Stories by Chloe Riley

The Art Institute's Head Curator of Contemporary Art James Rondeau will officially take over as president of the institution, the museum announced Thursday. The 46-year-old succeeds Douglas Druick, the museum's president since 2011 who announced his retirement in October.

The largest monetary donation in the history of the Art Institute of Chicago comes courtesy of Dorothy Braude Edinburg, a longtime patron of the museum who died last January at the age of 94.

As many sub-Saharan African countries gained independence throughout the 1960s, they experienced a burst of experimental architecture, marking a severance from once Colonial pasts. A new show chronicling those understudied architectural examples opens Friday via the Graham Foundation.

Just months after watching a Siegfried and Roy TV special, Jeanette Andrews, age 4, was performing magic for her class. Two years later, she staged her first paid gig. On Tuesday, Andrews, now 25, performs a show at the Museum of Contemporary Art which pairs illusions with each of the five senses.

We watch older performers in theater and musicals – why then do we see them less frequently represented in dance? That was the question dancer/choreographer Michelle Kranicke set out to answer with the aMID festival – a showcase of dancers and choreographers ranging in age from 25 to 75.   

Eat, dance and watch your way through the weekend. 

Wednesday marks Museum Selfie Day – the perfect marriage of learning and self-indulgence created by blogger and "Culture Snatcher" Mar Dixon as a way to get the masses packed into those cultural fonts of wisdom: museums. We take a look at 15 of the best selfies from local museums.

Sure, the museum's coal mine ride is fun, but does it also need to be accurate? We revisit the popular exhibit.

A show dedicated to the life of the barrier-breaking performance artist opens Saturday at Northwestern’s Block Museum. 

See all the boats, hang with Danny Tanner and hipster it up with the best of them. 

The former commissioner of Cultural Affairs died Wednesday night.  

This week the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum brings out some rare specimens from its vault and opens a new pop-up exhibit. 

A digital exhibit from the Chicago History Museum explores a found diary from 1894.

The Penn State astronomer will discuss his involvement in an astrological event from 2014 which many at the time speculated to be a sign of alien life. 

Laugh out loud at a comedy festival, get your craft on and take an architectural tour. 

Bridget Coughlin will replace current CEO Ted Beattie, who retires this year.

The Skokie museum designed by Chicago architect Stanley Tigerman is now offering architectural tours. Here's what you can expect.

A former employee of Chicago's Field Museum accused of stealing more than $900,000 from the museum pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to embezzling over $375,000.

Charlie Brown, robots, and mammoths – check 'em out before they disappear in 2016. 

Spots to ring in the New Year and a peek at what else is going on this weekend–including the final days of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

After being closed almost three months due to the state’s budget crisis, the Illinois State Museum has recently lost more staff members as it tiptoes ever closer to losing its accreditation in 2016.

Gift wrap, feasts and relaxation are probably on tap this weekend. But what to do after holiday festivities? Check out our picks to continue the party.

The scroll, which bears the seal of one of China's most famous painters, makes few appearances outside of its vault at the Field. 

This week's festive lineup includes movies, music and much, much more.

Caryn Benson, 38, of Romeoville, was charged on Tuesday by the federal government with one count of embezzlement, but records show a past theft charge.

A former museum employee allegedly pocketed more than $900,000 over a seven-year period before the theft was discovered. The former employee has yet to be formally charged.