The 5^th annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival will now be a full weekend of FREE jazz on Saturday and Sunday, September 24 and 25.  In only 4 years HyPa and the Hyde Park Jazz Society have created a very successful event for both jazz lovers and the musicians.  It is time to turn it into a full weekend celebration of jazz on Chicago’s south side.  On Saturday, as in previous Jazz Fests, the performances will be happening in the many creative and unexpected, indoor and outdoor arts and cultural venues throughout the Hyde Park neighborhood.  On Sunday all performances will be at the Midway on the James W. Wagner main stage.  This year the Midway stage, seating and vendor areas will all be expanded.  The complete Jazz Fest schedule is now available to at www.hydeparkjazzfestival.org.  So save the date and start making your plans for the last weekend of September and the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Chicago’s Culture Coast.

“WOW” is the general reaction of anyone walking down 53^rd Street, just west of the intersection at Harper Avenue in Hyde Park.  HyPa’s gift to you this holiday season … 8 amazing window art installations including everything from Obsidian glass creations to mixed media installations as well as a recreation of President Obama’s old barber shop – in its original location.

AHAN II Slide Show

October Art Here Art Now Video

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If gazing into windows that transport you and your imagination to new places is part of your holiday tradition, then look no further than 53^rd Street in Hyde Park.  After a very successful Art Here Art Now run in October, during Chicago Artists Month, HyPa sent out a new call for artists to participate in the window installations from 1452 to 1466 E. 53rd Street in Hyde Park.  After receiving dozens of proposals a jury selected seven new artists to transform the vacant storefronts into exhibition space.  The new installations will be on view through January 2011.

Art Here Art Now is a collaboration between HyPa (Hyde Park Alliance for Arts & Culture) and the University of Chicago.

In case you missed Round 1 of Art Here Art Now, or just want to revisit the storefronts, open studio and artists check out the AHAN video.

The reactivation of empty store fronts with public art changes the way people look at the neighborhood and integrates art with the community.  In Hyde Park on Chicago’s Culture Coast art is ALWAYS Here and Now.

With only 2 weeks left of Chicago Artist Month and Art Here Art Now … what are you waiting for?  Hundreds of people have been enjoying the artists’ window installations and open studio at 1452 to 1466 E. 53^rd Street.  The best views of the two window video pieces are during the dusk or evening hours.  And definitely drop in on the artists during the open studio on Saturday afternoons (between 1:00pm and 5:00pm) or any other time you see one of them working there and go in and talk directly to the artists about their work and creative process.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so take a moment to enjoy an Art Here Art Now video.

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by Wendy Parks

You may have noticed some pretty cool art that has taken up temporary residence right smack dab in the middle of the 53rd St. corridor, next to Starbucks, between Harper and Blackstone avenues.

In a stretch of four unused storefronts, there are now artistic displays, an interactive video, a large–scale showroom and a 20–minute short film. Each is designed to reflect a slice of life in Hyde Park.

Through the eyes of various local artists, HyPa, the Hyde Park Alliance for Arts & Culture, and the University of Chicago teamed up to bring eye–catching visual art to 53rd Street.

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Most of us have a fairly romantic view of the life of artists. The picture that comes to mind is often bohemian, carefree and set apart from society. But the actual life of artists is vastly different. Like anyone else whose job it is to produce – artists need space.

Enter Art Here Art Now…

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This summer, the Metropolitan Planning Council and Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) asked residents of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana to nominate their favorite undiscovered public places in the “What Makes Your Place Great? Your Secret Corner of Chicagoland” contest.

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By Josh Ellis, Associate, Metropolitan Planning Council

There are certainly other places I enjoy. I spend hours every weekend reading and swimming at Promontory Point, I stop most nights on my bike ride home to take in the night skyline on the 18th Street bridge, and there are a few others I prefer to remain undiscovered. But when it comes right down to it, many of the places I enjoy don’t attract enough other people to be labeled “public.”

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Recently CBS2 News posted the 10 Best Free Things to Do in Chicago and we congratulate HyPa’s own trio of FREE museums for making the list; Oriental Institute, Smart Museum and Renaissance Society. This is just the beginning! Chicago’s Culture Coast boasts 12 FREE arts and cultural venues for you to explore.  The price is right!  And all parking in University of Chicago parking lots and garages is free after 4 PM and on weekends. So, there is no excuse.  Check out HyPa’s 12 Free Places to visit in Hyde Park by clicking the link below.

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Nicole Mitchell at Little Black Pearl

by Shamontiel L. Vaughn

I am an accidental jazz lover. An ’80s baby, my favorite music was hip-hop and R&B exclusively, although I could handle some country. I grew up listening to music like Rakim, The Temptations, MC Lyte and Marvin Gaye, but I don’t recall ever bobbing my head to jazz. After I graduated from college, I noticed mediocre rhyming in hip-hop was increasing and R&B was turning into singing rap music. I became burnt out on the radio until I flipped to a Chicago jazz station and found out I could add jazz to my favorite genres of music.

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