May 14, 2009

Contact: Tracy Baim, 773-387-2394; Marcy Baim 312-907-7909

editor@windycitymediagroup.com

CHICAGO — Chicago's Prairie Avenue Gallery will host a Pride Show in honor of gay pride month in Chicago. The opening reception will be Sunday, June 7, noon-4 p.m., with food, music and mingling with the artists. The gallery is housed in the Prairie Avenue Historic District, in the Keith House, one of the few remaining historic homes along Prairie Avenue. The building, located at 1900 S. Prairie Avenue, is also the former home of Woman Made Gallery.

The Prairie Avenue Gallery was founded in the mid-1980s by Joy Darrow, a photojournalist who was a managing editor of the Chicago Defender. Darrow died in 1996, and her daughters, Marcy and Tracy Baim, re-opened the gallery in May of this year with a show featuring freshmen students at the School of the Art Institute.

The Prairie Avenue Gallery was known for ground-breaking shows, including what is believed the first AIDS art show in the mid 1980s, a showcase of Black photojournalists, and shows featuring emerging Chicago photographers, sculptors and painters.

The new Prairie Avenue Gallery will have weekend hours. During the week the gallery will offer classes and studio space for photographers and artists.

Artists in the Pride Show are: Photographers Rick Aguilar, Steve Becker, Renee Brown, Kat Fitzgerald, Lisa Howe-Ebright and Betty Lark Ross. The painters and illustrators are Jorjet Harper, Juarez Hawkins, Carol James, David Johnson, Andrea Kaspryk, Mary King, Riva Lehrer, Otis Richardson, Erik R.Sosa and Travis. Carmen Noriega will display her stained glass works.

The Pride Show is in honor of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pride Month and will be up through June and July. The hours are: Sunday, June 7, Noon-4 p.m. opening; Sat., June 13, noon-3 p.m.; Sat., June 20, noon-3 p.m.; Sunday, June 21, noon-3 p.m.; Closed pride weekend ( June 27-28 ) ; and open every Saturday and Sunday in July, noon-3 p.m. Call 312-907-7909 for hours by appointment.

Prairie Avenue Gallery has a page on Facebook:

http:// www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/Prairie-Avenue-Gallery/76629936938 or http://tinyurl.com/pzbu2a

Images, from top, these 2 pages: Summers Pride, by Jorjet Harper. Locker Room, by Steve Becker. The Girl Who Cried Gold, by Erik R. Sosa. Clos'et'ed, by Carol James. Email editor@windycitymediagroup.com for images.