Nina Metz

Nina Metz is a Chicago Tribune critic who covers TV and film. Before joining the Tribune she was a freelance writer and theater critic. She also worked as a news radio producer in Chicago and New Orleans.

The blue bin recycling mascot named Loop. (Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation)

Googly eyes and a blue bin: Meet Loop, Chicago’s new recycling mascot

April 15, 2026 at 5:30 a.m.

Like Microsoft's Clippy of old, a pair of googly eyes are enough to anthropomorphized the familiar recycling bin.

Rachel Cole, curator at the Northwestern University Transportation Library, with a whimsical cover from a 1982 Department of Agriculture report at the Northwestern University Library in Evanston, March 19, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Flashback to a time when government reports were works of art

April 8, 2026 at 10:52 a.m.

The Transportation Library at Northwestern is a repository of old state and federal reports with creative graphic art on their covers.

An overview of the main hall of EXPO Chicago 2025 on Navy Pier in Chicago. (Lucy Hewett/ CKA/Frieze)

What’s on tap for EXPO Chicago 2026

April 6, 2026 at 2:52 p.m.

The annual art fair, which runs April 9-12 at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, has been around since 2012.

Artist Steve Shanabruch sits with some of his neighborhood prints at his Chicago home on March 9, 2026. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Visit Norwood Park! Or Englewood! Chicago artist creates and sells tourism posters for city’s neighborhoods.

March 27, 2026 at 12:07 p.m.

Illustrator Steve Shanabruch's retro posters suggest 1930s travel advertisements — what was once a side gig now makes up half his income.

Madeleine Grynsztejn, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, stands among Pedro y Juana’s, “From the Tropics with Love,” an installation, at the museum on March 16, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

MCA leader Madeleine Grynsztejn will step down after nearly 20 years

March 17, 2026 at 10:30 a.m.

After nearly two decades at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, director Madeleine Grynsztejn is stepping down

From left: Judge Anthony C. Kyriakopoulos, attorney Tinos Diamantatos, judge Megan Goldish and the onstage jury at the National Hellenic Museum’s "Trial of Themistocles" at Harris Theater in April 2025. (Elios Photography/The National Hellenic Museum)

Was Odysseus a criminal? A mock trial will determine his fate.

March 9, 2026 at 5:30 a.m.

The National Hellenic Museum's mock trial series brings ancient history and myth to life in a modern courtroom setting.

The DePaul Art Museum at 935 W Fullerton Ave. is shutting down on June 30. (Provided by DPAM)

Members of DePaul faculty publish open letter opposing the closure of art museum

March 3, 2026 at 5:52 a.m.

The letter has more than one thousands signatures from people hoping DePaul will reconsider its decision

DePaul Art Museum will close in June

February 26, 2026 at 2:15 p.m.

The university's museum closes due to budget cuts after occupying a space on Fullerton Avenue since 2011.

An Outcry participant seen mid-scream in the documentary “Outcry: Alchemists of Rage." (Clare Major)

‘Outcry’ documentary is about a Chicago woman’s group scream sessions

February 27, 2026 at 5:25 p.m.

Whitney Bradshaw created Outcry as a place for women to stop being silent and start getting real. A new documentary looks at how that works.

Twenty-four returning players are abandoned on the islands of Fiji with the chance to win $1 million for "Survivor's" 50th season. (Robert Voets/CBS)

‘Survivor’ offering an idol hunt for viewers ahead of its Season 50 premiere

February 19, 2026 at 5:30 a.m.

An immunity idol has been hidden in all 50 states. The clue for the Illinois location will be revealed on Friday.

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