Wowow! Around an arts and crampy table in an anonymous but lively third space in the Southern Loop of Chicago, some of our top minds and movers convene to chat about past, present and futures of Chicago DIY/DIT artist-organizing. Jesse, Duncan and eventually Ryan — slouches in their own rights — lead by following a disparate flow. A champagne bottle to share with 300 people! Leave a masterpiece, take a masterpiece! Should everything become a library? These notions and more are offered up in a freewheeling conversation that’s not to be missed.
This week Brian and Duncan muse about color with design duo Luftwerk. The Chicago-based collaborative Petra Bachmaier & Sean Gallero entrance us into their series of sculptural light installations using botanical pigments and dynamic lights currently on view at the Chicago Cultural Center.
This week Bad at Sports catches up with Wisconsin’s pride, the Wormfarm Institute, with Jay Salinas. We learn more about a long running experiment in arts funding between the fine states of Wisconsin and Minneapolis. We learn about how sustainable agriculture and contemporary art have found an unusual marriage, and take a D-Tour. Then we open the door two adventure and the future of contemporary placemaking, and artist run endeavors with Nicholas Wylie and Brandon Alvendia, who speculate on the future of the MdW fair and the new infrastructure we have been building together to strengthen the future of Midwestern art making.
Live from our tailgate at the MdW fair we bring you part two of a series we are doing with the organizing members of the MdW and a wrap up conversation that looks at the current state of arts organizing. But this week we have Confluence Studio, Duaba Unenra and Sam Gould, then are joined by Amy Kligman of the Charlotte Street Foundation. We learn about contemporary policing practice in MN and how residents mobilize through art and stories. Then we shift over to Kansas City MO and touch the other side of artist run culture through a 25 year old entrenched arts org. Good times had by all!
Here we are here we are finishing out our roundup with the end of our “spot check” in Calgary Alberta, Canada, and we close out with the Western Canadian performance art legend Rita McKeough.
Rita McKeough is an installation and performance artist whose practice is based in Calgary. Her work incorporates audio, electronics and mechanical performing objects. Since the late 70s,
