Join us as we welcome cellist, composer, and educator Carolina Borja-Marroquin. Opening the evening will be a solo piano/voice performance from the amazing Paige Brown.

AIRMW presents: Syzygia (Jeff Chan, Robbie Lynn Hunsinger, Jamie Kempkers, Michael Perkins)

Slicing through time with a whittled knife.

Born not out of nostalgia, but out of a collection of dreams, collaged and pasted together over time: we are pleased to announce the opening reception of Serena Hocharoen’s solo exhibition at Elastic Arts, TV FOR A BUG. 

Exploring the meaning of networks and the synthesis of collecting, the exhibition presents new and old works by the Chicago-based multi-disciplinary artist. As suggested by the title of the exhibition, their works play with scale and perspective, and call upon a new way of experiencing the mundane. Interested in the feeling of being underground, the visual gallery will be home to new leaf structures and video works presented through a 1-inch screen.

The opening reception for Serena Hocharoen’s TV FOR A BUG, is on Friday, April 25th, 2025, from 6-9pm at Elastic Arts, 3429 W Diversey Ave #208, Chicago, IL 60647.

We welcome improvising saxophonist Danny Kamins based out of Houston, TX with a trio comprising him, Jason Wayne Sneed, and Jerome Bryerton along with a new exciting duo of Sarah Clausen and Caroline Jesalva.

A special 4/20 evening of experimental sound and visuals! We are thrilled to feature Spectralina in the series for the first time. Pleiades curator Emily Beisel will also be closing out a two-week spring tour in a special set with videocollective Color Swim—join us for this homecoming performance and an open jam session.

At this month’s Elastro series we welcome solo sets from two traveling artists Matthew Ryals and Keith Vecker aka V. Vecker, and a duo from Heather Mease / Ben Zucker.

Nick Zoulek, Ben Willis, and Casey Foubert will each perform a brief solo set, and then the three artists will play as a trio. Then, there will be an open improvised jam — bring your instrument! Jammers get in free.

S. African Anti-Apartheid Activist and Constitutional Court Justice speaks on Art and justice, followed by a performance dedicated to Johnny Dyani

FFFT returns for its first iteration of sound and movement collaborations for 2025! 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 Kim Alpert, Chris Corsano, and Jayve Montgomery alongside dancer Irene Hsiao. Following we’ll have 6 x 15 minute sets from on-the-spot lottery chosen ensembles. Don’t miss this!

Shake Shook Shaken is a dream of what a safe space could allow. A vision of a place for everybody to gather, look at each other, play and create in a non judgmental, trauma-informed way. It’s an invitation, a journey within and out, a surprise. Each workshop is unique. This month we’ll have Krissy Bergmark and Julie leading on the topic of REVOLUTIONS.

We are extremely excited to host legendary composer Carl Stone presenting live compositions for the 16 channel system. Stone is one of the pioneers of live computer music, and has used computers in live performance since 1986. He has been hailed by the Village Voice as “the king of sampling.” and “one of the best composers living in (the USA) today.”. RELIX has written that “Stone makes music that can hit your ear holes like a DMT flash.”

Chicago-based producer/composer Mike Meegan makes music under the monikers RXM Reality and When 2. Over the course of five albums on Hausu Mountain since 2018, along with 2021’s Advent LP on Orange Milk, Meegan refined a strain of electronic production that unites facets of breakcore, techno, grime, noise, and countless other styles into detailed composites that attest to his omnivorous tastes and bottomless technical acumen as a producer. We’re connfident Meegan will compose a mind-boggling new set of music specifically for the system.

Nicole Alonso is a Chicago based experimental sound artist and musician. Her work blends sampling, sound manipulation, and live performance to explore themes of space, memory, and identity. She will be using Eurorack modules to present a sound collage featuring a variety of recordings she has collected that hold deep personal significance.

This is not one to miss.

The trio of Mai Sugimoto and Ed Wilkerson on woodwinds and Tim Daisy on percussion will play together for the first time.

This intergenerational double drum quintet features percussionists Vincent Davis and Lily Finnegan with Anisha Rush on saxophone, Emma Dayhuff on bass, and Will Greene on guitar/saxophone. Also a first time collaboration as a unit, although members frequently play with one another. High energy improvisation!

Tone Glow is excited to announce “Under Some Kind of Hex: Love & Sex in the Films of Stan Brakhage.” This two-part program will feature 16 short films from Stan Brakhage. In 1963, the filmmaker noted in his book Metaphors on Vision that his works concern themselves with “birth, sex, death, and the search for God.” The first program of this evening will feature 8 abstract works, including the six films that make up his Lovesong series. The second program will feature 8 films grounded in actual people and places. All films will be shown on 16mm.

Please join us for Soft Power- A Deep Listening and Rest Session led by Angela James w/ Erica Miller, Sarah Clausen, and {ZìRán}. This new offering by Angela James combines guided meditation, simple movement/breath work, and improvised ambient sound for deep communal relaxation. Participants will bring their own yoga mat and blanket to lie down comfortably on the floor and rest together. No experience or skill necessary, the goal is to unwind together and tune the parasympathetic nervous systems through breath and gentle sound.

We are thrilled to once again bring together Dr. Rahul Sharma and the Rhythm Ambassadors of Funkadesi (Carlos Antonio Cornier, Kwame Steve Cobb, Rich Conti, and Maninderpal Singh) with Elastic Arts through this #HealingIllinois initiative. This immersive experience of learning to form a multicultural drum circle is designed to promote collective healing within and across communities.  No talent required - just a desire to deepen self-understanding and learn how to affirm our humanity while honoring our lived experiences as racial beings.

A special evening celebrating a cultural exchange between Mexico City and Chicago.

Film screening of Rhizomes Films’ “ELASTIC ARTS: Improvisation as a Political Dance” along with a performance by Angel Bat Dawid, Katie Ernst, Paul Giallorenzo, and Adam ZanolinComo parte de esta jornada, se proyectará ELASTIC ARTS. La improvisación como una danza política. El documental presenta el proceso creativo de músicxs de México y Chicago, destacando la improvisación como un elemento clave en la música, el trabajo en conjunto y las relaciones humanas. Es la tercer y última parte de un encuentro y seguimiento creativo donde músicxs de México y Chicago se reúnen para tocar, dialogar y explorar las potencias de la improvisación a distintos niveles de la vida. De este documento se desprenden interesantes reflexiones sobre la improvisación, el trabajo y la amistad.

As part of the evening, "ELASTIC ARTS: Improvisation as a Political Dance" will be screened. This documentary presents the creative process of musicians from Mexico and Chicago, highlighting improvisation as a key element in music, collaborative work, and human relationships. It is the third and final part of a creative gathering and follow-up where musicians from Mexico and Chicago come together to play, discuss, and explore the potential of improvisation at different levels of life. This documentary offers interesting reflections on improvisation, work, and friendship.

This special night of song will feature an incredible lineup of songwriters performing their work.  Join us for an evening of song, featuring a lineup of artists each performing a small selection of their work. The night will include a collective improvisation, bringing all performers together in a set that explores how the art and form of song shapes spontaneous collaboration.  

Performers

Katie Ernst
Jess Baldissero
Emma Hospelhorn
Caroline Jesalva
Fina

We are excited to announce another show:  Variants! We are bringing together four musician and mover duos, where you’ll experience movement and sound unfold in real-time dialogue. 

Fun fact: the first show that J e l l o produced at Elastic Arts in 2018 consisted of randomized mover/musician pairings! Curators, Mya McClellan and Tuli Bera are thrilled to revive this early J e l l o tradition.

Featuring sets from:

Tuli Bera and Scott Rubin
Mya McClellan and Tyler Wagner
Rahila Coats and Max Lazarus
Ashwaty Chennat and Alvin Cobb Jr.

Presenting an evening of veteran Chicago improvisers!

This 90-minute intermedia program, curated by Julián Pujols Quall, explores the sociological roots of ghost stories in collaboration with scat vocalist Lorin Benedict, experimental electronic musician Qiujiang Levi Lu, and poet/writer Sabrina Alsaffar. The artists will develop the elements and attributes of 3 characters, weaving a narrative in real time, while engaging with the audience in an investigation of the artists’ inspiration, sources, and creative process. 

Altarpiece H. af K. is a study in the acoustics of complex sounds. Drawing inspiration from the radically abstract visual language of the visionary early 20th-century Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, the piece unfolds in a 25-minute wave of saturated resonance.

The supergroup of bassoonists Katherine Young, Dana Jessen, and Ben Roidl-Ward made their trio debut in May 2023 at Chicago’s Elastic Arts with an original evening-length work called Tendrils. Each considered a pioneer in the field of contemporary, experimental, electronic, and improvised music, their collective artistic output has significantly expanded the range and sonic possibilities of their instrument. Collectively, they have presented hundreds of performances and world premieres at international music festivals and concert series spanning prestigious concert halls to local community art spaces. Members of the ensemble hold teaching positions at Emory University, Oberlin College and Conservatory, and the University of Illinois.

Eric Wubbels is a composer and performer. Since 2004 he has been pianist and Co-Director of the Wet Ink Ensemble, and he maintains ongoing collaborative projects with Charmaine Lee, TAK Ensemble (interbeing), and Erin Lesser and Ian Antonio (Second Nature).

AIRMW presents Drazek Fuscaldo with Tatsu Aoki feat. Jörg Schneider

Drazek Fuscaldo (formerly Mako Sica) is the dynamic, freeform duo Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (electric trumpet, mandolin, electric guitar) and Brent Fuscaldo (vocals, electric bass, harmonica, thumb piano, gong, percussion).  

The Dark Matter Series is pleased to present a With All Risk vinyl party!

On the heels of last year’s explosive Dutty House event comes a more introspective, communal vinyl experience featuring 9MagicForever1

Rising star guitar and composer Jessica Ackerley returns to Chicago for an evening of duo and quartet performances with Midwest collaborators, building on their acclaimed hybrids of free jazz and contemporary composition.

The Elastro series has an incredibly special event planned for March. agua viva is a collective performance by Elise Butterfield, Sofía Gabriel, Anna Johnson, Jonty Paul, and Veronica Anne Salinas that weaves together sound, movement, and live video processing. agua viva draws inspiration from the natural flow of water and the possibilities of the human body. Throughout the piece, the performers' improvisational movements and sound gestures are translated live into evolving visual projections. This interplay between movement, sound and visuals creates a dynamic conversation between performers and immerses the audience in an aquatic dreamscape.

We’ll also have a solo performance from Mauricio López F. and more TBA.

Elastic Arts, in partnership with Funkadesi & Strategic Inclusion Consulting,  through a generous #HealingIllinois grant, is hosting this FREE experiential 3-hour workshop. This guided session will curate activities to help participants find voice in sharing stories that reflect identity, experiences, and ancestral journeys. No previous writing/performing experience required - just a desire to further explore self-understanding and self-expression. Activities by gifted and caring facilitators will help identify and demystify the building blocks of creative expression. Co-led by emcee, educator, healer & spoken word artist PHENOM with comedian and storyteller Sonal Aggarwal, this is an empowering session that affirms each participant’s unique background and experience. The workshop will culminate with a collective spoken word piece to be performed collaboratively with participants and artists. Musical and facilitation support by Dr. Rahul Sharma. 

This month’s CLEAT Series features solo performances from Veronica Anne Salinas, Hugo Flores Garcia, Ishmael Ali. Ishmael will present solo cello and electronics in 4 voices. This project explores the relationship between acoustic and electronic sounds using interplay between cello, sp404 sampler, a synth voice, and radio automated through CLEAT's 16 channel system.

Hugo Flores García (he/they) is a Honduran computer musician, improviser, programmer, and scientist. Hugo approaches his craft with a deep curiosity for the interplay between natural and human-made sonic environments and interactions. Their hybrid research+creative practice centers around building new instruments for creative expression, focusing on artist-centered machine-learning interfaces for the sound arts. Hugo will perform with (un)sound objects, a co-creative neural musical instrument for constructing live environments comprised of sonic objects, both sound and unsound, in and at the rough edges of an AI model's learned distribution.

Veronica Anne Salinas is a Chicago-based sound artist, writer, editor, and Deep Listener. Her work explores artistic research through sound, text scores, performance, improvisation, geomancy, field recordings, archives, soundwalks, and experimental narratives.

Avreeayl Ra’s Dream Stuff is Avreeayl Ra (drums), Edward Wilkerson (reeds), Peter Maunu (strings), Jim Baker (keyboards), and Jason Roebke (bass).

Levi Dayan is an artist and music journalist who is interested in approaching the intersection of improvised music, electroacoustic music, and noise from a DIY perspective.