Conference Dates: October 20-23, 2011
PHONEBOOK 3 Release event: Friday October 21, 8-11 PM
Join threewalls for a national convergence of artists and independent organizers working at the crossroads of creative administration and studio practice. This four-day event includes the Hand-in-Glove Conference on grassroots creative activity and innovative organizing models across the country and the release of PHONEBOOK 3, a directory of independent art spaces, programming, and projects throughout the United States and a collection of critical essays written by the people who run them.
Hand-in-Glove is a new semiannual conference that addresses the pragmatic realities and imaginative possibilities of self-organized, noncommercial and artist-run spaces, publications, residencies, and a variety of other projects that challenge traditional formats for the production and reception of art at the grass-roots level. A vibrant art world would be unimaginable without the opportunities these projects provide, which oftentimes operate with little to no funding beyond sweat equity, volunteer labor, and personal resources. In response to this realization, Hand-in-Glove brings together these arts organizers for an intergenerational conversation around the practical and philosophical issues prevalent in their work. threewalls is organizing the conference through the newly forming initiative, the Alliance of Independent Arts Organizers (AIAO), a professional organization that will provide resources and mentoring to visual arts facilitators.
Hand-in-Glove features keynote speaker curator Nato Thompson, and panels featuring Martha Wilson, Joseph del Pesco, Courtney Fink, Daniel Tucker, Renny Pritikin, Lane Relyea, and many more, as well as artist-designed parties, food experiences and tours around the city of Chicago. In conjunction, the MDW Fair, an independent art fair of art spaces, galleries and artist groups from the Chicago metropolitan area, will happen in the same building.
PHONEBOOK 3, released at the Hand-in-Glove conference and available for sale thereafter, is the essential guide for artists and arts administrators looking to connect with others in this ever-changing realm of independent artist-run culture, including everything from nonprofit and community institutions to flexible and self-organized art spaces, alternative schools, and residency programs. PHONEBOOK 3, in its third edition, is a directory with over 750 listings of projects and essays by Renny Pritikin, Group Material, Susan Sakash, Faheem Majed, Chances Dances, Paul Durica, Dara Greenwald, Mess Hall, Pilot TV, Amy Franceschini, Jon Brumit and Sarah Wagner, PLAND, Andy Sturdevant, Robby Herbst and more.
PHONEBOOK 3 will be released at an event featuring SALON SALOON, The Upper Middle West's #1 Live-Action Arts Magazine, hosted by Andy Sturdevant and produced by Works Progress from Minneapolis, MN.
Hand-in-Glove will be held at the Geolofts, 3636 S. Iron St., Chicago, IL 60609, in conjunction with MDW Fair Projects. Nighttime activities will take place at partner institutions around the city, locations tbd. Pre-registration is 100 USD and 125 USD at the door. The PHONEBOOK 3 release party is open to the general public. Copies will be available to purchase that evening for 20 USD. Register online by visiting www.three-walls.org/programs/conferences-symposiums.
threewalls was founded in 2003 to provide greater support and visibility for the visual arts community in Chicago. The founders wanted to encourage a greater awareness of Chicago's art scene by inviting emerging professional artists to Chicago to share in the city's rich histories, resources and creative communities. In an effort to provide meaningful support to emerging artists, curators and writers, threewalls has worked to form a sustainable organization that provides exhibition space, residency opportunities and artist fees to both visiting artists through the residency fellowship and to regional artists through the SOLO program.
threewalls is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; by a CityArts Program I grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; The Chicago Community Trust; The Cliff Dwellers Foundation for the Arts; ArtsWork Fund for Organizational Development; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The Alphawood Foundation; The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; 3Arts Chicago; and major support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. threewalls is sponsored by Pernod Absinthe.
The Hand-in-Glove Conference and PHONEBOOK 3 are generously supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and through an Illinois Arts Council Special Projects Grant.
