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Love is both the centerpiece and catalyst for me. It is necessary for my production and movement. Although I’m confronted at all sides by unrest, I’m also leaning into the power of love as a landing pad. Here are remnants of a lush Taurus season that helped console my achy heart.

💖🧚🏽‍♀️🥂🇵🇸💔👴🏾👯‍♀️🍽️💎☀️🫂🌕💙🍬🌸🌹

1. LAO
2. Wildflower picking with @shabez.j in Nola
3. Orange popsicle desert that reminded me of simpler days
4. Golden hour at McKinley Park
5. An anniversary dinner that celebrated love
6. My dad walking back to me on 75th street beach
7. Deep and thoughtful words by a friend
8. Dinner with my loves @bsa.gold, @saykedu and @alexandriaeregbu
9. LAO at 75th street beach
10. Taurus szn party for commencement that celebrated @brianaclearly, @duhlayshuh and @_kwame.azuregomez

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”I think jazz has been transmuted. Jazz has now become an art form that feels like it encapsulates a lot of people having access to that space when jazz was found typically in a Black space of conversation. I feel like it is a Black American musical practice and tradition, and it’s Black people talking to each other through sonic sounds.

"To me, Herman’s Lounge encapsulates that honoring and tradition of being in dialogue of transmuting and creating magic from the tools and sources that have already existed," says Janelle Miller (@sonicplum).

At the link in our bio, Janelle and collaborator Jared Brown (@jsbxse) speak to isra rene (@israrene) about the breadth of their recent work culminating in "Herman’s Lounge: A Night of Prose and Rhyme," a one-night-only jazz cabaret named in honor of the magician Black Herman.

•••

Images: [1] Polaroid self portraits of Janelle Miller and Jared Brown. Miller and Brown are both wearing black top hats and suits in a room with white walls. Miller is standing with her hands on her hips. Brown is seated on a black couch. [2] A vintage poster with all-black ink illustration printed on pamphlet paper promoting the talent and magic of Black Herman, who is sitting on top of a the world and holds the missing key to success, health and happiness. The image is from the cover of Black Herman’s Secrets of Magic-Mystery & Legerdemain, 1938. Images courtesy the artists.

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Tala is delighted to announce its inaugural program 💫

Join us Friday, April 12th 5-10PM at 1644 W. Chicago for Tala’s opening exhibition featuring:

ANG ZIQI ZHANG (@ang.z.z)
CHAVELI SIFRE (@chavelisifre)
CORRINE SLADE (@corrine.slade)
FARAH SALEM (@ferrah.s)
JASMINE HUAIMIN YEH (@chwiliwr)
ISRA RENE (@israrene)
KIAM MARCELO JUNIO (@iamkiam)
KUSHALA VORA (@kushalavora)
ROLAND KNOWLDEN (@rolandknow)
ROLAND SANTANA (@iii.____.iii)
NICOLE JI SOO KIM (@ni___jisu)
PIERRE-ALEXANDRE SAVRIACOUTY (@pa.savriacouty)

Accompany writing by: @israrene
DJ set by: @blesstonio
Flash star tattoos by: @yucky_soba

Cocktails by: @apologueliqueurs
Beer by: @pipeworksbrewing
Wine by: @__all_together_now__
Cake by: @camigrandjean
____

Tala’s inaugural atrium and library programs feature:

💫Atrium

ANGELO DOLOJAN (@dolojangelo)
CAMILO MEDINA (@camilo.m3dina)
CIERA ALYSE MCKISSICK-O’NEAL (@mister.ms)
CLAIRE SHIVAR (@claireshivar)
CAROLYN JUNGSUH RHEE (@garden.of.jung)
[jef]FREY MICHAEL AUSTIN (@jeffreymichaelaustin)
FOR US, DEAR (@for.us.dear)
GRACE ESTHER GITTELMAN (@lildogbigdreams)
GROSS GLASS (@gross.glass_)
JULIA ROURKE (@julia_rourke)
RAFAEL HUERTA (@allegory.of.spring)
SANTA CALATA (@santacalata)
SISTER APOTHECARY (@sisterapothecary)
SINEAD CLEARY (@sineadclearyceramics)
SOPHIA GUADALUPE (@theemotionoftheocean)
TATIANA SKY (@t.atianasky)
ZERNELL GILLIE FRAGRANCES (@zernell.gillie)

💫Library

CHUQUIMARCA (PERMANENT INSTALLATION) (@chuquimarca.artlibrary)
BALIKBAYAN WORLDWIDE
LOAN FROM CHRISTINA NAFZIGER (@foxinthecove)
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM SHARMAIN SIDDIQUI
CURATED FRIDGE BY MONDAY COFFEE (@drinkmondaycoffee)

Tala is located on a ground floor unit with ramp access. It’s bathroom is not ADA accessible. There is plenty of room to sit and lounge - please be mindful of those around you and enter the space with respect and intentionality.

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"I began this letter as a place to explore the belays of your work to your teaching practice, a burning question of dedication to education. I admire my initial vigor," writes @israrene to German-American artist and sculptor Ruth Duckworth.

But, "Gloria Anzaldúa reminds me 'You’re aiming not for a linear, logical structure of ideas but, instead, for an architectural body that supports and allows access to its innards.' And Ruth, you’ve shown me some ins and outs that aren’t necessarily congruent but importantly unified.

"I suppose that is the point. What will stay with me forever is the inherent vice of your public works. Each sculpture, though stout in build and presentation, has visible deterioration with whispers of entropy. Each one shows signs of weathering and survival, reflecting our collective temporal circularity."

Read isra's heartfelt letter to Ruth and review of the posthumous exhibition "Ruth Duckworth: Life as a Unity" at @smartmuseum at the link in out bio.

This article is presented by @sixtyinchesfromcenter in conjunction with @artdesignchicago, an initiative of @terraamericanart that seeks to expand narratives of American art with an emphasis on Chicago’s diverse and vibrant creative cultures and the stories they tell.

•••

Images: [1] Ruth Duckworth, Earth, Water, Sky, 1968 (detail). Multiple rings around a central circle. [2] isra rene and Imani Elizabeth Jackson standing in front of Ruth Duckworth, Sky Over Illinois, 1985. Two people stand in front of a large-scale work that has some texture on the surface. [3] Ruth Duckworth, Serenity, 2005. Green grass in the foreground partially covers a sculpture of two figures against a blue, cloudless sky. Photos by isra rene.

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The Chicago Curatorial Seminar held their first session this past Saturday, and we’re so happy to introduce the seven participants: Mariela Acuña, Inés Arango-Guingue, John H. Guevara, Dawn Johnson, Denny Mwaura, Isra Rene, and Paula Volpato! This eight-session program takes place through December 16, when participants will present the project proposals they have workshopped throughout the Seminar in partnership with individual mentors and one another. The group will also learn from innovative art professionals and enjoy site visits across Chicago at Rhona Hoffman Gallery with Julia Birka-White (@deepgems), Archive House with Barédu Ahmed, Edith Farnsworth House with Alberto Ortega (@albertortega_), and The Renaissance Society with Karsten Lund (@kwlund). Visit our website to learn more about the participants, and stay tuned for insights from these exciting sessions!⁣
#CuratorsIntl #ICISeminar #ChicagoArts
@rhonahoffmangallery @edithfarnsworthhouse @rensoc

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We are thrilled to announce that five of Sixty’s talented writers are participating in a new program with the Kentucky-based arts publication, UnderMain! With the goal of creating conversations about arts and culture in the Midwest and the near South, UnderMain’s program On the Road brings five of Sixty’s writers into various areas of Kentucky to explore the visual arts and produce new writings in response. Learn more at the link in our bio.

Alexander Martin (@xander9210) is an artist living and working in Peoria, IL. Co-Founder of @Project1612, an independent art space and short-term residency program. They make work dealing with the intersection of their queer and black identities.

Del O’Brien is a critic and historian based in St. Louis, MO.

isra rene (@israrene) is a curator of care weaving webs of dreams tufted by our inherent connections of love, vulnerability, and care.

Jen Torwudzo-Stroh (@magnificent.jen) is an arts and culture professional and freelance writer based in Chicago, IL.

Ariel Yisrael (@ariel_fled) is an Ohio-based freelance writer and poet with a mission to report the therapeutic value of the arts specifically for underrepresented members of a community. A recent graduate of Northern Kentucky University, she uses her experience in creative writing to explore topics of physical and mental health and wellness.

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