From Blues Performances to a Spin on ‘Hamlet,’ Here Are 5 Things to See This Weekend

Woven, art by Frank Big Bear Walker. (Courtesy of The Block Museum) Woven, art by Frank Big Bear Walker. (Courtesy of The Block Museum)

Beat the January blahs with some blues — or a prize-winning play or an art show. In a few months when everyone is complaining about the heat, you’ll recall that time in the dead of winter when you bundled up and defied the season. Here are five things that promise to be so much more memorable than your couch:

Rare Work of Antiquity Debuts – Wrightwood 659

Meet Chicago’s newest goddess — a Roman sculpture from the first century that depicts the Greek goddess Athena. She’s been in England and out of public view for a couple of centuries, but thanks to the Halsted A&A Foundation, she has a new home and a lot more visibility. Be sure to visit the other galleries within the awe-inspiring spaces designed by architect Tadao Ando. On display starting Jan. 25

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“Fat Ham” – Goodman Theatre

This 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning play sets “Hamlet” at a Southern backyard barbecue, where a gay man wrestles with his identity while his father’s ghost urges him to avenge his death. Directed by Tyrone Phillips of Chicago’s Definition Theatre, the show finds a comedy of masculinity inside Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. Through March 2

“Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak/Chicagoland” – The Block Museum

A gorgeous new exhibition on the campus of Northwestern University celebrates Indigenous artists from the Great Lakes region and features 80 works by 33 people. The artists created “constellations” of their own artwork — a blend of the historical and the contemporary — that suggest the interwoven connections between the two. Opens Jan. 25

“Up to the Challenge: Art of the Great Depression and World War II” – Koehnline Museum of Art (Oakton College, Des Plaines)

The exhibition opened last month, but I’m just recommending it now because it took the USPS four weeks to deliver the press materials. The show presents themes of activism, social justice and the resilience of people. It’s a good opportunity to experience art by important but lesser-known local artists and also a chance to see cool paintings of an earlier Chicago. Through Feb. 7

“The Women of Chicago’s Black Renaissance” + “Southern Soul Celebration: Blues for the Soul” – The Logan Center

On Friday, Grammy-winning pianist Michelle Cann interprets the works of Florence Price, Margaret Bonds and other often overlooked composers. On Saturday, the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago hosts its first ever blues show: “Southern Soul Celebration” with Nellie “Tiger” Travis, Joe Barr and Theo Huff. Jan. 24 and 25, respectively


Marc Vitali is the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation Arts Correspondent.


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