Here’s what happened while Obama turned 46 and you were rocking your ass off: The Sunday Trib assessed McCormick Place’s new West Building, which opened Thursday. Blair Kamin deems the monstrously huge space a success, citing its flexibility and openness to its neighbors. The list of August dance festivals keeps growing, sort of. Reasons for Moving, an Interdisciplinary festival presented by Striding Lion features theatrical work incorporating movement, text, and music, starts August 9 at... more ›

In an interview last month, veteran West Loop gallery owner Rhona Hoffman reflected on how art collection has evolved throughout her career, how the internet has supersized the art fair and made the global scene more accessible than ever. But this interview came not from Art in America or an academic panel but from a Bad At Sports podcast event at ThreeWalls gallery. Art enthusiasts have access to more information, images and, thanks to last... more ›

We can’t turn our backs for a minute without those creatives making all sorts of trouble. Good for them. Let’s catch up and find more excuses to get out of the house this winter: Comedy/Theater Schadenfreude holds their December Rent Party tonight, where Chicagoist editor Scott Smith will read his correspondence with Richard Marx. Will the mulleted 80s rocker show up? No, but he’ll be played by a special guest. The monthly showcase of local... more ›

That tangle of threads is the “Taxonomy of the Chicago Art Community,” an ambitious project hatched by the Bad At Sports podcasters to connect local and out-of-town artists, institutions, and media producers. Last weekend we dropped by the BAS All-Media Pancake Breakfast and Tea at the ThreeWalls gallery where we meeted 'n greeted and added a few strings to the tapestry. “Taxonomy” works along the six degrees of separation principle: we’re all connected if... more ›

The Bad At Sports Podcast, an informed and often irreverent take on the Chicago art scene, celebrates its birthday next week. Over the last 50 episodes, hosts Richard Holland and Duncan MacKenzie and frequent co-host Amanda Browder have discussed everything from the merits of outsider art to the merits of campy, low-budget viral videos, sliding effortlessly between serious debate and hilarious schoolyard asides. As the acclaim piled on, they amassed a stable of correspondents from across the country and overseas while making lots of friends in the arts biz. more ›

One major drawback to having an endless array of cultural offerings at our front yard is that any attempt to condense our experiences into a year-end summary or “Best Of” list necessarily falls short. Not a huge loss since Top 10 lists are so passe. [Note to our editors: this doesn’t apply to you, we’re sure any lists you publish will be awesome!] Instead we turn our attention to an overriding theme of ’05: the... more ›

In our saturated local media landscape, it’s easy to forget the slender but succinct New City Chicago. This week’s edition turned us on to a new podcast covering the Chicago art scene: Bad At Sports. Michael Workman’s review dubs BAS the diamond in the rough of lunatic hackery too often abusing the mics. Chicagoist has listened to quite a few podcasts this summer and we share his skepticism. But the podcast doesn’t disappoint. With only... more ›