Join IWA members for an evening meet & greet!

We will be at Aster Hall Bar & Study from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. - come for as little or as long as you like!

Please contact Ria Rörich or Dell Harmsen with any questions.

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Time: 1:30 p.m. Social, 2:00 p.m. Program

1:50 p.m. Zoom Opens

Location: Zoom & IWA Office; 17 N State Street, Suite 1760

Mark Bacharach, from Leo Bachrach Jewelers in Chicago, will give us a presentation about the diamond and jewelry industries. He will describe how and where diamonds are mined, processed, refined and ultimately turned into the jewels that are sold in shops. Lab Grown diamonds will also be discussed.

He will also discuss illegal diamond crimes and how to recognize whether a diamond is real or fake. In addition, famous diamonds that were owned by well- known people will be mentioned.

Mr. Bacharach will talk about the jeweler training his father received in Germany, and contrast that with how people are trained to become jewelers in America.

Contact: Heather Refetoff

Book: Kunstlers in Paradise
Author: Catherine Schine

Discussion Leader: Diana Karis
Literature Discussion Chairs: Barbara Herzog and Teresa Kennedy

This monthly event is for all interested Bridge players, and includes members who play Basic Social Bridge as well as Intermediate/Advanced Bridge players. (Please be aware that you need a basic knowledge of Bridge in order to participate).

Join your IWA friends in a fun and friendly game of Mah Jongg! There is nothing more exciting than when, with your heart racing, your adrenaline pumping, your palms sweating, and you call " Mah Jongg"!

ALL LEVELS ARE WELCOME! A refresher lesson will be given at the beginning of each meeting.

Guided Tour of the Exhibit “Radically Marimekko” – a Finnish textile,

clothing and home furnishing company.

Curated by the American Swedish Historical Museum

Date: Tuesday, October 29

Time: 10 a.m.

Location: Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60640

Cost: $4.00 per person to be paid at museum

*Bring Cash

The Swedish Honorary Consul and Executive Director of the Swedish American Museum Karin Abercrombie invites IWA members to attend a guided tour of the Marimekko temporary exhibit. 

After the tour, members may visit the museum’s permanent exhibit of the Swedish immigrant’s journey to Chicago.

Lunch is available for purchase at the museum café.

Main Gallery: Radically Marimekko

Marimekko made important contributions to fashion in the 1960s. It is particularly noted for its brightly colored printed fabrics and simple styles. For over 70 years, Marimekko has infused art into everyday patterns. Led by Finnish women designers and innovators, Marimekko has blurred the lines between fine and decorative arts. Its colorful fabrics and openness to experimentation brought together the textile traditions of Finland with innovative and bold designs based on the changing tastes and aesthetics of the contemporary art world. Radically Marimekko traces the brand’s path from industrial art house to its present-day status as a

fashion icon.

Maximum 40 members and one guest each

Transport: Street Parking available on side streets and Clark Street

Questions: Katarina Andersson

Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Time: 11:00 a.m.

Location: Zoom

About the Program:

Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, a group of profusely illustrated books documented elite dining across Europe. They contain instructions for how to carve meats, fishes, and fruits with theatrical flourish; how to pleat and fold linen napkins into elaborate sculptural forms; maps depicting tablescapes of dishes and decorations; choreographies for servants; etiquette for dinners; dietary and health advice; banqueting recipes; and even magic tricks. Together with objects such as knives, forks, and folded linen centerpieces, these books enable us to imagine the dynamic culture of the early modern table.

The emergence and diffusion of illustrated carving and napkin folding manuals demonstrates a lively market for food knowledge that crossed geographic and cultural boundaries. Illustrations first published in Italy were incorporated into countless volumes addressed to trincianti (carvers) and scalchi (stewards), who were responsible for setting the table. Physical evidence tells us that these books enjoyed a broad readership of kitchen staff, patrons, and eventually historians, librarians, and book collectors, who preserved them from the ravages of time. This talk will revisit themes and objects featured in an exhibition that took place at Bard Graduate Center earlier this year called Staging the Table in Europe 1500 - 1800.

About the Presenter:

Deborah L. Krohn, Professor and Chair of Academic Programs at Bard Graduate Center, Head of Focus Project exhibitions. 

Professor Krohn received an A.B. cum laude in Art History/European Cultural Studies, and a M.F.A. in European Art from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in History of Art from Harvard University.

Questions: Ying Hirsh

Enjoy a morning of coffee and conversation with IWA members.

Stop by for as little or as long as you'd like between 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. 

All IWA members and potential new members are welcome!

Director for Membership: Ria Rörich

Director for Member Engagement: Dell Harmsen

Date: Tuesday, November 5th

Time: 10:30 am Social Time; 11:00 am Program in French

Location: IWA Office, 17 N State St, Suite 1760

Dr. Peter Conroy, Professor Emeritus of French Language and Literature will lead the discussion of this wonderful film. “Gigi”, directed by Vincent Minnelli, is one of the most ravishingly beautiful films ever produced. Inspired by the novella by Colette, it won the Academy Award for best picture of 1959.  Minnelli spared no expense for the perfect costumes and sets. Shot on location in Paris the scenes are gorgeous. The star studded cast, Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan, and Maurice Chevalier, do justice to the beautiful score.

To enhance your understanding of the discussion, please view the film beforehand. If you view the film on a DVD, you can choose to listen to it in French.

RSVP by November 3rd, to Nadej Mercier, nadej@letien.net, 773-399-8836 or register on the IWA website (www.iwachicago.org)

Save The Date!

Wednesday, November 6

Location: 840 N Wabash Ave., Chicago IL 60611

More details to come!

Date: Wednesday, November 13

Time: Arrive at 9:45 a.m. Tour starts promptly at 10 a.m.

Location: The Conservation Center, 400 N. Wolcott, Chicago, IL 60622

Maximum 30 members only

Contact: Liza Antelo and Susan Hanes (susanhanes@mac.com)

The Conservation Center is the largest and most comprehensive private art conservation laboratory in the country. With 40 years of experience, The Center is a leader in the field of art restoration, evolving new treatments and methods to adapt to the rapidly changing art world. The Center has cared for fine art from some of the country’s most prestigious private collections, museums, galleries, insurance companies, and corporations. Their conservators are expertly trained in the restoration treatment of paintings, works of art on paper, photographs, textiles, murals, antique and fine furniture, rare books, frames and gilding, objects, and sculpture.  

Founded in 1983, The Center grew from a handful of painting conservators to 30 staff members with a wide range of specializations. In 2012, The Conservation Center moved from Chicago’s River North neighborhood to its new home in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor in West Town. With the help of Studio Gang Architects, the center revitalized a late 19th-century warehouse, previously used to store gold, into a state-of-the-art conservation restoration laboratory.

Book: Tom Lake
Author: Ann Patchett

Discussion Leader: Doreen Feitelberg

Literature Discussion Chairs: Barbara Herzog and Teresa Kennedy

This monthly event is for all interested Bridge players, and includes members who play Basic Social Bridge as well as Intermediate/Advanced Bridge players. (Please be aware that you need a basic knowledge of Bridge in order to participate).

Join your IWA friends in a fun and friendly game of Mah Jongg! There is nothing more exciting than when, with your heart racing, your adrenaline pumping, your palms sweating, and you call "Mah Jongg"!

ALL LEVELS ARE WELCOME! A refresher lesson will be given at the beginning of each meeting.

Join IWA members for an evening meet & greet!

We will be at Aster Hall Bar & Study from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. - come for as little or as long as you like!

Please contact Ria Rörich or Dell Harmsen with any questions.

Save the Date!

November 21, 2024

Program by Consul General of Argentina

More details to come

The IWA office will be closed in observance of Thanksgiving. 

We hope you have a safe and happy holiday!

Enjoy a morning of coffee and conversation with IWA members.

Stop by for as little or as long as you'd like between 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. 

All IWA members and potential new members are welcome!

Director for Membership: Ria Rörich

Director for Member Engagement: Dell Harmsen

Visit to Primitive Gallery

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Details to follow!

Book: Forbidden Notebook

Author: Alba de Cespedes

Discussion Leader: Barbara Herzog

Literature Discussion Chairs: Barbara Herzog and Teresa Kennedy

This monthly event is for all interested Bridge players, and includes members who play Basic Social Bridge as well as Intermediate/Advanced Bridge players. (Please be aware that you need a basic knowledge of Bridge in order to participate).