DCASE Presents: Neighborhood Cultural Spotlight

Visit the Welcome Center off the Randolph Street (North) lobby and check out the current Neighborhood Cultural Spotlights (FKA CULTURE SNAPS) in the Welcome Center and then nominate your favorite neighborhood cultural asset!

Neighborhood Cultural Spotlight features people, places and things nominated by Chicagoans for their cultural contribution to their neighborhood’s vitality.

Neighborhood Cultural Spotlight celebrates cultural assets in Chicago’s varied and vibrant 77 community areas. Check out the features in this space and then visit them in person or online!

Dates/details below are when each Neighborhood Cultural Spotlight presents in the Welcome Center.

- Garfield Park

August 4, 5, 18 (Pony Tarot), 19 (Culture of Caretaking talk)

Chicago Rewilding Society celebrates West Side communities by amplifying wonder, delight, and a sense of magic through the explorative healing of human-animal connection. Collaborating with communities to expand understanding of the non-human world through discussions and curated experiences around caretaking and trust-building, CRS fosters flexibility when coming into contact with otherness and seeks to inspire urban families to greater connection with the natural world.

Chicago Rewilding Society utilizes therapeutic horseback riding, animal-assisted therapy, and experiential environmental studies. They use both scientific inquiry and artistic experimentation to explore the beauty & intricacy of nature, from internal anatomy to the environments in which we live.

Encountering animals in the city is inherently therapeutic. CRS believes through partnering with animals and the natural world we can better inhabit our own human bodies, encouraging us to humanely relate to ourselves, each other, and the world around us.

PONY TAROT

Want to invite synchronicity and magic into your life? Want to virtually ask a real life pony for insight and clarity? Chicago's very own divinitory pony, Clover, will be pulling tarot cards to be interpreted by his human apprentice. Keep in mind varying levels of cooperation from our wildling oracle; you can't force a muse.

- Garfield Park, Pilsen and Little Village

October 6, 7, 20 & 21

Son Monarcas is a Latin Folk Fusion ensemble led by Mercedes Inez and Irekani Ferreyra and comprised of musicians well-versed in the Afro-Mestizo genres of folk music from Latin America that blend the traditional with the contemporary by creating original arrangements of "son" while retaining the foundation of the traditional style. Like the Monarch Butterfly, they take you on a musical migration from the USA to Latin America by fusing indie soul with traditional son & cumbia.

Son Monarcas is committed to providing quality arts programming for students of all ages and backgrounds that focuses on cultural education through the arts, thus inspiring the next generation of arts audiences & practitioners. Teaching bilingual dynamic programs in a multitude of schools, Son Monarcas & Nahui Ollin are mindful of the State of Illinois Education Goals for Music, Dance, Visual Art, and Theatre.

Traditional and authentic Mexican music and dance presentations and education in community settings create a more meaningful connection to the music and the culture for our audience.

) - Washington Park

November 3, 4, 17 & 18

Ms. Brazhal Brewer is the Dance Director of Movement Strengthens Balance Dance Ensemble. MSB Dance Ensemble has an Elite performance team dedicated to sharing their talent across the Chicagoland area. Ms. Brazhal has been teaching dance to city youth since the age of 11 at many dance programs and after school programs.

MSB Dance Elite Performance Ensemble creates the opportunity for youth to use dance as an escape, a release, and to provide structure and balance in their lives. Ms. B uses dance as an outlet of expression and challenges young people to step outside of their box, and inspires them with her passion for teaching.

Their goal is to inspire their community with dance education, and focus on performance opportunities that will motivate, educate, and develop an appreciation of the fine arts.

Instagram @msb_dance_

- Disability Communities Across Chicago

December 1, 2, 15 & 16

The Chicago Inclusive Dance Festival/DisFest is an annual event focused on community building through inclusive dance. CIDF/DisFest features inclusive movement workshops alongside non-movement activities, such as short film and dance video viewings, academic presentations, discussions, and networking opportunities.

The festival connects this small community in meaningful and measurable ways by encouraging integrated, inclusive, and adaptive dance practitioners to dance together, to share their work, to collaborate, to discuss guidelines and procedures for best practices, and to network. The integrated and inclusive dance community has gained visibility in Chicagoland and the larger dance community through CIDF/DisFest.

They have sparked new art works and significant collaborations across Chicago neighborhoods and have grown the field of trained, disabled dance professionals in Chicago. Past participants have gone on to become celebrated Chicago dancers, dancemakers and dance teachers. The Chicago Inclusive Dance Festival/DisFest is a joyous event that is free, accessible, and open to the public.

- Belmont Cragin

April 5, 6, 19 & 20

Founded in 1989, Aguijón Theater Company is dedicated to creating exciting and meaningful theatrical experiences through the cultural exploration, discussion, and performance of works in Spanish.

As Chicago’s longest-running Latino theater, the company strives to foster, promote, and celebrate the diverse cultural excellence of the city’s Latino theater artists while challenging and inspiring its audiences to surmount language barriers and cross cultural boundaries.

Fiercely committed to ensuring that the arts are accessible in every Chicago neighborhood, Aguijón is especially dedicated to creating for and with the Belmont-Cragin community where the company has been rooted since 1999.

- South Shore

May 3, 4, 17 & 18

The 71st and Crandon Community Garden is located on the Southeast side of Chicago in the heart of South Shore, just blocks away from the South Shore Cultural Center.

The garden offers a safe and peaceful space for the community to gather for programs that help promote a sense of self-efficiency, connectedness, and wellness.

They seek to build community bonds and friendships that will expand across the generations by offering various free activities throughout the season. Programs include family fun days with arts and crafts, cooking demonstrations, yoga and gardening classes, as well as live music events.

GETTING HERE:

Public Transportation:

Take CTA to the Chicago Cultural Center

From the elevated lines: exit at Washington/Wabash and walk east.

From the subway: exit at Lake (Red Line) or Washington (Blue Line) and walk east.

Served by Michigan Avenue buses 3, 4, 19, 20, 26, 60, 66, 124, 143, 147, 151, 157 and Washington St. buses 4, J14, 20, 56, 66, 147.

For travel information, visit www.transitchicago.com. For fare information or to purchase fares in advance, visit www.ventrachicago.com.

Parking:

Nearby parking garages are located at Grant Park North Garage (25 N. Michigan Ave.), Grant Park South Garage (325 S. Michigan Ave.) and Millennium Park Garage & Millennium Lakeside Garage (5 S. Columbus Dr.).

Pay in person at each garage location or pre-pay online for discounted parking. Visit www.millenniumgarages.com/rates or call 312.616.0600 for 24/7 customer service.

Host or Publisher Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events