Rebellious echos the Christina Rossetti quote: “Spring is when life’s alive in everything” — especially the visual and performing arts on display in Chicago-area museums, galleries and theaters this April and May.
VISUAL ARTS
Themes of belonging and longing for homeland are highlighted in Catalyst: Im/migration and Self-Taught Art (opening May 23) at Chicago’s newly-renovated Intuit Art Museum. Organized by Intuit’s chief curator Alison Amick and independent curator and researcher Dana Boutin, Catalyst collectively features 75+ drawings, paintings, collages, sculptures, prints, textiles, ceramics, and more by 22 exhibiting artists. The show includes work by Americans from Belarus (Pauline Simon), Canada (Albina Felski), India (Pooja Pittie), Italy (Aldobrando “Aldo” Piacenza), Greece (Drossos P. Skyllas), Mexico (María Enríquez de Allen), Poland (Genya “Jennie” Siporin), and Turkey (Badaskhan “Betty” Zakoian). This inaugural exhibition is free of charge throughout Memorial Day weekend (May 23-26).
In celebration of 2025 EXPO Chicago (April 24-27), Intuit will host a sneak preview (April 25) of the Catalyst exhibition and its Grand (Re)Imagining Party and After Party (April 26). The museum will also unveil a multi-story public art installation by Chicago-based artist Bob Faust.
Berenice Abbott, Rosa Bonheur, Jean Cocteau, Florence Henri, Harriet Hosmer, Katsushika Hokusai, Frederic Leighton, Gustave Moreau, Glyn Philpot, John Singer Sargent, Egon Schiele, Henri de Toulouse-Laurec, and the Lumière Brothers are among the 125 artists represented in The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939 (May 2-July 26) at Wrightwood 659. Presented by Alphawood Exhibitions, the display showcases more than 300 paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints, photographs, and films from international museums and private collections. Occupying all three floors of Wrightwood’s Tadao Ando-designed building, the art in First Homosexuals ranges from rarely-seen works depicting gay content to portraits of celebrated lesbians such as Félix Vallotton’s “Gertrude Stein” (1907). “Before the coinage of the word ‘homosexual,’ same-sex desire marked something you did, not necessarily who you were,” explains art historian Professor Katz, who assembled the show with associate curator Johnny Willis.
In Wrightwood 659’s atrium, visitors can view an ancient Roman statue of the Greek goddess Athena. Since the 1st century C.E. piece was acquired by Halsted A&A Foundation, it’s been dubbed the Halsted Athena. “By displaying the sculpture at Wrightwood 659, the foundation invites the public to see a work which has been largely out of general public view for nearly three centuries. Now, scholars, students, and visitors will be able to study the statue of Athena closely and interpret it from many perspectives, including those of art history, restoration practices, and gender studies,” says Karen Manchester, Curator, Halsted A&A Foundation.
PERFORMING ARTS
The 40 years of leadership by Nan Giordano, daughter of jazz dance legend Gus Giordano, will be honored through movement via Giordano Dance Chicago’s Soaring: Life, Light, and Legacy at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance (April 4-5). The program includes the world premiere of “Sana” by Resident Choreographer Al Blackstone and “333” by Nan Giordano and Cesar G. Salinas. “The magnitude of love and support that I have received has been overwhelming, giving me the strength to find the light amidst the darkness…These performances are meant to celebrate life in all its forms and the enduring essence of joy, beauty and energy, all the trademarks of the Giordano core,” says Giordano Dance Chicago Artistic Director Nan Giordano.
On May 3, the Auditorium Theatre presents IN/WITHIN, an Evening with South Chicago Dance Theatre (SCDT) featuring world premieres choreographed by SCDT Founder & Director of Vision, and Strategy Kia S. Smith, and New York-based Guggenheim Award-winning choreographer Kate Weare. The program will also honor Frank Chaves with SCDT’s 5th Cultural Hero Award.
The historic venue will also open its doors for a special evening with Parsons Dance (April 12). Known for its athletics and artistry, the New York-based contemporary dance company will perform group and solo numbers set to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Grammy-Award winner Milton Nascimento, and others. “The last time Parsons Dance performed in Chicago was in 1995, and I’m incredibly excited about returning to this city whose great artistic legacy helped establish our company’s position in the dance community during its early years,” says Artistic Director David Parsons. “We are thrilled to present Parsons Dance in its triumphant return to Chicago,” adds Auditorium CEO Rich Regan. “Parsons’ unique blend of virtuosic, high-energy, and joyful dance creates such a fun atmosphere that must be experienced live.”
As part of its Echoes of the Street tour, The Doo Wop Project will bring its Broadway talent to Glen Ellyn’s McAninch Arts Center (MAC) for one night only (April 19). During the 90-minute show, the band will sing “Blue Moon,” “Sherry” and “My Girl” along with “doowopified” versions of pop songs by Taylor Swift and others. Ten days later, classical music will meet hip-hop, rock, R&B and bluegrass when Black Violin performs at the MAC (April 27). The duo’s Full Circle tour lets violinist Kevin Sylvester/Kev Marcus and violist Wilner Baptiste/Wil B partake in a free MAC Chat before the show.
Comedy, music and spelling come together in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (through April 27) as part of Paramount’s BOLD Series at the Copley Theatre in downtown Aurora. Thanks to the Aurora Women’s Empowerment Foundation, the Paramount Theatre received a $1 million gift to support its New Works department and the Paramount School of the Arts. “We’ve seen Paramount’s exemplary work and the undeniably positive impact they continue to have on Aurora,” observes Amy Baudouin, Board Chair, Aurora Women’s Empowerment Foundation. “With this grant, we’re excited to see how Paramount will elevate and empower the Aurora area and Aurora-area women in particular.”
The price of compassion is explored by Pulitzer Prize-winner and former Chicago-based playwright David Mamet in his new play Henry Johnson (April 8-May 4) at Victory Gardens Theater. Presented in association with Relentless Theatre Group, the Midwest premiere features Thomas Gibson of Criminal Minds.
“This is not your mama’s Dickens,” says director Mikael Burke, who is making his Shattered Globe debut staging Brendan Pelsue’s twist on the Dickens classic A Tale of Two Cities (April 18-May 31) at Theater Wit. The show features Demetra Dee, Daria Harper and Jazzma Pryor as well as Diego Vazquez Gomez, Glenn Obrero, Jeff Rodriguez, William Anthony Sebastian Rose II and Penelope Walker “In turns both hilarious and heart-rending, A Tale of Two Cities holds a striking mirror up to our world and makes us take a long look at the best and worst of ourselves,” continues Burke. “What Brendan has crafted here is something you must experience to believe, and I can’t wait to share this incredible and thrilling play with Chicago.”
