With UChicago’s rigor being what it is, we often rely on the arts to bring joy and beauty to our overworked lives. Thankfully, between on-campus happenings like RSO events and University programming, and the global cultural center that is the City of Chicago, there is no shortage of arts and culture opportunities through which UChicago students may recharge and better themselves. Thus, the Maroon Arts & Culture staff presents our recommendations of things to do in arts & culture on-campus and around Chicago throughout the fall quarter.
CSO Chamber Music at Mandel Hall
As though we weren’t lucky enough that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)—one of the world’s best musical ensembles—has its home only a short train ride away from campus at Symphony Center, UChicago students also have the privilege of seeing CSO musicians perform on campus three times a year. UChicago Presents, our on-campus concert series, hosts members of the orchestra for chamber music concerts at Mandel Hall once per quarter, starting on October 11, when a CSO string sextet will perform works by Beethoven, Martinu, Schoenfield, and Brahms under the theme of gastromusicology. UChicago students can get tickets for as little as $14, though a number of free tickets are also available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Don’t miss the opportunity to see some of the best musicians in the world live!
Longer Than the Sky: Art of the Obama Years at the Logan Center
With the Obama Presidential Center having just opened its doors down the street in Jackson Park, the Logan Center commemorates the occasion with an expansive exhibition featuring roughly 40 works created during Barack Obama’s presidency by an intergenerational group of artists. Curated by Jenny Harris, a Ph.D. candidate in art history at UChicago, Longer Than the Sky brings together art works of varying styles, and takes its name from James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” which mirrors “the intermingling of optimism and despair that defined the period between 2008 and 2016.” The exhibit is a full circle moment: the architects who designed the Logan Center in 2012 were the same minds behind the newly opened Obama Center.
Longer Than the Sky is on display through October 11 at the Logan Center for the Arts.
Obama Presidential Center Garden and Library Events
The Obama Presidential Center is a 19.3-acre complex located in Jackson Park, less than half a mile from UChicago’s campus. Featuring a museum, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, an NBA-regulation-sized basketball court, a 299-seat auditorium, and various outdoor spaces, the center also holds many events open to the public.
The Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden is a 3,100-square-foot rooftop space that hosts activities centered around wellness, gardening, and creativity, from plant-based art workshops to conversations about sustainable food every other week.
The library features interactive media areas, quiet reading rooms and books to borrow, including a selection specifically curated around the Obama family’s favorites. The space also hosts a book club with hour-long discussions, comic book events, and art activities such as mixed-media sculpture. Chicago Public Library cards are free and come with access to additional resources and benefits, including free museum passes and other discounts.
Free events often require registration. For more information and to register visit: https://www.obama.org/whats-on/.
Joffrey Ballet
For those interested in dance, look no further than Joffrey Ballet. Founded in 1956 in New York City, the Joffrey Ballet moved to Chicago in 1995. Today, it’s one of the world’s premier dance companies. This season, Joffrey Ballet presents Liliom for the first time, a story that focuses on a man’s return to Earth after his death, as well as revivals of The Nutcracker, Notes on Love, and The Sleeping Beauty. Even better, it’s possible as a college or graduate student to see a Joffrey performance for only $20 per ticket. Two hours before any Joffrey show, students can purchase up to two tickets online; one hour before the show, discounted tickets are available in person at the box office. Simply enter the code JRUSH online and don’t forget to bring your student ID.
Hyde Park Art Center
The Art Center, founded in 1939, focuses on uplifting Chicago artists, with a special focus on minority groups. There are three exhibitions open this fall. The first is Jeff Carter: The Singer Pavillion Project, which centers 11 pieces across both visual and audio media. Carter focuses on using excavated materials from the former Michael Reese Hospital to tell the history of the building’s existence as a psychiatric institute and hospital. The next is The Teen: Exhibition: Off the Wall!, which highlights young Chicago artists and their relationship with the U.S. Finally, the exhibit Ground Floor focuses on Chicago’s most promising emerging talent from 20 artists that recently graduated from Chicagoland universities, including UChicago.
The Singer Pavillion Project is on view through September 20; The Teen is on view through October 11; and Ground Floor is on view through November 1.
Smart Museum
A campus mainstay for art lovers since 1974, this community-rooted museum offers free admission and a rotating collection of over 17,000 objects spanning diverse periods and regions. Beyond its thought-provoking exhibitions—which often feature Midwest debuts and retrospectives—the Smart is deeply connected to both Hyde Park and campus life.
For students, two programs are absolute musts. First, Art to Live With, a classic annual tradition that lets on-campus students borrow original artwork (including works by legends like Picasso, Miró, and Murakami) to display in their dorm rooms for the year. This is a popular event and the dates for the 26-27 event are yet to be announced. Second, on September 22, the Smart will open teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity, the major Midwest debut for the renowned Tokyo-based international art collective.
Steppenwolf Theatre
One of Chicago’s defining features is its powerhouse theater culture. From major Loop houses hosting Broadway tours to storefront theaters putting on experimental works, upwards of 100 shows can run on any given night in the city.
Right in Lincoln Park off the North/Clybourn Red Line station sits Steppenwolf Theatre, one of the premier ensemble theaters in the world. Steppenwolf has launched the careers of household names like John Malkovich and Tracy Letts, and birthed landmark Broadway transfers like August: Osage County and The Grapes of Wrath.
From September 17 to November 1, Steppenwolf will stage a must-see production of Suzan-Lori Parks’s classic Topdog/Underdog, directed by Tony Award–winner Kenny Leon and featuring Steppenwolf Artistic Director Glenn Davis. Steppenwolf offers $15 student tickets and half-price rush tickets.
World Music Festival
From September 25 through October 4, sounds from all over the world can be heard in Chicago. The 26th annual World Music Festival will host over 30 artists from 22 countries, with performances taking place at some of our city’s most iconic venues. Beloved sites like Navy Pier and Millennium Park will become the stage for all the world’s music, including traditional Indian dance, Congolese funk, and Bulgarian bagpipes.
This city-wide event is also completely free! To experience the offerings of global music, find an act on the festival schedule and be sure to grab a seat early.
Cochrane-Woods Art Center
You may have heard of the Smart Museum, but what about the mysterious building across the courtyard? The Cochrane-Woods Art Center (CWAC) contains multitudes that should not be overlooked: an extensive collection of images and objects, workshops, research support, and exciting exhibitions. Each month, its concrete walls display new work from students, faculty, and visiting artists alike.
Past shows have included everything from handmade textiles to giant sugar buttons. All exhibitions are free to the public during the building’s open hours (10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday). Take a walk through the long looping hallways, grab a coffee from the free machine upstairs, and enjoy all that CWAC has to offer!
ISAC Museum
The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures museum is a must-see for all students of the College. Founded in 1919, the Institute researches ancient West Asia and North Africa. A trip to the ISAC Museum treats visitors to a close look at the earliest days of humankind, alongside the history of the University’s seminal scholarship.
Be sure to swing by if you’re curious to explore the 5,000 artifacts on display, including a statue of king Tutankhamun that stands over 16 feet tall. In addition to standard fare, the museum also features special exhibitions such as Hartapu: The Forgotten King of Anatolia, which opens on September 17. Admission to the museum is always free for UChicago students, faculty, and staff.
Doc Films
This student-run cinema society is the oldest in the country, with roots tracing back to 1932.
As Vanity Fair described it in The Film Snob’s Dictionary Vol. 2, Doc is “[h]ard-core beyond words and lay comprehension, the society is populated by 19-year-olds who have already seen every film ever made.”
Film screenings occur every night in the Max Palevesky Cinema, located in Ida Noyes Hall, which boasts two 35mm, one 16mm, and one digital projector. Doc’s programming is frequent and undeniably eclectic. How? you might ask. A society of committed volunteers and a rule forbidding the same film to be shown more than once in four years. Tickets are $7 per film, while a quarter-long pass is $40 (that’s less than 50 cents a screening!).
