Chicago Arts and Culture Groups Receive Grants for International Collaborations

MacArthur awarded new grants to 13 Chicago arts and culture nonprofits to conduct collaborations with arts organizations in 12 countries.  The grants are provided through MacArthur’s International Connections Fund, which aims to help Chicago nonprofit arts and culture organizations advance their work by collaborating with peer organizations abroad.

“Sharing artistic experiences and promoting cross-cultural learning can help inform, engage, and entertain audiences and bring fresh perspectives to the creative organizations involved,” said MacArthur President Robert Gallucci.

The following organizations will receive International Connections Fund grants:

Chicago a cappella – $18,500 in support of a musical and cultural exchange between artistic director Jonathan Miller and composer, choral director, and conductor Jorge Cordoba Valencia, a premier choral composer and director in Mexico.

Chicago Cultural Alliance – $40,000 for the cultural exchange of representatives of the Alliance’s Swedish American Museum, Chinese-American Museum, and Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art with ethnic museums in their home countries.

Contratiempo – $20,000 to collaborate with the bilingual alternative culture magazine Humanize, based in Madrid, Spain.  Each will contribute to the other’s publication.

Every House Has a Door – $32,500  to expand a Bristol, UK performance piece to include material developed from the Randolph Street Gallery Archive, held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, through artist and performer residencies.

Fulcrum Point New Music Project – $50,000 to support the collaborative creation of a new work fusing western classical and Indian classical music by Fulcrum Point, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, composer Param Vir, Fulcrum Point Artistic Director Stephen Burns, and sarod virtuoso, Soumik Datta.

Global Girls – $45,000 in support of a cross-cultural residency.  Girls from the South Side will share their techniques in using the performing arts to help learn new skills with students of Kattaikkutte Sangam, a residential performing arts school outside of Chennai, India.

Hedwig Dances – $50,000 for a collaborative exchange with DanzAbierta dance company of Havana, Cuba to jointly choreograph two dances that will be performed in both countries.

Latinos Progresando – $40,000 to establish an ongoing cross-cultural exchange between Chicago’s Little Village and Centro Cultural Bacaanda arts organization in Oaxaca, Mexico.  The experience will be developed into a theater piece.

Live the Spirit Residency – $45,000 to support a jazz education and composition exchange with London-based artist education and development group Tomorrow’s Warriors who will perform the work at the Englewood Jazz Festival.

portoluz – $50,000 in support of an exchange and performances of son jarocho music in Chicago, Berwyn, and Cicero between musicians from Chicago and Veracruz, Mexico.

Puerto Rican Arts Alliance – $40,000 to support an ongoing international collaboration with the Puerto Rican Philharmonic Orchestra and Quique Domenech, a master musician and teacher of the cuatro, a traditional instrument of Puerto Rico.

Silk Road Rising – $50,000 for collaboration with the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University in Beirut to translate, adapt, and present a staged reading by Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannus.

threewalls – $22,000 to jointly curate a series of exhibitions with Or Gallery Vancouver and Or Gallery Berlin highlighting visual artists and work from the three cities.

International Connections Fund grants are limited to Chicago area nonprofit arts and culture organizations and other nonprofits with well-established arts programs that received a grant within the last three years from MacArthur or though the MacArthur Funds established at the Driehaus and Prince Foundations or through the New Communities Program directed by LISC/Chicago.  Learn more about MacArthur's International Connections Fund.

MacArthur awards more than $8 million annually to more than 200 arts and culture groups in Chicago and the region as an expression of its civic commitment to the place where the Foundation has its headquarters and where John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur made their home.  Grants are designed to help sustain the cultural life of the city and region.

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Cory B. Nelson Named Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Division

Director Robert S. Mueller, III has named Cory B. Nelson the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Chicago Division. In this role, he will be responsible for FBI personnel and operations in northern Illinois. Mr. Nelson most recently served as the deputy assistant director of the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and was responsible for its day-to-day operations, to include oversight of internal investigations and responses to external audits.

Mr. Nelson entered on duty as a special agent with the FBI in July 1991 and was assigned to the New York Division’s applicant squad. He was subsequently assigned to an organized crime squad, where he conducted investigations into the Genovese crime family. In addition to investigative work, Mr. Nelson was selected to lead one of the first Evidence Response Teams in the New York Division.

In August 1997, Mr. Nelson transferred to the San Antonio Division’s Brownsville Resident Agency and conducted narcotics investigations, served as a firearms and defensive tactics instructor, and was the SWAT assistant team leader. While in Brownsville, he responded to the Oklahoma City bombing and received an award from FBI Director Louis J. Freeh for his work.

In October 1999, Mr. Nelson became a supervisory special agent in the Criminal Investigative Division, Colombian/Caribbean Unit, at FBI Headquarters. In this role, he provided guidance and oversight of domestic and international narcotics investigations. In October 2001, Mr. Nelson was appointed senior supervisory resident agent for the Tampa Division’s Fort Myers Resident Agency. He supervised three resident agencies covering nine counties in southwest Florida and received a commendation from Governor Jeb Bush for his assistance in Florida’s counterterrorism efforts.

Mr. Nelson was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of the Denver Division in August 2005 and was responsible for the management of all criminal programs, the cyber program, all resident agencies in Colorado, and SWAT. During his assignment in Denver, he served as the FBI’s on-scene commander in Afghanistan between April and June 2006. He also served as the acting SAC of the division.

In April 2008, Mr. Nelson was named the deputy director of the Terrorist Screening Center and oversaw its operational components. He became chief of the Terrorist Financing Operations Section in May 2009 and managed units that gathered intelligence, formed partnerships, provided training, and investigated all aspects of international terrorist financing methods, trends, and activities.

Mr. Nelson was appointed the special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio Division in June 2010 and was responsible for all personnel and operations in south Texas, including 500 miles of shared United States/Mexico border.

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Albany and a Master of Business Administration from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business

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U.S. Citizen from Alabama Among Two Added to FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists List

Two individuals—one a United States citizen who allegedly provided support to a foreign terrorist organization, the other wanted for his alleged role in the overseas kidnapping of an American—have been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list.

A third man wanted for questioning in connection with providing material support to terrorists has been added to the Seeking Information—Terrorism list.

Omar Shafik Hammami, formerly from Alabama, has reportedly been a senior leader in al Shabaab, an insurgency group in Somalia. Al Shabaab was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in 2008; it has since repeatedly threatened terrorist actions against America and American interests. Hammami allegedly traveled to Somalia in 2006 and joined al Shabaab’s military wing, eventually becoming a leader in the organization. Hammami—who has been indicted in the U.S. on various terrorism charges—is believed to be in Somalia.

Raddulan Sahiron, a native of the Philippines, is wanted for his alleged involvement in the 1993 kidnapping of an American in the Philippines by the Abu Sayyaf Group, designated a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. Sahiron, believed to be the leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group, was indicted on federal hostage-taking charges and may currently be in the area of Patikul Jolo, Sulu, Philippines.

Shaykh Aminullah is wanted for questioning in connection with providing material support to terrorists…with the aid of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2001). Among other activities, Aminullah allegedly provided assistance, including funding and recruits, to the Al Qaeda network; provided funding and other resources, including explosive vests, to the Taliban; and facilitated the activities of anti-coalition militants operating in Afghanistan by raising money in support of terrorist activities. He is believed to be in the Ganj District of Peshawar, Pakistan.

The FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List was created in October 2001. They subsequently created the Seeking Information—Terrorism list to publicize our efforts to locate terrorism suspects not yet indicted in the U.S.

In addition to the beneficial aspect of worldwide publicity, individuals named to the Most Wanted Terrorists list must:

• Have threatened the security of U.S. nationals or U.S. national security;
• Be considered a dangerous menace to society;
• Have indicated a willingness to commit or indicate to commit an act to cause death or serious bodily injury; prepare or plan terrorist activity; gather information on potential targets for terrorist activity; or solicit funds or other things of value for terrorist activity;
• Have provided material support such as currency or financial services or assistance to a terrorist organization but do not necessarily have to belong to that organization;
• Be subject to lawful detention, either by the U.S. government based on an active federal warrant for a serious felony offense or by any other lawful authority; and
• Be the subject of a pending FBI investigation.
• Individuals on the Seeking Information—Terrorism list are being sought for questioning in connection with terrorist threats against the U.S. Unlike those on the Most Wanted Terrorists list, these individuals have not been indicted by the U.S. government.

If you have information about any of these men, please submit a tip or contact the nearest FBI office abroad or in the U.S.

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Cocktails and Capone at the Chicago History Museum

Cocktails and Capone at the Chicago History Museum

601 N. Clark St.

Chicago, IL 60614

312.642.4600

Wednesday, December 5

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres 6:00–7:00 p.m.

Program 7:00–7:45 p.m.

Cocktails and book signing 7:45–9:00 p.m.

Join us for a spirited evening on the 79th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. John Russick, Director of Curatorial Affairs, discusses Chicago’s vibrant bootlegging and speakeasy scene of the Roaring 20s. We’re also joined by Al Capone’s great niece, Deirdre Capone, who will share family stories of “Uncle Al”. Bringing history out of the cellar, our friends from Templeton Rye Whiskey join us to chat about their connections to Prohibition and Al Capone. Stick around this juice-joint after our discussion to enjoy cocktails, mingle with fellow patrons, and catch a book signing. Deirdre Capone’s Uncle Al Capone and John Russick’s Crime in Chicago will be available for purchase. Ticket price includes complimentary Templeton Rye Prohibition era cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Presented in collaboration with Templeton Rye Whiskey.

Cost: $40, $30 Members

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Marilyn Monroe Discussed on This Week's Crime Beat Radio

On November 15th, Lois Banner discusses her book on Marilyn Monroe, "Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox" on Crime Beat Radio

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST., on the Artist First World Radio Network at artistfirst.com/crimebeat.

Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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