House Music: Chicago Testimony
An Oral History Podcast Series with DJ Lori Branch and Hannah Viti. Chicago house music built a world. Every story about Chicago house music starts somewhere different. A record, a […]
Category: Things
Scenes from City in a Garden
On Saturday, March 28, 2026 from 2-3:30 p.m. at Chicago’s MCA, several short films were shown, including Stephanie Coleman’s 1992 film, Having a Ball! with the House of Avant Garde. […]
Having a Ball! with the House of Avant Garde
Stephanie Coleman’s 1992 documentary includes amazing footage of ballroom performances. Established in the 1980s, the House of Avant-Garde was the first Chicago ballroom house. It served as a safe haven […]
Chicago Home of House Exhibit at O’Hare Airport
Travelers moving through O’Hare International Airport are being welcomed into Chicago by more than runways and terminals—they’re stepping directly into the city’s musical soul. The new “Chicago: Home of House” […]
This Moment is Our Proof
Poet Cornelius Eady Stuns Crowd at Mamdani’s Inauguration. On January 1, 2026 award-winning poet Cornelius Eady delivered a stirring poem titled “Proof” during the inauguration of New York City Mayor […]
Having a Ball at FLUXX
Bridging the past and present of our diverse our communities. The highlight of BAM’s FLUXX program was Having a Ball! with the House of Avant Garde (1992). The film stood […]
The Dream Defender’s Manifesto for Liberation
Dream Defenders is a Black-led, feminist, socialist, abolitionist, and internationalist political formation fighting for a world without prisons, police, capitalism, and imperialism. This bold group envisions communities where safety is […]
Black, Queer, & Untold: Reclaiming Erased Histories
A tribute to the incredible designers, artists, and people at the center of queer Black publishing. Jon Key’s Black, Queer, & Untold: A New Archive of Designers, Artists, and Trailblazers […]
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World Premiere of Jason and Shirley Revisited
A radical revisitation. In this world premiere, held on October 10, 2025 at BAM, director Stephen Winter revisits the ghosts of Jason Holliday and Shirley Clarke, unveiling new footage and […]
Chicago’s Legendary Club LaRay
One of the city’s most exciting, most creative Black queer dance clubs in the 1980s. Opened in 1986, Club LaRay was located at 3150 North Halsted in Chicago. The club, […]