Facets Night School: Fuego

Facets Cinematheque presents their Night School series of midnight screenings and lectures. Tonight's film is Fuego, by Armando Bo (the "Argentine Russ Meyer"). The film will be preceded by a lecture on Bo's films by Facets employee Lew Ojeda. Facets Night School screenings are $5 (free for Facets members!), and include an educational packet of notes and articles for each class. The show starts at midnight tonight; advance tickets are available through Ticketweb. Facets: 1517 W. Fullerton. For more information about Facets Night School contact Phil Morehart at (800) 331-6197.

White Mystery record release show @ Hideout

White Mystery are finishing up their whirlwind week at SXSW (including blogging for us over at Transmission) with their record release show at the Hideout. Come out and grab a copy of their new album, rock out with the band, and tell them how much you loved hearing about their SXSW adventures on Gapers Block!

The show is 21+ and starts at 9pm. You can buy tickets here, and they are $8.

Translating Revolution: U.S. Artists Interpret Mexican Murals

This unique exhibition examines the influence of Mexican muralists on U.S visual culture. Numerous artists gained inspiration from the Mexican mural in more ways than one. Some of the artists visited Mexico for several months, while others stayed and became Mexican citizens. The exhibit runs thru August 1, 2010 at the National Museum of Mexican Art (1852 W. 19th st). Admission is free. Check out the website for more information.

Chicago Victory Gardens: Today and Tomorrow @ Kendall College

The Culinary Historians of Chicago take us back to the days of victory gardens (food, not the theater) in the city through a morning lecture at Kendall College, 900 North Branch. RSVP requested. Event begins at 10am. Free parking.

Scavenger Hunt @ Hoosier Mama

Hoosier Mama Pie Company celebrates its first birthday today with a scavenger hunt. Participants (teams of 1-3) will complete for a year's supply of pie (say it with me!). Must register in advance. Event begins at noon, 1618 West Chicago

Cordy Ryman @ Kavi Gupta

With accessible materials like Velcro, manufactured woods, enamels and various other found objects, Ryman constructs simple and elegant forms that conflate the aesthetics of Minimalism and Post Painterly Abstraction. Rough and casual, Ryman's sculptures treat the reductive movements that form the apex of Modern Art as pliable components employed toward a yet unfinished project. Without being overwrought or playing to the lowest common denominator, they represent a strategy for how art can leave behind the limiting principles of our last century and engage formalism for today. His solo show opens today at Kavi Gupta Gallery (835 W. Washington) and will stay up through April 24. Click here to see images of Ryman's work.

Steve Shelley @ MCA

Steve Shelley, the drummer from Sonic Youth, will be performing with White/Light as part of the Museum of Contemporary Art's UBS 12x12 series. White/Light is experimental music duo, Matt Clark and Jeremy Lemos who will create an interactive music installation.

3 pm, Free with suggested museum admission.

Then is Now at Carrie Secrist Gallery

Then is Now is a dual exhibition featuring works by Phyllis Bramson and Judith Geichman, opening tonight. Both Bramson and Geichman are interested in unconventional beauty and a certain kind of visual clarity in their work. Additionally, they share several common sources including including Chinoiserie, Toile de Jou, Chinese scholar rocks, Rococo, abstraction, and elements of collage. The opening reception for this show is tonight from 5 to 8 at Carrie Secrist Gallery (835 W. Washington Blvd.) and the show will stay up through April 24. Visit the gallery's website for more information.

Two-Hour Comedy Hour @ Gallery Cabaret

This week's Two-Hour Comedy Hour, a weekly standup comedy showcase hosted by Trey Mowder, features standup comedians Dan Polydoris, Cameron Esposito, John Markham, Matt Jones, Kate Hamlett and Derek Lazarski. This free show features a fresh mix of comedians each week. There's no cover for the 21+ show -though a $5 donation is accepted - and it runs from 7-9 pm at Gallery Cabaret, 2020 N. Oakley (near Western and Milwaukee, just off the Blue Line stop). Guests are encouraged to arrive early.

Swap-O-Rama-Rama @ Chicago Waldorf School

The international phenomenon Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing swap and series of do-it-yourself workshops in which a community explores creative reuse through the recycling of used clothing. SORR explores a new kind of studio, bringing together the art-knowledgeable and the art-curious in a spontaneous maker-centic community. Promoting the DIY ethos of creators not consumers, the SORR "studio" is manifested when hundreds of makers congregate; bringing with them clothing, materials, tools, and knowledge. The shared space has rules (such as "no mirrors") to force interaction: the catalyst for community. This crowded, noisy, joyous, creative, energetic event forces participants to share materials, space, tools, ideas, opinions and knowledge. Art emerges as a product of interaction and exploration around reuse. To get in, bring a bag of clothes and a $20 donation ($10 students/seniors) or pay what you can. This event is from 9-5pm today at Chicago Waldorf School: 1300 W Loyola. (And 1-5pm tomorrow.) There are other events as part of the SORR Chicago weekend such as an Inspiration Fashion Show and a screening of "Handmade Nation" - see Swap-IL.com for details.

Harold Ramis @ Emanuel Congregation

Actor and director Harold Ramis, star of Stripes and the Ghostbusters films, talks with Aaron Freeman about "the meaning of life" and other things at Emanuel Congregation, 5959 N. Sheridan Rd., at 7:30pm tonight. Tickets are $40, $80 or $150, and may be purchased online or by calling 800-838-3006.