3Arts

On Oct 1, Davóne Tines joins D-Composed for ROBESON: An Electro-Gospel Acid Trip at Harris Theater. The performance is a reimagination of Paul Robeson’s musical repertoire as the soundtrack to a fever dream in a Moscow hotel room. “The score is comprised exclusively of songs Roberson sang—across gospel, classical, Broadway, and folk music— but in new arrangements and interpretations that shape-shift and time-travel through styles and genres to fully explore the material’s connection to Tines’ own work and our time.”

ROBESOИ: An Electro-Gospel Acid Trip | Harris Theater For Press Contact 205 E. Randolph Chicago, IL, 60601 Box Office: 312.334.7777 [email protected] Non-Performance Days Monday – Friday: Noon to 5PM Saturday – Sunday: Closed Performance Days Monday – Friday: Noon to Curtain Saturday – Sunday: Two hours prior to performance until Cu...

We got a DCASE grant! We are happy to announce that 3Arts recently received a CityArts program grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events!

We are grateful to be in a city that understands the capacity of artists’ work to change us, move us, and make Chicago the city we know and love. Thank you to for supporting 3Arts.

Alt text: Image on a white background reading “WE GOT A GRANT! 2024 CityArts Program. , Chicagoculturalgrants.org.” The image includes the DCASE and City of Chicago logos.

Nicole Mitchell and Ballaké Sissoko recently released Bamako*Chicago Sound System, an album embodying “the African griot traditions of call and response, rooted in the Black Amerikan blues/jazz lineage.” The album includes Nicole’s “sweetly haunting” flute and Jovia’s “splashing” percussion. “Each instrument, from vocals to strings to wind to the percussive, merges into the other, while retaining distinction. It feels like a celebratory dance between new lovers, whose connection spans lifetimes—bridging romantic ties while affirming ancient ones.” The album is available for purchase on Bandcamp.

Bamako*Chicago Sound System, by Nicole Mitchell and Ballaké Sissoko 9 track album

Throwing it back alllll the way to 2014! Pictured are the 2014 Awardees: Sophia Nahli Allison, Brandi Berry Benson, Irina Botea Bucan, Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi, Darrell Jones, Carlos Mejia, Erica Mott, Samuel G. Roberson, Calamity West, and Amanda Williams.

Be a part of the joy at this year’s 3Arts Awards! Celebrate the new 3Arts awardees, Make a Wave awardees, and Next Level awardees on October 21. Purchase your tickets via the .

Through September 29, Norman W. Long: Calumet in Dub is on view at Illinois State University Galleries at Uptown Station. “Calumet in Dub bridges Long’s backgrounds in art, landscape architecture, and experimental audio with his interests in memory, environmental justice, and American history.”

Norman W. Long | University Galleries - Illinois State University Galleries of Illinois State University is pleased to present Norman W. Long: Calumet in Dub , from August 16 through September 30, 2024.

The correct revolution includes us building our own table.”— Tanya Saracho in “Tanya Saracho is Making Sure Latinos Have a Seat at the Writer Table” in TIME Magazine.
A hearty for Tanya Saracho, who was recently named one of TIME’s 2024 Latino Leaders! Tanya sat down with TIME to discuss the state of q***r Latino stories on television, creating work in the time of the Writers and Actors strike, and more. Read the full article via the .

Alt text: Image of Tanya. She wears a light jean colored shirt and looks at the camera pensively.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is seeking input on what artists and other cultural workers with disabilities need to create, learn, and perform in a safe, healthy, and productive environment through access accommodations, adjusted work schedules, adaptive equipment, accessible spaces, and other types of accommodations.

Join the NEA on Monday, September 30 from 3:30 – 5:00pm Eastern for this conversation and share your thoughts and ideas on the barriers, best practices, and ideal working environments for artists to do their best work. ASL and live captions will be provided, and people can submit comments in writing to [email protected].

Meeting Registration - Zoom

On September 28 and 29, cat mahari performs blk ark: the impossible manifestation for Chicago Performs at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. “blk ark: the impossible manifestation is an interactive performance and installation, with live, semi-improvisational sound, hip-hop, and film. By exploring improvisational and Black cultural strategies of play, learned from joanin’ and the soul clap, mahari presents modes of survival and liberation, revealing questions about what it will take to find freedom and map the road ahead for our collective futures.” Performances will take place on September 28 at 7:30pm and September 29 at 2:00pm in the Edlis Neeson Theater.

Chicago Performs | cat mahari, blk ark: the impossible manifestation - MCA Chicago cat mahari's latest work explores what it may take to find freedom and map the road ahead for our collective futures.

3Arts artist Jenny Kendler was recently featured in Hyperallergic for her new exhibition “Other of Pearl.” The exhibition centers “humanity’s relationship with oysters and whales,” and includes interactive and-blown glass instrument and pearl sculptures grown inside oysters.

Hyperallergic Fall 2024 New York Art Guide Your ultimate guide to this season’s major exhibitions and art events around the city.

On September 28, celebrating the hundredth anniversary of American writer James Baldwin’s birthday, avery r. young performs at the Hyde Park Art Center in collaboration with the Hyde Park Jazz Festival.

Hyde Park Jazz Festival: AVERY R. YOUNG & DE DEACON BOARD - Hyde Park Art Center Centenary Anniversary of James Baldwin’s Birth (born August 2, 1924) This program is a special collaboration with the Hyde Park Art Jazz Festival to honor the 100th anniversary of author […]

Excited to celebrate the 2024 3Arts Awardees? We’re just getting started!

Our 3Arts Award celebration on October 21 will announce ten Make a Wave Awardees who have been selected by past 3Arts Awardees to receive $2,000 surprise grants and our Next Level $50,000 award recipients, who are receiving a second award from our organization. We can’t wait to see you on October 21!

Alt text: Image with text reading “3Arts Awards, 26 Awards, $620K Awarded, 3 Performances. October 21,2024 Harris Theater for Music and Dance. 3arts.org/tickets.” An image at center shows 2023 Awardees celebrating at the end of the 2023 3Arts Awards.

Debuting on September 27, Bella BAHHS stars in The Lost Holliday, a film starring Jussie Smollett, Vivica A. Fox, and Cynthia Bailey. “When Cassandra Marshall learns that her estranged son, Damien Holliday has died, she heads to L.A. to handle his arrangements. She arrives to find that they’re being handled by her son’s husband, Jason Holliday, who she knows nothing about.” The movie will be available to watch at AMC theatres.

New Trailer For Jussie Smollett’s Film, ‘The Lost Holliday,’ Starring Vivica A. Fox And Cynthia Bailey WATCH: New Trailer For Jussie Smollett’s Film, ‘The Lost Holliday,’ Starring Vivica A. Fox And Cynthia Bailey

An iteration of Edra Soto’s “Graft” series will adorn the Doris C. Freedman Plaza in Central Park! Newcity sat down with the ever-moving artist to discuss the new home for her artwork, and the origins of the “Graft” series.

Central Park State of Mind: Edra Soto Puts the Home in Public Art Soto’s meteoric rise in the past decade can be attributed to the proliferation of her “Graft” series, which uses certain architectural motifs—wrought-iron gates called rejas and concrete fences known as quiebrasoles—that are ubiquitous in her birthplace, Puerto Rico. As of September 5, an ...

We are honored to see our very own Esther Grimm featured in Newcity’s Art 50 2024 among so many esteemed arts leaders. For 23 years, Esther has been a driving force in transforming the Chicago arts ecosystem. Her unwavering dedication, innovative spirit, and visionary leadership continue to inspire our work and elevate our community. for Esther!

Alt text: Image of Esther smiling at the camera. She wears a black shirt and pants, and sits with her arms off to the side.

Riva Lehrer’s “The Monster Studio” is open for viewing at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery through October 12. Programming for the exhibition includes a public portrait studio exploring how Riva’s collaborators “see themselves as actors rather than as the acted upon.” 3Arts Executive Director Esther Grimm will participate in the live portrait session on September 19 (12 to 3:30pm) and 3Arts artist Reveca Torres will participate on September 18 (12 to 3:30pm) and September 20 (12 to 3:30pm). Visit Zollaliebermangallery.com and read “Making monster theory and identity formation with q***r artist Riva Lehrer” in the Windy City Times for more information on the exhibition.

Talking monster theory and identity formation with q***r artist Riva Lehrer - Windy City Times “I find the idea and study of monsters very liberating. It’s a great way to unpack and understand my own experience through a very different lens.” –Riva Lehrer Best known for art focused on stigmatized bodies and gender representation, artist, writer, and disability activist Riva Lehrer’s...

On September 27, Robby Lee Williams and Ladonna Friedheim perform with MOMENTA Dance Academy for TEDx Chicago: Lighting the Way at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. TEDx Chicago “celebrates the city’s unique spirit and its history of fostering groundbreaking ideas and movements.” The day’s events include 9 TEDxChicago talks, 3 live performances, immersive pop-up galleries, and food and drinks.

TEDxChicago TED.com, home of TED Talks, is a global initiative about ideas worth spreading via TEDx, The Audacious Project, TED Books, TED Conferences, TED-Ed and more.

Opening September 20 (and continuing through October 27), Steep Theatre will present the world premiere of Omer Abbas Salem's play, Happy Days Are Here (Again), directed by Azar Kazemi. The play “examines man-made “divine” power, who wields it, and if they should be trusted.” This is a new commission by Steep Theatre that will be presented at Steppenwolf Theatre’s 1700 space.

Steep Theatre Described by Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune as "a Chicago company increasingly known for its uncompromising acting," Steep Theatre creates powerful productions of plays by today's most exciting writers and features the work of Chicago's hottest theatre artists in a beautiful, intimate

to the 2024 MAP Fund grantees! The MAP fund supports project development, provides unrestricted support to grantees, and a microgrant for the grantee to direct to a peer artist of their choice. 3Arts artists Meida McNeal of Honey Pot Performance and Andy Slater are among this year’s grantees. Honey Pot Performance “maps complex stories of Black humanity on Chicago’s Westside, exploring acts of memory pleasure, and ancestral connection.” Andy Slater’s project, Reviewing 43819.782 3.74-9 is “an interactive, immersive, and multisensory sound installation and performance where the actions or inactions of audience members in the waiting room inform parameters of the score in the performance room.”

Alt text: Two images reading “ .” The first image includes a photo of Andy Slater and the second is of Meida McNeal.

Debuting on September 25, Daniel Kyri stars as Darren Ritter in Chicago P.D. season 12. In the new season, “the Intelligence Unit continues to protect the city—and each other— at all costs. Led by the tough but fair Sergeant Hank Voight, the team is committed to seeking justice and cracking down on crime to make Chicago a safer place.”

Chicago P.D Season 12: Important updates on release date, cast and plot | Business Upturn Chicago P.D. has solidified itself as one of the most cherished police procedurals on television after 11 seasons. The t trio of Dick Wolf shows alongside Chicago Fire and Chicago Med form a powerful block on NBC’s TV lineup. It should come as no surprise that NBC renewed all three series and thei...

On September 21 and 22, Navy Pier hosts Chicago Live and DisFest. The two-day event features a performance by Kia Smith’s South Chicago Dance Theatre among other Chicago dance companies, and a celebration of artists and performers with disabilities during DisFest. DisFest features 3Arts artists Ladonna Freidheim, Reveca Torres, Robby Lee Williams, Ginger Lane, Kris Lenzo, Tommy Carroll, Tekki Lomnicki, and more.

Chicago Live! | Navy Pier Navy Pier's free two-day festival Chicago Live! returns September 21-22, showcasing the best of Chicago's arts and cultural organizations.

On September 20 and 21, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, where Stephanie Martinez is the founder and director, will present a 2-night-only performance series at the restored Studebaker Theatre at the Fine Arts Building. The series, entitled v. anthology, celebrates the company's fifth season and features a capsule collection of the company’s favorite and exclusive works by award-winning, nationally and internationally acclaimed choreographers Jennifer Archibald, Xavier Nuñez, Hélène Simoneau, Yin Yue, and Stephanie.

Support for P/M's Fifth Season / v. anthology / | Celebrating 5 years of Empowering Diverse Voices in Contemporary Ballet — PARA.MAR Dance Theatre The generosity of your support for / v. anthology / , empowers new voices in contemporary ballet for the future. Be the change with a tax-deductible contribution to PARA.MAR Dance Theatre’s official 501(c)(3) organization.

We couldn’t wait to share the news! Meet the ten new recipients of $30,000 unrestricted 3Arts Awards, who were selected through a nomination and jury panel process. Visit the to learn more about them and their work.

Come celebrate with us! The 3Arts Awards will be held on October 21, 2024 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. Purchase tickets at 3arts.org/tickets

3Arts extends special thanks to our Award Partners:

3Arts Award Partners: The Chandler Family, The HMS Fund, Stan Lipkin & Evelyn Appell Lipkin, The Reva & David Logan Foundation, Morrison-Shearer Foundation, and The Estate of Alison Zehr

Next Level Award Partners: An Anonymous Donor at the Chicago Community Foundation, Good Chaos, and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Make a Wave Partner: Family Foundation

Community Award Partner: MSUFCU

We also extend thanks to our Event Sponsors:
Presenting Partner: Allstate
Lead Partners: BCBS, Morningstar, Xfinity
Corporate Friends: Perkins Coie, Seeger Weiss

Alt text: Ten circular images arranged on a white background. Each photo features a 3Arts Awardee photoed in a "headshot" fashion.

On September 14, 3Arts artist Diana Solis is auctioning over 10 Piezographic prints as part of a two-person exhibition with Patric McCoy, entitled Just Below The Surface, opening at the Chicago Art Department 20th-anniversary Crystal Ball. The exhibition “aims to recontextualize Chicago’s LGBTQ history by uncovering lost and underground q***r spaces through the work of iconic Chicago organizers and cultural workers like Evette Cardona, Mona Norriega, Anthony Jackson, Jim Harvey, and Patric, among others.”

Proceeds from the auction will support both the artists and CAD's 20th-anniversary benefit, funding exhibitions, programs, and fully funded artist opportunities for 2025.

CAD Crystal Ball | 20th Anniversary Celebration & Fundraiser Chicago Art Department is turning 20! Help us celebrate two decades of civically-minded art and artists.