This summer, DePaul Art Museum hosted “Remaking the Exceptional,” a group exhibition curated by artist and activists Aaron Hughes and Amber Ginsburg that explored the similarities between survivors of torture at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and survivors of police torture in Chicago. This evening, Ginsburg and fellow activists celebrate the release of Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture, and Reparations Chicago to Guantánamo, a publication published in conjunction with the exhibition including reporting by journalists Kari Lydersen and Invisible Institute’s Maira Khwaja, writings by Aislinn Pulley (co-executive director of Chicago Torture Justice Center), and more. Ginsburg, Pulley, and Khwaja will be joined by poet and editor Tara Betts, artist Dorothy Burge, and others in readings from the publication and discussion of abolition, feminism, and freedom. The event is free to attend (reservations at Eventbrite are encouraged) and runs from 5:30-7 PM at the University of Chicago’s Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture (5733 S. University). (SCJ)
Interrobang Theatre Project and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble team up to present the world premiere of Emily Schwend’s A Mile in the Dark, which has its official opening tonight at 7 PM at Rivendell (5779 N. Ridge). The show is directed by Interrobang artistic director Georgette Verdin, whose profile has certainly been growing locally over the past year with several productions, including Teatro Vista’s production of Paloma Nozicka’s Enough to Let the Light In with Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival; Madison Fiedler’s Spay at Rivendell; and James Sherman’s Chagall in School with Grippo Stage Company. Playwright Schwend’s Utility was produced by Interrobang in 2019, also under Verdin’s direction. In her latest, a woman named Jess is left trying to figure out the reasons for the unexpected death of her stepmother, Carol, with “the hard truth sitting in plain sight.” It continues through 12/11 (Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 3 PM; also Mon 11/28 and Wed 12/7 8 PM; no shows Sat 11/19 or Thu 11/24). Tickets are $35, $25 seniors, and a limited number of pay-what-you-can tickets are available each show. Information and reservations at 773-334-7728 or rivendelltheatre.org. (KR)
Staying in wrapped up in blankets tonight? Scooch over toward your pile of quilts in the corner, grab the laptop, and learn a little about the world of art and history through the designs you see with the help of Quilt Nerd, aka Chicagoan Mary Fons. Quilt Nerd is Fons’s weekly online show, broadcast on Twitch and buoyed by regular Twitch and Facebook Live “co-working” sessions where quilters can chat together about process while watching Fons work. Fons covers quilt history, crafting knowledge and techniques, and centers the art of quilting in socio-economic history. Tonight’s free show starts at 7 PM. (SCJ)
Write Club is a live lit event that challenges local writers to perform in “literary bouts” around diverging topics, and tonight’s lineup features six scribes dealing in subjects that evoke the gray and cloudy days we are facing this November with the theme The Farm Upstate. At 7:30 PM, show up at Gman Tavern (3740 N. Clark) to watch writers Veronica Arreola, Amy Eaton, Elana Elyce, Will Sonheim, Ricky Harris, and Carly Lauren duke it out (with words, natch) with challenge words including “sunrise vs. sunset” and “collect vs. discard.” The event is hosted by accomplished storyteller and instructor Lily Be. It’s open to those 21+, and $20 tickets are available at Etix. (SCJ)
