The Chicago History Museum celebrates the 10th anniversary of Out at CHM the program series dedicated to exploring Chicago through the lens of gender, sexuality and nonconformity. The year is kicked off with Fifty Shades of the Blues: Song, Soul and Sexuality on Thursday, January 31. The night will explore how blues vocalists brought gender fluidity to their music through suggestive lyrics and tongue-in-cheek performances and will feature presenters Sharon Bridgforth and Dr. Omi Osun Joni L. Jones and blues performance by Katherine Davis and her Trio.
In 2002, the museum set out to expand its focus on urban minority communities that have shaped the Chicago narrative. After a LGBT focus was identified, an advisory group with members of the museum and community was established to develop outreach in the form of public programing. With past program titles such as Art, AIDS, and Activism, Closets are for Clothes, and Chicago in Leather the series aimed to present topics that were relevant to LGBT communities but were also entertaining, eye-opening and informative for a wider Chicago audience.
In 2013, the series continues with three programs that explore Chicago as a dynamic crossroads of people and cultures. Fifty Shades of the Blues: Song, Soul and Sexuality will look back to the 1920s and 1930s when pioneering musicians like Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey used evocative lyrics and stage performance to express ideas about gender and sexuality that were seen as taboo. Sharon Bridgforth and Dr. Omi Osun Joni L. Jones will use conversation and live performance to consider how race, gender, and class played important roles in developing this complex musical movement. Cocktails, appetizers and live blues will take place 5:30—7:30 p.m. with the lecture program running 7:30—9 p.m.
The series continues on March 21 with From Chicago Out to the World: Advancing International LGBTQ Human Rights featuring speakers Sid Mohn and Lynette Jackson. Out at CHM ends its tenth year on May 16 with an event in celebration of the Museum’s upcoming exhibition Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair with the program Fierce & Fabulous: A New Look at the Ebony Fashion Fair featuring exhibition curator Joy Bivins.
For details on programs, events and exhibitions call 312.642.4600 or visit chicagohistory.org
The Chicago History Museum, a major museum and research center for Chicago and American history, is located at 1601 N. Clark Street. The Museum can be reached by CTA buses 11, 22, 36, 72, 73, 151, and 156. Parking is conveniently located one block north of the Museum at Clark and LaSalle Streets (enter on Stockton Drive). Admission to the Museum is $14 adults with audio tour, $12 seniors/students with audio tour, free for children 12 years and younger. Please call 312.642.4600 or visit us atwww.chicagohistory.org. The Chicago History Museum is affiliated with the Chicago Historical Society and is generously supported by the Chicago Park District on behalf of the citizens of Chicago.