Whether this month finds you celebrating love with partners or friends, or has you craving some art-filled me time, the February arts calendar offers plenty of ways to fill your heart and mind. The five arts experiences listed below are themselves celebrations. Author Ekta Garg has a new book out. The Theatre Studies New Work Project celebrates and nurtures what producer Latrelle Bright describes as “stories students desire to tell and ideas they are curious about exploring.” Groove is in the Art shines a disco ball of a spotlight on C-U’s maker scene. You get the idea. So forget the flowers and chocolate and indulge in an experience that celebrates your favorite flavor of the arts.
Dream Hou$e
Playwright Eliana Pipes’ story of two Latina sisters’ plan to sell their family home is both a send-up of HGTV-style reality shows and an exploration of the tales a house can tell, including the secrets it can keep. Certain that the gentrification of their neighborhood, plus the publicity from the broadcast, will guarantee an easy and lucrative sale, filming the show opens the family’s skeleton-filled closets, changing their understanding of the past and their hopes for the future. The Station Theatre’s production of Dream Hou$e is directed by Jacqueline Moreno and features Mariana Seda, Laney Rodriguez, Gabrielle Demarco, with Lorrie Pearson, Maria F. Velasquez, and Sean McCarthy. Read our preview here.
Dream Hou$e
Station Theatre
223 N Broadway
Urbana
February 2-12
Th-Sa 7:30 p.m.
Su 3 p.m.
Get ticket information here.
Pattern and Process
One thing that artists, musicians, behaviorists, and data analysts of all stripes have in common is their ongoing study of patterns and what they can teach us. Organic or manufactured, patterns are everywhere. Pattern and Process at Krannert Art Museum, investigates, according to curator Kathryn Koca Polite, “how patterns create—or sometimes challenge—order, systems, and processes; how patterns locate us within the external, physical world, evoking movement, landscape, and time; and how patterns conjure or mine our psychic states or internal worlds, including our memories and emotions.” Presenting works from KAM’s 20th- and 21st-century collection, Pattern and Process will appeal to artists and non-artists alike. With a wide range of themes and an endless number of real world associations and applications, this new exhibition lends itself to both group outings and solo journeys.
Pattern and Process
Krannert Art Museum
500 E Peabody
Champaign
February 2-December 22
Get museum hours here.
Groove is in the Art Pop Up Market
Whether you’re shopping for your Valentine or yourself, don’t miss this chance to check out this dee-lightful pop-up market. Featuring work by some of C-U’s smartest and sassiest artists and artisans, this event is a eight-hour love letter to the groovy gals of Hooey Batiks, Crass Stitching, Fabrikate, Lisa Kesler Studio plus Kim Caisse, Cory Mccrory, Lydia Puddicombe, and EKAH. I can’t think of a better place to shop for Galentine’s gifts.
Groove is in the Art Pop Up Market
Parasol Records
303 W Griggs
Urbana
February 11th
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Theatre Studies New Works Project
Its easy to think of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts as a venue that provides Chambana residents with access to internationally-renowned performers of music, dance, and theatre. And while achieving this mission (and doing it so well) is no small feat, it is not KCPA’s only mission. I continue to enjoy the big name acts KCPA attracts, but what really excites me is how it functions as a learning lab for performing arts students. The Theatre Studies New Works Project, a biennial program, goes beyond the completed productions we see at seasonal student performances and brings the audience into the improvisational and iterative processes of theatre making. In her production notes on the KCPA website, producer Latrelle Bright observes that the project “nurtures the relationship between the playwright, the dramaturg and the director in shaping new stories.” This year’s program offers three unique productions, each performed once, on a designated day. Learn more about the program and schedule here.
Theatre Studies New Works Project
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
500 S Goodwin
Urbana
February 16-18
Th-Sa 7:30 p.m.
Get ticket information here.
Author Ekta Garg reads at The Literary
If you enjoyed Ekta Garg’s The Truth About Elves as much as I did, you won’t want to miss this chance to hear her read from her latest book, In The Heart of the Linden Wood at The Literary. In a recent Instagram post, the author describes the book as a “story of love and loss, several characters have to deal with grief. Because it’s an original fairy tale, though, there’s also the hope for healing.” A writer, editor, reviewer, and podcaster, she’s definitely someone local writers and readers will want to know. She’s a gifted storyteller and a pro at her craft. Be sure to stick around for the Q & A. And stay tuned for my forthcoming review of In The Heart of the Linden Wood.
Author Ekta Garg reads at the Literary
The Literary
122 N Neil
Champaign
February 25th, 5 p.m.
Free