|
|
Janelle Monae headlines 'A Beautiful Future' at MCA
by Jerry Nunn, Windy City Times 2019-08-06
|
|
This article shared 4599 times since Tue Aug 6, 2019
|
|
The evening before her unforgettable set at Lollapalooza music festival, performer Janelle Monae attended an event at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago on Aug. 1. The theme of the Belvedere Vodka event was "A Beautiful Future," and the event featured influential people in the Chicago area.
The multitalented activist wanted to celebrate and endorse the important message through Fem the Futurea movement that is dedicated to advancing awareness and opportunities for people who identify as women through music, art and education.
The night's festivities began with DJ Rae Chardonnay on the turntables and Belvedere Vodka martinis. Belvedere became involved with Fem the Future after company executives heard about the project.
Monae worked the red carpet in a Ralph Lauren suit and stopped to answer a few questions. When asked about what the average person can do to move forward the Fem the Future movement. She responded, "Fem the Future is a grass roots organization to help women, that's trans women and any woman who identifies as a woman. It's for the arts community through mentorship and education programs. If someone is creating an album and they need an engineer or a producer please reach out to us. We have a lot of girls that are excited about the possibility of being in front or behind the camera, making things work. I have been in New York, Berlin and now Chicago hosting events like this. We will continue to bring together the city's thought leaders and change makers to bring about A Beautiful Future."
Monae talked for a moment about coming out and the reaction from people, "It was great. It's a part of me, being a queer woman. I'm Black and was raised in a working class family. I feel so light and free now. I feel so supported. There are some people who don't understand it, but I think as I continue to evolve as a person, my commitment is to walk in my truth, whatever that means at that time."
After the red carpet, guests were casually seated at a long table in the room to share experiences and dialogue on what a beautiful future means to them. Heroes in the room were honored with charitable donations on behalf of Belvedere Vodka and Monae, among them were co-founder and executive director of A Long Walk Home Scheherazade Tillet; founder and CEO of Moon Meals LaForce Baker; Nikki Roberson, who is the fundraising director for Kicks 4 the City; and aw Studio visual artist Amanda Williams.
To find out more about empowering women, visit FemFuture.com; for more, about "A Beautiful Future," visit www.belvederevodka.com . |
|
|
|
This article shared 4599 times since Tue Aug 6, 2019
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | City Lit Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor talks theater, comics, queerness 2024-03-26 City Lit Theater has announced its programming for the 2024-25 seasonwhich will be the company's 44th. It will also be the first season to be programmed under the leadership of Brian Pastor (they/them), who will assume ...
|
| | 'Rumors' performers create alternative drag playground 2024-03-24 At first glance, Dorian's Through The Record Shop (1939 W. North Ave.) looks like a brightly-lit shop with a handful of records on the wall, but there's a secret world behind those unassuming shelves. Visitors are ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21 Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...
|
| | THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21 Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...
|
| | Lollapalooza announces lineup; SZA, Skrillex among headliners 2024-03-19 Lollapalooza has released its line-up for the event that's taking place Aug. 1-4 at Grant Park. Headliners include SZA, Blink-182, Skrillex, The Killers, Hozier, Melanie Martinez and Stray Kids, among others. Some of the other acts ...
|
| | Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18 Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15 Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...
|
| | Chicago History Museum announces "Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s - 70s exhibition 2024-03-14 --From a press release - CHICAGO (March 14, 2024) — The Chicago History Museum is thrilled to announce its upcoming exhibition, "Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s—70s." Set to open on Saturday, May 18, 2024, this exhibition is ...
|
| | House-music festival on Aug. 30-Sept. 1; icons, Idris Elba to be part of it 2024-03-13 The ARC Music Festivalan event celebrating house musicwill take place Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Chicago's Union Park, per WGN-TV. This will mark the fourth year that the festival will celebrate the genre at Union Parkless than ...
|
| | Center on Halsted celebrates Dreams of Drag 2024-03-11 On March 9, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., in partnership with the Ralla Klepak Foundation, presented the Dreams of Drag Spring Cohort Class of 2024. The event featured performances from a class of new ...
|
| | COBRAH slithers into Chicago and brings Feminine Energy 2024-03-08 COBRAH snaked her way into Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St., for two nights March 7 and 8 for her Succubus Tour. This Swedish-born talent has a way with naughty words and ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08 Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...
|
| | Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05 Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...
|
| | THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05 Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...
|
| | Center on Halsted hosts 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2024-03-03 On the evening of Feb. 29, Center on Halsted held its 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show in front of a packed audience at the Hoover-Leppen Theater. The event brought together participants of the Center's youth and senior ...
| |
|
|