CHICAGO Over the past seven years the Chicago History Museum has presented the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT ) Chicagoans through the Out at CHM programming series. The series continues this year with three programs focusing on a range of subjects from language and identity, to sexuality in the theatre, to a look at life and love in the 1950s for LGBT Americans. All programs begin at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $12/$10 for Museum members.
The series kicked off on Thursday, January 27 with Sexicon: Language and Identity.
The second program, When Romeo was a Woman on Thursday, March 10, invites cultural historian Lisa Merrill for a behind-the-scenes look at how spectators and critics talked and wrote about sexuality on stage during the mid-19th Century. Jill Austin, Museum curator, will begin the program with a brief introduction to LGBT-related life and themes in mid-19th-century Chicago. Cocktails at 5:30 p.m. event at 6:30 p.m.
The third and final program, Beyond Shame: Life and Love in the 1950s on Thursday, April 14 has Yale historian George Chauncey ( formerly of the University of Chicago ) giving his take on how gay men and lesbians drew on religion, pop culture, conversation, and academic writings to forge a complex and positive understanding of themselves during the 1950s when it is widely thought that lesbians and gay men were condemned to lives of shame and self-hatred by the anti-gay crusades.
Generous support for the entire Out at CHM project is provided by the Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust. The Out at CHM lead corporate sponsor is the Sara Lee Foundation. The series is presented in partnership with the Center on Halsted. Additional support is provided by Community Marketing, Inc., WFMT, WTTW Chicago Public Television, and Windy City Times. In-kind assistance is provided by River North Sales & Service, LLC.
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The Chicago History Museum, a major museum and research center for Chicago and American history, is located at 1601 N. Clark Street. The Museum can be reached by CTA buses 11, 22, 36, 72, 151, and 156. Parking is conveniently located one block north of the Museum at Clark and LaSalle Streets ( enter on Stockton Drive ) . Admission to the Museum is $14 adults with audio tour, $12 seniors/students with audio tour, free for children 12 years and younger. General Admission is free on Mondays. Please call 312.642.4600 or visit us at www.chicagohistory.org . The Chicago History Museum is affiliated with the Chicago Historical Society and acknowledges the Chicago Park District's generous support of all the Museum's activities.
www.chicagohs.org