she will tell you she’s a musician and people person. She has always been interested and inspired by others. Rachel firmly believes that voice lessons are life lessons, and regardless of origin and skillset, music connects us all. Music deepens the human experience and provides us access to emotions that we can’t always (or don’t want to) name. The work that Rachel finds most meaningful is collaborative, creative, and requires optimism, vulnerability and courage.
This mindset has led Rachel to jump off many a cliff, often in far corners of the world. She holds a master’s degree in Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy with a concentration in Business Design and Innovation, and she has operated her own private vocal studio since 2014. Rachel co-founded moxie productions in 2020 with her artistic partner Lindsay Bartlette Allen and is the co-creator and composer of Someone You Know, moxie’s premier musical. She has performed with Second City on Norwegian Cruise Lines, served as the program director for Kwan Kwan Music Theatre School in China, and lived in Barcelona where she collaborated with Eolia Conservatory to direct a well-received workshop of Someone You Know.
She knows that even in this day and age, we are all just trying our best, and she is grateful to be able to create music wherever and whenever she can.
Learn more at rachelpagesings.com

Jazz Jam Session
2023-05-16 19:00 - 22:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Jazz Jam Session
Wednesday, June 21, 7-10pm
Free and open to the public
21c’s Jazz Jam Sessions continue monthly!
Jazz jam sessions have long been the place where musicians gather to connect and perform together while honing their skills. The Matt Jarosch Quintet will kick off the night with a 30-minute set before opening the evening to Jazz musicians in the audience to come sit-in!
Musicians can sign up on-site and fill out a jam session info card listing three to five tunes they can play and improvise on from memory. The jam session host will call on musicians to perform and improvise together in front of an enthusiastic live audience. A vocal microphone, drum set, bass, bass amp, and piano will be provided, otherwise bring your axe!
The evening will feature a fundraiser for BandWith Chicago. Suggested donation is $10 (collected at the door).
Wine be served. Lure Fishbar will offer special menu items in conjunction with this event (advance purchase not required but encouraged).
Future Jazz Jam Sessions:
July 25
August 8
September 1 – Jazz Fest after hours Jam session

About BandWith Chicago

Founded in the Fall of 2015 by Annie Palomino, BandWith is a Chicago-based non-profit organization whose mission is to provide lasting access to high quality performing arts instruction to underserved Chicago communities.
Since its inception, BandWith has addressed the need for access to music and creativity in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. Annie Palomino launched BandWith when the band program was dropped from LEARN Campbell Charter School due to budget cuts. Starting a nonprofit allowed Annie to continue providing free access to music instruction to students at the LEARN Campbell Campus while increasing reach to new students.
Since then, BandWith has developed into a stable organization offering individual and small group instruction, weekly ensemble play and performance opportunities to participants throughout the year. BandWith’s free in-school and after-school programs are located in East Garfield Park. They include our longest standing in-school band program, the Titan Band, within LEARN Charter School. BandWith also provides an after-school performing arts program at Marillac St. Vincent’s Hope Jr. Youth Center, which includes Drumline, WestDance, Studio-Engineering and Vocal Training/Choir. This summer, we partnered with After School Matters to support our growing Drumline Program as well as Chicago West Community Music Center to launch the WestDance Program.
BandWith offers instrumental music programs at 3 additional sites that are fee-for-service. The sites of these are St. Procopius School in Pilsen, St. Helen School in Ukrainian Village, and St. John Berchmans School in Logan Square. The three fee-for-service programs ensure BandWith’s financial viability and stability, and help subsidize the cost of our free programs. All other fundraising efforts are used to support free programs.

Artist Reception with Kiki McGrath
2023-05-18 18:30 - 20:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Please join us for an artist reception of Kiki McGrath: 8HRS on May 18 from 6:30-8:00pm in Gallery 3.
8HRS is a video documenting a performance in the former laundry room of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, DC. The artist repeatedly ironed family linens that have passed through the hands of five generations of women: a meditation on the relationship of domestic and spiritual labor, and a feminist inquiry into ritual, gender, and power.
Starting at dawn, McGrath worked for eight hours, and in accordance with most state labor laws, took two 15-minute breaks and one half-hour lunch break. She was alone in silence throughout the day, with only the sounds of the steam iron and the church bells ringing on the hour. A patch of sunlight moved across the wall, marking the passage of time.
This all-male Catholic monastery is part of a larger Western European system that for centuries has relied on unpaid labor from female communities. By performing on these grounds McGrath aimed to provoke reflection on unspoken expectations and power: which repetitive behaviors lull us into maintaining the status quo; what gender roles support our domestic and economic structures; who benefits from institutions that undervalue female labor and agency?
Kiki McGrath works in laundry rooms, chapels, galleries, and gardens. She combines performance and assemblage to explore themes of labor, ritual, and social history. She received a fellowship from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, graduate awards from American University, and has participated in residencies in the US and Italy. McGrath holds an MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University and an MFA in Studio Arts from American University. Based in Chicago, she works as a visual arts editor for the EcoTheo Review.

Elevate at 21c presents temporary exhibitions of works by artists living and working in the communities surrounding each 21c Museum Hotel Chicago. Elevate provides hotel guests and visitors with unique access to the work of notable regional artists, while featuring their work in the context of 21c’s contemporary art space.

Summer Music Series
2023-05-19 18:00 - 19:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Summer Music Series at 21c Chicago
Every Friday at 6pm in the Lobby
Free and Open to the public

Princess @1minworld Tour
2023-05-24 19:00 - 20:30 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Princess @1minworld to premiere at 21c Museum Hotels!

@1minworld (One Minute World) is a video song cycle that features original animations and live performance.The music is performed live alongside the video projection. With intentionally brief one-minute video songs, @1minworld ‘s primary-colored bubblegum visuals contrast the songs’ content which explore the discontents of our social media age: filter bubbles, surveillance capitalism, and shortened attention spans, to name a few. A Q&A will follow the 30 minute performance.
Tour Trailer: @1minworld Princess is currently planning a series of live premiere performances of @1minworld for 2023-2024 beginning at the Andy Warhol Museum and continuing at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, MCA Denver, and all nine 21c Museum Hotel locations. This program is free and open to the public.

Curatorial Conversation: theNate Director and Curator Jeff Stevenson and artist Christine Tarkowski
2023-05-25 18:00 - 19:30 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
21c Museum Hotel Chicago is honored to collaborate with theNate on this month’s Curatorial Conversation. Director and Curator of the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park (theNate) and the Visual Arts Gallery at Governors State University, Jeff Stevenson will be in conversation with artist Christine Tarkowski about her current work in Millennium Park, Chicago: “When we call…”. The conversation will include her work in theNate’s collection, “Working on the Failed Utopia”, and everything in between.
Christine Tarkowski is a sculptor and installation artist working in a wide variety of mediums including architecture, sculpture, glass models, textiles, printed matter, photography, and song which range in size and scale. Her work responds to the impact of architecture and other human-made structures on natural environments and spaces. In addition to her renowned solo exhibitions and commissioned works for world-class institutions, Tarkowski is a professor of Fiber and Material Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Join us for a wine reception and talk:
Thursday, May 25, 2023
6 – 7:30pm wine reception
6:30pm Remarks
Reserve a free ticket here.
Image: When we call at Millennium Park by Christine Tarkowski

Summer Music Series
2023-05-27 17:30 - 18:30 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Summer Music Series at 21c Chicago
Saturday at 5:30pm in the Lobby
Free and Open to the public

A Celebration of Chicago Style
2023-05-31 18:00 - 21:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
The Curio x 21c Museum Hotels present “A Celebration of Chicago Style” hosted by Cynthia Rowley and Nigel Barker.
Honoring & Showcasing: Iconic Chicago-based Designer Maria Pinto
Featuring: Ajovang, Lola Elan, Production Mode and Sheila Rashid
The evening will begin with an accessory presentation where attendees can view displays from several of the city’s leading accessory designers in an intimate setting/over cocktails and light bites. You will have the opportunity to engage directly with the creators behind these brands.
The event’s highlight will be the runway show, where five curated apparel designers working in various genres will present their collections.
After the show, guests can stay and mingle over drinks while enjoying 21c Hotel’s world-class art collection and the opportunity to connect with the show’s participating designers.
Both receptions will provide guests with complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and hors d’oeuvres.
The event’s goal is to help to elevate both Chicago Fashion and the great fashion talent that resides in this city. And to show consumers the breadth of local talent they can support by buying their wares. All attendees will receive instructions on how they can purchase wares from the showcased design talent.
GET TICKETS HERE!
All tickets include access to both pre-reception, runway show and post-reception.

Event Schedule:
6:00pm: Arrivals, Photo-Ops & Accessory Designer Reception (complimentary beverages & hors d’oeuvres)
7:00pm: Fashion Show Doors Open
7:15pm: Fashion Show Begins
8:00pm: Post Show Reception (complimentary beverages)

EVENT PARTNERS:
Model Agency Partner: Select Models
Hair / Make-Up Partner: TBA
Fashion Charity Partner: Chicago Fashion Coalition
Print Media Partner: CS Magazine
Show’s Nomination Committee:
> Marlene Anzaldua (stilett0b0ss, stylist)
> Hallie Borden (Milk Handmade, Owner)
> Melody Boykin (Black Fashion Week, Founder)
> Ambar Campos (AIBI, Exec Dir)
> Melissa Gamble (Columbia College, Fashion Dept )
> Hila Geller (FGI Chicago, Co-Regional Dir)
> Christine Griffith (Blk + Brwn Market, Founder)
> Isa Giallorenzo (Fashion Writer, The Reader / New City)
> Anna Hovas Dias (Chicago Fashion Incubator, Exec Dir)
> Bhavana Jain (FGI Chicago, Co-Regional Dir)
> Marquan Jones (Chicago Fashion Coalition, President)
> Brenda Levesque (ChicCityGirl, Blogger/Podcast)
> Juli Lowe (21c Museum Hotel Chicago, Museum Manager)
> Colbey Reid (Columbia College, Fashion Dept. Chair)
> Robin Richman (Robin Richman, Owner)
> Xochil Herrera Scheer (“The Pattern Maker”)
> Katrin Schnabl (SAIC, Fashion Dept. Chair)
> Tricia Turnstal (p.45, Owner)
> Ameerah Vania (Congruent Space/stylist)
> Ceta Walters (ClarkandStone, blogger)
> Sal Yvet (salsogroovy, Stylist)
Parking:
21c Museum Hotel offers limited valet parking ($45 for up to 6 hrs) or Self-Park at ROW self-park garage next door at 50 E Ohio St. Otherwise we recommend using Uber/LYFT/Taxi or the Red Line has a stop 2 blocks away.

Don't Tell Comedy show
2023-06-09 20:00 - 22:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
DON’T MISS OUT ON CHICAGO’S BEST KEPT SECRET.
You’ve found Comedy’s Worst Kept Secret.
BUY TICKETS
SECRET COMEDIANS.
All comedians remain unknown until they take the stage. Every lineup is carefully curated to include the very best local and nationally touring talent. You may discover your next favorite comedian or see a familiar face. You’ll never know who might show up!
SECRET LOCATIONS.
From historic mansions to candy stores, rooftops to rock climbing gyms, we transform just about any environment into a unique setting for live stand-up comedy. The precise location, and other show details, are sent to you at 8:00 AM on Jun 9, 2023. You can also reveal the show details at our website. This show will be happening at an “undisclosed” Indoor location in River North, Chicago.
UNIQUE LIVE EXPERIENCE.
Our shows are run by a local team of comedy lovers, and comedians who are passionate about creating a fun and relaxed environment for experiencing live comedy. There are no two-drink minimums and each show is completely unique. We thrive on good vibes and welcome you to be a part of the DTC community.

Mending Workshop for Parents with Gender Non-conforming kids (RESCHEDULED)
2023-06-10 14:00 - 15:30 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
**6/10 WORKSHOP WILL BE RESCHEDULED. DATE FORTHCOMING**
Mending is a group workshop offered by artist Michelle Hartney for parents of transgender children. Parents are invited to bring their child’s baby clothes and Hartney will help each participant alter the clothing to reflect their child’s gender identity.
Beginning as an act of love for her youngest child who is transgender, Hartney started altering their baby clothes. The project soon became a collaboration with the artist’s child sharing how they would like their baby clothes to look. Working on the project together was healing and gave the artist an opportunity to honor her child and let them know they are seen and loved for being authentic to themselves.
All supplies for this workshop will be provided; you only need to bring the garments you wish to alter. No prior art/sewing experience is required; there are several options to alter clothing that do not involve sewing. This workshop will provide a safe space for parents to talk about the specific challenges involved with parenting transgender children during the current political environment in the United States.
The workshop is limited to 20 participants with a focus on parents of Transgender children.
Participants: bring garments you wish to alter. No prior art/sewing experience required.
Materials provided: needle, thread, fabric glue, appliqué, iron on patches, stitch witchery, beads, t-shirt transfer, ribbons, trim.
RSVP Required: Email Juli Lowe [jlowe@21cchicago.com] to register, space is very limited. **EMAIL JULI TO RECEIVE ADVANCE NOTICE ABOUT UPCOMING DATE**

About the artist
Michelle Hartney is a Chicago based interdisciplinary artist who works with fiber, installation, sculpture, performance, and the internet. Her practice focuses on women’s rights, maternal healthcare issues, and misogyny in art institutions. Hartney’s interest in using art to address social issues began during her graduate studies in art therapy at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she was an Albert Schweitzer Fellow.
In 2016 Hartney founded the Women’s Health Collective, an art collective dedicated to utilizing creative approaches to raise awareness about women’s health issues by linking artists, writers, musicians, and activists to work collaboratively on socially engaged projects.

Art & Wine Tour with Shall We Wine
2023-06-15 17:00 - 19:30 | IL
Join 21c Chicago and Shall We Wine for a unique art and wine pairing experience. This month, we will explore the theme of “Generations” through art and wine. 21c Chicago’s Museum manager, Juli Lowe, will select four artworks from OFF-SPRING: New Generations to discuss and Regine T. Rousseau will pair each artwork with a wine that embodies the story and energy of the artwork.
You are invited to See, Taste and Experience the intersection of art and wine. RSVP online here.
About Shall We Wine
Shall We Wine is a strategic marketing company with ten years of experience servicing the wine and spirits industry. We help brands grow their reach through experiential events, digital content creation, and media opportunities.
Shall We Wine also operates as a Chicago-based lifestyle brand and business owned and operated by Regine T. Rousseau, an award-winning wine & spirits educator, certified sommelier, dynamic media personality, and lifestyle adviser.
With a fun, dedicated network of wine & spirits professionals who share Regine’s vision, Shall We Wine is all about creating memorable customer experiences – whether that’s for our SWW Social Club, our strategic partnerships, or our rave-worthy virtual & private events.

Jazz Jam Session
2023-06-21 19:00 - 22:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Jazz Jam Session
Wednesday, June 21, 7-10pm
Free and open to the public
RSVP Encouraged – here
21c’s Jazz Jam Sessions continue monthly!
Jazz jam sessions have long been the place where musicians gather to connect and perform together while honing their skills. The Matt Jarosch Quintet will kick off the night with a 30-minute set before opening the evening to Jazz musicians in the audience to come sit-in!
Musicians can sign up on-site and fill out a jam session info card listing three to five tunes they can play and improvise on from memory. The jam session host will call on musicians to perform and improvise together in front of an enthusiastic live audience. A vocal microphone, drum set, bass, bass amp, and piano will be provided, otherwise bring your axe!
The evening will feature a fundraiser for BandWith Chicago. Suggested donation is $10 (collected at the door).
Wine be served. Lure Fishbar will offer special menu items in conjunction with this event (advance purchase not required but encouraged).
Future Jazz Jam Sessions:
July 25
August 8
September 1 – Jazz Fest after hours Jam session

About BandWith Chicago

Founded in the Fall of 2015 by Annie Palomino, BandWith is a Chicago-based non-profit organization whose mission is to provide lasting access to high quality performing arts instruction to underserved Chicago communities.
Since its inception, BandWith has addressed the need for access to music and creativity in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. Annie Palomino launched BandWith when the band program was dropped from LEARN Campbell Charter School due to budget cuts. Starting a nonprofit allowed Annie to continue providing free access to music instruction to students at the LEARN Campbell Campus while increasing reach to new students.
Since then, BandWith has developed into a stable organization offering individual and small group instruction, weekly ensemble play and performance opportunities to participants throughout the year. BandWith’s free in-school and after-school programs are located in East Garfield Park. They include our longest standing in-school band program, the Titan Band, within LEARN Charter School. BandWith also provides an after-school performing arts program at Marillac St. Vincent’s Hope Jr. Youth Center, which includes Drumline, WestDance, Studio-Engineering and Vocal Training/Choir. This summer, we partnered with After School Matters to support our growing Drumline Program as well as Chicago West Community Music Center to launch the WestDance Program.
BandWith offers instrumental music programs at 3 additional sites that are fee-for-service. The sites of these are St. Procopius School in Pilsen, St. Helen School in Ukrainian Village, and St. John Berchmans School in Logan Square. The three fee-for-service programs ensure BandWith’s financial viability and stability, and help subsidize the cost of our free programs. All other fundraising efforts are used to support free programs.

Summer Music Series
2023-06-30 17:00 - 19:00, 2023-07-07 17:00 - 19:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Summer Music Series at 21c Chicago
Friday at 5pm in the Lobby
Free and Open to the public

Summer Music Series
2023-07-01 18:00 - 19:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Summer Music Series at 21c Chicago
Saturday in the Lobby
Free and Open to the public

Summer Music Series
2023-07-02 18:00 - 19:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Summer Music Series at 21c Chicago
Sunday in the Lobby
Free and Open to the public

charlie otto + his collaborators album release show
2023-07-11 19:00 - 21:00 | 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, 55 E Ontario, Chicago, IL, 60611
Charlie Otto is in a league all his own, performing highly emotive and strangely beautiful pop songs with truly stunning millisecond-synced visuals. After Otto’s shows, fans are usually struck by the authenticity of the show, and his tireless loyalty to art, crafted and performed strictly for its own sake.
Before his current solo project “charlie otto + his gear,” he fronted two of Chicago’s favorite bands, This Must be the Band and DJ noDJ. The lessons learned and the relationships formed in those bands are put into full use in his live shows, and he even performs some of the songs of both acts.
When the pandemic hit, Charlie reached out to his suddenly available comrades in the music scene and asked them to collaborate remotely. Three years later, he presents a sampling of the results of that experiment, an album called “collaborations, volume 1.”
For the show on July 11, 2023, Charlie has invited 16 of his collaborators to join him on stage to perform the songs on the album, plus his previous band DJ noDJ will reunite to perform a couple of their past hits.
The guest list for this free show will be strictly limited, so please RSVP ASAP, and show up early to appreciate all the beautiful art on the walls of 21c Chicago.

charlie otto + his collaborators album release show
Tuesday, July 11, 7-9pm
Doors open at 6:30pm
Reserve a free ticket here.
