Chicago Design Museum, “Great Ideas of Humanity” / Photo: Mark Smalling, Office of Experience
1 Great Ideas of Humanity: Out of the Container (Chicago Design Museum, 108 North State, Third Floor) A design exhibition that looks into how the past helps us comprehend the present by redefining what “great” means, and reminding that great ideas can come from anywhere. (Through August 18)
2 Vintage Garage (5051 North Broadway) It’s all about circle skirts and leather jackets at this month’s Vintage Garage. The theme is Rockabilly and Tiki—two styles that blend to redefine your summer wardrobe. Get ready to dance to the oldies and shop like it’s the 1950s. (July 22, 10am-5pm, $5)
3 Arte Diseño Xicágo (National Museum of Mexican Art) An exhibition focusing on the influence of Mexican travelers, immigrants and artists in Chicago’s art and design scene through artifacts, photography and design objects, from the World’s Columbian Exposition to the Civil Rights era. (Through August 19)
4 The Astonishing Architecture Boat Tour (Summer of George at River City Marina, 900 South Wells) An architecture-filled cruise for the curious that gives the inside scoop into the city’s most famous landmarks, urban legends, hidden passages, criminal activity and unsolved mysteries, organized by Atlas Obscura and led by field agent and historian Adam Selzer. (July 12, 7:30–9:30pm, $35)
5 Wicker Park Fest (Milwaukee Avenue from North Avenue to Paulina Street) The neighborhood’s most anticipated summer event, featuring art installations, live music and a fashion show, amidst local small business vendors, delicious food and beer options, and fun for the entire family. (July 27-29: Friday 5-10pm, Saturday-Sunday 12pm-10pm, $10 donation)
Greek-born Vasia Rigou is a Chicago-based art critic and pop culture journalist, largely on the subjects of contemporary art, design, and fashion. She moved to Chicago in 2013 to study Arts Journalism at the School of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC,) where she was awarded the New Artist Society Merit Scholarship. She grew up to appreciate art after years of carefully planned, culture-filled travel itineraries and museum-hopping around Europe with her family. During this time, she received a bachelor’s in English Literature, in her native Athens; a master’s in Media, in Nottingham, UK; and studied foreign languages—English, German, and Spanish at the University of Salamanca, Spain. Her writing—reviewing museum exhibitions, gallery shows, art fairs, fashion shows, and music festivals among others—has been published nationally and internationally both in print and online. In 2017, she founded and now serves as editor-in-chief of Rainbowed.—an independently published website focused on the visual and performing arts, digital media, and popular culture. When she’s not writing about art or looking at art—wine in hand, she keeps up with Chicago’s creative entrepreneurial and startup community, makes lists for pretty much everything, drinks immense amounts of coffee and takes cross-country road trips every chance she gets.
