July-August Highlights

Walt Kuhn, The City, 1919.

Smart Museum of Art
“Smart Collecting: A 30th Anniversary Celebration”
Through Sunday, Sept. 5
Summer Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
5550 S. Greenwood Ave. 702-0200. http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu. Free.
For 30 years the Smart Museum has been a focal point for the visual arts at the University and in the city. In celebration of the museum’s anniversary, the exhibition “Smart Collecting” highlights outstanding recent additions to the Smart’s collection. Provocative groupings displayed throughout the permanent collection and special exhibition galleries include, among many others, modern American and European artworks by Arthur Dove, Romare Bearden, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Josef Sudek; contemporary works by Hiroshi Sugimoto, Bob Thompson, H.C. Westermann and Sylvia Sleigh; and Asian works ranging from Korean ceramics and Japanese calligraphy to recent works by Toshio Shibata and Ravinder Reddy.

Kneeling Man with Vessel on His Head, Tell Agrab, about 2900-2600 B.C.

Oriental Institute
“Lunchtime in Another Time” Gallery Talks
12:15 p.m. Friday, July 23 and Friday, Aug. 13
1155 E. 58th St. 702-9507. http://www-oi.uchicago.edu. Free, no pre-registration required.
The Oriental Institute invites the public to take a break from their lunch routines and explore the ancient world through these free gallery tours. At 12:15 p.m. Friday, July 23, participants can discover the art and artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia—today’s Iraq—as they explore the cultural legacy of the land often called the cradle of civilization. In a tour titled “Glory and Grandeur: The Ancient Persian Empire,” participants can encounter the glories and grandeur of the ancient Persian capital of Persepolis, the administrative center of an empire that stretched from Egypt to India until it was conquered in the fourth century B.C. by Alexander the Great. This session will take place at 12:15 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13.

The Rockefeller Carillon

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
Carillonathon
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave. 702-7059. Free.
6 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 22
This series of free recitals will feature University Carillonneur Wylie Crawford, as well as guest artists from across the United States and Europe. Tours of the carillon will be given before each concert at 5:30 p.m.

Mwata Bowden

Smart Museum of Art
“Smart Collecting” Jazz Concert: Tritone Ensemble
5 p.m. Sunday, July 25
5550 S. Greenwood Ave. Call 702-4540 for tickets and information.
http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu. $10 general, $5 Smart Museum members and students with identification.
Multi-reedist, composer, conductor and educator Mwata Bowden has been an active member of the influential Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) for over 30 years. This year he marks a decade directing the acclaimed Jazz X-tet student ensemble at the University. Bowden’s music is shaped by a wide range of sources, from classical music to R&B and experimental jazz. For this concert, he will perform with his Tritone Ensemble, featuring renowned bassist Harrison Bankhead and violinist Zachary Brock. A reception will follow the performance.