ARTS & (HOME) ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Since being stuck inside, which shows have you been watching? Which movies? Have you read any good books lately? Any new music releases have you dancing in your living room? StreetWise vendors, readers and staff are sharing what is occupying their attention during this unprecedented time. To be featured in a future edition, send your recommendations of what to do at home and why you love them to Creative Director / Publisher Dave Hamilton at dhamilton@streetwise.org
Be Inspired!
A Simple Cotton Sack: A Conversation about African American Women, Trauma, and Resistance Harvard Professor Tiya Miles and Professor of English Megan Sweeney invite you to join the conversation on African American women past, present, and future. Their discussion will revolve around ways to overcome and address adversity and trauma while exploring the beauty, meaning, and love hidden within suffering and loss. Resilience, resistance, and reclamation are the name of the game as Miles and Sweeney unpack the history behind the historic and mysterious cotton bag known as Ashley’s sack (the inspiration behind Miles’ most recent book “All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake”). The conversation will be hosted by the Newberry Library and will take place from 6-7 p.m. February 3. The discussion is virtual. Registration is free and required in advance at Eventbrite.com.
Tap! Leap! Twirl!
Trinity Irish Dance Company Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day early this year by heading to the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B Wells Drive, to enjoy a raucous night of dancing, culture, and history produced by the Trinity Irish Dance Company. Witness the staggering heights these dancers can reach as they tap, leap, and twirl to a unique combination of traditional and modern styles and music. Designed to empower, the performance emphasizes the power and grace of their female dancers while embracing both its cultural roots and the many innovative twists and turns that keeps each performance just as lively as the next. Performance takes place February 5 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $38+ at trinityirishdancecompany.com.
Poetry a World Apart!
(HOME) ENTERTAINMENT
'COMMONground: A Collaboration with Poetry Ireland' On February 5, celebrate the hard hitting and heartfelt prose of Irish poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa (pictured) and American poet Teri Ellen Cross Davis for their first transatlantic reading event hosted by Poetry Foundation and Poetry Ireland. The reading will be followed by conversation, moderated by Erin Fornoff. The event will kick off with an in depth look into struggle, motherhood, and the difficulties of honoring the past while pursuing the future. Each will open up a conversation about the themes in their own recent works, and together, the two will create a space for approaching the differences between their distinctive experiences and cultures through the media of art and words. This virtual event takes place from 1-2 p.m. It will include live captioning and ASL interpretation. Registration is free on Eventbrite.
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Warm art in the cold air!
'Hello Helios: The Warming Suns of Chicago’s Greektown' With 24 sculptures inspired by Greek mythology and culture (as well as some Aztec, Yoruba, Japanese, and Native American touches), Greektown’s “Hello Helios!” invites you to warm up for the winter by celebrating the sun and light in this vibrant outdoor exhibit. The sculpture collection reflects traditional Greek mythology with modern and diverse sensibilities. All art is created by professional and emerging Chicago artists as well as seven different Chicagoland Greek schools. A map of the exhibit, sculpture titles and a brief description of each work can be found on greektownchicago.org. Artwork will line Halsted Street from Monroe to Van Buren through April 30. FREE.
