52 Films Update

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Greetings all!

Last week I decided to take the 52 Films by Women pledge where I aim to see a film directed (or written) by a woman every week. In the spirit of this oral history project, I'm going to talk about the films I've seen in brief.

1. What Happened, Nina Simone? by LIz Garbus is a documentary about Nina Simone. I've been a fan of hers for years (Sinnerman is one my favorite songs) but I didn't know about her life. Fascinating life of this amazing, troubled singer.

2. Hidden Figures is based on a book by Margot Lee Shetterly about African American women who were the computers for the NASA space program. While the book is nonfiction and the movie is fictional, it's a really powerful movie about these intelligent women who made the American space program happen during segregation. It shows the injustices that these women faced to do their work. A great inspiring movie.

3. 13TH by Ava DuVernay is a documentary about the mass incarceration industrial complex and race. A very sobering film about how the system is another iteration of Jim Crow and slavery. A must see. This film does not pull punches so be prepared for some graphic content.

I'll keep posting about the films I see throughout the year.

Other news:

Not Just Another Pretty Face is on view at the Hyde Park Art Center until February 8th. Maria Gaspar and Joyce Owens, both incredible artists who participated in the project, have work on display. It's worth checking out.

Find out more here: http://www.hydeparkart.org/exhibitions/emnot-just-another-pretty-faceem--3

Here's a Chicago Tribune article about it: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-pretty-face-hyde-park-art-center-ent-0112-20170111-column.html

Don't forget to check out Artists Against Hate: Inauguration Protest Show this Friday at Uptown Underground led by the amazing Dawn Xiana Moon. See amazing performers and win prizes. All proceeds will be donated to ACLU. Check out more info here: http://artistsagainsthate.org/

Upcoming Art Events!

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Lots of exciting events coming up!

Gabriella Boros will have several pieces up in several shows in Chicagoland and Milwaukee. Her piece “Crowding Out the Gift Horse” is in a show at Nixie Gallery in Skokie, 7925 Lincoln (just south of Oakton Street). The show opened on the 23rd and will end on February 12th. Check out the gallery website for more information: http://www.nixiegallery.com

Gabriella Boros has work in another show at the Union Street Gallery in Chicago Heights, 1527 Otto Boulevard as part of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative Show. The opening is Friday the 29th from 6 to 9. Check out more information here: http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/

She has three prints from “Going Viral” in the show “Intimate Systems” at 100state, 30 West Mifflin, 6th floor, Madison, Wisconsin. The show opens on February 6th from 1-5. For more information, check out: http://100state.com/

Tomeka Reid, cellist extraordinaire, will be performing on February 17th at 7pm at the Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Arts in Evanston as part of A Feast of Astonishments, an exhibition about Charlotte Moorman, “a groundbreaking, rule-bending artist, musician, and advocate for the experimental art of her time.” It should be an amazing performance and exhibition. Check out more information: http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/muse/Participate/2016/charlotte-moorman-opening.html

Hull House Museum still has “Into Body Into Wall” exhibit up featuring The 96 Acres Project with Maria Gaspar. It’s up until February 29th. The project “uses the wall of Cook County Jail to look at architectures of power and incarceration. The project investigates the wall as a social, political, psychological and physical frame, imagines and reflects on new alternatives, and grapples with personal stories from both sides of the wall.” Check out more information here: http://www.hullhousemuseum.org/intobody/

Honey Pot Performance with Meida Teresa McNeal  will be presented /Shift/: First Annual Benefit Gala to support future performances of HPP on February 27th. The event will take place at Stony Island Arts Bank at 6:30pm. Check out the website: http://honeypotperformance.virb.com/