Elysabeth Alfano

NATO?! Whatever. The big news of the weekend was the three-day conference at the University of Chicago's new Logan Arts Center, "Comics: Philosophy and Practice." From Friday evening, May 18, to Sunday mid-day, May 20th, some of the greatest comics artists and graphic novelists took the stage at the impressive...

WHAAM! Splat! Bang! Its a big summer for Chicago as the groundbreaking retrospective of the iconic Pop artist, Roy Lichtenstein, opens at The Art Institute of Chicago this week through September 3. Spearheaded by James Rondeau, the Frances and Thomas Dittmer Chair and Curator, Department of Contemporary Art...

I attended the thirtieth anniversary celebration for the Chicago Academy for the Arts and I was awe-struck by the student performances at the Harris Theatre that preceded last Thursday evening's gala. In an hour-long overview that displayed the many artistic disciplines taught at CAA, the young...

With the onset of my new show, The Dinner Party, I have been taking a keen look at everything that surrounds food, as much as food itself. So this year, I attended The National Restaurant Association Show, which thrived at McCormick Place from May 5th to 8th. A...

The April 30th Dinner Party was by far the most fun yet! Nora Dunn, before performing, had everyone in stitches with her impersonation of people from Forest Park and Lorne Michaels. Lane Alexander, after tap dancing to Bach and seeing the designs of Peach...

Last Thursday evening brought one of those rare events where you feel that you have been transported to another dimension in time. I attended "A Chef's Affair/Paint It Black" Gala at Nellcote, a restaurant that has been refurbished in the style of Villa Nellcote in Southern France where The Rolling...

May has finally rolled around, and we're back with the latest "...Got Art?" blog to highlight all the great things to do and see this month. Why not celebrate Mother's Day by taking your mom out to see some of the culture the city has to offer? Of course, this...

The momentum is steadily building for EXPO CHICAGO, The International Exposition of Contemporary/Modern Art and Design, coming to Navy Pier on September 20-23, with a preview night on the 19th.

This Tuesday, EXPO's President and Director Tony Karman announced the gallery list for the fair, drawn from...

The Monday April 30th Dinner Party is around the corner and I am excited to host another great guest line-up, including Saturday Night Live alum, Nora Dunn, Project Runway's Peach Carr, Chicago Human Rhythm Project's Lane Alexander and the wonderful

Cinema/Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival honored Kelsey Grammer with the Career Achievement Award at the 48th Hugo Television Awards Ceremony on Thursday night, April 19. Chicago favorite and renowned actor in his own right, John Mahoney, paid tribute to Mr. Grammer, who then spoke to the crowd in...

Earlier this month, Hollywood director, Andrew Davis (The Fugitive, Chain Reaction, Holes, The Guardian), was in Chicago for the screenings of the re-release of his 1978 Chicago music movie classic, Stony Island, which is available for the first time on DVD April 24.

April is here, along with some unseasonably warm and beautiful weather, and that means it's time for our "...Got Art?" blog to encourage you to get out and enjoy a fresh collection of shows and events this month. Of course, this is just a small sampling of the many amazing...

If you missed the February 27 Dinner Party, you missed a good one! Second City director and lead guitarist of the Uptown Sound, Billy Bungeroth, talked about creative highs and lows, choreographer and artistic director of Luna Negra, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, talked about dance...

Artist and Cultural Planner, Theaster Gates, has an incredible presence. I interviewed him for Fear No ART and when seeing this man's studio and talking about his background, I finally understood his large and simple vision. Theaster brings together the disciplines of ceramics, urban planning and...

March is here, and that means it's time for another round of "...Got Art?" Of course, this list is just a small selection of all the wonderful creative things that are going on in Chicago this month, and I'm hoping to make it to as many events as I can....

The first Fear No ART presents The Dinner Party took place on January 30th at the Mayne Stage Theatre. I sat down with artist Tony Fitzpatrick, musician Jon Langford and Jeff Award winning director, Rachel Rockwell. Over wine and cigar sandwiches created...

In the video below, I interview award-winning National Geographic photographer, Paul Nicklen, at his home in Vancouver Island, British Columbia via Skype. Known for his incredibly powerful wildlife photography, often in the Polar regions, as well as his passionate Ted2011 talk, I had been seeking this interview for...

It's February and time for the Fear No ART new blog,"Got ART?" Hopefully this blog will help to highlight some of the very cool art happenings going on around town and give you a nudge to see some of them or all of them. Getting a little bit...

Its a new year and time for new things. As you may know, The Dinner Party launches this January 30th at the Mayne Stage. However, Fear No ART is also launching a new monthly blog giving a small panoramic overview of what is going...

Fear No ART will be launching a new show, The Dinner Party, in 2012. On January 30, artist Tony Fitzpatrick, musician Jon Langford, and Jeff Award winning director, Rachel Rockwell with be the first guests of The Dinner Party, with a dinner...