Pencil This In
By Lauri Apple in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 20, 2009 7:56PM
InaugurAction
Up in Rogers Park, Mess Hall is letting you design and make copies (they provide the copier!) of your own cheap art poster to commemorate and comment on the inauguration of President Obama to disseminate as you traverse the city. If you're pencil-shy, you can add your "Hopes," "Dreams," and "Demands" to a "BIG ASS" letter they plan to send to the Obama administration. And if that's not enough, there will be bingo.
4 - 11 p.m. 6932 North Glenwood Ave.
Lectures, Discussions
Greenheart, the social and environmental initiative of Center for Cultural Interchange, presents The Magic of the Mind: a discussion hosted by CCI founder Emanuel Kuntzelman that focuses on transformation, the human mind and other big subjects.
Wednesday, Feb. 18. Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green St., Free
The Green Lantern Gallery & Press Life on the Ice Caps: Daily Life, Inspiration and Mental Musings from the Cold Deserts, a talk by by John Huston. In March, Huston, of Ely, MN and Chicago, IL, and Tyler Fish of Ely will attempt to become the first Americans to ski unsupported to the North Pole. This presentation discusses the mental side of polar exploration and give insight into what is actually going through the heads of polar explorers while they are on the ice.
Wednesday, January 21, 7 p.m. 1511 N. Milwaukee Ave., 2nd Floor, Free(ze)
Visual Arts
UIC's Gallery 400 and the People's Matinee series offer up Liminal Space, a hearty selection of 12 moving image works coming from, dealing with, or making use of the margins of culture. 3-4:30 p.m. Go to the Lecture Room. 400 S. Peoria.
The Illinois Institute of Art's Gallery 180 holds an opening reception and preview for art that will be in the live or silent auctions at 2009 Art Against AIDS (which takes place on Thursday, Feb. 26 at River East Art Center). Proceeds from sales will go directly to support Heartland Alliance's extensive network of supportive HIV/AIDS services. Preview through Feb. 13. 5:30-7:30 p.m. 180 N. Wabash Ave.
Woman Made Gallery hosts two exhibits on Friday, Jan. 23: It’s Enough to Make a Cat Laugh, the first solo show in more than 10 years for Chicago’s own nationally syndicated Sylvia cartoonist Nicole Hollander; and After the Soup, a solo exhibition by artist and former public school teacher Kathy Weaver. (On Saturday, Jan. 24, you can spend an evening with Hollander in which she will discuss her life in comics, Sylvia's origins and getting syndicated, read a few odd fan letters, and wonder about what's next. Food and wine to be provided by Italian Village’s restaurant Vivere. WMG, 6:30-8:30 p.m. $150 per person. All proceeds benefit Woman Made Gallery.) 685 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Film
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs/Ohm Multimedia Series presents Chicago Motion Graphics Festival screenings on January 23 and 25, 2009 as part of the Chicago Motion Graphics Festival (MGFest). The screening on Friday, Jan. 23 features NASA's Money, Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts 8, and the LE:60 1-Minute Film Festival. Featured artists include Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Shepard Fairey, Chuck D of Public Enemy, and more. Curators include Rhizome, Wholphin, Justin Harder, and Harvard's Department of Visual and Environmental Studies. 6:30-9 p.m. And Sunday, Jan. 25's Audio-Visual Performance Showcase features VJs, visual system programmers, musicians, and DJs in a theater setting. Featured artists include Vir Unis, Stoptime341, Peter Kirn, Merkaba, Ontologist, Glen Stephani and more. 6-9 p.m. Chicago Cultural Center's Claudia Cassidy Theater. 77 E. Randolph St. Admission is free, but seats are limited. For more information on Ohm, call 312.744.6630 or visit the Chicago Cultural Center's website.
Parties
The Art Institute hosts After Dark, a party with cocktails, DJs E6 & Roan and a performance by Collaboraction, on Jan 23. 6-10 p.m. Afterparty at the Base Bar in the Hard Rock Hotel -- Hey Champ will be there, spinning. $15 for members, $20 for plebes. 111 S. Michigan.