Connie Lauerman

`Keepers of the Spirit," an arresting series of photographs by Chris Rainier on display at the Chicago Cultural Center, captures people and places on the cusp of changing so drastically...

In a world obsessed with looks, especially thinness, fat people face discrimination and just plain meanness on a daily basis that no other segment of our society would tolerate for...

For city dwellers fatigued from a long, cold winter, few things are more exhilarating than that first sunlit stroll down a grand avenue with spring in full flower. Unfortunately, only...

`Bye Bye, Love" is a movie as bright, plastic and glossy as the McDonald's restaurant where its trio of divorced dads exchange custody of their kids for the weekend. During...

There's a legendary quality about the life of James Joyce, the Irish author of two highly original novels, "Ulysses" and "Finnegans Wake." He launched the avant-garde novel and his name...

Artist Vera Berdich surely is one of Chicago's best-kept secrets. Berdich, a printmaker and painter, was a mentor to hundreds of students over the years at the School of the...

`Call me Ishmael. Some years ago-never mind how long precisely-having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail...

One of the Chicago area's best-kept secrets may be the Mitchell Indian Museum, a tiny gem housed at Evanston's Kendall College. It was formed in 1977 when Evanston real estate...

Black History Month will be celebrated during February with a rich tapestry of events from film to music at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. Organized by the...

Aficionados of Polish films won't have to wait for the annual Polish Film Festival next fall. Now the Society for Polish Arts, a principal organizer of the film festival in...