APRIL
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The Guild Complex’s tenth annual women writers conference, Click to Enter: Women and New Media, offers more than the usual mix of writing workshops and readings. Tonight at 7:30 poet Krista Franklin and cellist Alison Chesley will present a piece on Jimi Hendrix; they’ll be followed by performance artist Alexis O’Hara, who’ll use a loop pedal to incorporate recorded phrases and sound samples into her poetry. Finally, science fiction and fantasy writer Larissa Lai will read from her second novel, Salt Fish Girl, the tale of a young girl living in corporate-governed 2044. It’s at Catalyst Ranch, 656 W. Randolph in Chicago; tickets are $15 at the door, $10 for students. Saturday’s conference includes four hands-on workshops, including a session on “electronically enhanced storytelling” led by O’Hara and one on building a blog by Northwestern University librarian Claire Stewart. At the end of the day there’ll be a tour of the Illinois Institute of Technology campus led by IIT architecture students. The conference runs from 10 to 3:30 at IIT’s Paul V. Galvin Library, 35 W. 33rd in Chicago. Admission is $75 ($40 for students) or $85 for both the Friday performances and the conference. Call 773-227-6117 or see www.guildcomplex.com.
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Double Happiness: Asian-American Wedding Stories explores the evolution of Asian-American culture from the 1920s to today through the trappings of matrimony–including photos, clothing, and other objects. While recent immigrants often marry within their own cultures in traditional ceremonies, says exhibit curator Yuchia Chang, the second generation often embraces Western-style weddings, and the third generation goes all out in redefining nuptial events, from tinkering with various ethnic traditions to suit a bicultural marriage to celebrating same-sex unions. The show opens tonight with a reception from 5 to 7 at Columbia College’s C33 Gallery, 33 E. Congress in Chicago on the first floor, and will be up through April 30, when it’ll move to the Thompson Center for a brief run from May 3 to 7. It’s free; call 312-344-8213.
