On the 7^th you will be surrounded by the antiquities of Mesopotamia and Egypt at the Oriental Institute and on the 12^th you will be in the heart of one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s prized Robie House. That is the magic of the Passport events – they are all in the unusual settings of the HyPa members.

Last month the Greg Spero Trio delighted the audience at the Robie House with a memorable evening of jazz. Following the event, Greg wrote HyPa an email and said that the, “love and appreciation in the room made it a spiritual evening for me and my band.” In addition, Greg was so taken by the experience that he donated a percentage of his CD sales to the Robie House!

So what are you waiting for … go pick up your Passport!

Did you know there is a thriving new opera company on the South Side? The February 2010 issue of Chicago Magazine highlights eight Chicago opera companies including the one year old  South Shore Opera Company which brings operatic talent to the South Shore Cultural Center and has a free performance on February 27, 2010 at 5:30 PM.

In the realm of the visual arts, the Chicago News Cooperative featured an article in the  New York Times about the  The Renaissance Society’s current show of striking photographs by  Anna  Shteynshleyger, documenting  her relationship to Orthodox Judaism.  The New York Times noted that Ms. Shteynshleyger’s work juxtaposes the realities of how “prickly self-protection can coexists with supreme vulnerability.”  Everyone can enjoy and learn from this exhibition.

Ever wonder what and where the “hippest place in Chicago on a Sunday night” is?  According to the Chicago Tribune is is Room 43 (named as such by Howard Reich, Jazz Critic, Chicago Tribune) home to the   Hyde Park Jazz Society’s weekly Sunday night jazz programming.

Finally, Chicago Magazine’s annual issue of the best new restaurants in 2009 recognized Hyde Park’s newest dining spot, Park 52 which features Jazz music as well as great food.

Come and explore all the incredible arts and cultural organizations on the near south side.  Check out the Plan your Visit page on our site for more information and click on any of the links to the more than 40 members of HyPa available under Arts & Culture to select your favorite things to do in Hyde Park.  Enjoy!

Irene Sherr
Executive Director, HyPa

Hyde Park is a unique area of arts and cultural organizations … so make 2010 your year to start experiencing and enjoying them.  As president of the HyPa (Hyde Park Alliance for Arts & Culture) Board I want to personally suggest adding another New Year’s resolution to your list – explore the extraordinary cultural offerings here in Hyde Park.

For years the arts and cultural organizations in this community worked to collaborate on promoting all the area had to offer.  In 2009 we finally made it official by creating HyPa.  Visit our new site often for calendar updates, links to all of the organizations and resources within the arts and cultural community and information on planning your next visit to Hyde Park.

One more New Year’s resolutions … plan to attend the 4^th Annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival on September 25, featuring 12 hours of free jazz brought to you by HyPa.

On behalf of the HyPa Board of Directors and all of your arts and culture friends around Hyde Park, we wish you a very happy, healthy and ARTSY New Year.

Sheryl Papier

President of HyPa Board of Directors
Vice President of Marketing and Communication
Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust

The Renaissance Society has exhibition posters, books, and limited edition objects by contemporary artists like Thomas Struth, Kara Walker, and Sol Lewitt. You can also shop online on their website.

The Renaissance Society
5811 South Ellis Avnue, 4^th floor
(The University of Chicago Cobb Hall)
Tuesday to Friday -  10am to 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday noon to 5pm.

The Oriental Institute has wonderful handmade crafts from the Middle East, such as a delicate handwoven scarves, and beautiful jewelry with semi-precious stones.

Oriental Institute Museum
1155 East 58th Street
Tuesday to Saturday -  10am to 6 pm, open until 8:30 on Wednesdays. Sundays noon to 6 pm.

The gift shop at the Smart Museum has great children’s books, beautiful stationary from India, and gorgeous handmade jewelry with woven gold and Murano glass beads, and the cafe has some of the best espresso in town.

The Smart Museum of Art
5550 S. Greenwood Avenue
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday -  8 am to 4 pm
Thursday -  8 am to 7:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday – 11 am to 4:30 pm

The Robie House has wonderful Frank Lloyd Wright designed items, like a silk scarf inspired by Machine Age Screen (c. 1934) and a bold mural design adapted in 1973 for use as wallpaper in the Biltmore Hotel (Phoenix, Arizona, 1927).

Robie House Museum Shop
5757 S. Woodlawn Avenue (enter through garage court on 58th street)
Thursday to Monday -  10 am to 5 pm.
Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays

The Little Black Pearl Art and Design Center has ceramics for sale. The glazes are beautiful, and each piece is unique. Bowls, mugs and plates in earth tones and brilliant reds are fabulous gifts.

Little Black Pearl Art and Design Center
1060 East 47th Street
Monday to Friday – 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday Closed

And while you’re at the Little Black Pearl, step next door to enjoy a sandwich at Hyde Park’s newest gourmet deli, Zaleski & Horvath Market Cafe. (1126 East 47th Street.)

Over 20,000 jazz fans … 13 music venues … over 150 of Chicago’s great jazz artists … 15 non-stop hours of music.

Do you measure success by comments?

“This is an amazing day,” said a visitor from New York City. “There is great jazz music being played everywhere you turn in this neighborhood. It is like a musical wonderland.”

Do you measure success by smiles, toes tapping, kids from 2 to 92 dancing?

Any way you look at it the 3rd annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 26 celebrated music and the Hyde Park community, proving once again that Chicago’s south side is the home to the city’s great tradition of jazz. Over 300 volunteers worked throughout the day and night to ensure that the musicians and audience members all enjoyed the event. “This is one of the best festivals around because you have such great musicians in one place,” said percussionist Ernie Adams about performing at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival. “When you play with people in your ‘neighborhood,’ there’s a certain connection there. It’s Chicagoans playing with each other. There’s some special creating going on. ”

The Hyde Park Jazz Festival concluded at the Midnight Jam session with a standing room only crowd and lines around the block waiting to listen to Dee Alexander hosting over 30 performers at the International House until 2:00a.m. Following the Jam Session, performers, Festival organizers and audience members continued celebrating with breakfast at Mellow Yellow on 53rd Street to keep the magic going until almost sunrise.

What more could you ask for? You could specifically ask … WHEN ARE YOU DOING IT AGAIN? And the answer would be:

September 25, 2010
SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 4th Annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival

The Hyde Park Jazz Festival is produced by HyPa — the Hyde Park Alliance for Arts and Culture, Hyde Park Jazz Society, and the University of Chicago.

And in the course of the story she confirmed what HyPa members have known all along … that visitors and residents of Hyde Park can enjoy a rich and full day of arts and cultural experiences that are world class in nature and in many cases are free and easy to get to and explore.

This is the essence of what HyPa is all about – promoting Chicago’s mid-South Side as one of Chicago’s premier cultural destinations. In Viera’s words:

Thanks largely to its now world-famous residents (not to mention, site-specific proposals for the 2016 Olympics that never were), Hyde Park has made its way onto the tips of tongues of folks who’d otherwise rarely consider visiting.

In all its ivy-clad glory, Chicago’s quintessentially collegiate neighborhood offers tons of arts and entertainment activities …Check out the full article and pass it along!

“The remarkable Hyde Park Jazz Festival took the next step in its swift evolution; transforming itself from a first-rate arts event into something of an institution … (Hyde Park) is a community celebrating its own artistic riches and doing so with obvious skill and finesse.” Read the complete Chicago Tribune Review.

Just seven miles south of downtown Chicago, the historic neighborhood of Hyde Park is home not only to President Obama and his family; it is also home to one of the nation’s greatest collections of cultural organizations. From museums and galleries to theater, music, dance, and architecture, Chicago’s mid-South Side buzzes with creative energy.

HyPa’s goals are simple. We want residents throughout the mid-South Side to know what’s happening in their own backyard. We plan to invite residents of the entire Chicago area to visit Hyde Park for a day or a weekend to enjoy the area’s rich variety of shows, exhibitions, tours, and classes. And we want tourists and art lovers from across the country to experience one of the nation’s finest cultural destinations.

More than 25 organizations and individuals worked hard to make HyPa a reality. With HyPa’s launch, arts and culture organizations at the University of Chicago and throughout the neighborhood can leverage our resources and enrich the visitor experience here in Hyde Park.

And that’s why we’re all hyped up about HyPa.

The Festival features performances by more than 100 jazz musicians, including Ari Brown, Von Freeman, Jon Faddis, Richie Cole, Ariyo Ariyoshi, Willie Pickens, Dee Alexander, and Orbert Davis. Performance settings range from ancient King Sargon’s palace reliefs at the Oriental Institute to Frank Lloyd Wright’s classic Robie House and the majestic Rockefeller Chapel.

The Festival kicks off at 11 a.m. with performances on the James Wagner Main Stage, located on the Midway Plaisance, and the DuSable Museum of African American History. The amazing Dee Alexander hosts a Midnight Jam at International House to close the festivities.

The Festival also features great food from Hyde Park restaurants and a wide variety of jazz-themed T-shirts, posters, maps, and many other jazzy treats.

Some venues have limited seating, so we recommend that you arrive early. And this year the Hyde Park Jazz Festival is excited to introduce the Jazz Pass. Jazz Festival contributors of $250 or more will receive a gift of two Jazz Passes that provide access to preferred seating areas at select venues.

The Jazz Festival is produced by HyPa, the Hyde Park Jazz Society and the University of Chicago. Learn more at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival’s website.