Chicago History & Culture

Let's celebrate the life, career, and music of Dolly Parton with a special music history livestream.

Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean (January 19, 1946 – August 25, 2026) was an American musician, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman. Dubbed the "Queen of Country", she was one of the most honored female country performers in history. Parton received various accolades, including eleven Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, along with nominations for two Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award.
Parton wrote her first song at the age of six, began performing regularly on TV at the age of ten, and made her first recording at the age of 11. She became a professional songwriter at the age of 16 and, after writing hits for other artists, her debut album, Hello, I'm Dolly, was released in 1967, beginning a career spanning nearly 60 years and 49 studio albums.
Parton composed more than 3,000 songs, including "I Will Always Love You" (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper and an international hit for Whitney Houston that sold 40 million copies worldwide), "Jolene", "Coat of Many Colors" and "9 to 5". As an actress, she starred in 9 to 5 (1980) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), earning Golden Globe nominations for both, as well as Rhinestone (1984), Steel Magnolias (1989), Straight Talk (1992), and Joyful Noise (2012).
With estimated sales exceeding 100 million records, Parton was one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Her music includes Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)-certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards. Twenty-five of her singles reached number one on the Billboard country music charts, tied with Reba McEntire for the most by a female artist. She had 44 career top-10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over 40 years. Her 49th and final solo studio album, Rockstar (2023), became her highest-charting Billboard 200 album, peaking at number three.

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Pentagon 9/11 Memorial Tour - 25th Anniversary Livestream with Deirdre

It's the 25th anniversary of September 11.
Where were you on September 11, 2001?

This is an online talk via Zoom.

For those of you in Washington, DC Deirdre will also be hosting in-person tours of the Pentagon Memorial on
Sunday, August 30 at 6:00 pm and
Tuesday, September 8 at 6:00 pm
- details on our Meetup calendar.

The Photography of 9/11 - Images and Their Stories - Art History Livestream Hosted by Robert Kelleman

In honor of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 (September 11, 2001) let’s review a variety of photographic images, both well-known and lesser-known, from that event: before, during, and after 9/11.

The program will take place on two dates:
Saturday, August 29 - 10:00 am eastern / 9:00 am central
Thursday, September 10 - 8:00 pm eastern / 7:00 pm central

During and after the program you’ll have the opportunity to discuss the images with your fellow participants via Zoom.

The September 11 attacks, colloquially known as 9/11, were a coordinated series of suicide attacks perpetrated by the Islamic terrorist organization al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four airliners, then flew one into each of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York City. The third plane crashed into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in a rural Pennsylvania field during a passenger revolt. In response to the attacks, the United States launched the global war on terror, seeking to eliminate hostile groups deemed terrorist organizations and the governments purported to support them. This foreign policy agenda was conducted over the next two decades.

Thank you.

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Pollock Screening: Ed Harris As Jackson Pollock - Art History Livestream - Hosted by Robert Kelleman

Let's honor and remember one of America's greatest modern artists, Jackson Pollock, on the 70th anniversary of his death (August 11, 1956).
We'll be screening the 2000 film "Pollock", which features an all-star cast including Ed Harris in the title role.

The first portion of our program, approximately 15-20 minutes, will be a brief overview of the film, including its historical context, plot summary, things to look for, accuracy, etc.
The second portion of our program will be a full screening of the film.

During and after the screening we invite you to participate in a discussion of the film with your fellow art lovers via Zoom.

Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, he was widely noticed for his "drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface, enabling him to view and paint his canvases from all angles. It was called all-over painting and action painting, because Pollock covered the entire canvas and used the force of his whole body to paint, often in a frenetic dancing style. This extreme form of abstraction divided critics: some praised the immediacy of the creation, while others derided the random effects.
A reclusive and volatile personality, Pollock struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. In 1945, he married artist Lee Krasner, who became an important influence on his career and on his legacy. Pollock died in August 1956 at age 44 in an alcohol-related single-car collision when he was driving. Four months after his death, Pollock was given a memorial retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. A larger, more comprehensive exhibition of his work was held there in 1967. In 1998 and 1999, Pollock's work was honored with large-scale retrospective exhibitions at MoMA and the Tate Gallery in London.

Pollock is a 2000 American independent biographical drama film centered on the life of American painter Jackson Pollock, his struggles with alcoholism, as well as his troubled marriage to his wife Lee Krasner. The film stars Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer, Robert Knott, Bud Cort, Molly Regan, and Sada Thompson, and was directed by Harris.
Marcia Gay Harden won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for portraying Lee Krasner. Ed Harris received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Pollock. The film was a long-term personal project for Harris based on his reading of the 1989 biography Jackson Pollock: An American Saga, written by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith.