Oasis is a site-specific sculptural installation fashioned out of discarded clothing to create a fantasy landscape.
Miami-based artist team Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz simulate a mini eco-system stylistically reminiscent of an impressionist painting, in which wearable items become brush strokes and juxtapose a variety of colors and textures to create a three dimensional representation of a vibrantly painted landscape.
In an effort to expand the opportunities available to its alumni artists, Marwen and Around the Coyote have partnered to present a month-long exhibition highlighting painters, photographers, installation artists and graffiti artists from Marwen's recent alumni.
Participating artists include Sadie Woods, Orlando Camacho, Ricardo Gamboa, Pater Pacheco, and Jennifer Lynn Hall. Marwen provides high quality visual arts education, college planning, and career development programs—all completely free of charge to Chicago’s under-served youth in grades 6-12.
Around the Coyote supports, promotes and makes accessible Chicago 's multidisciplinary arts community.
City Gallery hours: Monday – Saturday, 10 am – 6:30 pm, and Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Chicago Commission on Human Relations has commissioned world-renowned photographer Victor Skrebneski to photograph Chicago residents participating in the 2006 Gay Games Sports and Cultural Festival.
The exhibition will consist of black and white portraits of 14 Chicagoans by Skrebneski, reflecting the spectrum of events at Gay Games VII including athletes, dancers, and musicians. The 14 participants selected reflect Chicago’s communities as a whole and were chosen to reflect diversity within gender, race, ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Athletes include: Mark Byrne (rugby), Michael Cheatham (bowling), Marcus Dodd (volleyball), Andrea Fraley (tennis), Jeffrey Fersch (flag football), Mary Garrity (softball), Mia Horberg (soccer), Kyle Jackson (swimming), Drew Jemilo (triathlon), Virginia McGathey (golf), Laura Noah (cycling), Debbie Rijos (physique), Gina Stewart (softball), and Jeff Olson (physique).
For more information, call 312.742.0808 (TTY 312.744.2947), or visit Victor Skrebneski
The late Chicago Artist Joseph Conlon’s series “101 Talismans for a happy death” will be on display at Aron Packer Gallery. Conlon, who was HIV positive for over 20 years, created the work in the last five years of his life and passed away in 2005.
The word Talismans is defined as an amulet or charm; anything with almost magical power. With this idea in mind, 101 Talismans for a Happy Death can be viewed as the artists attempt to confront mortality using the talisman of his art. The 101 reference in the talismans project was inspired by the Japanese story of 1000 cranes about the story of the girl in Hiroshima, Japan who thought if she could fold 1000 paper cranes it would free her from the suffering brought to her by the Atomic Bomb.
Sound also plays into Conlon’s representation of death. The video images are accompanied by an abstract soundscape by Sally Station. The soundtrack compels you to breathe deeply and rhythmically. The measured soundtrack and repeated visuals suggest something more than the distancing of trauma-they suggest an acceptance of meditation on the cycle of life and death.
ELEGANT is a traveling USA exhibition of Duane Cramer’s photographic works. It includes black and white images of male and female nudes, architectural elements from around the globe and some recognizable international personalities.
All of the photographs displayed are limited edition 16”X20” silver gelatin prints that have been selenium toned. All prints are signed verso in pencil by the artist. Most images are available for sale.
Gay Games Online Art Gallery Sponsored by Around the Coyote
Host
Around the Coyote
Time
12 pm - 12 am
Location
www.aroundthecoyote.org
Address
www.aroundthecoyote.org
Event Description
Around the Coyote and the Gay Games have partnered to bring an online exhibition of fine art to an online art gallery to the myriad of events offered througout Chicago during the Gay Games.
The online exhibition features images from some of Chicago's best emerging sculptors, painters, printmakers and photographers along with images from artists from other parts of the world who come to Chicago for the Gay Games.
Around the Coyote is Chicago's preeminent emerging arts organization, now in its 18th year of programming.
Artwork from the online gallery can be seen in person at the 2006 Around the Coyote Fall Festival September 8-10 in Chicago's beautiful Wicker Park art neighborhood.
Cost
$0
Arts Festival Event
Chicago SummerDance
Host
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Chicago Office of Tourism
Time
6 pm - 10 pm
Location
Spirit of Music Garden
Address
601 S. Michigan Avenue
Event Description
Chicago SummerDance is an eleven-week festival featuring one-hour dance lessons by professional dance instructors, followed by two hours of live music and dancing, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening, 6 to 9:30 pm, and Sunday afternoon, 4 to 7 pm, weather-permitting.
Chicago SummerDance is formatted into themes featuring the DJ series of electronic dance music on Mondays and Wednesdays, world music ensembles on Thursdays, "popular nights" featuring jazz, Latin, country and funk on Fridays and Saturdays, and ballroon/big band on Sundays.
The Chicago SummerDance Nomadic DJ series continues for its third year, June 19-August 23, 2006. This roaming series
will now be held once a week at various downtown locations in the city, including Daley Plaza, Millennium Park, Grant Park and more.
Gay Games' Closing Ceremonies offer up a mixture of emotions. Marking the end of 8 days of competition, camaraderie and culture, for many the Closing Ceremony is a chance to say goodbye to new friends, offer promises of continued communication, and to celebrate participation and personal bests.
For Chicago's Host Committee, it marks the end of an exhausting but exhilarating week ensuring that our guests from around the world were safe, happy, and well-tended.
As we celebrate family and friendships, we also celebrate the continuation of the legacy of the Gay Games, with official protocol marking the transfer of the Gay Games Flag from Chicago to the host city of Gay Games VIII - Cologne, Germany, scheduled for 2010.
The DaVinci GayCode: 10 Years of Heresy - The Best of GayCo
Host
Time
7 pm - 9 pm
Location
Theatre Building Chicago
Address
1225 West Belmont Avenue
Event Description
Ten years of award-winning sketch comedy from GayCo Productions.
Born from Chicago’s famous Second City theater, GayCo mixes a homolarious cocktail of comedy and song as they dismantle gay marriage, gay panic and gay life in a post-Brokeback America.
No element of gay and lesbian life goes unscathed: The Queer-eye guys transform into pink-faced minstrels; Gay couples time-share a baby; A pair of lesbians mourn their lesbian death bed; A fag-hag support group spins out of control.
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through August 27th. Call Box Office for showtimes
From the opening number that introduces six naked singers with their (clothed) female cohort, to a beautifully sung finale that celebrates the human body in all its imperfections, BARENAKED LADS is an upbeat and engertic evening full of colorful characters.
We see a taping of the nude gourmet's TV show, and meet a Reverend who casts aside both sins and clothes in a grand revival scheme. We meet a married celebrating an anniversary on a nude beach Provincetown, a gonzo personal trainer on Montrose Beach, and a group of grade school children who get an unexpected lesson at the zoo. And we meet Troop Randolph, the glamorous 1930's Hollywood Star whose mansion and pool are overflowing with male beauty.
Mo'Nique, star of the tv sitcom 'The Parkers', host of 'Showtime at the Apollo', star of the new movie 'Phat Girlz', and one of the funniest women in comedy, returns to Chicago for the PRIDE comedy night.
As in years past, she brings with her 3 other comedians to make you laugh until it hurts. This year's show is special because it is the night of closing ceremonies. The madness starts at 8pm on Saturday July 22nd. Help us raise the roof of The Park West Theatre which is located in Chicago's beautiful Lincoln Park neighborhood.
The address is 322 West Armitage. Tix are $30 in advance / $35 at the door.
For ticket info: call John 773.779.2399 or email MadMan Productions: madmanproductions60628@yahoo.com
“Catching The Spirit: The Gay Games Experience” is an exhibition featuring memorabilia from the past six Gay Games, including the two official posters from the first Games in 1982 using the wording “Gay Olympic Games.” Also on display will be Signature Quilt Squares from past International Rainbow Memorial Runs.
From July 16 – 22, “Catching The Spirit” will showcase the United States Olympic Team jacket worn by Gay Games founder Dr. Tom Waddell at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. “Catching The Spirit” is an official affiliated event of Gay Games VII.
Gerber/Hart Library is located at 1127 West Granville Avenue, just a few steps from the CTA Red Line GRANVILLE stop.
Hours: Wednesday and Thursday 6:00–9:00 pm; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday noon–4:00 pm.
For more information, please call Gerber/Hart at 773-381-8030.
Cost
$0
Film Events
Film Event
Reeling at Gay Games VII—Beyond Conception/Pick Up the Mic
Host
Time
1 pm - 5 pm
Location
Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center
Address
78 E. Washington St.
Event Description
Beyond Conception: Men Having Babies—1:00 PM
After adopting an adorable baby girl, Paul and Bruce think they’ve found the safest and simplest route for expanding their family: surrogacy. They are matched with Jennifer, a vivacious lesbian mom who loves being pregnant and fantasizes about bringing someone else’s child into the world, and Jade, a 19-year-old who is donating her eggs for the fifth time. 75 min.
Pic Up the Mic—3:00 PM
Alex Hinton directs a surprising, inspiring documentary on the fast-growing world of queer rappers and the community they’ve created. Featuring searing public performances and raw, revealing interviews, the film captures an unapologetic underground music movement just as it’s exploding into the mainstream—defying the music industry’s homophobic stereotypes in the process. 95 min.
The Jean Albano Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition featuring photographs by TOM BIANCHI, held in celebration of GGVII. The show opens on Friday, July 14, 2006, and will run through Saturday, July 29, 2006.
Opening Reception for the artist on Friday, July 14, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
Born in Oak Park, Tom Bianchi received a law degree from Northwestern University. After spending time as a lawyer for Winston & Strawn and Columbia Pictures, Bianchi tore up his law degree and became an artist—one of his first pieces incorporated remnants of his law degree. Bianchi’s earliest works were high-relief wall sculptures that referenced elements of architecture and landscape. Since the early 90’s, Bianchi has focused on photography, capturing the classic male nude in stunningly beautiful poses. Bianchi’s photographs explore sexual energy and, occasionally, the issue of art versus pornography.
Tom Bianchi’s photography books include In Defense of Beauty (1995), In the Studio (1999), and the two-volume edition of On the Couch (2002 & 2004). The artist lives and works in Palm Springs, California.
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm, and Saturday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, or by appointment. For further information, please contact Sarah Kaliski or Lindsey Walton at 312.440.0770.
Out of the Closet, Lisa Nordstrom and guest artists, from bowling balls, luggage, altered clothing and board games to life-altering proclamations and secrets big and small, this mixed media group show features all manner of things formerly closeted.
Art Gecko, 19 Harrison Street, Oak Park More info: 708-358-1950.
"We Are Here" African-American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Images by Richard Lee Gray
Host
The City of Chicago Commission of Human Relations
Time
6 pm - 9 pm
Location
The Stephen Kelly Gallery
Address
750 N. Franklin, Suite 101 Chicago
Event Description
"We Are Here" is a photographic exhibit of African-American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender and their families living everyday throughout various Chicago communities. The mission of "We are Here" is to emphasize the diversity within the African-American community. Mr. Gray has given all of us the opportunity to look at diversity beyond the normal black and white definition. A commissioned edition of this exhibit will be housed in the Black Gay and Lesbian permanent collection of the Schomberg Center for Black Culture of the New York Public Library in Harlem.
Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections and Preservation Division
Address
400 South State Street, 9th Floor, Special Collections Reading Room
Event Description
Chicago Public Library welcomes Gay Games VII to Chicago with Chicago’s Gay Athletic Tradition, a case exhibit about the history and development of gay and lesbian amateur athletic teams in Chicago. The display includes photographs, medals, team apparel and athletic equipment from the 1980s to the present. Teams from the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association and the Windy City Athletic Association are represented, as are local and nation competitions.
Mondays thru Thursdays (Noon - 6:00 PM)
Fridays & Saturdays (Noon - 4:00 PM)
For more information, please call the Library’s Special Collections Reading Room at (312) 747-4875.
Cost
$0
Museums Event
Wolfgang Tillmans
Host
Location
Museum of Contemporary Art
Address
220 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago
Event Description
Dates & Times:
Tuesday 10 am - 8pm
Wednesday - Sunday 10 am - 5 pm
Monday Closed
Open Through August 13
Approximately 300 works are presented at the first major retrospective of the gay German photographer in an American museum, co-organized with the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.
Tillmans is internationally recognized as one of the most significant artists to emerge in the 1990s for his richly evocative photographs that reflect on the often overlooked objects and moments in everyday life.
Cost
$10
Museums Event
"Catching The Spirit: The Gay Games Experience"
Host
Gerber/Hart Library
Location
Gerber/Hart Library
Address
1127 West Granville Avenue, Chicago (just west of the CTA Red Line GRANVILLE Stop)
Event Description
"Catching The Spirit: The Gay Games Experience" is an exhibition of memorabilia from all six past Gay Games. The exhibition showcases the 1968 United States Olympic Team warm-up jacket worn by Dr. Tom Waddell, founder of the Gay Games, and features the two official posters from the first Gay Games in 1982 using the wording "Gay Olympic Games." Also on display are Signature Quilt Squares from past International Rainbow Memorial Runs, the 1994 International Rainbow Memorial Roll, and artifacts from the American Run for the End of AIDS.
Hours of Exhibit
Saturday, July 15 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Sunday, July 16 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Monday, July 17 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday, July 18 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday, July 19 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Thursday, July 20 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Friday, July 21 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Saturday, July 22 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Cost
$0
Museums Event
Catherine Opie: American Cities (Chicago)
Host
Time
10 am - 5 pm
Location
Museum of Contemporary Art
Address
220 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago
Event Description
Dates & Times:
Tuesday 10 am - 8pm (free)
Wednesday - Sunday 10 am - 5 pm
Monday closed
Open Through October 15
Catherine Opie returns to the MCA for an exhibition of her photographs of Chicago, part of her ongoing "American Cities" project. Los Angeles-based gay artist Opie has been working for the past seven years on her American Cities series.
Fourteen black-and- white photographs of Chicago that show the city's spectacular architectural monuments lit at night are complemented by a group of color large-format views of Lake Michigan at different seasons during the year.
Visit the MCA where you can have a free guided tour of our summer exhibitions, Wolfgang Tillmans, Catherine Opie, Patty Chang and Chris Ware.
Free tours are held on
Tuesdays at 1pm and 6pm
Wednesdays through Fridays at 1pm
Saturdays and Sundays at 11am, noon, 1, 2, and 3pm
Cost
$0
Music Events
Music Event
MOVE!...The 2006 Chicago International House Music Festival
Host
Time
1 pm - 11 pm
Location
Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island
Address
1300 S. Lynn White Dr., Chicago
Event Description
MOVE!
Featuring some of the most renowned performers including three GRAMMY Award winners: Frankie Knuckles, Maurice Joshua and David Morales.
The festival will introduce South African DJ Glen Lewis along with the legendary singers Jocelyn Brown, Barbara Tucker
and Chicago's own Jamie Principle and Dajae. Danny Tenaglia will be celebrating Saturday evening with an extended set in support of the closing of Gay Games VII on the International stage.
Also featured are Chicago-born Ralphi Rosario, Derrick Carter, Terry Hunter, GRAMMY nominee Steve "Silk" Hurley, Djeremy, Lady D and Andre Hatchett.
Special celebrity hosts are Lady Bunny, Phillip Bloch and Lee Ann Trotter.
Event Starts at 6:30pm
The real excitement begins when the Gay Games end as Curve Magazine hosts an Official Gay Games Closing Party.
FEATURING CELEBRITY GUESTS & PERFORMERS:
JUST ADDED: Honey Labrador (Queer Eye for the Straight Girl)
The L Word's new star, Janina Gavankar!
Iyari Limon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
CURVE Magazine's Lipstick & Dipstick
Songstress Doria Roberts (performing "Perfect")
Live performance by God-Des & She (The L Word)
With a special appearance direct from Los Angeles and the Girl Bar Dinah Shore, it's the sexy Girl Bar Go-Go dancers and DJ Kathy Valenti. Plus special performances and secret guests. You won't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime party.
COME EARLY, COME AS YOU ARE: Just 2 blocks north of Gay Games Closing Ceremonies at Wrigley Field! FIRST 100 TO ENTER: Be one of the first 100 people to enter and receive a FREE subscription to Curve magazine (US only).
Tickets: $25 in advance; $30 at the door
Party Passes: GAY GAMES VII HOTTEST WOMEN'S PARTIES
Curve Magazine Gets the Party Started With Huge Women's Parties
July 14 - Welcome Party
July 16 - Black Bra Internationale
July 21 - Score!
July 22 - Adrenaline - Curve's Official Women's Closing Party
Curve magazine will host its own Girl Games, the hottest women's parties at the Gay Games, where women from around the globe can come feel the energy, celebrate the Games and it's athletes and meet some of the fabulous celebrities profiled in Curve, the best-selling lesbian magazine! Sexy go-go dancers and DJs from Girl Bar Dinah Shore. Plus: Special Guest from The L Word. http://www.curvemag.com/app/events.php
Girl Games Party Pass - $70: Includes one (1) Gen. Adm. ticket to all Girl Games parties
VIP Girl Games Party Pass - $90: Get the royal treatment and hang out with the celebrities in the VIP lounge. VIP tickets are only available to VIP Party Package holders. Limited number available. Includes: One (1) VIP adm. to all 3 dance parties, One (1) adm. to Welcome Cocktail Reception, Access to VIP overhead balcony at Adrenaline, Access to VIP lounge at Black Bra Internationale, Special VIP Gift Bag, Complimentary T-Shirt & Curve Poster.
Getting Your Tickets & Passes
No tickets will be mailed. All tickets purchased via the Web will be held for pick-up at our will-call locations. You can pick up your tickets and passes at the door of any Official Girl Games events.
Remember! To pick-up your tickets, will need your online receipt, driver's license and the credit card used to purchase the tickets/passes.
THE WEEK'S LARGEST & MOST GLAMOROUS WOMEN'S CLOSING PARTY
Join thousands of women from around the globe, as Club Skirts and Planet Out present the biggest women's party ever to hit Chicago, Dinah style.
Direct from the Dinah Shore Weekend, our world famous GO GO dancers heat up this mega party. Dance to the beat of our super Dinah DJ's.
Surprise performance at midnight!
NAVY PIER
Party in Chicago's most stunning event space: The Navy Pier Ballroom on Lake Michigan. Navy Pier is conveniently located near all downtown hotels, cabs and trolleys, so grab a disco nap after the afternoon's closing ceremonies at Wrigley, and swing downtown to party with the stars!
TICKETS
$35 Registered GGVII Participant
$40 General Admission
$60 Exclusive VIP Section with upper catwalk access and private seating
$750 Reserved VIP Table - Seats 10 People.
Purchase our exclusive VIP pass and join our VIP guests, artists, and celebrities in the exclusive upper level of the Navy Pier Ballroom. Attire: Sexy Fun.
Partial benefits to LCCP of Chicago. Tickets on sale NOW!
The games may have finished, but the triumphs and pride live on long past the finish line. Athletes, spectators, and performers become one as they move seamlessly between dance floor and stage. Everyone’s journey becomes a finale in the biggest party Chicago has ever experienced.
Epic shows from the extraordinary and the ordinary amongst us. Music by Manny Lehman, the hottest DJ in the USA. And time to enjoy it all.
Following the Gay Games Closing Ceremonies at Wrigley Field.
For seven years, About Face has created its most powerful, innovative, and celebrated work in collaboration with Chicago's extraordinary community of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trangender) young people. Our audience jumps to its feet in joyful recognition each season at the curtain call of the Youth Theatre production.
This year, About Face is proud to premiere the most powerful Youth Theatre production yet -- The Home Project.
Based on interviews with hundreds of LGBT youth about their experiences with home and homelessness, The Home Project is filled with astonishing, disturbing, and ultimately triumphant stories of young people who struggle to create a perfect society while battling complacency, violence, and apathy. It is the most thrilling, exciting, and important new play to emerge from the talented adult artists and young people of the nationally celebrated About Face Youth Theatre.
June 15th Through July 23rd - Thursday through Saturday at 7:30p.m. Sundays at 6p.m.
Jim Provenzano's electrifying novel about two high school wrestlers coming of age is brought to exciting life on-stage as Bailiwick celebrates Chicago's Gay Games!
PINS is a compelling story of loving peer pressure, supportive yet confused families, and the mad tangle of emotions set against the backdrop of competitive high school wrestling.
Jeffrey, a gay actor/waiter has sworn off sex after too many bouts with his partners about what is "safe" and what is not. In gay New York, though, sex is not something you can avoid. Just after he's reconciled himself to celibacy, Jeffrey's flamboyant friends introduce him to the man of his dreams, who also happens to be HIV-positive. What follows is a moving and audacious romantic comedy with a difference- one in which the quest for love and really fabulous clothes meet, and where unflagging humor prevails even when tragedy might be just around the corner.
In honor of the Gay Games, Live Bait Theater celebrates all things gay in July by inviting three fabulous gay solo artists to perform individual hour - long works.
Live Bait remounts Joe Steiff’s hit solo show Golden Corral (directed by Brigid Murphy) about growing up gay in rural
Appalachia; Brian Lobel’s Other Funny Stories About Cancer (Directed by Margot Bordelon) dives into the worlds of youth mentoring, queer identities, virginity and mortality; and finally, Nothing Left but the Smell: A Republican on
Welfare by pseudo-San Franciscan, Erika Lopez.
Known for her successful philosophical/bad-sex/motorcycle novel, Flaming Iguanas and The Trilogy of Tomatoes. Lopez had it all and threw it all away. This show is about her more recent adventure of standing in the welfare line.
Tickets
All tickets are $15. Two-Show Pass-$20.
Four - Show pass $30. Student tickets are $10.
Copyright 2010 Chicago Games, Inc. | All Rights Reserved | Contact Us "Gay Games," the "Federation of Gay Games," the interlocking circles device
are registered trademarks of the Federation of Gay Games, Inc. The Gay Games VII logo
and its figures are copyrighted images of the Federation of Gay Games, Inc.
Gay Games VII welcomes people of all orientations. Publication of the name, photograph, or
likeness of a person on this website or in any electronic or printed Gay Games VII
promotional item is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person.
