The Legacy Project

Opening simultaneously with Lost German Chicago, is The Legacy Project. This exhibit in DANK-Haus's Scharbengerg Gallery will be part of Chicago Artists Month, a citywide event coordinated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The project features photographic portraits, as well as filmed and transcribed oral histories of German-born senior DANK members in the community. In preserving the stories of these individuals, the exhibition will allow a connection between their lives and those of younger DANK members and the public.

We have gotten a great response by our German-born senior DANK members, expressing interest in being part of this exhibition. The interviews have begun, and are being filmed by Paul.

This exhibition is an emotional and extremely valuable one, and we hope that you will attend the opening of The Legacy Project and Lost German Chicago on October 2, 2009 at 6pm!

Lost German Chicago

An evening out at Zum Deutschen Eck. A cold beer on a muggy Chicago summer day at The Bismark or later, Marigold Gardens. Picking up kuchen at Hopfner's bakery for your sister's birthday. Dinner dances at Germania Club. Your cousin's wedding at Math Iglers or Golden Ox. Pictures of your neighborhood block clubs during World War II.

The Archive Committee is developing our first in house exhibit "Lost German Chicago". Opening October 2, 2009, the exhibit will feature art, artifacts and memorabilia on what has been lost in the Chicago German community and display attempts of archiving and preserving that which has been entrusted to D.A.N.K. Highlights already include: installation of 30 feet of pristine wood carvings depicting Wagner's operas formerly installed in the Germania Club commissioned by the Oscar Mayer family, tables of Turner trophies, Hessen Verein standards, items from dozens of restaurants including the original Red Star Inn.

Do you have photos or other memorabilia from Chicago German establishments or restaurants that are now defunct? Postcards, ashtrays, matchbooks, coasters, napkins, invitations, menus. Do you have letters and family photographs of German life on the north and southside of Chicago? - do a little Frühling cleaning like a proper German and let the world see these treasures. Please donate or loan items to be part of our exhibit. We will gladly handle reproductions for you.

Come to DANK-Haus to celebrate the Grand opening reception of Lost German Chicago and our 50th Anniversary!!
Friday 2. October 2009, 6:00pm
4740 N. Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
773.561.9181

Midsummer Art Exhibition

The Bach & Beyond Midsummer event on Sunday, July 12 was a success! We heard the orchestra perform selections from Mendelssohn's famous incidental music, accompanied by narration from Dan Rodden and Barbara Zahora. In conjunction with this event is the ongoing related exhibition Midsummer.

The Scharpenberg Gallery at the DANK-Haus presents Midsummer. The exhibition features art from various European and American artists. These pieces are inspired by the works of Shakespeare, focusing on A Midsummer Night's Dream. Exhibitors include artists Cyd Smillie, Sally Swingewood, Laura Keeble, Michelle Izzard, Elaine Jones, Jill Arena, Amanda C. Cox, Ed Ott, Susan Barton and more. The exhibition will run July 12-September 19, 2009.

Art will available for purchase with 30% of the proceeds going to arts funding at the DANK-Haus.

Scharpenberg Gallery hours:
Wednesdays and Fridays, 2-5pm
Saturdays, 11-3 or by appt
Free and open to the public

American Aid Society Independence Day Picnic

The American Aid Society of German Descendants will hold its annual Independence Day Picnic on Saturday, July 4 at their picnic ground area in Lake Villa, Illinois. Enjoy goulasch, sausages and chicken with all the trimmings. The picnic will include a cultural program featuring local youth groups and a 40 piece brass band from Fornach, Austria.

When: Saturday, July 4

Gathering starts at 9am; food served at 11:30am; afternoon program at 1:30pm

Where: Picnic Ground Area, Lake Villa

Route 132, 1 mile west of 83, in Lake Villa IL, 60046

Cost: $3/person

Maifest Chicago

Come enjoy the 10 year anniversary of Maifest in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood! As always, there will be good German food, dancing and, of course, the traditional keg tapping. The event runs all weekend, so there is plenty of time to connect with your German heritage, or pretend to have some German heritage! Be sure to patronize the DANK Bar & Kitchen, located on the Lincoln Avenue side of the fest. All proceeds support art, language, music, dance, museum and library programming.

The festival runs May 28th-31st at the intersection of Lincoln and Leland Ave.

Thursday: 5pm-9:30pm "Rock the May Fest" Preview Party

Friday: 5pm-11pm (8pm Official Opening Ceremony, Traditional Keg Tapping and May Queen Crowning)

Saturday: 12pm to 11pm (Live Music, Entertainment & Open Mic)

Sunday: 12pm tp 10pm (Maypole Dance, Ethnic Program)

For more information, visit http://www.mayfestchicago.com/

SUPERMATRIX

The DANK-Haus' Scharpenberg Gallery presents the works of Eva Castringius' Supermatrix. The exhibition runs through May 30th.

Castringius explores the relationship of painting to photography through the interaction of various spaces. "Landscapes emerge as a projection screen for my visual concepts", says Castringius. "I'm interested in the combination of architecture and landscape, in the sense of a fusion of interior and exterior space. I create depth in the visual field, interweave various pictorial elements and counter solidity with fluidity."

Castringius has lived in Berlin since the early 1990s and was awarded the Villa Aurora scholarship in 2001. This period as an artist in residence shed a new light on her way of seeing things and prompted a definitive shift from small to large formats. Setting her sights on urban space in two major metropolises, Los Angeles and Berlin, the artist photographed famous locations at sunrise and sunset, including the harbor at Long Beach and the International Congress Center, now known as Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures), in Berlin. A signature mark of Castringius' projects is to discreetly insert a familiar object in each picture. The intention is to let the viewer to come up with the story behind each image. While at 18th Street, Castringius developed a series of large-scale paintings that further explored notions of space and architecture.

Scharpenberg Gallery hours:
Wednesday 2-5pm
Friday 2-5pm
Saturday 11-3pm