A woman in a black dress and a man in a black tie and white-collared shirt stood on stage. Black binders in hand, they read from a collection of letters, diary entries, philosophical musings, and poetry from diverse authors. Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi, Islamic mystic Ibn al-Arabi, and Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk were all spotlighted in little more than half an hour.

“Voices of the Middle Eastern City” was performed on May 14th at the University of Chicago as part of the 25th annual Middle Eastern History and Theory Conference. Read the rest of this entry »

(Sarah Mendelsohn)

If you’re entertaining thoughts of coming to the University of Chicago’s annual Summer Breeze festivities, you may have noticed that, in addition to the main stage performers—Nas, Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, and the Dirty Projectors—there’s a separate event organized by the University’s radio station, WHPK 88.5 FM. The following is a guide—written by station DJs —to the various groups and solo acts performing at WHPK’s free stage, which will be located on the University’s main quadrangles near the intersection of 58th Street and University Avenue. Read the rest of this entry »

Screenshot from "Studs in a Soapbox" (courtesy of Media Burn)

Most college students grew up around camcorders and YouTube, but there was a time when no one outside of the major networks was able to inexpensively shoot video or easily broadcast it. On Thursday, May 6th, the Fund for Innovative Television (FITV) gave a screening at the University of Chicago’s Film Studies Center of documentary clips from their expansive archive of tapes from early expeditions into independent television. FITV founder Tom Weinberg, executive director Sara Chapman, and UofC film professor Judy Hoffman led an informal and democratic discussion in the spirit of the original videos. The two-hour event was well received by the audience, who indulged Weinberg and Hoffman’s request for interruption with enthusiastic questions. Read the rest of this entry »

To think of the 1920s is to think of flapper girls, speakeasies, and hot, hot jazz. But for the folks at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute, the decade also recalls mummies, for these are the years that James Henry Breasted, famed Egyptologist and founder of the OI, trekked through Egypt and Mesopotamia in search of artifacts to exhibit in the fledgling museum. It seems natural, then, to pair the OI’s current exhibit, “Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919-1920,” with a bit of the hot stuff, as will happen when Eric Schneider’s Hot Dixieland Quartet performs there this Sunday afternoon. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Friday, in front of a small but appreciative audience, the University of Chicago’s Doc Films opened a time capsule of LGBT life in the 1970s. “Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives,” the first full-length documentary made about gay and lesbian identity, appeared across the country in theaters and on television after it was first released in 1977, but soon faded into obscurity. For the film’s thirtieth anniversary, the Film and Television Archives at the University of California-Los Angeles restored the original 16-millimeter print for theatrical and DVD release. Last weekend’s run was the film’s Chicago premiere. Read the rest of this entry »

Pasted to the front door of Pilsen’s Casa Aztlán is a handwritten sign that reads, “Donation $15—if unemployed, $5.” Inside the performance space, Benito Juárez and Pancho Villa stare grimly from the mural that covers the walls. Their vibrantly rendered figures are barely visible in the darkened room—every few moments their faces appear from behind a dancing audience member or a community volunteer. The presence of two icons of Mexican progressivism in this makeshift ballroom is fitting: May Day, known as International Workers’ Day outside the United States, is a commemoration of the fight for the eight-hour workday and a reminder of the oppressive conditions that persist for many laborers. In collaboration with Portoluz and Rockotitlan, Casa Aztlán hosts the annual May Day Blast, which celebrates Pilsen’s rich culture while raising awareness of the conditions of migrant workers. Read the rest of this entry »

“The Man Who Saved New Orleans” is the latest play at eta Creative Arts Foundation. Written by Thomas Meloncon, it returns the narrative of New Orleans to the people who were kicked out of the city when Katrina moved in. It tells the story of the Prejeans, an African American family from the Lower 9th Ward who have been relocated to the Houston home of an evangelical cousin. A blind grandfather, a broken mother, a tormented son, and a silent daughter populate the cast list of the family drama that unfolds over two lengthy acts. A host of supporting characters, most notably a snarky, seductive fellow refugee named Eva (played by Ina Houston), add commentary but little complexity to the Prejeans’ struggles. Read the rest of this entry »

The University of Chicago isn’t an arts school, and no one pretends that it is. But this spring, the character of the arts on campus is changing. Starting on Saturday, May 8th, the week-long annual Festival of the Arts will celebrate student work in visual and performance mediums, followed on May 15th by Summer Breeze, the University’s yearly music festival. And this year, these instituted events are joined by new reasons to celebrate arts at the University. Recent initiatives like the UChicago Arts Pass, which gives University students free or discounted entrance into Chicago art institutions, and the May 12th groundbreaking for the Reva and David Logan Center for Creative and Performing Arts, are beginning to paint a new landscape for campus arts. Read the rest of this entry »