Tony Kushner Joins Chicago Humanities Festival's FALLFEST/17: BELIEF Lineup
By: BWW News Desk Sep. 06, 2017
Today, the Chicago Humanities Festival revealed its full line-up for the Fallfest/17: Belief.
New additions to the line-up including Tony-award winning playwright Tony Kushner, Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi, Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson, French philosopher and social critic Bernard-Henri Lévy, filmmaker Joe Swanberg, Obama Presidential Center architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, and Publican chef Paul Kahan.
Fallfest/17: Belief will kick-off with a live taping of Krista Tippett's On Being featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates on October 16. The Fallfest begins in earnest on Saturday, October 28 and continues through Sunday, November 12, during which nearly 100 programs will ask the people of Chicago to reflect on and consider the convictions and passions that shape our world. The festival will close on November 12th with a talk by Father Michael Pfleger of Saint Sabina's Parish about the relationship between religion and activism.
With a line-up featuring religious scholar and writer Reza Aslan, former Vice President Al Gore, former U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, astronaut Scott Kelly, and Jill Soloway, creator of the Emmy-award winning series Transparent, the festival is set to feature a wide variety of voices of today's most compelling voices as CHF approaches its 30th anniversary and celebrates its first festival with Alison Cuddy as Marilynn Thoma Artistic Director.
"We may live in a secular age but by no means have we escaped the turbulence of clashing beliefs. The recent violent defense of Confederate statues is just one extreme example of how far people will go to maintain their view of history and identity," Cuddy says. "Consider also how in flux the line between church and state remains in the United States."
"Belief is not all sturm and drang, however," Cuddy continues. "This fall our quest is to explore how beliefs can serve to divide or connect us. People seek to express spirituality in new ways, by designing cities that inspire contemplation or offering advice to budding activists through astrological readings. Our presenters - including some of our most profound religious thinkers and leaders of our day - bring visions of the present and lessons from the past, both dystopian and utopian. What better time to stop and consider with them what kind of future we want to believe in?"
New this year is an entire day of programming at the historic South Shore Cultural Centerin the South Shore neighborhood. Additional neighborhood programming days include an Evening in Bronzeville, and weekend days in Evanston on the campus of Northwestern University and in Hyde Park at the University of Chicago. CHF has partnered with The New York Times to host a panel on religion and the media featuring Chicago bureau chief Monica Davey, religion correspondent Laurie Goodstein, and columnist Frank Bruni as well as Interfaith Youth Core founder Eboo Patel.
Fallfest/17: Belief will feature a number of prominent novelists and writers, including Chicago Tribune Literary Award winner Marilynne Robinson (Gilead), Tribune Heartland Prize winners Colson Whitehead (The Underground Railroad) and Matthew Desmond (Evicted), Edwidge Danticat (Claire of the Sea Light), Claire Messud (The Woman Upstairs), Claire Vaye Watkins (Gold, Fame, Citrus), Erika L. Sanchez (I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter), Eve L. Ewing (Electric Arches), Jonathan Eig (Ali: A Life), and Pulitzer Prize-winner Garry Wills (Lincoln at Gettysburg).
Also, as part of recognizing the centennial celebration of Gwendolyn Brooks, CHF will host contributors to The Golden Shovel Anthology - a new collection of poems inspired by Brooks' work.
"At this moment in America's history we must consider what it is we truly believe. This fall the Chicago Humanities Festival will explore what it is we mean when we say belief-whether it's commitment to a religion, faith in our civic leaders, or the broader trust we all must share as a society," said Executive Director Phillip Bahar.
Prior to the Fallfest/17: Belief, CHF will present the North American debut of Pulitzer-Prize winning composer David Lang's crowd out, at Millennium Park on Sunday, October 1. crowd out will be the product of a nearly year-long collaboration and partnership with Illinois Humanities. To learn more about upcoming dress rehearsals this September for this citywide musical collaboration featuring 1000 voices, visit crowdoutchicago.org.
Tickets to Fallfest/17: Belief goes on sale to CHF members on Tuesday, September 19 at 10 a.m. Tickets go on sale to the general public one week later on Tuesday, September 26, also at 10 a.m. The Chicago Humanities Festival box office has a new phone number 312-605-8444. Tickets range from $5-$60.
For a full description of all CHF programs, venues, and times, visit tickets.chicagohumanities.org. A listing of all CHF events, beginning with crowd out and running through November 12, is included below.
All events in Chicago, IL (unless otherwise noted)
Sunday, October 1
Millennium Park Chase Promenade at Cloud Gate
201 E Randolph St
3-4 PM
Monday, October 9
Samantha Powers in conversation with Robin Wright
Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago Sanctuary
126 E Chestnut St
5:30-6:30PM
Monday, October 16
Live taping of Krista Tippett's On Being featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
5850 S Woodlawn Ave
7-8:15 PM
Saturday, October 28
(Morris and Dolores Kohl Kaplan Day at Northwestern University)
Marilynne Robinson in conversation with Heidi Stevens
Chicago Tribune Literary Award
Alice Millar Chapel
1870 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL
11AM-12PM
Alice Millar Chapel
1870 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL
1-2PM
600 Emerson St, Evanston, IL
Cahn Auditorium
1-2PM
McCormick Auditorium
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL
1-2PM
Emil Ferris in conversation with Damon Locks
Cahn Auditorium
600 Emerson St, Evanston, IL
3-4 PM
McCormick Auditorium
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL
3-4PM
Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art (Pick-Laudati Auditorium)
40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL
3-4PM
Cahn Auditorium
600 Emerson St, Evanston, IL
5-6PM
Debra Tolchinsky in conversation with Milos Stehlik
Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art (Pick-Laudati Auditorium)
40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL
5-6PM
Sunday, October 29
Al Gore in conversation with Alison Cuddy
Harris Theater
205 E Randolph St
12-1PM
Art Institute of Chicago (Rubloff Auditorium)
230 S Columbus Drive
2-3PM
Chicago Cultural Center (Claudia Cassidy Theater)
78 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602
2-3PM
Brooke Gladstone in conversation with Alison Cuddy
Chicago Athletic Association (Stagg Court)
12 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603
2-3PM
Chicago Cultural Center (Claudia Cassidy Theater)
78 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602
4-5PM
Chicago Athletic Association (Stagg Court)
12 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603
4-5PM
Monica Davey, Frank Bruni, Laurie Goodstein, and Eboo Patel
First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple
77 W Washington St, Chicago, IL
4-5PM
Art Institute of Chicago (Rubloff Auditorium)
230 S Columbus Dr
4:30-5:30PM
Christine Goerke in conversation with Colin Ure and Roger Pines
First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple
77 W Washington St, Chicago, IL
6-7PM
Monday, October 30
1st Ward Events at Chop Shop
2033 N North Ave
6-7PM
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (Thorne Auditorium)
375 E Chicago Ave
6-7PM
1st Ward Events at Chop Shop
2033 N North Ave
8-9PM
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (Thorne Auditorium)
375 E Chicago Ave
8-9PM
Wednesday, November 1
Ron Chernow and Jeremy McCarter
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (Thorne Auditorium)
375 E Chicago Ave
6-7PM
Friday, November 3 (An Evening in Bronzeville)
Brenda Cardenas, Reginald Gibbons, Janice Harrington, and Peter Kahn
436 E 47th St, Chicago, IL
Gallery Guichard
6-7PM
Peach's Restaurant
4652 S Martin Luther King Dr, Chicago, IL
6-7PM
Blanc Gallery
4445 S Martin Luther King Dr, Chicago, IL
6-7PM
Danez Smith in conversation with Eve L. Ewing
Gallery Guichard
436 E 47th St, Chicago, IL
8:30-9:30PM
Saturday, November 4
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (Thorne Auditorium)
375 E Chicago Ave
11AM-12PM
Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago (Buchanan Chapel at the Gratz Center)
126 E Chestnut St
11AM-12PM
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (Thorne Auditorium)
375 E Chicago Ave
1-2PM
Edwidge Danticat in conversation with Tracie Hall
Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago (Buchanan Chapel at the Gratz Center)
126 E Chestnut St
1-2PM
Poetry Foundation
61 W Superior St
1-2PM
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Edlis Neeson Theater)
220 E Chicago Ave
1-2:15 PM
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (Thorne Auditorium)
375 E Chicago Ave
3-4PM
Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago (Buchanan Chapel at the Gratz Center)
126 E Chestnut St
3-4PM
Poetry Foundation
61 W Superior St
3-4PM
Claire Vaye Watkins in conversation with Krista Franklin
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Edlis Neeson Theater)
220 E Chicago Ave
3:30-4:30PM
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (Thorne Auditorium)
375 E Chicago Ave
5-6PM
Marc Barmuthi Joseph and Roger Bonair-Agard
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Edlis Neeson Theater)
220 E Chicago Ave
6-7PM
Sunday, November 5 (Hyde Park Day)
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Performance Hall
915 E 60th St
12-1PM
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Performance Penthouse 901
915 E 60th St
12-1PM
International House (Assembly Hall)
1414 E 59th St
12-1PM
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Performance Hall
915 E 60th St
2-3PM
Chani Nicholas in conversation with adrienne maree brown
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Performance Penthouse 901
915 E 60th St
2-3PM
International House (Assembly Hall)
1414 E 59th St
2-3PM
Alan Alda and Edward O. Wilson
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
5850 S Woodlawn Ave
2-3PM
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Performance Hall
915 E 60th St
4-5PM
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Performance Penthouse 901
915 E 60th St
4-5PM
International House (Assembly Hall)
1414 E 59th St
4-5PM
Danielle Allen in conversation with Natalie Y. Moore
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
5850 S Woodlawn Ave
4-5PM
Monday, November 6
Flory Concert: My Spirit, My Song
Francis W. Parker School (Diane and David B Heller Auditorium)
2233 N Clark St
7:30 - 9PM
Wednesday, November 8
Francis W. Parker School (Diane and David B Heller Auditorium)
2233 N Clark St
6 - 7 PM
Scott Kelly in conversation with Peter Sagal
Francis W. Parker School (Diane and David B Heller Auditorium)
2233 N Clark St
8 - 9 PM
Thursday, November 9 (South Shore Evening)
South Shore Cultural Center (Paul Robeson Theatre)
7059 S South Shore Drive
6 - 7 PM
South Shore Cultural Center (Dining Room)
7059 S South Shore Drive
6 - 7 PM
Faye Driscoll's Play
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Edlis Neeson Theater)
7:30 - 8:45 PM
South Shore Cultural Center (Paul Robeson Theatre)
7059 S South Shore Drive
8 - 9 PM
Friday, November 10
Francis W. Parker School (Diane and David B Heller Auditorium)
2233 N Clark St
6 - 7 PM
Faye Driscoll's Play
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Edlis Neeson Theater)
220 E Chicago Ave
7:30 - 8:45 PM
Francis W. Parker School (Diane and David B Heller Auditorium)
2233 N Clark St
8 - 9 PM
Saturday, November 11
Tony Kushner and Jeremy McCarter
Art Institute of Chicago (Rubloff Auditorium)
230 S Columbus Dr
11 AM - 12 PM
Matthew Desmond in conversation with Bruce Dold
Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Non-Fiction
First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple
77 W Washington St
11 AM - 12 PM
Venue SIX10 (Feinberg Theater)
600 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL
11 AM - 12 PM
Art Institute of Chicago (Fullerton Hall)
111 S Michigan Ave
1 - 2 PM
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