How to celebrate Black History Month across Chicago
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
From art to dance to comedy, here's how to celebrate Black History Month across Chicago.
- Catch this live 90-minute production celebrating Black joy through music and comedy sketches.
- Dates and times vary at The Second City in Old Town.
- Tickets start at $56.
🖌️ Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition
- There's still time to catch this show spotlighting African American art through paintings, drawings, sculptures and more!
- Through April 19 at Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park.
- Tickets start at $26.
- Hop on this bus tour for a history lesson through Black Chicago neighborhoods, led by Chicago historian Shermann "Dilla" Thomas.
- Times and tours vary.
- Tickets start at $45.
- Immerse yourself in the ways Black artists, writers and performers used to reshape themselves and culture in Paris.
- 10am-5pm Monday-Sunday at the DuSable Museum in Washington Park.
- Tickets start at $14. **Free every Wednesday!
⚖️ Injustice: The Trial for the Murder of Emmett Till
- Learn the history and the story behind the unjust killing of Emmett Till through photos of the young boy's early life and courtroom sketches of the trial of his killers.
- At the Chicago History Museum in Lincoln Park.
- Tickets start at $19.
🌍 Connecting Threads—Africa Fashion in Chicago
- Explore the intersection between African and Chicago culture and fashion at this vibrant exhibition.
- 9am-5pm through March 1 at the Field Museum on the Museum Campus.
- Tickets start at $21.
- Experience this musical honoring Black history through storytelling and dance.
- 5pm Saturday and Feb. 14 at Kennedy King College in Englewood.
- Free
✊🏾 Black Art Collectors: Preserving Our Legacy
- Explore this exhibition highlighting Black art collectors who preserve Black art.
- Noon Feb. 21 and 28 at the Aspire Center in South Austin.
- Free
🖼️ Rephrasis en Noir at the Black History Festival of the Arts
- Stop by this multi-gallery festival that features works from Black artists spanning the mediums of collage, photography and paintings.
What they're saying: "Each section of the work tells a different story that represents the totality of what it means to be Black, powerful and Black in America," Jennifer Hodges, a mixed media artist, tells Axios.
- Times vary through March 15 at Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport.
- Free
- Grab a paintbrush and a friend for this New Edition-inspired sip and paint night.
If you go: There will be light bites and music!
- 5pm Feb. 22 at the Art Center of Englewood.
- Tickets start at $40.
🎶 Black History Concert Series: Voices of Àṣẹ (Day One)
- Celebrate Africana music and its impact across the world at Uniting Voices' annual concert.
- 11am Feb. 24 at Auditorium Theatre in the Loop.
- Free
🎟️ My Best Friend Is Black Show
- Laugh at this all-Black variety comedy show featuring improv, games and music.
- March 26 and April 23 at the Lincoln Lodge in Logan Square.
- Tickets start at $13.