• December 25, 2017 (8:30pm - 2:00am)

    December 25, 2017 (8:30pm - 2:00am)

    Salonathon: Island of Misfit Toys
    www.salonathon.org/#about-statement
    Beauty Bar -1444 W. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL

    Salonathon is an engine for experimental work, an inclusive creative community, and a great party. It manifests every Monday night at Beauty Bar, and also in the form of residencies, retreats and partnerships beyond. Since 2011, Salonathon has hosted thousands of performances and artists, and has nurtured the development of dozens of new projects and collaborations.

    Salonathon is a home for underground, emerging and genre-defying art!

  • October 6 - 26, 2017

    October 6 - 26, 2017

    A Rainbow in Curved Air
    Opening Reception - Friday, October 6, 2017 (6:00pm - 9:00pm)
    www.chicagoartistscoalition.org/program…
    Chicago Artists Coalition, 217 N. Carpenter, Chicago, IL

    The Chicago Artists Coalition is pleased to present A Rainbow in Curved Air, featuring HATCH Artist Residents Lesley Jackson, Meg Leary, and Matt Mancini.

    “And then all wars ended / Arms of every kind were outlawed and the masses gladly contributed them to giant foundries in which they were melted down and the metal poured back into the earth / The Pentagon was turned on its side and painted purple, yellow & green / All boundaries were dissolved / The slaughter of animals was forbidden / The whole of lower Manhattan became a meadow in which unfortunates from the Bowery were allowed to live out their fantasies in the sunshine and were cured ...”

    This is excerpted from the liner notes of composer Terry Riley's groundbreaking 1969 album A Rainbow in Curved Air, a masterpiece of both keyboard virtuosity and improvisation. Somewhere in the mix of technical mastery and the free-wheeling, hippy spirit emerges a utopian vision not only of peace but of personal happiness and pleasure. We often find improvisation steeped in utopian idealism. Sun Ra's revolutionary free jazz, for instance, spawned the Afro-futurist ethos of intergalactic emancipation, but it's important to remember that Sun Ra valued "precision and discipline” over total freedom. Matt Mancini, Lesley Jackson, and Meg Leary harness the extemporaneity of lived experience and channel it through carefully structured forms to evoke an alternative to the bleak political quagmires of this era.

    A Rainbow in Curved Air is curated by Danny Floyd.

  • November 30, 2016 (4:00pm - 6:00pm)

    November 30, 2016 (4:00pm - 6:00pm)

    Of Roses and Jessamine
    engage.saic.edu/event/1149464
    LeRoy Neiman Center, 37 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL

    Join us for a special evening of performance in conjunction with the show “Of Roses and Jessamine.” Performances by local artists in the SAIC community will extend the show’s narrative into an expanded discussion around ritual, spiritual experience, and ecstasy. Works will address issues surrounding disenfranchised bodies, embodied trauma, and reclamations of power through personal agency and spiritual expression. Viewers are encouraged to consider how the queering of ritual might offer oppressed bodies paths to freedom and shift structures of power.

    Participating artists include Meg Leary, Kurt Peterson, Máiréad Delaney, Sophie Leddick, Nanna Rosenfeldt-Olsen, Jesús Hilario-Reyes, Maria Luísa Conlon and Erin Evans Delaney. Performance ephemera by Chicago’s Industry of the Ordinary will also be on view.

  • November 19, 2016 (7:00pm - 11:00pm)

    November 19, 2016 (7:00pm - 11:00pm)

    MCA Prime Time: Ascend
    mcachicago.org/Calendar/2016/11/Prime-T…
    Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL

    MCA Prime Time is an after-hours series that taps into the creative pulse of Chicago with an eclectic mix of live music, performance art, film screenings, and interactive programs that transform the museum in spectacular ways. The series is an electrifying social experience created with artists and key cultural groups in the city.

    The MCA partners with online music magazine Pitchfork for this November Prime Time. Titled Ascend, the event explores themes of growth, renewal, ritual, and harmony, and showcases the best of Chicago’s emerging musical talent along with art activations from local artists as well as food and drink throughout the museum.

    Ascend features Chicago musical artists Noname, who blurs the lines between poetry and rap; Jamila Woods, whose music is rooted in soul and hip-hop; and the Godfather of Footwork, RP Boo, who closes out the evening. Also featured are DJ sets by Slo’Mo Party's Audio Jack, Adachi Taiko's thunderous drumming, and indie-rock duo Homme's escalating vocals and experimental sounds; interactive video installations by Ben Baker-Smith, Sara Ludy, and Sam Rolfes; and a cleansing experience with Asrai Garden, Chicago's beautifully dark and lush floral shop, which leads smudge stick–making activities. Visitors can also enter the magical world of The Fantasorium to convene and preen with fellow partygoers and enjoy atmosphere, activities, and art curated by the evening's oracle, artist Claire Arctander. Finally, Joshua Kent invites you to sit and radically reimagine empowerment in a chair composed of hundreds of flowers.

    Prime Time: Ascend is cocurated by Kristen Kaza from No Small Plans Production with Ann Meisinger at the MCA.

  • October, 2016

    October, 2016

    HATCH Projects: 2016 - 2017 Residency
    www.chicagoartistscoalition.org/program…
    Chicago Artists Coalition - 217 N. Carpenter, Chicago, IL

    HATCH Projects is a yearlong, juried incubator for contemporary Chicago artists and curators that strives to support an ecology of curatorial and artistic practice. HATCH fosters shared experimentation, exchange, and creativity to produce ground-breaking exhibitions and programs.

    Artist Residents are divided into groups of six to work with one Curator Resident. Selected artists will participate in a 3-person exhibition curated by the group’s assigned Curator Resident. Halfway through the year, Artist Residents can decide to continue with their Curator Resident or work with another one in the program for their 6-person exhibition. Each Artist Resident receives professional development through dynamic exhibitions, one-on-one studio visits, public programs, and community building to develop a sustainable creative practice. Through this unique hands-on experience and professional development program, Artist Residents develop valuable insight and experience in contemporary exhibition making.

  • September, 2016

    September, 2016

    Ox-Bow Artist Residency
    www.ox-bow.org
    Ox-Bow - 3435 Rupprecht Way Saugatuck, MI

    Ox-Bow’s residency program offers artists and writers, at various stages in their career, the time, space, and community to encourage growth and experimentation in their practice. The Arts Faculty and MFA residences are held during the summer while our core classes and community programs are in session. The small group of residents is a part of Ox-Bow’s artist community of students, faculty, and Visiting Artists. The Fall Artist and Writers' Residencies are held for five weeks in September and October. This larger group of artists enjoy a more intimate community.

  • October 23, 2015 (7:00pm - 9:00pm)

    October 23, 2015 (7:00pm - 9:00pm)

    Meg Leary Performance of DivaDome
    gallery400.uic.edu/events/performance-m…
    Gallery 400 - 400 S. Peoria, Chicago, IL

    For this performance, Meg Leary will perform in her DivaDome costume currently on view in the Making Chances exhibition. The performance is modeled on the traditional concert performance style but will incorporate media, lights, and objects in expanded ways. This piece is a continuation of Leary's project on the role of the opera diva in popular culture and as a representation of gender fluidity.

    Meg Leary began her artistic career as a classical vocalist, which has since become the foundation for the visual and performative work she now produces. Between 2007 and 2012, she has been developing a series of works based on music theory techniques using music materials such as cassette tape and vinyl records.

  • September 20, 2015

    September 20, 2015

    Water Works
    www.nrdc.org/experts/rob-moore/nrdc-lig…
    EXPO Chicago- Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave. Chicago, IL

    The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a non-profit environmental organization with more than two million members and online activists. Since 1970, NRDC’s lawyers, scientists and advocates have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health and environment. To bolster its science, litigation and advocacy expertise, NRDC engages in a variety of interdisciplinary partnerships with artists, architects and designers—collaborations that are integral to engaging the public and raising awareness of the environmental issues facing our communities. Renewing its partnership with EXPO CHICAGO for the fourth year, NRDC will present the work of Antonin Fourneau entitled Water Light Graffiti. Past NRDC Special Exhibitions include Gordon Matta-Clark and Maya Lin (2012), Vaughn Bell (2013), and artist-in-residence Jenny Kendler (2014).

    Water Works invites a select group of contemporary artists – Doug Fogelson, Jenny Kendler, Meg Leary, Aspen Mays, Linda Tegg, and Alex Wieder – to create ephemeral interventions using water as their only resource. The series revolves around Water Light Graffiti, a digital surface that illuminates when touched by water. Created by Paris-based artist Antonin Fourneau, Water Light Graffiti merges the immediacy of street-art with the sophistication of digital technology and the movement of the cinematic screen. Curated by Giovanni Aloi and Elizabeth Corr, this special series is sponsored by the Water Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an international nonprofit environmental organization committed to raising awareness about the environment through robust interdisciplinary partnerships. The series is free with admission to EXPO CHICAGO and will take place in booth #104.

  • September 18-20, 2015

    September 18-20, 2015

    The Annual: An Exhibition of New Chicago Art
    www.chicagoartistscoalition.org/annual-…
    Chicago Artists Coalition - 217 N. Carpenter, Chicago, IL

    Taking place during EXPO ART WEEK, The Annual is a yearly sales exhibition celebrating cutting-edge Chicago-based artists. Arranged by two guest curators, The Annual creates an accessible forum for emerging collectors to discover affordable new work and engage directly with its creators.

    2015 Exhibiting Artists: Alfredo Salazar-Caro, Kiam Marcelo Junio, Macon Reed, Michelle Anne Harris, Noël Morical, Susy Bielak, Alejandro Figueredo Diaz-Perera, Chelsea Culp, Danielle Dobies, Jean Alexander Frater, Jeroen Nelemans, Neha Vedpathak, Phaedra Call, Sherwin Ovid, Bryan Volta, Anna Martine Whitehead, David Alekhuogie, Danny Giles, Krista Franklin, Esau McGhee, Johana Moscoso, Sonja Thomsen, Meg Leary and Sarah Beth Woods.

  • September 11 - October 24, 2015

    September 11 - October 24, 2015

    Making Chances an exhibition in the citywide program Platforms: 10 Years of Chances Dances
    gallery400.uic.edu/exhibitions/making-c…
    Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria St. Chicago, IL

    Artists and organizations included: Black and Brown Punk Show Collective, Elijah Burgher and Gordon Hall, Margaret Bobo-Dancy, Julius DC Bautista, Chain Reaction, Jed Dulanas for Mizzchicago.com, Hope Esser and Daviel Shy, Edie Fake, Nicole Garneau, Rami George, Jacquelyn Carmen Guerrero in collaboration with Sofia Moreno and Molly Hewitt, Amanda Gutierrez in collaboration with Mitch Said, Leon Andrew Hensley with A/S/L_Media, Christa Holka, Meg Leary, Riva Lehrer, Rebecca Mir Grady, Madsen Minax, Fawzia Mirza and Ryan Logan, Anne Elizabeth Moore, Matt Morris, Dan Paz, Mugsie Pike, Aay Preston-Myint, Macon Reed, Jules Rosskam, Marian Runk, Matthew Schlagbaum, Seth & Kellen, Michael Sirianni, Sky Cubacub, 3rd Language, Transgender Oral History Project, Charles Vinz, Katie Vota, Dion Walton, Ethan A. White, Bruce E. Wiest, Youth Empowerment Performance Project, and Latham Zearfoss and Micah Salkind.

    Making Chances is an exhibition of the identity, history, and community of Chances Dances, the radically inclusive queer dance party that builds safer spaces and supports local artists and activists. The exhibition is presented as part of the citywide program Platforms: 10 Years of Chances Dances, a multi-venue series of events and exhibitions featuring artwork, ephemera, herstory, performances, texts, and music by artists who have been supported by the Chances Dances granting program, past and present Chances organizers, and the greater Chances community. Gallery 400’s Making Chances, the central exhibition of the Platforms program, illuminates how the multifaceted Chances Dances collective—with their radically inclusive ethos, non-hierarchical organizational structure, broadly welcoming and safe spaces at their parties, and yearly micro grants—functions as a community catalyst.

    Curated by artist/curator/educator John Neff and Gallery 400 director Lorelei Stewart, Making Chances meshes artworks, histories and exhibition design in a reflection of the intertwined activities and lived experiences in the Chances community. Contrary to conventional retrospectives, this exhibition is not about constructing a unified identity but rather an attempt to channel and present for exploration an ongoing process of creating/working through difference. Within the Platforms program various curators, galleries, and groups of artists represent distinctive facets of the work being generated by queer artists in Chicago today, while the Making Chances exhibition examines the visual/physical manifestations of collectivity, process, and ideology. Evoking the fluidity of Chances’ community, the blending of private and public in its work, and the nomadic nature of the parties, Making Chances at Gallery 400 combines grantees’ artworks, oral histories from Chances organizers and community members, historical objects, ephemera from the organization of Chances, and exhibition design elements commissioned from Chances community members.

    Making Chances is organized in three parts: 1/ art objects, ephemera, documentary photography, audio and video histories, and textual accounts of events in the histories of Chances Dances, Chicago’s LGBTIQ communities, and larger social change, all presented along a dynamic, non-linear timeline designed by artist Edie Fake, 2/ a video archive of work from Chances awardees and organizers accessible on multiple monitors along an upholstered banquette designed by artist Charlie Vinz, and 3/ a central performance platform designed by artists Elijah Burgher and Gordon Hall and planned to host a series of performances by Chances¬awarded performers, as well as other public events including a fashion show, poetry readings, and more.

    In the way objects in the exhibition straddle positions as artworks and exhibition environments, and the multidimensional contexts for practice are presented alongside personal histories and created objects, the complexity that is Chances comes to life in Making Chances.

  • September 8, 2015 (8:00pm)

    September 8, 2015 (8:00pm)

    The Last Five Years
    nightingalecinema.org/the-first-five-ye…
    Nightengale Cinema - 1084 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL

    A bookended pair of lively screening events featuring works from the past, present, and future of CHANCES granted artists, organizers, and scenesters. This is your pre-party party, snacks and group travel to that night’s CHANCES DANCES included.

    Including work by: Mark Aguhar, Cavenaw and Cavenis, Sky Cubacub, Ky Dickens, EMR (Math Bass & Dylan Mira), Hope Esser & Daviel Shy, Rami George, Jacquelyn Carmen Guerrero, Meg Leary, Marianna Milhorat, Madsen Minax, Dylan Mira, Fawzia Mirza, Aay Preston-Myint, Macon Reed, Oli Rodriguez, Amina Ross & NIC Kay, Jules Rosskam, Xina Xurner, Latham Owen Zearfoss

    Program Design by Marian Runk
    Curated by Christy LeMaster

  • September 1 - 3, 2015

    September 1 - 3, 2015

    Camp Salondawega: Workshop in the Wild
    www.salonathon.org/camp-salondawega/
    Camp Wandawega - W5453 Lake View, Elhorn, WI

    Camp Salondawega is what happens when two great spirits collide — that of Salonathon and that of Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Since the summer of 2014, Salonathon has brought a slew of genre-defying artists to the woods to work on creative projects and to canoodle, canoe and commune.

  • December, 2013

    December, 2013

    Vermont Studio Center: Residency
    vermontstudiocenter.org
    Vermont Studio Center - 80 Pearl Street, Johnson, VT

    The Vermont Studio Center was founded by artists in 1984. Our location--situated along the banks of the Gihon River in the historic village of Johnson, Vermont--was chosen with the intention of fostering creativity through community, collaboration, and quiet reflection supported by the unspoiled beauty of the northern Green Mountains.

    Over the last 30 years, VSC has grown to become the largest international artists' and writers' residency program in the United States. Our mission is to provide studio residencies in an inclusive, international community, honoring creative work as the communication of spirit through form.

  • August, 2012

    August, 2012

    ACRE Residency
    www.acreresidency.org
    Steuben, WI

    ACRE’s residency takes place each year outside of rural Steuben, Wisconsin. There, several dozen emerging artists from all over the world join a staff of dedicated volunteers and visiting luminaries. The residency is a time to meet and form collaborations with like-minded peers, make work, learn new skills, and discuss ideas with a group of dedicated, talented makers. Studios are set up to be shared work-spaces and a communal environment is emphasized.

  • May 18th & 19th, 2012 (7:00pm - 11:00pm)

    May 18th & 19th, 2012 (7:00pm - 11:00pm)

    Muses & Valkyries
    Thalia Hall -1807 S. Allport, Chicago, IL

    Unfortunately, the performances are cancelled due to unforeseen issues with the venue. Stay tuned!

  • March 1 - 17, 2012

    March 1 - 17, 2012

    Acts of Recognition
    www.kcad.edu/events/acts-of-recognition/
    Kendall College of Art & Design at Ferris State University, 17 Fountain St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI

    Work by: Stephanie Brooks, Anna Campbell, Meg Leary, Sarah Lindley, Maureen Nollette, Monica Rezman, Miriam Slager and Kathie Webb

  • February 22, 2012 (3:00pm)

    February 22, 2012 (3:00pm)

    Visiting Artist & Gallery Conversation
    www.kcad.edu/events/acts-of-recognition/
    Kendall College of Art & Design at Ferris State University, 17 Fountain St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI

  • December, 2012

    December, 2012

    Chances Dances - Critical Fierceness Grant
    www.chancesdances.org/fierceness

    Since its founding in 2005, Chances Dances has sought to create a safe space for all gender expressions by bringing together the varied LGBTIQ communities of Chicago. The creation of the Critical Fierceness grant expands upon this goal by offering a unique platform to fund queer thinking and expression through art. Individuals or groups who identify themselves or their work as queer are encouraged to apply. The Critical Fierceness Grant supports the development and realization of queer artwork through project-based financial assistance of up to $500.

  • November 22, 2010 (8:00pm)

    November 22, 2010 (8:00pm)

    Chuckles Plus: Avant Garde Comedy Festival
    Gershwin Hotel Theater, 7 East 27th Street

  • October 25, 2011 (11:30am)

    October 25, 2011 (11:30am)

    Visiting Artist Lecture
    www.gvsu.edu/vma/
    Grand Valley State University, Department of Art - 1 Campus Dr, Allendale, MI

  • August 17-28, 2011

    August 17-28, 2011

    ACRE Residency
    www.acreresidency.org
    Steuben, WI

    ACRE’s residency takes place each year outside of rural Steuben, Wisconsin. There, several dozen emerging artists from all over the world join a staff of dedicated volunteers and visiting luminaries. The residency is a time to meet and form collaborations with like-minded peers, make work, learn new skills, and discuss ideas with a group of dedicated, talented makers. Studios are set up to be shared work-spaces and a communal environment is emphasized.

  • June, 2011

    June, 2011

    Chicago Arts Assistance Program (CAAP) Grant awardee

    The goals of CAAP are to discover, nurture and expand Chicago’s multi-ethnic artists and nonprofit arts organizations; and to foster new and emerging individual artists and arts groups by providing grants for professional, artistic, and organizational development to those who have had limited access to funding in both public and private grants programs. CAAP grants provide financial assistance to individual artists, and to nonprofit arts organizations with incomes under $150,000. The maximum grant request is $1,000. Funding priority is intended for applicants who have not been previously funded through the CAAP Program, or have not had access to traditional funding programs such as grants, fellowships and art commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, corporations, or foundations.

  • June 10, 2011 (8:00pm)

    June 10, 2011 (8:00pm)

    No Joke Comedy Festival
    collaboraction.typepad.com/collaboracti…
    Collaboraction - 1575 N. Milwaukee #332, Chicago, IL

    The "No Joke Comedy Festival" provides a venue for performers who are exploring the "space" of stand-up comedy but adding something completely different to the ongoing dialogue. These performers are all working at the intersection of popular forms of entertainment (stand-up, spoken-word, magic, vaudeville, juggling, burlesque, etc...) and performance art, creating unique works that elicit meaningful insight opposed to gut-wrenching laughter.

  • June 6, 2011 (8:00pm)

    June 6, 2011 (8:00pm)

    Poonies Cabaret
    www.linkshall.org/poonies-cabaret/
    Links Hall, 3435 N Sheffield Ave # 207 Chicago, IL

    Poonie’s is named for Poonie Dodson, a much-loved Chicago dancer/choreographer who died of AIDS in the early 90’s. Originally inspired by Patrick’s Cabaret in Minneapolis, Poonie’s Cabaret welcomes all forms of expression and anything which cannot be defined but can be thoroughly enjoyed. It features works in progress from artists working in many different creative realms – dance, music, contact improvisation, puppetry, performance art, theatre, voguing, freestyle rapping, drag, burlesque, cheerleading, stand-up comedy, etc.

    Curators chosen by Links Hall select the works shown from among local Chicago artists. Performers and audience members are asked for a $5 donation. Proceeds from the cabaret go to the Links Hall Duncan Erley Coming Out of the Closet Fund.

  • May 6 - June 2, 2011

    May 6 - June 2, 2011

    Incantation
    peanutgallerychicago.com
    Peanut Gallery - Flat Iron Building 1579 N. Milwaukee Rm. 345, Chicago, IL