Elastic Arts

This Thursday’s Improvised Music Series will feature the Chicago Edge Ensemble! The group features the compositions of Dan Phillips and the highly interactive and dynamic collective ensemble improvisations of Avreeayl Ra, Jeb Bishop, Josh Berman, and Krzysztof Pabian. They are performing in support of their fourth release as an ensemble! Freedom, structure, collectivism and melodicism combine to make this their most exciting work yet and a highly unique offering to the world of jazz and improvised music from musicians who have deep roots in the language.

The quintet will perform two sets at 8:30 and 9:30 pm. We’ll see you then!

Tonight’s Improvised Music Series features two groups of virtuosic young improvisers from Chicago and afar! Julián Pujols Quall convenes a trio with Aaron Kaufman-Levine and Thomas Milovac from Orlando; Voluntary Logic is a new quartet bringing together a unique blend of artists from Norway and Chicago. Music at 8:30pm!

8:30 pm:
Julián Pujols Quall - piano
Aaron Kaufman-Levine - saxophones
Thomas Milovac - bass

9:30 pm: Voluntary Logic
Lily Finnegan (drums)
Nicolas Leirtrø (bass)
G**o Kvåle (trombone)
Tuva Olsson (trumpet).

Performing TONIGHT in support of their second album ‘Play’ on Delmark Records, the Chicago-based Paul Giallorenzo Trio plays original music rooted in swing, nodding to Monk, Duke, and Sun Ra, with a post-free approach and sensibility.

The band infuses the tradition into their edgier romps, and vice-versa; more to the point, they inhabit both territories at the same time. Tonight the trio includes Jason Roebke on bass and Mikel Avery on drums. Music at 8pm!

As part of the 2024 Chicago Jazz Festival Citywide series we present three free shows this week with Elastic Arts mainstays. Tonight we have the Isaiah Spencer Quartet led by the prolific drummer. Music at 8pm!

Isaiah Spencer - Drums
Kevin King: Saxes
Brandon Harper: Piano
Devin Foster:Bass

We regret to inform you that today’s Elastic Arts Community Outreach Program event at Armstrong Park has been postponed due to extreme weather. We need to make sure our performers, event workers, and audience are safe. Please join us next week on September 5th for these amazing performances and activations!

We have also postponed this Saturday’s Asian Improv aRts Midwest event with Tatsu Aoki + Yea Big. A rescheduled date will be announced soon.

We hope to see you for FREE shows in our air-conditioned space with a Katie Ernst / Matt Gold Duo tonight and the Isaiah Spencer Quartet on Wednesday.

Thank you!

-Elastic Arts

As part of the 2024 Chicago Jazz Festival Citywide series we present three free shows with Elastic Arts mainstays this upcoming week. The first is this Sunday evening featuring Alejandro Salazar and Diego Hedez Afro-Cuban Quintet.

Salazar and Diego unite in a transcendent musical collaboration that merges Afro-Cuban traditions with innovative expressions of Jazz and Cuban music. The two fuse their deep-rooted musical heritage with cutting-edge electronic elements, creating a transformative experience that resonates with audiences worldwide. Their performances promise to transport listeners on a spiritual journey, celebrating the rich cultural tapestry of Cuba while embracing the limitless possibilities of contemporary music. Salazar and Hedez are accompanied with a stellar band featuring some of Chicago’s top musicians; Micah Collier on Bass, Adrian Ruiz on Piano, and Javier Quintana on Percussion.

On Tuesday 8/27 we have a Katie Ernst / Matt Gold Duo at 8pm (not longer Tin since Artie Black can’t make it). On Wednesday the Isaiah Spencer Quartet will play for us. All three of these shows are $FREE$ and start at 8pm. Come through for some jazz at Elastic Arts!

We’re back this Sunday for the third iteration of our Africlassical Futures Series of 2024. At these events we seek to foreground the under-recognized achievements and challenges of African American composers and performers working in classical music.

We are so happy to welcome NYC based Violin/Vox/Freestyle Composition artist Mazz Swift who engages audiences worldwide with their signature weaving of improvisation and composition. They are also a composer and educator whose works include commissions by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the University of Delaware, the Canales Project, The New Harmony Music Festival, and the Blaffer Foundation. Mazz is a 2020 Jerome Hill Fellow, and 2021 United States Artist, and is working on several projects, all of which involve conduction (conducted improvisation) and are centered around protest songs, spirituals, and the Ghanaian concept of ‘Sankofa’: looking back to learn how to move forward.

Opening the evening is Anaiet Soul, an emerging composer, pianist, guitarist, and vocalist from the South Side of Chicago. Anaiet is influenced by a myriad of musical backgrounds (including Jazz, RnB, Gospel, and Classical), textures, and sounds. She seeks to capture life’s most captivating moments through music and other artistic mediums.

This is a matinee, so meet us here at 4:30pm for a beautiful Sunday gathering. Don’t miss it.

This Friday FFFT returns for its second iteration of sound and movement collaborations for 2024! Freedom From and Freedom To is an exploration and celebration of artistic circumstance. Movement and sound improvisors from all around Chicago gather in front of a live audience, where they are grouped by chance. Each group performs an improvised set. We fuse diverse artistic backgrounds and practices to create unique and fleeting worlds. There will be a special opening set from musicians Allen Moore and Jefferey Thomas alongside dancer Helen Lee. Following we’ll have 6 x 15 minute sets from on-the-spot lottery chosen ensembles. Don’t miss this!

Special Opening Set:

Musicians: Allen Moore, Jefferey Thomas
Dancer: Helen Lee

Dancers:

Aquarius
Kara Brody
Ed Clemons
Fabulous Freddie
Sunshine Lombre
Amanda Maraist
Mya McClellan
Cristal Sabbagh
Ashaand Simone
Kolin Smith
Nikki Telegan

Musicians:

Kim Alpert
Paige Brown
Erez Dessel
Laaura Goldstein
Xadie James
Kezia
Damon Locks
Sun Lynn
Joey Meland
Muso
olula negre
Ugochi Nwaogwugwu
Adam Shead
Erik Sowa
Nick Turner
Sharon Udoh
Yaw
Chien-An Yuan
Adam Zanolini

TONIGHT!

HEAVENSWARE VIII, an audio//visual experience created by Night Logistics and NFC Records, celebrating the diversity of machines used to produce and perform electronic music. Along with realtime audio performances, HEAVENSWARE features cutting edge live visuals to enhance and amplify the sounds. This is a full night of artists using hardware (only) instruments to make beautifully intense dance music from 8pm-2am. Time to dance.

Sounds
✶ D. Strange
✶ Iconoclast
✶ Pheromone
✶ Proximal Distal
✶ xxdoomtownxx

Visuals by:
✶ Jace Inman b2b lam

Be here Saturday for HEAVENSWARE VIII, an audio//visual experience created by Night Logistics and NFC Records, celebrating the diversity of machines used to produce and perform electronic music. Along with realtime audio performances, HEAVENSWARE features cutting edge live visuals to enhance and amplify the sounds. This is a full night of artists using hardware (only) instruments to make beautifully intense dance music from 8pm-2am. If you haven’t experienced a dance party at Elastic yet, this is the time. We turn it up.

Music by:
✶ D. Strange
✶ Iconoclast
✶ Pheromone
✶ Proximal Distal
✶ xxdoomtownxx

Visuals by:
✶ Jace Inman b2b lam

We’re excited to welcome a new exhibition in our visual gallery space from Chicago artist Mia Furlong. The exhibition titled ‘Playground’ focuses on experimentation, exploration, and venture. Furlong’s pieces are in constant motion tinkering and toying with the playground that is everything around her, from the dried paint on her acrylic jars to the spices in her cabinet.

Furlong describes her process of starting with taking a picture of a scene where she is drawn to an interesting shape or the play of light and shadow. From there she crops the images and manipulates that on canvas. Furlong says, “a blue wall is never going to be a blue wall.” Her aim is never to make something that looks like that thing, but invokes the feeling with texture, shape, and color. Please come by and be the first to see these beautiful and colorful works in our space this Sunday! Admission is free and we’ll have the curator here to discuss the works.

$FREE$

TONIGHT! Don’t miss the Walden [verb] closing event!

The Walden [echo] Ensemble will perform a live score of the experimental 3-channel film Walden [verb] where they weave a soundscape from film themes of environmentalism and human discord. The ensemble includes Collage Ascensio and Eric Holskin accompanied by Kat Karasi, Dissonant Dessert, Sol, Marcos Rios of Karma Fête. The live performance will be followed by a jam session and DJ set by Ashina.

This will be the closing event for the Walden [verb] visual gallery exhibition that’s graced our room for the past 2.5 weeks. It’s been such a pleasure to have this remarkable set of artists sharing their work within our walls. We highly suggest you stop by to check out the work, hear some sounds, and celebrate. We’ll have open gallery hours Thursday from 2pm-5pm, and then after 7:30pm we’ll invite you into the space for the closing event with the performance at 8:30pm.

8:30 pm - Walden [Echo] Ensemble

Friday we welcome Japanese legends Toshimaru Nakamura and Tetuzi Akiyama to the Elastic Stage! Support from Superposition and Sarah Lutkenhaus. 8pm Friday 7/26! Be there!

Elastro: Toshimaru Nakamura / Tetuzi Akiyama, Superposition, Sarah Lutkenhaus — Elastic Arts Foundation We’re incredibly excited to welcome two Japanese experimental legends Toshimaru Nakamura and Tetuzi Akiyama to the Elastic stage for a special duo performance. The two will be supported by a set from Superposition (Michael Hartman + Todd Carter) and Sarah Lutkenhaus. Nakamura is a pioneer of no-in...

We are epically excited to host Walden[Echo] Ensemble for a live scoring of the experimental 3-channel film Walden [verb] as they weave a soundscape from film themes of environmentalism and human discord. The soundscape will be created by sound scientists Collage Ascensio and Eric Holskin accompanied by Kat Karasi, Dissonant Dessert, Sol, Marcos Rios of Karma Fête. The live scoring will be followed by a jam session and DJ set by Ashina.

This will be the closing event for the Walden [verb] exhibition that’s graced our room for the past 2.5 weeks. It’s been such an honor to have this set of artists sharing their work within our walls. We highly suggest you stop by Thursday night to check out the work, hear some sounds, and celebrate. We’ll have open gallery hours Thursday from 2pm-5pm, and then after 6pm we’ll invite you into the space for the closing event with the performance at 8:30pm. See you soon!

8:30 pm - Walden [Echo] Ensemble

During the 2.5 weeks the Walden [verb] exhibition is up in our visual gallery we are hosting open gallery hours for our community to come in and experience the work. It is free admission and the perfect time to come by and truly immerse yourself in the film, sculptures, and paintings. This weekend we’ll be open 2:00pm-6:00pm on Saturday and 3:00pm-5:00pm on Sunday. One of the curators will be here to discuss the work with you as well! We’re so excited about this exhibition as it truly transforms our space with artworks and interactive elements throughout the room. You need to experience it!

Walden [verb] is a mixed-media show consisting of art made by members of the cast and crew of a 3-channel video installation called Walden [verb]. This 3-channel work will be the central piece of the show, and various satellite pieces in different art forms will form a creative grouping to accompany the main video installation in the space. Each satellite artwork will be connected to and inspired by the main work either by theme, underlying discussion, visual aesthetic, materials, or location/space.

Elastic Arts is looking for our next Visual Arts Curator. This one-year residency is designed for someone looking to start, grow, or refresh their curatorial practice. The space offers artists a unique opportunity to present work to hundreds of people each week, many of whom do not attend other galleries or museums, and to present work that responds to a very diverse range of audiences. The Visual Gallery Curator at Elastic Arts will be responsible for planning, programming, and coordinating visual art for the gallery area at Elastic Arts from mid-October 2024 through September 2025. Beyond selecting the artists, the Visual Gallery Curator is responsible for ensuring artists sign necessary contracts, install and de-install shows, create/gather support materials for promoting events, producing opening receptions, and various other tasks as needed to fulfill their residency requirements. In addition the Visual Arts Curator writes a critical essay/review/interview for their shows to be included in the quarterly Graphic Notes newsletter published by Elastic Arts.

Should you have any additional questions regarding the residency, please email [email protected] or head to the link in bio more info and application.

KEY DATES

August 12, 2024 - Applications Due
August 19-23 - Select Candidate Interviews
August 26 - Curator Confirmed
October 15-31 - New Curator’s First Opening

We have a very special lineup for this week’s Improvised Music Series on Thursday! Kicking off the night is Mountain Laurel, a Canadian multimedia artist from Edmonton, Alberta and currently based in Chicago, Illinois. Their work uncovers the link between drone and folk horror through sonic tapestries woven out of live performance with found object instrumentation and analog tape loops.

Continuing the night will be Rami Gabriel and Karim Nagi of The Arab Blues creating an electro urban amalgam of Arab tradition and Chicago blues. They employ historical and contemporary instruments to reinterpret forms, melodies, and rhythms; the result is an original expression of immigrant artistry with passionate musicality and revolutionary attitude. Joining them will be special guest Marvin Tate!

8:30 pm - Mountain Laurel
10:00 pm - The Arab Blues

TONIGHT! Our July visual gallery exhibition Walden [verb] opens with an opening party! It’s free to attend with doors opening at 6pm. You must check out this show that fully transforms our space with installations, video, sculpture, painting, and sound. The show is only up until July 25! Join us!

Walden [verb] is a mixed-media show consisting of art made by members of the cast and crew of a 3-channel video installation called Walden [verb]. This 3-channel work will be the central piece of the show, and various satellite pieces in different art forms will form a creative grouping to accompany the main video installation in the space. Each satellite artwork will be connected to and inspired by the main work either by theme, underlying discussion, visual aesthetic, materials, or location/space. Of course, each artist is also connected to the main work because they in some way participated in the creation of it.

Participating Artists

Emma Rozanski, Liz Gomez, Yoni Goldstein, Gonzalo Escobar Mora, Madigan Burke, Zach Barner, Hadley Austin, Ronen Goldstein, Guy Fixsen, Bobbie Meier, Steve Meier, and Daniele Wilmouth

Opening Hours:

Friday July 12: 6pm - close
Saturday July 13: 1pm - 5pm
Sunday 14: 2pm -6pm
Saturday July 20: 2pm - 5pm
Sunday July 21: 3pm - 5pm
Thursday Jul 25: 2pm - 5pm
AND from 6pm - close (including the performance of an improvised live music score - tickets required)

Walden [Verb] is a group collaboration art exhibition that will be instealled at at Elastic Arts from July 12 - July 25. The run will be culminating in a live score to a 3-channel video installation on closing night.

Walden [verb] is a mixed-media show consisting of art made by members of the cast and crew of a 3-channel video installation called Walden [verb]. This 3-channel work will be the central piece of the show, and various satellite pieces in different art forms will form a creative grouping to accompany the main video installation in the space. Each satellite artwork will be connected to and inspired by the main work either by theme, underlying discussion, visual aesthetic, materials, or location/space. Of course, each artist is also connected to the main work because they in some way participated in the creation of it. Join us!

Participating Artist

Emma Rozanski, Liz Gomez, Yoni Goldstein, Gonzalo Escobar Mora, Madigan Burke, Zach Barner, Hadley Austin, Ronen Goldstein, Guy Fixsen, Bobbie Meier, Steve Meier, and Daniele Wilmouth

Opening Hours:

Friday July 12: 6pm - close
Saturday July 13: 1pm - 5pm
Sunday 14: 2pm -6pm
Saturday July 20: 2pm - 5pm
Sunday July 21: 3pm - 5pm
Thursday Jul 25: 2pm - 5pm
AND from 6pm - close (including the performance of an improvised live music score - tickets required)

https://emmarozanski.com/waldenverb/

We need your help! Elastic Arts is conducting a survey in order to better understand the makeup of our community, its needs and desires, and its experiences at Elastic Arts. We’re hoping to learn more about our audience, demographics, and suggestions on how to level up certain aspects of Elastic.

Link to survey in bio! Please take 5 minutes to fill this out. It will really help us! PLUS...We know your time is valuable. To show our gratitude, we will gift $50 DoorDash gift cards to three random people who complete this survey before this Wednesday July 4th.  You can answer anonymously or let us know your name/email. Your input is extremely valuable as we continually strive to make our space better, our organization stronger, and as we dream together about what the future may hold for this amazing community. Thanks very much for your input!

TONIGHT! Join us as we explore the vibrant musical world of Andrés Crovetti. Andrés will open solo, premiering new songs and experimenting with intersections of music, comedy, and storytelling.

Following will be a full band performance of the genre-fluid improvisatory soundscapes of Andrés’ first solo record ‘Instead Of’. Initially released in 2019, this will mark its 5 year anniversary and Chicago premiere with a new lineup and re-imagination of the works, including live recording and streaming. Gather with chance, exploration, and good vibes in a space welcoming to it all. We’ll see you tonight at 8pm!

Tonight! Elastro with castroduperly, Paige Alice Naylor, and Judd Morrissey. 8:30pm start!

We are ecstatic to welcome Leah Lara as one of our new Dark Matter Residents!

Leah Lara is a Black nonbinary puppeteer and 3-D illustrator from Dallas, TX. Their work often investigates the black femme experience while drawing on dark and whimsical fairytale archetypes and themes, utilizing fairy tales as a way to reexamine social structures, behaviors, social hierarchies, and biases. They love working with their hands, and stick to the commitment of writing, designing, and performing one original puppet show a year.

We are excited to see Leah’s imaginative work this year!

Find out more about Leah and our other Residents at https://elasticarts.org/dark-matter-residency, and learn more about Dark Matter programming at the link in our bio!

This month’s Elastro on Friday welcomes back Juliana Castro Duperly aka castroduperly to Chicago for a multimedia performance! We’ll then experience a solo performance from both Paige Alice Naylor and Judd Morrisey to round out the evening. castroduperly is a video and sound artist interested in language as a performative act. The artist says ‘Video, sound, and words are plastic media capable of constructing and deconstructing meaning.’   Paige Alice Naylor uses her voice, electronics, vinyl samples, tape loops, field recordings, and synthesizer guiding listeners on a journey through a transitory space.

Morrissey’s piece ‘The Zone of Pure Doubt’ combines elements of poetry, augmented reality, and performance to explore themes of memory, obsolescence, gender, and time-travel through forms inspired by equatorial line-crossing ceremonies and the age-old human art of navigation by the stars.

This is going to be an incredible night. Meet us here at 8:30pm!

We need your help! Please take 5 minutes to fill out an Elastic Arts Community Survey today and be entered to win a gift card!

Elastic Arts Community Survey Your participation in this survey is greatly appreciated. We truly value your time and thoughtful responses. As a token of our gratitude, we will be raffling three $50 DoorDash gift cards to anyone who completes the survey. After submitting the survey, you'll be invited to enter the raffle by clicki...

We hope you’re having a great start to summer! Elastic is conducting a survey in order to better understand the makeup of our community, its needs and desires, and its experiences at Elastic Arts. We’re hoping to learn more about our audience, demographics, and suggestions on how to level up certain aspects of Elastic.

Link to survey in bio! Please take 5 minutes to fill this out. It will really help us! PLUS...We know your time is valuable. To show our gratitude, we will gift $50 DoorDash gift cards to three random people who complete this survey before July 4th.  You can answer anonymously or let us know your name/email. Your input is extremely valuable as we continually strive to make our space better, our organization stronger, and as we dream together about what the future may hold for this amazing community. Thanks very much for your input!

Join us this Saturday for Shake Shook Shaken, a monthly theater/movement workshop series produced by Julie Meckler. The series is designed for people to gently bring body awareness, allowing participants to open up, explore outside of their comfort zone, bond with each other, create and show. This month we’ll have Sarah Evans and Julie leading on the topic of BELONG! No prior dance or acting experience is necessary, just willingness to move and exhale. This workshop series is for anyone and everyone. We’ll see you at 12pm on Saturday 6/22!

TONIGHT! Come cool off in our beautiful air conditioned room to experience a night of short films as part of the traveling Light Matter Film Fest! The curators have put together a special program from artists all over the world. We can wait to get cozy and dig in! Meet us here at 7:30pm! Check out the program below for a preview.

Light Matter: Chicago Program:
Kolasvt Vfulles (Arvcuken Noquisi, Muskvge Nation, 11 minutes)
Muted Bridges (Wai Win Yan, Hong Kong, 4 minutes)
Spoils (Luciana Decker, Bolivia, 8 minutes)
Monolith (Teresa Carson, Mexico/USA, 14 minutes)
Superfund (Charles Cadkin, USA, 3 minutes)
Konstantin (Hogan Seidel, USA, 3 minutes)
KOMPROMAT (Mandy Eugeniou, UK, 7 minutes)
Haxan:Reducida (Michael Mersereau, USA, 6 minutes)
Jews Harp or: Harpaud (Sam Taffel, USA, 7 minutes)
The Halo is a Symbol of Our Death (Lorelei D’Andriole, USA, 7 minutes)
In the Fishtank (Linnea Nugent, USA, 3 minutes)
When I Close My Eyes, I See Everything (Alexandre Alagoa, Portugal, 14 minutes)

*This event begins off-site at Solidarity Triangle - Northwest Side of Kimball/Diversey/Milwaukee Intersection*

Join us TODAY for A NOLA JUNETEENTH Celebration featuring The Windy City Ramblers! We will kick off the festivities at Solidarity Triangle, where we’ll start with a lively outdoor parade at 7pm. We’ll make our way to Elastic Arts by 8 PM for a night of joyous music and celebration.

The Chicago Windy City Ramblers, Inc. is a non-profit brass band organization that is dedicated to the cultural development of the youth of Chicago through the brass band and second line culture. The Windy City Ramblers Brass Band builds from the musical legacy and festive spirit of the New Orleans brass band and second line culture while embracing the rich creative history of Chicago music culture and musicianship. Musically and Culturally, their aim is to inspire, cultivate, maintain and employ excellent musicianship, professionalism, bandsmanship, and cultural enlightenment.

We’ll have selections from composer, producer and DJ Nubian Traxx, committed to highlighting the Black roots of EDM, and creating a space for unity as the sounds move us to dance together in gratitude and harmony. Nubian Traxx is a multifaceted composer, pianist & Sound Designer. She began her journey in music, spinning records across the states and throughout Chicagoland. She is recognized for her unforgettable dance mixes, in addition to her recent composition: “Soul,” a cinematic concept album that encapsulates her passion for Jazz and R&B music.

Don’t miss out on this vibrant celebration of Juneteenth!
We’ll see you tonight at 7pm!

Tucked away in the village of Alfred in rural western NY, the experimental film and media arts festival Light Matter has become “a major East Coast showcase for experimental film and video” (Sicisnki, INRO) in three short years. Spurred by a desire to bring together the often disconnected worlds of Film and Media Arts, curator James Hansen constructs thoughtful, eccentric programs that seek to create conversations between individual works, showcasing both emerging and established artists.

After traveling stops in NYC and Santa Fe, Light Matter is coming to Chicago with a very special program on June 16. Spanning a host of mediums, medias, and styles, “This festival regards experimental media less as a genre and more as an open question, a form whose identity flickers into being at the moment when light hits the screen.” (Sicisnki, INRO). For any experimental film/media/art lover with a sense of adventure, a tolerance for flicker, and an open mind.

Light Matter: Chicago Program:
Kolasvt Vfulles (Arvcuken Noquisi, Muskvge Nation, 11 minutes)
Muted Bridges (Wai Win Yan, Hong Kong, 4 minutes)
Spoils (Luciana Decker, Bolivia, 8 minutes)
Monolith (Teresa Carson, Mexico/USA, 14 minutes)
Superfund (Charles Cadkin, USA, 3 minutes)
Konstantin (Hogan Seidel, USA, 3 minutes)
KOMPROMAT (Mandy Eugeniou, UK, 7 minutes)
Haxan:Reducida (Michael Mersereau, USA, 6 minutes)
Jews Harp or: Harpaud (Sam Taffel, USA, 7 minutes)
The Halo is a Symbol of Our Death (Lorelei D’Andriole, USA, 7 minutes)
In the Fishtank (Linnea Nugent, USA, 3 minutes)
When I Close My Eyes, I See Everything (Alexandre Alagoa, Portugal, 14 minutes)