Many Chicago museums have free admission for MLK Day.
Fortunately when schools close for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, several Chicago museums answer the what-to-do question with free or discounted admission for Illinois residents. In addition, the Black Ensemble Theater and the Chicago Children’s Theatre also have programs.
Here are some places to spend quality time Jan. 15, 2018.
Museums
On Chicago’s Museum Campus, Adler Planetarium, 1300 S. Lake Shore Dr., (312) 922-7827, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., (312) 922-9410 and the Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. Lake shore Dr., (312) 939-2438, all have free general admission to Illinois residents. (Not included: all access to special exhibits).
At the Art Institute of Chicago, the Ryan Learning Center (entrance at the Modern Wing, 159 East Monroe St. is doing “Say it Loud” program of story telling, arts and discussions from 10 :30 a.m. to 3 p.m. No registration needed. However, admission to the museum is also free that day for all Illinois residents as part Free Winter Weekdays, January 8–February 15, 2018.
Chicago History Museum, 1601 North Clark Street (312) 642-4600, has free programs all day with free general admission to Illinois residents on MLK Day.
Theater
Chicago Children’s Theatre, 100 S. Racine Ave. at Monroe, has a free Martin Luther King Birthday party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Black Ensemble Theater at 4450 North Clark St., celebrates “And still we rise,” from 6 to 9 p.m. with programs by the African American Arts Alliance. Tickets are $20 and includes a reception.
A penguin with a purpose. A Wright that is right. Those are just two of the special gifts that can be found in Chicago museums.
Instead of fighting crowds on Black Friday, use the day off to visit a favorite museum and its gift shop. Museum stores are not only filled with fun and artistic gifts, they also funnel that money you spend back into programs and other costs.
Plus, holiday shopping when you can also watch penguins play or visit a favorite art period adds to the fun of finding a present that matches a person’s interest.
However, if you don’t make it down to Chicago, browse the museum stores’ web sites. They are easy to maneuver because most are broken into different categories so don’t worry if the first link you find merely says store. Watch for scrolling options and look for such links as jewelry, toys and home decor.
The Shedd, in the middle of the Museum campus at 1200 S. Lake Shore Dr., is a favorite destination when youngsters and adults have a day off. However, you can also look in the shop on line to find everything from toddler shark hoodies to soft, plus animals that have wallett friendly prices. Visit Shedd Shop and call (312) 939-2438 if you have some questions.
A plush baby penguin is just one of the delightful items found on line in the Shedd Aquarium store. Shedd photo
First museum on the campus, the Field at 1400 S. Lake shore Dr., has a huge store worth a visit anytime you are on the museum campus. However, the store’s website is also huge. Note that different shop areas scroll across the Field store site. Click on one that particularly catches your attention or merelyh look for such categories as home décor and toys. Among the sites is one for Ancient Mediterranean objects. For other information call (312) 922-9410.
Both sections of theArt Institute of Chicago, the traditional building at 111 S. Michigan Ave. and the Modern Wing at 159 E. Monroe St. have wonderful gift shops near their entrances so visitors can shop without paying admission. But if there, it is hard to resist visiting a favorite gallery.
If shopping on line look for different categories such as apparel, stationary, books (even coloring books for famous paintins or architectural items, glass objects or a particular artist at AICShop. There is even a site for all Frank Lloyd Wright items. For other information call (312) 443-3600.
Frank Lloyd Wright decorative items, tgies and clock can be found on the Art Institute of Chicago’s store website. Art Institute of chicago photo
Visit the MCA, as it is popularly known, to see its latest exhibition of important contemporary works upstairs on the Fourth Floor but also to dine in its new restaurant on the ground floor. The museum is at 220 E. Chicago Ave.
But if saving that visit for a day after the holidays, go on line to the MCA Store to vfnd such fun objects as desktop and hanging mobiles or fun, objects by artist Murakami.
If trying to match a present to a history buff or someone interested in Chicago, a great place to find a book or related gift is at the Chicago History Museum Shop. The building, situated in Lincoln Park at 1601 N. Clark St., is also an easy bus ride from downtown Chicago.
Visit MSI to see its Robots, Lego or Mirror Maze exhibit or for its fairy castle or coal mine. You will find related items and gifts for you young scientiist in the museum gift shop. The museum is at 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive near the Hyde Park/ University of Chicago neighborhoods.
But you can also shop on line for toys, books and other gift items. The store has a gift guide.
Pumpkins still adorn some front doorsteps and Halloween candies still sit on some shelves but with Thanksgiving coming early this year (Nov. 23) and stores looking for a cheerful buying season, holiday decorations and events are already going up and beckoning.
If you have been downtown Chicago recently near Daley Plaza you likely noticed that the Christkindlmarket is already going up for its Nov. 17 opening and that Macy’s has already decorated its State Street and some Randolph Street windows. Its 45 foot high Great Tree is up in the Walnut Room sparkling with 2,000 ornaments and 6,600 lights.
Macy’s State Stree windows are about Magic, pictured here, Love, Giving and other holiday themes. Photo by Carole Kuhrt Brewer.
So yes, it’s somewhat early to plan on where to go for some holiday cheer of the non-alcholoic, event type. But if you don’t want to miss a fun activity, a repeat of a delightful family tradition or something that might start a new tradition, take a look at what’s coming up, print this and circle those events worth putting on your calendar.
The events tend to fall into those that open Nov. 17 and the ones that start the day after Thanksgiving on Nov. 24.
Head to Millennium Park before 6 p.m. to ooh and aah when the lights switch on the 62 foot Norway sprice donated by Darlene Dorfler, Grayslake. The Oakdale Christian Academy Choir will be singing and cast members from Goodman Theatre’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ will perform. Santa and Mrs. Claus are also expected to visit. Admission is free. The tree will be up through Jan. 6, 2018.
City of Chicago Tree lighting is Nov. 17, 2017. City of Chicago photo.
The Chicago Christkindlmarket opens weekdays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and stays open Friday-Saturday until 9 p.m. Location: Washington Street between Clark and Dearborn Streets. Admission free. For other information call (312) 494-2175.
See trees from a different perspective when the Morton Arboretum has lights moving on them to music. In addition there is an Illu-medallion that can now be purchased to reflect the interactive light display. Tickets are date and time specific. Morton Arboretum is at 4100 Il Hwy 53, Lisle. For more information call (630) 968-0074.
Trees glow and lights move to music at the Morton Arboretum’s Illumination festival. Morton Arboretum photo
The festival opens Friday with activities and food from 4 to 8 p.m. in Lights Festival Lane (Pioneer Court) at 401 N. Michigan Avenue. The Michigan Avenue tree-lighting parade, sponsored by BMO Harris Bank and led by Mickey and Minnie Mouse, happens on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. after a day of activities starting at 11 a.m. at Pioneer Court and at Michigan Avenue shops. The parade begins at Oak Street and goes south to Wacker Drive ending with Fireworks at 6:55 p.m. .
Begun in 1942 with one tree, the exhibit now has a four-story, floor-to-dome Grand Tree plus more than 50 trees and displays. They are decorated by volunteers to represent many different cultures. MSI is at 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive.
The European holiday market is now opening in other Chicago area attractions. On Nov. 24 it opens in Naperville at the Naper Settlement, 523 S Webster St, and at the Park at Wrigley, 3637 N. Clark St.
Christkindlemarket at Daley Plaza. Jodie Jacobs photo
If going to Wrigley, bring skates ($5 age 13 and older, free 12 and under) or rent them there because along with the Christkindlmarket the Park has an ice skating rink. If going there Nov. 28, take in the Tree-Lighting Ceremony when a Colorado Spruce tree from will sparkle with 2,700 bulbs. Instead of worrying about parking take the CTA Red Line or Clark bus 22 or Addison 152.
The garden welcomes winter with a wonderland of lights outside and miniature trains speeding around Chicago landmarks plus decorated halls and greenhouses inside. Entry is ticketed and datge and time specific. The garden is at 1000 Lake Cook Rd, just east of Edens Expessway, Glencoe. (847) 835-5440
Chicago Botanic Garden Wonderland. Jodie Jacobs photo
Art Institute of Chicago’s annually welcomes the holidays with a wreathing of its famous lion statues at 10 a.m., then continues the day with hot chocolate, music and drop in art activities through 3 p.m. While there, stop downstairs at the Thorne Miniature rooms because they are fun to see and some even get a holiday decoration. The museum is at 111 S. Michigan Ave.
Visitors stepping into “Ancient Mediterranean Cultures in Contact” at the Field Museum are likely to have a preconceived notion that they will be looking at exceptional examples of jewelry, pottery and probably a mummy and objects from Pompeii. But you would be just partially right.
Coptic materials at the end of “Ancient Mediterranean Cultures in contact” exhibit at the Field Museum
Those items are there. In fact, there are about 100 fine examples of early Egyptian, Etruscan Greek and Roman objects pertaining to their polytheistic societies. But there is also a clip from a CNN broadcast at the entrance and Coptic material from a later monotheistic culture plus a modern day child’s life jacket at the end.
Curving around through the exhibit guests pass tall story boards about societal changes regarding religions, language and ideas. One board says: As Ideas Move Societies Change.
The boards are reminders that even back in the time the objects were made, whether BC or early A.D., the people using them were members of societies influenced by other cultures through trade, travel and wars and that they valued or argued about techniques and ideas from other places.
One board says: “When societies interact, things move, people move and ideas move.” It goes on to explain: “We experience this in our own lives when we buy imported fruit at the store, talk to a neighbor who grew up in another country or take a yoga class at the gym. But the movement of things, people and ideas across cultures isn’t new – this has been going on since the beginning of human history.”
Cultures and ideas change as people move is an important point of Field exhibit. Jodie Jacobs photos
Bill Parkinson who put the exhibition together originally considered doing an exhibit of Roman and Etruscan cultures. “The Field has fabulous Roman and Etruscan collections,” said Parkinson, associate curator of Eurasian anthropology.
But then he added that when an exhibit begins with the word “The” as in “The Greeks,” which, by the way, was a very fine Field exhibit November 2015 to April 2016, it concentrates just on one culture’s objects and contributions.
He pointed out that the idea for the current exhibit which opens Oct. 20, 2017 and continues through April 29, 2018, began about the same time as “The Greeks” but with a different objective
“It is about ideas. We’re telling stories about people. It’s interesting looking 800 to 200 B.C at the Etruscans, Rome, Pompei and how they relate to each other. As we pulled it all in, how Etruscans related to Greece and Rome related to Egypt it was an Oh, moment. The connections exploded,” Parkinson said.
The Coptic material is also important. “When cultures went from polytheistic to monotheistic those connections exploded. One god became critical during the first millennium. (January 1, AD 1, and ended on December 31, AD 1000), he said.
Tip: Because this exhibit is about connections rather than what happened first and second, it’s arranged by influences and connections, not chronologically. So while enjoying such objects as a necklace, a well-carved figure or an attractive pot, look at their descriptions because they mention influences such as how an item was made by one society in the style of a different culture.
A falcon pendant of Horus, an Egyptian god, from before 300 B.C. in the exhibit is a reminder that the Greeks and Romans also adopted him and that the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans imported some elements of deities, architecture and art from Egypt. The gold necklaces made in the 2nd and 3rd century A.D. in Italy ar a reminder that as the Roman Empire grew it accumulated wealth and was influenced by its expanded resources.
“The objects tell stories. When we pulled them for the collection we did so to tell a truth about the time,” Parkinson said.
The exhibit also makes the point with TV broadcasts and found objects that societal connections continue today.
Or as Parkinson noted: “You don’t expect to see CNN or another headline when you walk into an ancient Mediterranean show or see Coptic material at the end.”
The Field Museum is at 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. “Ancient Mediterranean Cultures in Contact” goes from Oct. 20, 2017 through April 29, 2018. This is a ticketed show. For tickets, hours and other information call (312) 922-9410 and visit Field Museum.
Imagine being able to ask questions of Holocaust survivors not just now while many are in their 80’s, but 10 and 20 years from now after they have died.
Or think about what can happen when no one speaks out against discrimination and injustice.
The new Survivor Stories Theater at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, Skokie.
The folks at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie have done more than merely ponder those possibilities and issues.
On Oct. 29, 2017, Take a Stand Center, the museum’s new, three-part permanent exhibition opens to the public.
Visitors can hear 13 Holocaust stories and ask questions of the speakers through holographic, interactive technology in the Center’s Abe & Ida Cooper Survivor Stories Experience.
In the Goodman Upstanders Gallery, they can listen to the stories of 40 modern heroes who were willing to take a stand for social justice.
Then, inspired by these stories and examples, guests learn how to follow through based on their own convictions at the Take a Stand Lab.
After explaining that survivors telling their stories through holograms grew out of an idea from board member Jim Goodman, Illinois Holocaust Museum CEO Susan Abrams noted that the Shoah Foundation at the University of Southern California had been thinking along the same lines.
Working with Shoah and adding more technical experts, the recording time of each of the survivors in the exhibit was extended to include replies to questions viewers would likely have. So that after hearing a story the listener is asked, “What do you want to know.”
“The experience is very strong. Custom voice recognition software prompts the answers,” Abrams said. “One of the things we’re doing is helping survivors communicate for generations to come.”
She added, “There is no substitute for human interaction to develop empathy.”
Note: Survivor stories are timed and recommended for ages 11 and older. Click here for reservation.
The Upstander Gallery in the new Take A Stand Center at the Illinois Holocaust Museum.
When moving to modern tales in the internationally-filled Upstanders section, visitors will come across such local heroes as Peace Builder Henry Cervantes at the Chicago-based Peace Exchange that teaches young community leaders to advocate for nonviolence, Syrian American Medical Society Past President Zaher Sahloul, MD., and Syrian Community Network Founder and Executive Director Suzanne Akras Sahloul.
At the end of another museum exhibit is the sad, important phrase, “Never Again.”
“You’ve heard “Never Again, but never again has not been a reality,” Abrams said.
In the Take a Stand Center is the Take a Stand Lab to help people become engaged. “The third section has tools for change so that an individual, a school an organization can learn to advocate,” she said.
Pointing out that people often ask what one person could do, Abrams said, “This section answers that question, what can you do.”
Tools include how to learn about legislation or petitions and how write to a legislator and how else to act on an issue whether it’s civil rights, social rights or economic rights.
Visitors can take an action tool kit home. To learn more visit tools.
To prove that reaching out and doing something can make a difference, the Lab includes examples of success.
“We want the exhibition to move people from knowledge and inspiration to taking action,” Abrams said.
With a nod to a recent resurgence in activism, she said, “The exhibit is timeless and very timely.”
DETAILS: The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is at 9603 Woods Dr., Skokie, just west of the Old Orchard shopping center. For more information call (847) 967-4800 and visit IL Holocaust Museum.
Visitors to “Backstoke of the West” at the MCA walk through a recreated ancient Iraqi Gate. Photos by Jodie Jacobs
It’s hard not to follow what has been happening to the people, politics and conflicts in Iraq and throughout the Mideast, but to get an artist’s take on the events see “Backstroke of the West” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
The works are Chicago-based, Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz’s take on the personal and historic objects destroyed during the conflicts and how they can be memorialized and interpreted through art.
Born of an American father and an Iraqi-Jewish mother, Rakowitz uses such ironic materials as newspapers to recreate looted items and Arabic food packaging to replicate the ancient Ishtar Gate. A section even illustrates how he served Iraqi dishes on Saddam Hussein’s china.
To further explain how Rakowitz seeks to bring people of different cultural and social backgrounds together he gives his projects such titles as “The invisible enemy should not exist” and “May the Arrogant Not Prevail.”
To accompany the exhibition, there is a pop-up food truck outside the MCA that will serve Iraqi dishes from family recipes.
Curator Omar Kholeif, l, and Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz give an opening day tour of “Backstorke of the West” at the MCA.
Organized by MCA Manilow Senior Curator Omar Kholeif, Manilow, Director of Global Initiatives, the exhibit is the first major museum survey of Rakowitz’s work.
Opened Sept. 16, 2017, the show runs through March 4, 2018. The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is at 220 E Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.
For hours, admission and other information call (312) 280-2660 and visit MCA.
If you don’t want to compete with other drivers going out of town Labor Day, take advantage of the long weekend to visit events and places in the Chicago area.
Luzia: A Waking Dream of Mexico, is under the Big top next to the United Center now through Sept. 3, 2017. Photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil.
Cirque du Soleil
“Luzia, A Waking Dream of Mexico” will leave Chicago after this weekend. The final performance is Sept. 3. An amazing mix of color and culture, the show is under a tent at the United Center in Parking Lot K. For tickets and other information visit Cirque du Soleil Luzia.
Chicago Jazz Festival
Enjoy great music to sway and tap to under the stars in Millennium Park or surrounded by wonderful mosaics in the Chicago Cultural Center at the Chicago Jazz Festival this weekend. Admission is free. Millennium Park stages (201 E. Randolph St.) host music from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. For Cultural Center, (78 E. Washington St.) times and for who is playing where and when visit ChicagoJazzFestival.
Chicago Jazz Festival is in Millennium Park and the Chicago Cultural Center Labor Day Weekend. Photo by Jodie Jacobs
Art Fair on the Square
Wander around historic Market Square downtown Lake Forest Sept. 3 or 4 to see 180 exhibitors at Art Fair on the Square. Sponsored by the Deer Path Art League, hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Admission is free.
For directions and more information visit Deer Path Art League.
Gauguin
Catch the Gauguin exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago before it leaves. It is an exceptional show of Paul Gauguin’s sculptures, ceramics, paintings and etchings, but it ends Sept. 10 so try to fit it in during the long Labor Day Weekend. The exhibit is so popular it requires tickets. They’re included in admission price but they are date sensitive. For information and tickets visit ARTIC.
Paul Gauguin, “Self Image with Yellow Christ.” Photo by Jodie Jacobs
Breakfast and hike
Go to Morton Arboretum for waffles, eggs and other yummy treats in the Ginko Garden Restaurant, Saturday or Sunday. Then, hike the trails to work it off. The weather is supposed to be perfect for exploring the Arboretum, 4100 IL Hwy 53, Lisle. For more information or restaurant reservations call (630) 968-0074 and visit Morton Arb.
Hear UB40 or Aretha Franklin
Picnic on the lawn at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park where UB40 performs Sept. 2 and Aretha Franklin gets respect Sept. 3. The UB40 concert is 7:30 p.m. Aretha Franklin, original scheduled for June 17, also starts at 7:30. Original tickets will be honored. Ravinia Festival is at 418 Sheridan Rd., Highland Park. For directions, parking, tickets and other information visit Ravinia.
If asked what would you like a robot to do what would be your answer?
Robot Thespian by Engineered Arts greets visiotros at the entrance/exit of Robot Revolution at the Museum of Science and Industry. Jodie Jacobs photo
That’s a question that Tom, an employee who often can be found taking a shift in the Museum of Science and Industry’s “Robot Revolution” exhibit, asks the crowd of kids and adults who gather around while he explains drones.
Homework and housework are two of the frequent answers he said he gets.
If you go MSI’s Robots exhibit you can see a robot that is doing some housework. It moves along the floor cleaning dirt and debris. And that robot is on the market.
The other robots in the exhibit also exist in today’s world but are used by industry, health care and other commercial ventures. They are fascinating to watch. They come in all shapes. And they can do tasks that might be harmful to humans.
When you first walk in you see a person-type of robot. Press “How Do I Work” to have him talk to you and explain what makes him move. Don’t be surprised when you walk away if his eyes follow you even though he has stopped talking.
There are robots you can touch, such as a cuddly stuffed-animal that is used in hospitals and clinics that make patients feel better when they pet it and robot “bots” that you can put together yourself to do some things such as shine a light.
There are robots that can move up and down stairs and inclines that can be used in dangerous situations and robots that can be programmed to play soccer.
Just allow enough time to try everything in this exhibit but don’t forget to check out some of the science museum’s other wonders.
Enter the Mirror Maze to try and find the hidden room. MSI photo
A visit to the Richard H. Driehaus Museum, a magnificent late 1900’s mansion on East Erie Street, is a double treat.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec “Jane Avril” 1893, color lithograph. John Faier Photo (c) Driehaus Museum
In 2016, the museum hosted an exhibit of Downton Abbey’s fabulous costumes. The mansion’s elaborate rooms which hold several items from Driehaus ‘ vast collection of decorative arts, perfectly fit the exhibit titled “Dressing Downton: Changing Fashion for Changing Times.”
This year, the museum is featuring art of a different kind in “L’Affichomani: The Passion for French Posters.”
Spread across two upstairs floors of the museum, the exhibit comes from Driehaus’ own large collection of turn-of-the-last-century posters.
Dating from the Belle Époque of about 1875 to 1910, they show off the wonderful lines and colors favored by their artists: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Alphonse Mucha, Jules Chéret, Eugene Grasset and Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen.
Alphonse Mucha ” Sarah Bernhardt as “La dame aux Camelias,” 1896, color lithograph. John Faier photo
Of course as posters, they do more than serve as advertisements for particular artists. They advertise entertainers, products and events of the time. In doing so they turned the streets of Paris in art galleries while bringing together art and commerce.
So go for the exhibit, but stay to see the mansion. The Driehause collection includes Tiffany glass.
“L’Affichomani: The Passion for French Poster” Is at the Driehaus Museum, 40 E. Erie St., Chicago, through Jan. 7, 2018. For admission and hours call (312) 482-8933 and visit Driehaus.
Each time you walk into another room up on the fourth floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago you’ll hear a gasp or a wow. The responses are to the wall-filling, psychedelic art of Takashi Murakami.
Visitors were taking photos of Takashi Murakami’s works throughout the exhibit at the MCA. This room held “Tan Tan Bo Puking – aka Gero Tanm 2002, courtesy of Galerie Perrotin, and its companion piece. Photo by Jodie Jacobs
A Japanese artist who has studied the traditional methods of his country but favors anime (Japanese animated film) and manga (Japanese comics), Murakami mixes folklore, politics, Asian culture and contemporary pop art in highly-patterned or deeply contrasting paintings and with fanciful or foreboding sculptures.
Titled “Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg,” the MCA exhibit is a retrospective that begins with early, fine-art works using traditional Japanese Nihonga materials on paintings of turtles. However, look closer at their themes and you understand that Murakami is concerned about industrial pollution and nuclear power..
As you walk through the exhibit and see different themes and materials that Murakami favored during the past three decades, you will understand that the title refers to regeneration. If an octopus eats off a damaged part a new one will grow.
Some motifs are scary or critical commentary. Others are cheerful and playful. But no matter the subject matter, Murakami’s works are eye-catching and show great attention to detail.
To accomplish his more complex and very detailed works, Murakami has a studio of artist assistants. Indeed, one room shows what a work looks like when drawn but not completely painted in. It looks like a page from the currently popular patterned coloring books enjoyed by youngsters and adults.
It’s also okay to see commercial value in what Murakami does. He worked with pop star Kanye West on an album cover and with Louis Vuitton on a fashion product.
But as you walk through the rooms, remember that Murakami has done and continues to do is what other artists do. Their works express inner emotions and also are responses to surrounding cultures and what is happening in the world.
Murakami has merely been responding in hi definition and amplification.
”Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg,” organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and curated by Michael Darling, is at the museum now through Sept. 24, 2017.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is at 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. For admission, hours and other information call (312) 280-2660 and visit MCA.
