Dine-arounds
Sign-up sheets for Dine-arounds will be available at the registration desk.
Dine-arounds are a GIA conference tradition, designed to give GIA participants an authentic host city experience by exploring diverse neighborhoods and ethnic foods or visiting one of the city’s award-winning restaurants. Some options will include stops at nearby arts and cultural spaces or be hosted by one of our acclaimed artists. Each destination is easily accessible by foot, bus, cab, or subway. Average group size is 8-10 and each person is responsible for their individual dinner expenses.
Dine-arounds are “hosted” by a local funder who will coordinate restaurant reservations, identify arts event, select best transportation mode, etc. Attendees will sign up for a dine-around option at the conference. Dine-arounds are scheduled for Monday, October 18, 2010, 6:00pm-10:00pm.
Noon-O-Kabab and the Albany Park Theater Project
For participants interested in Arts Education and Art & Social Justice, experience an evening of food and theater in one of Chicago’s most global communities. We’ll enjoy dinner at Noon-O-Kabab, a terrific Persian restaurant. After our meal, the real Feast begins, with a performance at Albany Park Theater Project (www.aptpchicago.org), Chicago’s award-winning youth theater ensemble. In their critically acclaimed production, Feast, the cast of 21 teens brings to the stage stories of food and culture that they gathered from the kitchens, street carts, restaurants, butchers, fishermen, gardeners, and markets of their community. The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones calls Feast “remarkable…one of the best shows of its kind you’ll ever see,” and The Chicago Sun-Times’ Hedy Weiss writes that APTP consistently delivers “some of the most riveting and imaginative storytelling to be seen on any stage.”
Noon-O-Kabab
4661 North Kedzie Avenue
Average dinner is $15-$20
Tickets to Albany Park Theater Project performance is $15
Maximum number of guests: 15
Legacy Dinner, Goodman Theater with Bob Falls and Petterino’s
Tour of Goodman Theater with Bob Falls, Artistic Director of Goodman Theater. Mr. Falls has been the artistic director of Goodman since 1986. Two of his most highly acclaimed Broadway productions, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night (both starring his longtime collaborator Brian Dennehy), were honored with seven Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. His production of Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida for Walt Disney Theatricals ran on Broadway, as well as toured nationally and abroad. After the tour, join Falls for dinner at Petterino’s in Chicago’s exciting theatre district. Petterino’s offers prime steaks, fresh seafood, and classic specialties. This dine-around is hosted by the Joyce Foundation (Michelle Boone). Short cab ride from hotel or public transportation required.
Petterino’s
150 North Dearborn Street
Average dinner is $40, all major credit cards accepted
Maximum number of guests: 20
Marwen and Nacional 27
For participants interested in arts education, visit Marwen (www.marwen.org), an award-winning program that supports the development of Chicago’s under-served youth in grades 6-12 through free visual arts, college planning, and career preparation programs. Experience a tour and engage in conversation with artists Antonia Contro and Scott Lundius, the leadership of Marwen. After fueling your imagination, fuel your belly at Nacional 27, an award-winning Nuevo Latino restaurant. The name references the 27 countries that comprise Central and South America. These countries provide the inspiration for the food, wine and mixology. Salsa music and dancing after 9:00! Mondays are known as “Red Mondays,” with red wine going for $5.00/glass. This dine-around is hosted by 3Arts (Esther Grimm) and The Art Works Fund (Marcia Feston). Short walk or cab ride required.
Nacional 27
325 West Huron Street
Average dinner is $35, all major credit cards accepted
Maximum number of guests: 8
Andy’s Jazz Club
Walk down Michigan Avenue and have dinner at a legendary Chicago jazz club. Great entertainment and good food. You’ll see (and hear!) the Chicago Jazz Orchestra perform, Chicago’s band of choice for the greatest jazz musicians. The ensemble has performed with such artists as Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Nancy Wilson, Louie Bellson, Herbie Hancock, Jon Faddis, Kurt Elling, Jack McDuff, Kenny Burrell, and many more. Big band, big sound, big fun! This dine-around is hosted by The Boeing Company (Christy Uchida). Short walk from hotel. Club coverage charge is $10.
Andy’s Jazz Club
11 East Hubbard Street
Average dinner is $20
Maximum number of guests: 12
South Chicago Art Center in Pilsen and Nightwood
South Chicago Art Center (www.happyartcenter.org), a youth arts program located on Chicago’s far south side, will have a satellite gallery space in the historic Pilsen neighborhood this fall as a part of Chicago Artist Month (October). The space will have artwork on exhibition from the program. Guests will also be treated to an introduction to some of Pilsen’s unique architecture and learn about how one area has been transformed into a thriving arts district. Dinner will follow at Chicago foodies fave Nightwood. This dine-around is hosted by the Chicago Community Trust (Anita Alexander). Public transportation is required.
Nightwood
2119 South Halsted Street
Average dinner is $30
Maximum number of guests: 10
Chicago Art Loop Open and The Berghoff
Experience Chicago’s inaugural Art Loop Open (www.artloopopen.com), a groundbreaking event that mobilizes the general public to engage with art, artists and each other. Art stations displaying the works of artists are stationed all over the downtown area for visitors and residents to vote on their top pick. Multiple cash prizes will be awarded to artists receiving the most votes. Visit the “hub” of the program and learn how this innovative art prize program started and see some of the most stellar works on view. It’s a short bus ride down Michigan Avenue to Art Loop Open. After viewing the exhibition, we’ll head across the street for dinner at the Atwood Café. Located in an architectural landmark of the historic Reliance Building—it signaled the beginning of the “Chicago school” of architecture—the café offers diners contemporary interpretations of classic American cuisine, served in a richly decorated Art Deco atmosphere. This dine-around is hosted by The Chicago Community Trust (Suzanne Connor).
Atwood Café
1 West Washington Street
Average dinner is $30
Maximum number of guests: 12
Dinner only:
Billy Goat Tavern
Have a classic Chicago experience at the legendary Billy Goat Tavern. Do you recall the Saturday Night Live sketch in which a short order cooks (immortalized by John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray) would yell out to incoming patrons: “Cheezborger! Cheezborger! No fries, cheeps! No Pepsi, Coke!”? This is the real place! After dinner down in Chicago’s old-school underside (literally: Billy Goat’s is located beneath Michigan Avenue), we’ll walk across the river and go up to the Donnelley Foundation’s 26th-floor outdoor deck for a great view of Loop skyscrapers both classic and new. This dine-around is hosted by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation (Paul Botts). Walk from hotel or public transportation (quick bus ride down Michigan Avenue) required.
Billy Goat Tavern
430 N. Michigan Ave at Lower Level
Average meal is $10 (burgers, fries, etc.)
Maximum number of guests: 15
Café Iberico
Hot and cold tapas and sangria!. Short walk from the hotel or a very cheap cab ride. This dine-around is hosted by the Driehaus Foundation (Peter Handler). Short walk from hotel.
Café Iberico
737 N Lasalle Blvd.
Average meal is $25
Maximum number of guests: 10
Calypso Cafe
Good Caribbean food in President Obama’s neighborhood! Public transportation required. This dine-around is hosted by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (Michelle Bibbs).
Calypso Cafe
5211 S Harper Ave # C
Average meal is $25
Maximum number of guests: 10
Signature Room on the 95th Floor (John Hancock Center)
Located atop the John Hancock Center (steps away from conference hotel), the Signature Room at the 95th Floor offers diners exquisite food, superb service, and a dazzling skyline view. The floor-to-ceiling windows exhibit the stunning Chicago skyline and 360° degree views of the entire city. Located two blocks from hotel. This dine-around is hosted by the MacArthur Foundation (Deepa Gupta).
The Signature Room at the 95th Floor
875 N. Michigan Avenue
Average meal is $40 - $50
Maximum number of guests: 10
Chinatown
Enjoy an authentic Szechuan-style Chinese food dinner and bubble tea at Lao Sze Chuan. Time for sightseeing and shopping in Chicago’s historic Chinatown district afterwards! Easy El ride for all. This dine-around is hosted by the Graham Foundation (Stephanie Whitlock).
Lao Sze Chuan
2172 S Archer Avenue
Average meal is $15 - $20
Maximum number of guests: 10
GIA Knitting Circle: Rockaway Beach Booties for a Cause
Okay, all of you urban knitters. Here is a project that is easy to knit and small enough that one or—preferably a pair—can be finished while we are navigating the art of change together in Chicago. We invite the knit-happy among the GIA membership to spend time talking and working together, shoulder-to-shoulder—beginning with a casual chatty meal on Monday. We also like the idea that we, as GIA knitters, could produce a dozen or more beautiful booties to contribute to a Chicago charity by the time the conference closes on Wednesday. We'll bring supplies, But if you have at hand one skein of cashmerino, microfiber, or superwash wool to spare, and a pair of size-5 needles, toss them in your suitcase. Co-hosted by Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, Queens Council for the Arts and Frances Phillips, Walter and Elise Haas Fund. We'll start with a visit to Loopy Yarns, Chicago's premiere yarn store, 47 West Polk Street. Then we will walk to Bar Louie for a casual dinner.
Bar Louie
47 West Polk Street
Average dinner is $12
Maximum number of guests: 10
Pizza and a Movie with Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media
Join us for a GFEM dine-around featuring a screening of Thunder Soul, an inspiring documentary film that movingly underscores the power of arts education to transform individuals and entire communities. After the film, join us for a provocative discussion of arts, education, and community development lead by Nick Rabkin, research scientist and co-author of the book Putting the Arts in the Picture: Reframing Education in the 21st Century (Columbia College Chicago, 2004).
About the film Thunder Soul:
It was afros and pleated shirts; James Brown and Bootsy Collins. It was the ’70s, and an inner-city Houston high school was about to make history. Charismatic band leader, Conrad “Prof” Johnson would turn the school’s mediocre jazz band into a legendary funk powerhouse. 35 years later, his students prepare to pay tribute to the man who changed their lives, the 92-year-old Prof. Some haven’t played their horns in decades, still they dust off their instruments determined to retake the stage to show Prof and the world that they’ve still got it.
This dine-around will take place at the Westin in the Buckingham room.
Average meal is $10.
