Arts Alerts: Contribute art to “Flowers for Ukraine” at Contemporary Art Center; Avett, Doobie brothers in town; “Sister Act,” “Rock of Ages” in theaters

ART

• The Contemporary Art Center has two open-house-style events scheduled through August 11.
First, “Flowers for Ukraine” is a collective exhibit open to artists who apply to participate in the Preston Jackson Gallery show, and 20% of the proceeds from the sale of the works will be donated to Doctors without Borders.

The deadline to apply is midnight June 10. “We are open to any art that expresses sympathy and support for the plight of Ukrainians, but also illustrates opposition to the oppression of individual autonomy and totalitarian regimes using war as a means to solve conflict between nations,” CAC says, “They don’t have to be of professional quality.” For details and for consideration for inclusion in the exhibit, submit photos of the art proposed to cac@peoriacac.org.

Also opening June 30 (in Gallery 3R), “Vera Scekic: Synthetic Being” showcases her fondness for manipulating paint as it’s affected by gravity. She’s exhibited throughout the country and runs the OS Projects gallery in Racine, Wis.

The Morgan Turner Quartet from Chicago will headline the Central Illinois Jazz Society concert at Trailside Center on June 18, with the CIJS House Band opening the show.
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MUSIC

• The Peoria Civic Center Arena will be musically busy the week of June 19, with the Avett Brothers June 20, and the Doobie Brothers June 24.

• The Morgan Turner Quartet from Chicago will headline the Central Illinois Jazz Society concert at Trailside Center on June 18, with the CIJS House Band opening the show.

CINEMA

• Filmmaker Wes Anderson assembled an impressive cast for “Asteroid City,” in theaters June 16: Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Margo Robbie, Tilda Swinton and many others in a quirky yard set in the 1950s when a “Junior Stargazer” convention is interrupted by world-shaking events.

• Thanks to CGI (and maybe some AI), Harrison Ford returns four decades after the first Indiana Jones adventure in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” out June 30. In the fifth (final?) appearance, he grabs his fedora and whip and his goddaughter Phoebe Waller-Bridge in a tale set in the 1960s, when ex-Nazi scientists worked for the U.S. space program. Instead of Steven Spielberg, the director is James Mangold (“Ford v. Ferrari”), but John Williams is back to score the movie.

STREAMING

• Launching on HBO Max June 4, “The Idol” is a six-episode dark comedy about the music industry, after an up-and-coming pop star (Lily-Rose Depp) has a breakdown on tour and tries to revive her career with help from a club owner (Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye). The huge cast includes Hank Azaria and the late Anne Heche in her last TV appearance.

• Marvel’s first streaming show in its “Phase 5,” “Secret Invasion,” premieres June 21 on Disney+. The six-part miniseries stars MCU favorite Samuel L. Jackson trying to prevent an invasion of Earth by a shapeshifting alien race. Also returning from other Marvel movies are Ben Mendelsohn, Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman and Don Cheadle.

THEATER

• Corn Stock Theatre kicks off its summer season with the musical comedy “Sister Act,” based on the popular 1992 movie. Directed by Jimmy Ulrich, it runs in the tent venue June 2-10.

• Music from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi and more will be featured in Eastlight Theatre’s musical romance “Rock of Ages” June 23-July 1. Besides recreating the 1980s, the story revolved around a Sunset Strip club threatened with the wrecking ball as an aspiring rocker copes with dreams of stardom and love with a small-town girl.

TV

• The 76th Annual Tony Awards will air live on June 11 on CBS-TV, hosted by Ariana DeBose.

— compiled by Bill Knight



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