Writer and journalist covering arts and culture. Take a look at some of my favorite published pieces.
2022 was a good year for Chicago movies. Here are eight for your watch list.
There’s always been something about When Harry Met Sally… that irks Peter Hawley.
Hawley, the deputy director of the Illinois Film Office, said there’s an inaccuracy in the 1989 film that only those familiar with Chicago would notice: driving directions that show the main characters near North Avenue on Lake Shore Drive even though they are supposedly leaving the Univers...
Four decades after his death, an influential Chicago soul man’s songs are coming back to life
When Eibur Stepney remembers her father, she hears the sounds of music being made in the basement studio of their South Side home.
Her father, the soul producer, arranger and songwriter Charles Stepney, would write arrangements by hand in that studio. Remembering her childhood, Eibur Stepney said, “the thing that I loved the most was just sometimes going to the bottom of...
Chicago’s Riverwalk finds its cultural groove this summer with more concerts, art
On a recent Sunday on Chicago’s Riverwalk, a few dozen people sat on red and yellow Adirondack lawn chairs listening to classically inspired pianists Shi-An Costello and Jonathan Hannau improvise.
A Chicago theater director takes on the Bard: ‘If we have to change a word, we will’
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most widely performed and recognizable works. Within it, audiences encounter a supernatural maze of interconnecting plot points, including a play within the play and a character who gets turned into a donkey.
For Chicago theater director Beth Wolf, A Midsummer Night’s Dream holds a special significance: It’s the play that...
Casa Zero in Los Angeles Celebrates the Wild Within
From paintings of fungi and bacteria on decorative tiles to a jellyfish chandelier hanging over the great room, nature is at every turn inside Casa Zero. Here, poetry and sustainability collide, paving your journey to the chlorophyl-inspired sofa.
Youth dancers take center stage in a new short film about the Bud Billiken Parade
WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter. Around 10 p.m. on a recent night in June, Wills Glasspiegel went to the Merchandise Mart to test run Billiken, a new eight-minute art film he co-directed with Shkunna Stewart, with animation by Brandon K. Calhoun.
‘Billiken,’ new short film about Chicago’s Bud Billiken Parade, spotlights parade’s young dancers
Around 10 p.m. on a recent night, Wills Glasspiegel went to the Merchandise Mart to test-run “Billiken,” a new, eight-minute art film he co-directed with Shkunna Stewart, with animation by Brandon K. Calhoun. He wasn’t preparing the film for a screening inside a theater. He was getting ready for something bigger, with the movie to be projected onto the mammoth, 340,000-square-foot facade of the Merchandise Mart.
A weird, wonderful beachfront variety show pays tribute to Chicago culture
On a blisteringly hot June morning inside the Edgewater arts nonprofit 6018North, the Chicago artist and dancer Hannah Santistevan grabbed a pink and red paint-splattered turntable record and began to gracefully move.
Posing for the camera, Santistevan hoisted the record high above her head and positioned it in such a way that it almost blended in with the backdrop: a ci...
Five Things to Do: February 11-13
Art, meet Lego. The Museum of Science and Industry debuts The Art of the Brick on February 10, an exhibit celebrating all things Lego. The exhibit features original artworks from contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya, in addition to his Lego recreations of famous art throughout history.
Here is your chance to support Chicago’s burgeoning Black entrepreneurs
Within a few months of launching The Signature Fit, a women’s fashion brand based out of Chicago, Kiara Lee and Darnyá Jamerson attended a large fashion trade show in Las Vegas.
Looking back, they realized the chance to connect with other entrepreneurs helped jumpstart their small business.
The WBEZ guide to the best free things to do this summer
Summer traditionally brings a long list of great stuff to do in the Chicago region. But this year, with inflation in the backdrop and COVID making planning a last-minute affair, we’re focused on what’s free. All summer long, WBEZ will be curating this list of recommended concerts, performances, art shows, neighborhood fests and other cultural highlights.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always Is Urgent and Focused
I keep thinking about the suitcase. Skylar (Talia Ryder) packs sweaters and a pair of jeans into an oversized travel bag (oversized, at least, for what is supposed to be a day-long trip). The next morning, Skylar and her cousin, Autumn (Sidney Flanigan), wake up when it’s still dark outside to board a bus from their hometown in rural Pennsylvania to New York City.
Top 10 Best Short Films from SXSW’s (Virtual) Program
Despite this year’s SXSW being canceled due to COVID-19, the Austin-based festival has found a way to share some of its films with the public, making the majority of the shorts program available online for free starting on Wednesday, March 25.
Belle and Sebastian Share New Collaborative Project Protecting The Hive
Belle and Sebastian have been keeping busy during self-isolation. The Scottish indie pop band has shared a two-part collaborative project called “Protecting The Hive,” which includes lyrics created and submitted by B&S fans.
10 Trends About the State of Independent Workers in America
There are many reasons why people might want to become independent workers or freelancers.