The Curators of Dixon School

Posted on 08. Aug, 2012 by citizen in Around Town

Public schools don’t have to be a minefield of metal detectors, minimal expectations, and mind-numbing routine. An alternative exists right here in Chicago, at the Dixon Elementary Public School in the Chatham neighborhood, where former principal Joan Crisler and her successor Sharon Dale have implemented the idea that art should be an integral part of the learning environment, with museum-quality works openly adorning the halls. The results, in terms of student performance and morale, have been spectacular, but, as this inspiring but pragmatic documentary demonstrates, there are no miracle solutions: Crisler’s protégé Carol Briggs has an uphill battle applying the same approach at another school, and recent budget cuts have left even the most successful programs vulnerable to the axe. Director Pamela Sherrod Anderson will be present for audience discussion at both screenings.

Date: August 12, 2012

Time: 3:00 p.m.

Location: Siskel Film Center 164 N. State St., Chicago

Cost: $11

Info: siskelfilmcenter.org‎

Salt-n-Pepa

By the late ’80s, hip-hop was on its way to becoming a male-dominated art form, which is what made the emergence of Salt-n-Pepa so significant.   Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandy “Pepa” Denton were working at a Sears store in Queens, New York, when their co-worker, and Salt’s boyfriend, Hurby “Luv Bug” Azor asked the duo to rap on a song he was producing for his audio production class at New York City’s Center for Media Arts. The trio wrote an answer to Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s “The Show,” entitling it “The Show Stopper.”

As the first all-female rap crew (even their DJs were women) of importance, the group broke down a number of doors for women in hip-hop. They were also one of the first rap artists to cross over into the pop mainstream, laying the groundwork for the music’s widespread acceptance in the early ’90s. Salt-n-Pepa were more pop-oriented than many of their contemporaries, since their songs were primarily party and love anthems, driven by big beats and interlaced with vaguely pro-feminist lyrics that seemed more powerful when delivered by the charismatic and sexy trio.

Date: August 17, 2012

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Country Club Hills Theatre, 4116 W. 183rd St.,  Country Club Hills

Cost: $25-75

Info: ticketmaster.com

175 Days to Love Chicago: Jackson Park

Situated along the lakefront on the city’s South Side, the 500-acre park was designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, and features lagoons and beaches, as well as a picturesque Japanese garden and even a golf course. Jackson Park may be most well-known, however, as the home of the Museum of Science and Industry, one of the world’s premier science museums and the Columbian Exposition’s only remaining building.

Date: August 15, 2012

Time: All day

Location: Jackson Park, 6401 S. Stony Island Ave.,  Chicago,

Cost: Free

Info: www.explorechicago.org

Wood Street Farm Stand

Growing Home’s Wood Street Farm Stand will sell USDA certified organic vegetables. Produce will include greens and summer vegetables, including carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant and more. This market accepts the LINK card.

Date: August 8, 2012

Time: 1:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Location: 5814 S. Wood St., Chicago

Cost: Free

Info: www.growinghomeinc.org

“The Language You Cry In”

The Language You Cry In tells an amazing scholarly detective story that searches for meaningful links between African Americans and their ancestral past. It bridges hundreds of years and thousands of miles from the Gullah people of present-day Georgia back to 18th century Sierra Leone. It recounts the even more remarkable saga of how African Americans have retained links with their African past through the horrors of the middle passage, slavery and segregation. “This is a story of memory, how the memory of a family was pieced together through a song with legendary powers to connect those who sang it with their roots.”

Date: August 12, 2012

Time: 2:00 p.m. -4:00 p.m.

Location: DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56^th Pl., Chicago

Cost: Free

Info: www.dusablemuseum.org