Chicago Reader

Olivia Zubko's first solo exhibition at Western Exhibitions, “Nymphaeum,” which opened September 17, includes ceramic sculptures that nod to myths, including a large basin for viewers to peer over and be confronted by stretching, fleshy sheet masks lining the bowl’s interior, like Narcissus’s own first moment of self-confrontation.

Read the full story at the link in bio.

✍️ Ally Fouts
📸 Rudy Lorejo (slide 1,3)

Dozzy's Ibekwe and Dozzy's Grill return to Monday Night Foodball with a tuberous menu in celebration of Iri Ji, the Igbo New Yam Festival. https://bit.ly/3Vzvgv8

Dozzy’s Grill yams it up at Monday Night Foodball Dozzy’s Ibekwe and Dozzy’s Grill return to Monday Night Foodball with a tuberous menu in celebration of Iri Ji, the Igbo New Yam Festival.

Explore the work of the queercore trailblazer with the ten-film series The Revolution Is My Boyfriend: The Films of Bruce LaBruce. https://bit.ly/3Vepzmj

A landmark Bruce LaBruce retrospective is coming to Facets - Chicago Reader Explore the work of the queercore trailblazer with the ten-film series The Revolution Is My Boyfriend: The Films of Bruce LaBruce.

Singer Maria Manow and producer Ike Clateman traffic in extremes. https://bit.ly/4z0BYJe

UK laptop-twee duo Bassvictim summon strange delights by going to opposite extremes - Chicago Reader Singer Maria Manow and producer Ike Clateman traffic in extremes.

The breadth of Wadada Leo Smith's activity is immense. https://bit.ly/4rvOayQ

Midwest free-improv trio collaborates with foundational figure Wadada Leo Smith - Chicago Reader The breadth of Wadada Leo Smith’s activity is immense.

This year marks the Pembroke Rodeo’s 50th anniversary. For half a century, a Black family from the midwest has built an event steeped in Black cowboy culture—a truer version of the American west than the one most people have been told.

You wouldn’t know it from Hollywood, but by most estimates, Black men made up close to a quarter of cattle-drive labor in the post-civil war American west, a share wildly out of proportion with their visibility in the myths manufactured by dime novels and Wild West shows.

“There’s Black [rodeo] world champions right now, but that doesn’t mean you would know about it. So, come on down to Pembroke and take a look,” says Mike Latting, whose father started the rodeo in 1964.

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/4yUiJkq

✍️ J. Patrick Patterson
📸 Davon Clark

Open House Chicago® returns this fall:

https://chicagoreader.com/city-life/open-house-chicago-returns-october-2026/?

Open House Chicago® returns this fall - Chicago Reader This fall, Chicago’s architecture takes center stage as Open House Chicago® returns

Life Out of Order is the sequel to Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife; intimate relationships are at the heart of this story. https://bit.ly/4ANNyJx

Audrey Niffenegger’s highly anticipated sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife - Chicago Reader Life Out of Order is the sequel to Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife; intimate relationships are at the heart of this story.

In 2023, DeCedrick A. Walker's cousin, 69-year-old Gale Stephens, died from a gunshot wound after someone opened fire at a gas station in Auburn Gresham.

In this Inside Voices column, Walker reflects on whether sentencing his cousin's killer to an extra 25 years in prison would bring his family the justice they need it to.

🗣️ This story is a part of Inside Voices, a series of first-person essays and reported pieces by writers impacted by the Illinois carceral system.

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3TktX2o

✍️ DeCedrick A. Walker
📸 Atlan Arceo-Witzl

The author and the star of A Streetcar Named Desire connect over one tumultuous evening in Gregg Ostrin's play, now at Lookingglass Theatre. https://bit.ly/4Avp874

Kowalski explores and explodes the myths of Tennessee Williams and Marlon Brando - Chicago Reader The author and the star of A Streetcar Named Desire connect over one tumultuous evening in Gregg Ostrin's play, now at Lookingglass Theatre.