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SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY The South Side Weekly is a nonprofit newsprint magazine written for and about neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. We publish in-depth coverage of the arts and issues of public interest alongside oral histories, poetry, fiction, interviews, and artwork from local photographers and illustrators. Started as a student paper at the University of Chicago, the South Side Weekly is now an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting cultural and civic engagement on the South Side, and to providing educational opportunities for developing journalists, writers, and artists. Editor-in-Chief Jake Bittle Managing Editors Maha Ahmed, Christian Belanger Deputy Editor Olivia Stovicek Senior Editor Emeline Posner Education Editor Hafsa Razi Music Editor Austin Brown Stage & Screen Editor Julia Aizuss Lit Editor Sarah Claypoole Visual Arts Editor Corinne Leigh Butta Editors-at-Large Mari Cohen, Ellie Mejia Contributing Editors Ele Edreva, Andrew Koski, Lewis Page, Sammie Spector Social Media Editor Emily Lipstein, Sam Stecklow Visuals Editor Ellen Hao Video Editor Lucia Ahrensdorf Radio Producer Maira Khwaja Layout Editors Adam Thorp, Baci Weiler, Sofia Wyetzner Senior Writer: Stephen Urchick Staff Writers: Olivia Adams, Emiliano Burr di Mauro, Sara Cohen, Christopher Good, Michal Kranz, Kristin Lin, Zoe Makoul, Sonia Schlesinger, Darren Wan Staff Photographers: Juliet Eldred, Finn Jubak, Alexander Pizzirani, Julie Wu Staff Illustrators: Javier Suarez, Addie Barron, Jean Cochrane, Lexi Drexelius, Wei Yi Ow, Amber Sollenberger, Teddy Watler, Julie Wu, Zelda Galewsky, Seonhyung Kim Editorial Interns: Gozie Nwachukwu, Kezie Nwachukwu, Bilal Othman Webmasters Alex Mueller, Sofia Wyetzner Publisher Harry Backlund The paper is produced by an all-volunteer editorial staff and seeks contributions from across the city. We distribute each Wednesday in the fall, winter, and spring, with breaks during April and December. Over the summer we publish monthly. Send submissions, story ideas, comments, or questions to editor@southsideweekly.com or mail to: South Side Weekly 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637 For advertising inquiries, contact: (773)234-5388 or advertising@southsideweekly
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IN CHICAGO A week’s worth of developing stories, odd events, and signs of the times, culled from the desks, inboxes, and wandering eyes of the editors
The Good News “I think it’s fabulous,” said Rev. Karen Mooney of Beverly Unitarian Church about this Easter Sunday. Mooney was not referring to a neighborhood Easter egg hunt or even a certain special son of God’s miraculous exit from a cave: this Sunday, there were no murders in Chicago. Mooney and a half-dozen other religious leaders had rallied around the cause of an Easter without murder for the last few months, hosting workshops on creating educational and employment opportunities and otherwise working towards their campaign goal. “I don’t think we would take credit for the no murders,” Mooney admitted modestly. “I think there was something much larger at work.” Walk-off Homer The Weekly covers South Side sports only rarely, and covers the White Sox even more rarely, but our occasional commitment to a good sense of humor forbids us from letting this bit of Sox news slip by: Adam LaRoche, the team’s first-baseman-turned-designated-hitter, has retired from the team, giving up a $13 million contract, after team president Ken Williams told him he had to cut down the time his son was spending in the Sox clubhouse. Williams said that there had been no policy change regarding family visits to the clubhouse, but that LaRoche’s son, Drake, was there “100 percent [of the time], every day, in the clubhouse....I don’t
even think he should be here fifty percent of the time...figure it out....All I’m asking you to do...is dial it back.” LaRoche responded by speaking what we suppose is the truth: “Sometimes you have to make decisions in this world that are unpopular.” “#FamilyFirst,” he later tweeted. Anita Alvarez is No Longer the Cook County State’s Attorney Two weeks ago, Kim Foxx won the Cook County State’s Attorney in a landslide, landing fifty-eight percent of the vote compared to incumbent Anita Alvarez’s twenty-nine percent. For Alvarez, it was the culmination of a long four months following the release of the now-infamous Laquan McDonald video. In the wake of the video’s release, Alvarez received heavy criticism for her decision to wait four hundred days to press charges against CPD officer Jason Van Dyke, only doing so after the release of the video to the public. As the election approached, Foxx, meanwhile, ramped up a campaign that garnered endorsements from such Chicago powerhouses as Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and former governor Pat Quinn, while also proving its community bona fides through endorsements from activist organizations like Reclaim Chicago. Foxx would go on to emphasize in her victory speech that the election was more about “turning the page” than “saying goodbye” to Alvarez, but the “Adios Anita” T-Shirts at Foxx’s victory party would speak just as loudly.
IN THIS ISSUE listening to a chaotic place
nnamdi’s sooper dooper secret story
making good food better
“I’ve heard those calls before.” alexandra epstein...4
“Comfort is good, though, comfort is great! I love air conditioning.” neal jochmann...8
The festival was a whirlwind of composting demonstrations, policy sessions, investment fairs, and seed swapping. emeline posner...12
radical nuns: they get the job done
To Sister Kathy, being a nun and being socially “radical” are inseparable. alex weiss...6
two-headed monster
Something about Chris $pencer sounds familiar, but it’s hard to put a finger on exactly what. sammie spector...10
a taste of africa
Yassa emerged from the flames bigger and better. ak agunbiade...13
EMBROIDERING SOUTH SIDE HISTORY Multimedia artist Amara Betty Martin on her relationship to Pilsen and Little Village Video and gallery review on southsideweekly.com Video also available at tinyurl.com/j2mf5a4
MARCH 30, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 3
Listening to a Chaotic Place Marcello Siggers on police and radio scanners in Chicagoland AS TOLD TO ALEXANDRA EPSTEIN
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first started with scanners when I became the president of the block club in my community in 2008. I always wanted to know what was going on in the neighborhood, you know, you see flashing lights, you don’t know what’s going on. So, I found an app on my phone. If there was fire or police activity I was able to turn on the scanner, see what’s going on, just to make sure the neighborhood was safe. A lot of the, you know, riff-raff—whatever you want to call it— travel in my neighborhood to get to where they want to go. Sometimes they bring some of their habits with them. So that’s how I originally got into it. I have an app on my phone, it’s called Radio Scanner Pro. And with that app I can listen to anywhere in the world. From LA to New York to even some places in Canada. Radioman—I listen to that on my computer exclusively. Or I’ll check the incident board—see what’s going on in the city. If you go to the site, on the right hand side you will see all major incidents from Chicago and the suburbs. I’m gonna read you off just a couple of things that have transpired in the last, let’s just say, six, seven hours. We got a working fire over at 73rd. In Chicago, at 11:02am, you have two people shot at South Champlain. So I would go to this and I would click on the incident and I will see what the details were of the incidents. And if I go to my ABC app or my NBC app, they have not yet reported this incident. But I’m pretty sure they will by the time the news come on tonight. *** Marcello Siggers, thirty-five, who now lives in South Deering, is an Englewood-born songwriter and producer. He is also a photographer in his spare time. In 2010, a college friend and then recent graduate of the Chicago Fire Academy invited Siggers to photograph “the guys” of Chicago Fire Department Engine Company 72, Fire Ladder 34, Battalion 23 on South Chicago Avenue. In October of the same year, a member of the Battalion died while responding to a fire. Siggers decided to create a book in remembrance of the fallen firefighter, Corey Ankum. The book, entitled Tour of the 23rd Battalion, was two years in the making and established an enduring bond between Siggers and the firemen. At Engine Company 72 on a recent morning, Siggers and I strolled the perimeter of the fire station as he explained the intricacies of the engine, tower ladder, and ambulance, pointed out the memorials around the house, and introduced me to each fireman
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by name. Though not a fireman himself, Siggers has cultivated a deep personal connection with the members of the Chicago Fire Department and a significant understanding of the work they do every day. That’s how I was introduced to Dave Weaver [who runs the website Radioman911.com, a Chicagoland Fire Radio Feed.] I was posting pictures from some incidents I went to [while documenting for the book] and he hit me up on Facebook, like, “Hey, you know, these pictures are cool.” And I said, “You’re Dave, you know, I’ve heard about you.” So we exchanged numbers and I found out that he had a community of
them retired, some of them are volunteers, they work for other cities. Everybody wants to be a hero at one point, right? Some of us don’t get the opportunity to be a hero. Some of us care about our first responders. Sometimes listening to those scanners and knowing what’s going on and being able to get the information as it comes in is kind of almost like a duty at a certain point. Do you think that people listen to police scanners for a similar reason? Well, the police scanner thing is not as big as the fire scanner thing. I will admit that, in general. Unless you have, like, a significant incident going
Sometimes listening to those scanners and knowing what’s going on and being able to get the information as it comes in is kind of almost like a duty at a certain point. thousands of people. There were guys that were able to log into Radioman that were actual firemen, hear what was going on and start making their calls. So the idea that Dave put together was actually an exceptional idea because it gives people the opportunity to know exactly what is going on. And it’s not a thing where people are doing this for fun. I think people are doing it because they genuinely care about our first responders. Because some of the people, actually a majority of people, they would show up at funerals. You got some of the guys that are involved with Radioman911. com, they will actually go to the scene, sometimes they will type on the message board, “Hey, I’m at the scene. This is what is going on...” And from there, a person will be able to input that information on each individual incident. I think that people generally have a care for the fire department. Some people just have different careers, they chose different paths in life, and some of the guys, they are volunteer firemen. I mean, you find a wide range of guys. Some of
on—then people may tune in. I feel that we do need to encourage people to listen to the Chicago radio scanners. Reason being—and this is from my own personal experience—sometimes, especially those summer nights, when you listen to those Chicago police scanners, it’s nightmarish. Because you’re hearing that police officer huff and puff through that microphone as he’s chasing that suspect. I’ve listened to police scanners where there’s actually been shots fired. It was an incident where [the officer] got shot in the neck. I was actually listening to the police scanner that night. He got shot in the neck. So, they panicked—I’m pretty sure you could search this, “Officer gets shot in the neck, rushed to the hospital,” and you could actually find this online. And you’re hearing the partner. He’s using profanity, he’s screaming at the top of his lungs, and they’re zooming to that hospital. You get to hear the things that go on at the scene. The things that separate us from most people, when it comes to police, is that we actually know. We have an understanding. Because all
INTERVIEW
ellen hao
police aren’t bad. If you put yourself in their shoes, everyone will have a different idea. All of us are sinners, we are all imperfect beings, right? You cannot expect a flawed creature, which we all are, to do a job with other flawed human beings [without] some types of casualties. Because this is almost an impossible job. The people are not educated, and it’s not their fault, it’s the city’s fault. Then the city wants to hide the truth. And from them hiding the truth, the morale of the officer is on a steady decline. What do you mean when you say that the city wants to hide the truth? What truth? The truth that this is a chaotic place. Chaos happens every night, there’s things that go bump in the night. There’s chaos within the community. There’s violence. And my personal educated guess is that, well you know, we’re not any better than any other city. I’m gonna tell you here, what I’ve seen with my own eyes, what I’ve heard on these scanners, there are a lot of things that go on in the city that are very, very bad. When people turn on the news all they see is police running around with the yellow tape. “Oh, a child was shot. Such and such was the block. Right now police are on
the scene collecting evidence.” Those things are chaotic, they are loud, they’re noisy and they’re terrible. Okay? Most people would never know what it’s like for an officer to pull up on the scene and have a child shot. I’ve heard those calls before. There is this outcry that police aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do. The truth of the matter is, our police officers are in a very highly dangerous profession. This is not the movies. You could go find this on YouTube; there are people out there that have said it, that they will kill a police officer. Here in Chicago. It almost reminds me of when, years ago, when they said fire departments, all they do is sit in the fire house and watch TV and lift weights. That’s all they do. And that’s not the case. And some of the stuff that you see, believe me, you’re gonna wanna go watch TV too after you see that. I mean this is crazy. And as for Radioman, this is a community. We know and that’s why we support our police and firemen. It’s almost like we’re with them when we’re listening. I’m still the president of my block club. And these people are in their seventies and eighties. One thing I know about them is—I guess being old people in Chicago—they have a little better
understanding, because they knew how it was when they was growing up. You respected the police. If they came and told you to get off that corner and go to school, you went to school. These kids don’t have that same respect. The gangs are reckless right now. There’s a lot of fractions going on. And I am a former member of the gangs, I will admit to that. You had to keep a certain GPA. You didn’t cuss in front of elders. You kept your block clean. You wanna know why we did all that? Because it kept the heat from the police, from the neighborhood. Right now these kids are just running reckless and they’re shooting people, and shooting people for no good reason at all. No reason. You said you worked on your book Tour of the 23rd Battalion between 2011 and 2013 and that was often the motivation to go to the scenes and listen to the scanner. What is the reason you continue to do so today? I like to say that I adopted thirty firemen. And the house as well. I got about ten I’m real close to. I became so close to these guys I get invited to their family events. I became a part of the brotherhood of the fire department. And I have a
lot of friends that are police. But also sometimes I just want to keep myself in the know about what they’re doing. I want to understand. So, like I said, just to know what’s going on in my community. Because I don’t listen to the citywide scanner, I listen to the zone I live in, which is Zone 8. I just want to know what’s going on in the neighborhood and stuff. So I can be up to date. A lot of people don’t understand, because they’re not trying to understand a role of a police officer. You imagine coming to someone’s house at 2:30 in the morning—everybody’s upset, everyone’s got weapons, they’ve got bats, they’ve got skillets, whatever—and they’re mad at you because you have the nerve to show up. Even though somebody called you. But now you’re the enemy. So imagine someone doing that every night for twenty years and you ask yourself: how would you be feeling after twenty years of dealing with that? It’s rough. So, I would love for more people to listen to the scanners so they can have an idea of what’s going on. But for the most part there’s not a big community of radio scanner listeners here on the South Side. I wish there was though. MARCH 30, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 5
Radical Nuns: They Get the Job Done
The legacy of 17th-century nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is alive and well in Bridgeport BY ALEX WEISS
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courtesy of the br. david darst center
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t might sound bad to be labeled “radical” by the church, but “radical” describes numerous nuns throughout history who have done good. Nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz changed seventeenth-century Mexico through her socially charged writing, despite living in a time when women, including nuns, had limited social power. Today, the works of modern nuns like Sister Kathy Brazda continue to support the radical idea that nuns can use the church as a mechanism to bring about social change. Like Sor Juana, Brazda has been called a “radical”; however, while the term was used to discredit Sor Juana for her activism, today it compliments Brazda’s commitment to social action. Joel Cruz, adjunct professor at the Lutheran School of Theology, delivered a lecture on Sor Juana as part of the Church in Social Action lecture series from the First Lutheran Church of the Trinity and the Brother David Darst Center in Bridgeport. Brazda herself followed with another lecture, weaving a larger narrative about activism in the church over time. This lecture series calls attention to the church’s often overlooked dedication to social change. By discussing the challenges faced by activist nuns of the past, Cruz’s lecture aimed to show that, historically, “radical” nuns have not just advocated for political or social extremes, but they took risks for the ideas they supported. Radical nuns have a long history of fighting for theological and social change in the face of threats, orders to retract their writings, and, in Sor Juana’s case, the Spanish Inquisition. Cruz’s lecture explained that Sor Juana was born in mid-seventeenth century Mexico City to a mother who remained unmarried in order to legally retain ownership of her successful farm. Progressively-minded from a young age and dedicated to education, Sor Juana entered a cloister in order to continue the education that would be unavailable to her as a housewife, the other major option available to women at the time. A poet, playwright, scholar, and theologian, Sor Juana owned 4,000 books, at the time the largest library in the Americas. In her writings, she pushed the bound-
POLITICS
aries of what women could write, covering topics that had been previously only available to men and speaking openly against sexism in the church. She wrote extensively about the church’s tendency to blame women for catastrophes because of the temptation posed by female sexuality, a problem the church solved by cloistering nuns to protect their purity. In one poem, Sor Juana wrote, “Silly, you men so very adept / at wrongly faulting womankind, / not seeing you’re alone to blame / for faults you plant in woman’s mind.” While primarily focusing on women’s advocacy, she also spoke for other groups oppressed by the Spanish government and the church in seventeenth-century Mexico, including, Cruz said, Native Americans, descendants of the Aztecs, and Afro-Latin people. In addition to writing a church-commissioned carol featuring a black Mary, Sor Juana sought to educate audiences, including Spanish royalty. In the prologue to a play performed for the King of Spain, she wrote that Native American religions were not satanic and did not need to be destroyed in order to spread church doctrine, as they contained ideas similar to church teachings. Sor Juana stood up for what she believed, to the point of being investigated by the Spanish Inquisition. Centuries later, Sor Juana’s admirers have thanked her by putting her picture on the two hundred and thousand peso bills and by writing novels, plays, movies, television series, and even an opera about her life and work. Beyond the art she created and inspired, Sor Juana’s legacy lives on in the work of contemporary nuns who dedicate their lives to using the church and its teachings to inspire social change. Today’s radical nuns still form the backbone of progress and social change within the church, inspiring and directing social action. Brazda, of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, is one such nun. Both Brazda and lecturer Cruz have been involved in Chicago church life for years. Because of Cruz’s expertise and Brazda’s work, both were natural choices to discuss the continued relevance of socially active nuns to present-day Chicago. Cruz’s lecture on Sor Juana depicted the seventeenth-century foundations of the social work of nuns like Brazda. Where Cruz’s lecture left off, with a commentary on the lasting influence of Sor Juana’s work, Brazda’s lecture on her work in modern church social activism began.
Like Sor Juana, Brazda’s social action has always been rooted in the church. When asked by her congregation why she became a nun, Brazda said, “I came to religious life because I felt at home with the community.” From her first involvement with the church, Brazda has been inspired by the deep connection she feels between her duties as a nun and her dedication to her community. To Brazda, being a nun and being socially “radical” are inseparable. Brazda is the executive director and co-founder of Taller de José (“Joseph’s Workshop”), a ministry in Little Village that helps recent immigrants and underprivileged people access social services by connecting individuals with agencies that provide housing, health care, education, and job opportunities. The sisters at Taller de José accompany people to those agencies for their referrals to ensure that they receive the services they need. For her work, Brazda received the St. Teresa of Avila Award, fittingly named for a woman who championed church reform in the 1500s; Brazda and her fellow sisters at Taller de José, using their positions in religious institutions to stand up for people often oppressed or overlooked, are working in the tradition of radical nuns before them. However, not all contemporary progressive nuns are as celebrated as Brazda has been. Even today, nuns have been ostracized or silenced for trying to contribute theological work that is more inclusive or socially conscious than Christianity’s status quo. Until last spring, the Vatican was attempting a takeover of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, a U.S. nuns’ organization. The Vatican sought to stop the nuns from advocating for contemporary social justice issues within the church, including gay rights and feminism, and had been interfering with the organization since 2012. The conflict points to how modern nuns can face similar struggles to those Sor Juana confronted in the seventeenth century. While Sor Juana, Brazda, and other nuns have advocated for social change throughout history, church officials in both the Inquisition and the modern Vatican have countered their efforts, labeling them as “radical” or “dangerous.” While such attacks could be considered a reason to give up, “radical” nuns have taken these challenges as acknowledgements of their potential social power and continued
While today’s radical nuns don’t face nearly as much danger or resistance to the ideas for which they stand as Sor Juana did, they still form the backbone of progress and social change within the Church, inspiring and directing social action. their fight, making the work of women like Brazda possible. In the face of the Inquisition, Sor Juana kept writing. In the face of the Vatican’s opposition, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious stood behind its theological positions. Brazda and other nuns
at Taller de José support these “radicals” and act on their beliefs to make the world a better place. More so than the church’s response this dedication to social justice is what makes these sisters radical.
MARCH 30, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 7
Nnamdi’s Sooper Dooper Secret Story Prolific multi-instrumentalist Nnamdi Ogbonnaya on school, music, and self-discovery BY NEAL JOCHMANN
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mong independent Chicago musicians, multi-instrumentalist Nnamdi Ogbonnaya may have more musical projects than anyone else. In addition to playing and touring with bands like Teen Cult and Nervous Passenger—a math-rock band that recently opened for one of its primary influences, Maps & Atlases—Nnamdi also creates and promotes numerous Bandcamp recordings and YouTube videos, some of which have earned tens of thousands of listens and views. He records his exuberant, spastic solo work under the moniker “Nnamdi’s Sooper-Dooper Secret Side Project.” (NSDSSP), and uploads it to a Bandcamp page of the same name. Somehow, Nnamdi does all of this while also studying electrical engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Appreciative of both music and machine, Nnamdi counts courses in computer programming as among the most important of his academic experiences. Twice in the past, Nnamdi switched to studying music, but that didn’t make sense, so he went back to engineering. “I’m already doing music all the time,” he says. “I don’t need to go to school for that.” He describes schoolwork not as a bad thing but rather as a “time thing,” since it eats up practice time—he would need more time than school will allow to construct the stage he envisions, which involves a six-part choir, horns, strings, and dancers. But despite the conflicts school causes, Nnamdi says he still badly “wants this degree.” From grades four through six, Nnamdi took piano lessons. He played marimba and mallets in high school, later relegating that duty to the “other kids [who] were better at it than [him].” When he found drums, he quit piano training.
“This is dumb! I wanna play drums!” Nnamdi explains in a prepubescent voice, impersonating himself at that age. He stayed at the drum-kit for nearly his entire remaining grade school career. Asked if he regrets his instrumental choices, Nnamdi is completely secure: “I chose what I chose!” Nnamdi is a self-taught producer, mixing NSDSSP recordings by himself, “picking up tricks” from records he’s loved in the past. He sees it as a blessing and a curse; when recording albums for Swerp Records, a Chicago label that lasted from 2012 to 2014, Nnamdi had album deadlines but studio time was limited. This was at times stressful, since sometimes Ogbonnaya is “in a mood,” as he says, “where things annoy [him] ‘til they’re perfect,” and he can’t just use the first take. Ogbonnaya has lived and recorded in Humboldt Park for four years. Originally, he called a 5,000-square-foot warehouse and loft his home, but “that shit fell through” when too many people moved out. In those days, Ogbonnaya would play and host shows in the venue—the Chicago Reader’s People Issue video shows him playing on a broken cymbal in one corner of that former space. After living there, he moved to North Lawndale for three months, but grew disillusioned when he came back from a month-long tour and moved back. But through all these moves, Nnamdi remains delighted to be a part of the busy and diverse Chicago music scene. “Even if you go to a bunch of shows in Chicago there’s gonna be a bunch of groups of people playing music that you don’t know about,” he says. “I encourage people to go to a show they would never go to or go to a show of bands they’ve never heard of.” He neal jochmann
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MUSIC
His attitude toward music is focused on learning and selfchallenge, and not on audience pleasure per se. says that shows are “a weird experience. People don’t like being at a place where you don’t know anybody. I feel like people should experience that cause people get too comfortable,” adding that “comfort is good, though, comfort is great! I love air conditioning.” On a Sunday afternoon in January, I was just about to leave Nnamdi’s Humboldt Park apartment when he told me to wait. “I want to give you something,” he said, and turned to a stuffed duffel bag that he bent to search. “I hope it’s in here,” he said, and soon he extracted Despondent, a white, 7-inch vinyl EP with minimal cover art and a Fair Weather Records sticker inside the plastic. Though energetic, Despondent is not Nnamdi’s must exuberantly joyful work. Released in 2013, it features more songs that are in line with its titular mood, such as “Glasgow Grin,” a song of empty and numbing partying environments. Its stark black-and-white video displays its aural mode. The song’s raps are pitch-shifted so deep as to feel ceremonially buried. “You don’t always need to be serious,” Ogbonnaya says, about the themes of Despondent, “but sometimes you have to be serious. The heavy stuff is cool too.” Some of the songs on Despondent were written by Ogbonnaya as early as high school. When reminded that his album Bootie Noir was released in 2013, Ogbonnaya blurts that it’s “so old!”—high school is distant antiquity for him. His new album, titled Drool, will be released in spring, and has been in the works for a year, which in Ogbonnaya’s terms is “forever!” To a musician as prolific as Ogbonnaya, time is defined by numbers of projects and songs; it’s more natural to say “two shows ago” than to say “two weeks ago.” I thanked Nnamdi for giving me the record. “I’m just glad people listen to it,” he says. Despite his extensive musical experience, Nnamdi reacts with a newcomer’s delight and humility whenever
people like his music. When I compared his virtuosity to that of another indie-rock guitar hero, Dave Longstreth of The Dirty Projectors, Nnamdi was honored. “Those are such good things!” he said, in reference to production aspects of Dirty Projectors records which remind me of his own (guitar tones “clear and trebly,” “dumb” songs that are unfathomably intricate). His attitude toward music is focused on learning and self-challenge, and not on audience pleasure per se. The Monday after I visited Ogbonnaya in Humboldt park, Nnamdi was scheduled to play a show at Schubas Tavern. Openers Regular Oatmeal played a set of what could be called “emo” (though Nnamdi wouldn’t use the term— genre names mostly make him chuckle) and then Teen Cult took the stage. Nnamdi tuned his black bass guitar by playing high, clear chords in accordance with his general preference for “higher, mid-tones.” He had a hoodie on beneath a dirty-looking army coat, but the rest of his clothes were the exact same as those he’d worn the day prior: black baggy jeans and a red-and-black jersey advertising Tim Horton’s in diagonal script. Ogbonnaya makes sure to laugh with frequency, though onstage he’s not the one telling jokes. Occasionally, when Teen Cult guitarist Ian Sutherland laid down the punchline for “What did Mozart tell Beethoven when he pricked his finger?” (“See? sharp!”), Ogbonnaya spoke with him in unison, though he mostly kept his voice at a low volume, delivering punch lines with his eyes. When Ogbonnaya graduates from UIC, it’ll be “game over,” and he will dedicate all of his energy to music. Given what he’s accomplished so far, the prospect is staggering to imagine. With Drool still being engineered, and music videos conceptualized for each of its songs, we surely won’t be kept in the dark, only in waiting.
MARCH 30, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 9
Two-Headed Monster Chris Crack and Vic Spencer put their heads together
mike centeno
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MUSIC
BY SAMMIE SPECTOR
W
hen I first hear Chris Crack’s voice, I’m not instantly reminded of his music. He’s soft-spoken, subdued even, in contrast to the booming, fast lyrics he spits in tandem with his friend and collaborator Vic Spencer. When I finally see Spencer, he isn’t quite who I expect to meet either—he’s spent the morning shopping for bathroom supplies with his family, he tells me, as he proudly shows off pictures of his kids. We chuckle over some photos of his daughter making faces until Crack arrives; Spencer hugs Crack tightly before we all sit down to talk about Who The Fuck is Chris $pencer??, an album that not only goes against recent trends in rap, but also against its creators’ demeanors. Yet one thing that feels perfectly natural is the rappers’ friendship and comfort with each other. Something about Chris $pencer sounds familiar, but it’s hard to put a finger on exactly what. It might stem from the boom-bap, stuckin-your-head beats, quick-paced, clever lyrics, or rap-battle style, where numerous songs sound like lyrical fights are breaking out. Their style seems heavily influenced by nineties rap, but as they begin to tell me about their process, it’s clear that their absolute fondness and respect for each other served as their primary inspiration. Crack and Spencer both started rapping a decade ago, and throughout their careers they’ve both contributed to Chicago’s ever-evolving rap scene. They met each other a few years ago at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas through mutual friends in the business, saw each other perform a few times, and eventually realized the mutual interest they had in each other’s careers. Who the Fuck is Chris $pencer?? is their first album in collaboration as “Chris $pencer”: an all-in tribute to lyricaLbeauty and free-verse style, magically glued together by energetic beats and a few odd sing-along choruses throughout. In songs like “Play Ruff ” and “One Saturday,” it sounds as if a fight might break out, as Crack and Spencer lyrically play off each other in what seems more like a competition than a duet. Their
individual voices and styles are worlds away from each other, and one always hears their stylistic differences. “We’re probably everything each other isn’t,” Crack says, “but equally as dope. Some of the things I don’t do, he fills in for.” The album artwork, created by a friend of the duo, might best represent the album and its dual spirit. The cover features half of both Crack and Vic’s heads, joined together along the middle. “You can picture him, and you think you know what he looks like,” says Crack, “But then you think about it, and you can’t figure it out.” And what the listener hears is a two-headed monster created through combined talents. The album title asks a rhetorical question: who is Chris $pencer, really? Or more importantly, what is he? Both on the album and in conversation, Crack and Spencer meet in the middle, coming from opposite ends. Crack has been singing since he was six years old. “I’m a singer that raps, not a rapper that sings,” he says, “I let it shine a little bit here, but I’m working on an R&B album for 2017.” But as he says this, Vic quickly matches him, saying, “I’m going to take singing lessons…I’m a rapper that’s going to sing.” Crack is also dismissive of critics’ nineties hip-hop comparisons, suggesting instead that maybe that’s because the nineties had so many good hip-hop albums—their album is good, after all. Besides, not every track and beat sounds purely vintage—many sound modern, experimental even. But when asked about their process, Vic says that the only thing they do “experimentally” is figure out what they even want to do, from the process of songwriting to choosing their beats. The Chris $pencer style is more about evolution than experimentation, as they create a musical tug-of-war while also layering their talents together to make something that stands on its own, even if it will be a little familiar to fans of either artist. “The only difficult thing was picking out the beats,” says Crack. “We knew how we were going to do it, but me and him, we’re picky, picky individuals. Certain beats felt like they were the
When asked if they could pinpoint what exactly made their collaboration so potent, Vic said, “we spend most of their time solely focusing on the music, which when it finally comes down to it, that’s what it’s about.” ‘one’ because we would both agree on them instantly.” “We went back and forth a lot on timing,” added Vic. “I’d say I want to do it like this, Crack would say like this, and I’d be intrigued by what he said, and we’d go from there.” The duo writes and makes everything on the spot, with few beats sent from elsewhere; in fact, one of their pet peeves is setting something new to used beats. “You must be personally connected to [the music], Vic says, “I remember what studio we recorded this at, what I was wearing, the smells. It was all right there.” When asked what it is that makes their collaboration so potent, Vic said, “We spend most of our time solely focusing on the music, which when it finally comes down to it, that’s what it’s about. Like our [Pitchfork] review said, we’re not duplicating something or bringing something entirely new to the table, but we add something that was forgotten. We’re against the grain, we have no rules.” The way they talk about their music and friendship, listening intently to the other and agreeing and laughing along the way, gives me a look into what their studio time might have been like: an evolving, dynamic, positive experience, with the good vibes of collaboration serving as the foundation for Chris $pencer. I wonder out loud if it’s possible to know when you’ve met your soulmate, and they laugh: Crack says no, but Vic, on the other hand, says, “Oh yeah, I knew.
That’s why I pushed it so much. I couldn’t just tell him, I had to show him; that’s why we just had to do it.” Crack replies: “I learned a lot from him. I didn’t know that he would influence me so much, that this could make me better, excel us both to the next level.” And it has: the local and national response to Who The Fuck Is Chris $pencer?! has been an enthusiastic one, and the album has put the two rappers on the map in a way their solo careers never quite did. Beyond anything, Crack and Spencer are grateful for the success they’re now seeing together. “Music was a way to stay away from trouble,” said Spencer. “Even when you [saw] trouble, music was a way to document it rather than react to it.” The pair wants to utilize this newfound acclaim to build their upcoming work. The second album will be more polished: a cleaner Chris $pencer. “He’s been there, done that, got his feet wet. We got in all the publications,” said Spencer. “We have to go hard now—he has to pretend he’s not a rookie and keep that sharp edge.” That being said, they have neither themes nor release dates in mind. “I’m not setting goals,” Crack tells me, “I’m just trying to be better than I was yesterday.” Spencer says the pressure is definitely there, but that it’s almost essential to the project and its success: “You do things last minute; you cram everything you can in. Time flies. And you have
MARCH 30, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11
FOOD
Making Good Food Better Policy and produce at the Good Food Festival BY EMELINE POSNER The University of Illinois at Chicago Forum filled with politicians, farmers, entrepreneurs, food producers, and organizers—and several bales of hay—for the twelfth annual Good Food Festival & Conference this weekend. The threeday trade show, brainchild of Chicago-based nonprofit FamilyFarmed, boasted programming as dynamic as the crowd of participants and attendees it attracted: the festival was a whirlwind of composting demonstrations, policy sessions, investment fairs, and seed swapping, leaving no accomplishment of the Good Food Movement uncelebrated and no policy issues unaddressed. The Festival has grown in size over the years alongside the Good Food Movement, a movement for locally and responsibly produced food that has taken root, so to speak, in the Chicagoland area and beyond. Last year, the number of participants passed the 5,000 mark, with Governor Bruce Rauner and Senator Dick Durbin among them, and the festival remains one of the most prominent regional sustainable agricultural events in the country. United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack kicked off the program on Thursday, a day dedicated to innovation in technology and financing within the local food industry. In his opening remarks, Vilsack highlighted new USDA insurance and grant initiatives tailored to small-scale, polyculture farms across the country. Although Vilsack has headed many such local initiatives in his seven years as secretary, the USDA remains in the eyes of many a massive department with a vested interest in “Big Ag,” and Vilsack expressed a touch of good-humored frustration on this front. “No one really has a clear understanding of what it is the USDA does,” he ceded with a pained smile. Later speakers included Whole Foods Market Regional President Michael Bashaw, 1871 CEO Howard Tullman, and Organic Valley CEO George Siemon, as well as the most recent fellows of FamilyFarmed’s two-year-old Good Food Business Accelerator. On Friday, participants honed in on topics specific to food production and distribution in Chicago through panel-style policy sessions featuring local growers, producers, and activists. The industry showcase, a green thumb’s wonderland, opened as well, featuring the products of more than one hundred local producers. While the panels ranged in focus, from grassroots food activism to pushcart vending, 12 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
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courtesy of barry brecheisen
food waste to statewide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding, the refrain remained the same: what have we accomplished so far, and how can we improve on it? Chicago’s local food movement has flourished in the years following the 2011 urban agriculture zoning amendment, a code change that recognized urban agriculture and community gardening as permitted land uses. As it has done so, it has found itself facing the inevitable challenge of reassessing and redefining the goals and implications of its practices. One particularly interesting question that arose was how to define “sustainability,” an amorphous term wielded by food businesses both within and outside the local food movement. Sustainably grown greens, sustainably raised beef, sustainable agriculture––what is sustainability, exactly? Does sustainability entail
a zero-waste system? Does it entail hiring and selling locally, or organic farming, or running a nonprofit business? In a panel on fair wages and equitable food systems, representatives of several South Sidebased agricultural organizations agreed that one of the most important, and least often discussed, facets of sustainability is workers’ right to a fair wage. Viraj Puri, CEO of Gotham Greens, and representatives from Growing Home, the Englewood-based farm, brought for-profit and nonprofit perspectives, respectively, to the table. Despite differences in business plans and profit margins, both agreed that fair pay—a starting wage of $12 an hour for a greenhouse assistant position at Gotham Greens and $13.50 for Growing Home—was a central tenet of a good business model. Not all agricultural organizations, unfortu-
nately, hold the same view. Stephanie Douglass, Growing Home’s Farm Enterprise Director, noted that several of the program’s graduates had been offered jobs in urban agriculture only to discover that pay was quite low, and in two cases under the minimum wage. “There is tremendous irony,” said Jose Oliva, co-director of the Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA), “in the fact that food workers are the people most reliant upon food stamps.” He was alluding to FCWA’s report “The Hand That Feeds Us,” which concluded that “food system workers use food stamps at double the rate of the rest of the U.S. workforce.” Oliva and FCWA are part of the force pushing for cities to adopt the Good Food Purchasing Policy (GFFP), a food procurement policy that encourages local agricultural sales and higher levels of transparency in the food supply chain from
COLUMN
A Taste of Africa AK Agunbiade This column is one in the Weekly’s monthly series of featured columnists. If you’re interested in writing for us, contact editor@southsideweekly.com.
Representatives of several South Sidebased agricultural organizations agreed that one of the most important, and least often discussed, facets of sustainability is workers’ right to a fair wage. “farm to fork.” GFFP is metric-based, evaluating food producers not solely according to standards of nutrition and environmental sustainability, but of fair labor, animal welfare, and support of local businesses as well. The GFFP was first implemented in Los Angeles, in select governmental departments and its public school system in 2012, as a result of which the school district’s expenditures on locally grown foods doubled, followed by an increase of 200 farm jobs. Oliva hopes to see the GFFP passed by Chicago’s City Council; currently, FCWA and the Chicago Food Policy Action Council are working with the Parks Department to conduct a pilot program for the policy. Other panels took a similarly cautionary approach; in the mark of a forward-thinking movement, they highlighted the work that is yet to be done rather than merely celebrating the
growing success of the local food movement. A legislative aide for Alderman Joe Moore of the North Side’s 49th Ward discussed how likely agricultural issues are to pass under the radar when there is no ongoing conversation between aldermen and their agriculturally-minded residents; Brandon Johnson, former executive director of the Washington Park Consortium, spoke of the importance of viewing South Side farms not as individual projects, but as the beginnings of a strong, unified food network. The weekend concluded on Saturday with a Good Food Marketplace, several more speaker sessions, and, for those lucky enough to snag tickets, an urban farm bus tour, which made stops at South Side agricultural hubs Windy City Harvest, Growing Home, Growing Power, and the Plant.
To most Chicagoans, Devon Avenue is where you go for the most authentic Indian and Pakistani food in the city. As a Nigerian-American immigrant, I, too, long for a place where I can find food that reminds me of my mother’s kitchen, ignites my taste buds with a multitude of traditional spices, and helps me reconnect with my West African roots. Therefore, I’ve begun a quest to discover the best West African restaurants in Chicago and I’ve determined that the South Side is to Afro-Caribbean food as Devon is to South Asian food. There are numerous Afro-Caribbean restaurants to choose from on the South Side. Some of these places are so authentic that they can help homesick African immigrants like me forget our gut-wrenching nostalgia for home-cooked delicacies. While there are many to choose from, Yassa African Restaurant in Bronzeville—dubbed “Best Resurrection” in the Weekly’s 2015 Best of the South Side—is one of the best in the entire city. Although initially located on 79th Street, a catastrophic roof fire destroyed the original location in late 2014. When I thought Yassa was gone forever, I would cry myself to sleep at night, thinking about how much my taste buds would suffer without it. Yet with time comes ease and hope! The owners opened the doors of their new Bronzeville location in early 2015. Lucky for me, Yassa emerged from the flames bigger and better. In my opinion, this is a much more strategic location; it is more centrally located, making it accessible to more foodies in search of terrific Senegalese cuisine. If you’ve never been to Yassa before, it’s quite the experience. As soon as you walk in the door, you’re greeted by bright pieces of West African art adorning the walls. There’s everything from statues and masks that are usually associated with the Yoruba ethnic group to a massive African map that proclaims “Welcome to Yassa” and “You Are What You Eat And Drink.” And if the decorations don’t already alert you to the fact that you’re in an African restaurant, the sounds of French, Wolof, Yoruba, and other West African languages definitely will. But the best part of the Yassa experience is the food. Sadly, sometimes you have to wait for what seems like an eternity for your food—so don’t arrive too hungry. I get so hungry waiting sometimes that I unconsciously start glaring at others in the restaurant, jealous that they already have their food. If you ever wanted to see what your “hangry” (hungry + angry) face looks like, you may discover it while waiting for your mouthwatering meal at Yassa. Fortunately for me, Yassa makes all kinds of West African favorites: everything from jollof rice (tomato-flavored rice) and fried plantains to the lesser-known dishes such as Tiebu Djeun (fried fish stuffed with parsley) and more. The portions are extremely generous, and the price will leave a huge smile on your face and even make you want to order seconds. That is, if you’re not already in a food coma from your first round. AK Agunbiade is a Nigerian American who grew up in the Midwest. He currently lives in Hyde Park, where he is finishing up medical school. In addition, he’s a stand up comedian and maintains a fashion and lifestyle blog at slightlyrefined.com. Follow him on Twitter: @AKagunbiade88 and catch AK’s column every fourth week of the month.
MARCH 30, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 13
BULLETIN Donation from Englewood to Flint Make a monetary donation to: Teamwork Englewood, 815 W. 63rd St., 2nd Fl. c/o From Englewood to Flint. For item drop-off locations see: bit. ly/1VQ5zhT. Donations open until Saturday, April 23. (773) 488-6600. englewoodportal.org Multiple organizations in Englewood are calling for action to help vulnerable residents suffering from the public health crisis in Flint. They aim to provide basic care kits, water and monetary aid. Refer to the website for the list of items needed. (Yunhan Wen)
The State of the Left in Europe University of Chicago, Bartlett Lounge, 5640 S. University Ave. Thursday, March 31, 2pm. The Platypus Affiliated Society is hosting a panel discussing the political mobilization of leftists entering parliamentary politics in Europe as a result of continuous social crises. The panel includes experts in academia, politics, art and social service from Austria, Germany and the U.K. (Yunhan Wen)
The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation
A concern with race and a concern with class are sometimes presented as contradictory. Academic and activist Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor suggests instead that class power cannot be unsettled until racial hierarchies are demolished; at this event she will advance her understanding of the modern moment in black liberation. (Adam Thorp)
VISUAL ARTS New Exhibits at the National Museum of Mexican Art National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. 1pm–5pm, Tuesday-Sunday. Free. (312) 7381503. nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org The National Museum of Mexican Art introduces four new temporary exhibits this March. Estampas de la Raza surveys the contributions of Mexican American Artists from post-1960 American printmaking. “Contemplations” examines the work of minimalist artist Dan Ramirez. “Brown Brilliance Darkness Matter” explores the work of Maria Gaspar and “Traveling Minds” is an installation by Victoria Martinez. (Bilal Othman)
Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Studio open Wednesdays, March 30–April 13, 4pm–7pm. Free. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org
In 1963, James Baldwin described “the South Side—a million in captivity—stretching from this doorstep as far as the eye could see.” It’s a description which Natalie Moore might argue still captures the reality of Chicago today. At this event, she will unfurl her history of what remains one of America’s most segregated cities. (Adam Thorp)
As humans, we owe a great deal to fermentation: yogurt, alcohol, bread. To be added to this list is the work of Puerto Rican artist Michelle Nonó, who explores the “intersection between performance and agriculture” with living mediums like yeast. Not to be missed by anyone with an interest in art, or metabolic processes. (Christopher Good)
Volunteer for MBoutique 2016
Julietta Cheung: Prospects
De La Salle Institute, 3434 S. Michigan Ave. Saturday, April 2, 7am–5pm. Register at bit. ly/1SqZINc. (773) 285-5800. metroboard.org
Ballroom Projects, 3012 S. Archer Ave. apt. 3. Opening reception Saturday, April 2, 7pm–10pm. Open by appointment through April 23. Free. ballroomprojects.tumblr.com
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. Wednesday, April 6, 7pm–8:30pm. Free. Register in advance at bit.ly/25p2EBc. (773) 583-7884. haymarketbooks.org 14 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
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Chicago, a city that has historically championed Latino visual art, now continues that long and rich tradition by hosting the fifth biennial Latino Art Now! Conference. Artists, critics, educators, directors, and art enthusiasts come together to discuss, debate, and examine the state of U.S.-Latino art. (Bilal Othman)
The Bridge Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave. Opening reception Tuesday, April 12, 5:30pm–8:30pm. Through March 19. Monday-Saturday, 8am–5pm; Sunday 8am–4pm. Free. (773) 702-2100. This exhibition crosses borders, creeds, and cultures in an effort to unearth the structures that connect and support those on any side. Forty-seven self-identifying Arab, Persian, and Jewish contemporary artists come together to bridge the ocean in this traveling exhibition, carrying with them a message of intercultural and inter-religious harmony. (Corinne Butta)
MUSIC
Michelle Nonó Open Studio Hours
International House, 1414 E. 59th St. Thursday, March 31, 6pm–7:30pm. Free. (773) 753-2270. ihouse.uchicago.edu
MBoutique is the Chicago Urban League’s annual event that provides free prom dresses, accessories, and advice for teenage girls around Chicagoland. Register any time before April 2 to volunteer; available roles include personal shopping assistant, dressing room attendant, and more. (Christian Belanger)
Thursday, April 7, 3pm. UIC Conference Center, 750 Halsted St.; Friday & Saturday, April 8-9, 9am–5pm. $50 General Public. $10 Student w/ID. Iuplr.uic.edu
Audacious multimedia artist Julietta Cheung will return to Ballroom Projects to commemorate the space’s third anniversary, and to continue negotiating the tension “between the self and society in a spatial context.” The exhibition’s press release promises plenty of syntactical homage and linguistic bricolage—food for thought if there ever was any. (Christopher Good)
Latino Art Now! Re-imagining Global Intersections Conference Chicago Cultural Center, 78 East Washington St.
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. Friday, April 1, doors 7:30pm, show 8:30pm. $20 general admission ($22 at the door). (312) 526-3851. thaliahallchicago.com Thao Nguyen knows the rules of genre and instrumentation well enough to break them. But the psychedelic palette her band deals in—punchy drums, elastic basslines, and earworm chants—is glued together by top-notch songwriting and a rock-solid live act. Perfect for foot-tapping and head-nodding. (Christopher Good)
Mobb Deep The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. West. Friday, April 8, doors 8pm, show 9pm. $22 general admission ($25 at the door), $35-$40 seats. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com It’s been a wild twenty-one years since Prodigy and Havoc changed the East Coast game with The Infamous. But with all hatchets buried in the 2014 comeback album The Infamous Mobb Deep, the powerhouse duo is back to stay. Tune in, drop out, and get “stuck off the realness” of two living legends. (Christopher Good)
Theophilus Reed Mo Better Jazz, 2423 E. 75th St. Friday, April 15,
doors and show 7pm. $10 suggested donation. All ages. (773) 741-6254. mobetterjazzchicago.us Join an evening of food, friends, and music at Mo Better Jazz Chicago. The skills of Chicago jazz veteran Theophilus Reed will be on full display as his years of experience help him guide his audience from Chicago jazz of the past to that of the present. (Kezie Nwachukwu)
Peter and the Test Tube Babies Reggie’s Rock Club, 2105 S. State St. Saturday, April 2, doors and show 8pm. $16 general admission. 18+. (312) 949-0120. reggieslive.com The music world’s British Invasion continues with the return of Peter and the Test Tube Babies, the punk rock band from Brighton, UK. Their humor and personal experience of youth continue to entertain today, just as much as they did thirty years ago. (Kezie Nwachukwu)
Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues Buddy Guy’s Legends, 700 S. Wabash St. Friday, April 1, 9pm. $21 general admission. 21+. (312) 427-1190. buddyguy.com Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues are giving Chicago an opportunity to experience some classic jazz. The Grammy-nominated jazz singer’s group functions not just as a part of Chicago’s deep well of musical heritage, but also brings their talents to modern audiences. (Chigozie Nwachukwu)
STAGE AND SCREEN The Set Speaks Propeller Fund Studios, 4th floor of Mana Contemporary at 2233 S. Throop St. Through March 31. Open Monday–Friday, 9am-5pm; Saturday, noon-5pm. Free. (312) 850-0555. acretv.org For ACRE TV’s new programming block, seven groups of artists will take turns broadcasting a nonstop camera feed from their studio. Falling halfway between the schlock of Big Brother and the avant-garde stylings of Hito Steyerl, the exhibition—which will be streamed live—promises to deliver everything from #newglobalmatriarchy to soap operas for two months straight. (Christopher Good)
Golub and Woman as Protagonist Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. Friday, April 1, 7pm. Free. (773) 702-8596. filmstudiescenter.uchicago.edu To commemorate and complement the Smart Museum’s exhibition, Monster Roster, filmmaker Gordon Quinn and UofC professor Judy
EVENTS
Hoffman will screen two documentaries on two respective artists. From the atavistic artwork of Leon Golub to the gender commentary of Nancy Spero, the two selections span nihilism, feminism, and every -ism in between. (Christopher Good)
Not Here Staged Reading Augustana Lutheran Church, 5500 S. Woodlawn Ave. Friday, April 1, 8pm. $5. (773) 753-2270. hydeparkcommunityplayers.org In this staged reading, the Hyde Park Community Players double down on their commitment to local theater by putting on a play written by Gerri Hudson, one of their first members. Participants will walk with the playwright’s direction through the story of seven women hiding for months in a bathroom during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. (Adam Thorp)
What’s Happening at Local 70? Kartemquin Films, 1901 W. Wellington Ave. Friday, April 1–Friday, April 8, 5pm. (773) 4724366. Streaming free at kartemquin.com This documentary captures a discussion between striking workers in Chicago about the conditions that led to their walk-out. The film served both as a retrospective look and a contemporary organizing tool, used to shore up support for the strike. (Adam Thorp)
Lose Nothing: An Evening with Kevin Jerome Everson Black Cinema House, 7200 S. Kimbark Ave. Friday, April 1, 7pm–9:30pm. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.org Not only is there nothing to lose by viewing a selection of new short film by media artist Kevin Jerome Everson, but there’s also much to gain: most notably, insight into Everson’s creative process from the Chicago premiere of his short Auditioning for Nathaniel and the discussion afterward with Indiana University professor Terri Francis. ( Julia Aizuss)
Our Lawndale Stories 3824 W. Ogden Ave. Saturday, April 2, 6:30pm– 9pm. $10 recommended donation. What do poet Ms. Claudia, pastor Rev. Steve, cartoonist Ms. Nicole, and former Farragut student Mr. Willie have in common? All four are long time residents of the 60623 zip code. Join them for a night of storytelling that will bring the Lawndale neighborhood’s history right into the present. (Corinne Butta)
Group 312 Film Screening Chicago Art Department, 1932 S. Halsted St. Sunday, April 3, 7:30pm–10pm. Free. (312) 7254223. chicagoartdepartment.org Watch a short film, bring a favorite music video, or present your own work: at Group 312’s monthly screening, hosted by Chicago Art Department resident artist Chuck Przybyl, anything goes. This time around, the theme is “Shame”—but the real shame would be missing out on this freeform celebration of cinema. (Christopher Good)
The Oxcart (or La Carreta) Staged Reading National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, 3015 W. Division St. Monday, April 4, 6:30pm. Free. (773) 753-4472. courttheatre.org Edward Torres directs a rendition of The Oxcart (or La Carreta) for the second installment of Court Theatre’s Spotlight Reading Series. Written by René Marqués, the play tracks a Puerto Rican family as they struggle to find a home. Their constant displacement offers a poignant look at belonging and constructing identity. (Chigozie Nwachukwu)
United Shades of America DuSable Museum, 740 E. 56th Pl. Thursday, April 7, doors 6:30pm. RSVP UnitedShadesChicago@ turner.com (773) 947-0600. dusablemuseum.org The perks of living near comedian—and Hyde Park resident—W. Kamau Bell? You get to watch the first episode of his new docuseries, “United Shades of America,” before it premieres a couple weeks later on CNN. After the screening, Bell will discuss how the show uses humor to explore race in communities nationwide. ( Julia Aizuss)
Long Day’s Journey Into Night Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. March 10–April 10. $38, discounts available for seniors, faculty, and students. (773) 753-4472. courttheatre.org David Auburn directs Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Join aging patriarch James Tyrone at his family home in Connecticut, and watch as the archetypal American dream unravels in the course of an evening. A riveting drama of a couple hours, this journey will no doubt also be long in memory. (Martin Awano)
MARCH 30, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 15
Art by Ginny TaulĂŠ
With support from: DePaul University Global Initiatives, Intercultural Programs Center, Center for Latino Research, Latin American Studies, Nuestra AmĂŠrica, Modern Languages, Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity