This outreach event will be held OFFSITE at South Merrill Community Garden - 7030 S Merrill Ave, Chicago, IL 60649 - Saturday, August 9th 2025, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
For our upcoming Elastic Arts Outreach Event, Outreach Outside, we are excited to present The JuJu Exchange, with an opening performance by Dark Matter alumnus Amyna Love. The event will also feature vendors and Dark Matter residents Avin Hannahsmith, showcasing his visual art prints and works, as well as Eye, with earthy essence Vegan Food will be available for attendees.
*Bring lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the music
$FREE$
Artist Bio -
The JuJu Exchange is a musical partnership of three childhood friends from Chicago: Nico Segal, Julian Davis Reid and Nova Zaii. The group, which usually tags in a bassist for live shows, blends sensibilities of straight-ahead jazz with hip-hop production in hopes to inspire the listener to participate in the kinds of exchange the world desperately needs. They have played around the US, including San Francisco Jazz Fest, Chicago Jazz Fest, San Jose Jazz Fest, and New York City Winter Jazzfest. Downbeat has called their work “meticulously produced” and Billboard calls the project an “interdisciplinary collaboration that plays on the connectedness of jazz in the same manner it complements hip-hop’s collaborative free-flowing nature.” Their past releases include Exchange (2017), The Eternal Boombox EP (2020), and JazzRx (2023), and they are excited to release a new record in 2025.
Instagram:@thejujuexchange
Website:thejujuexchange.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJuJuExchange
Amyna Love is A chi-town hidden jewel, Amyna Love is a classically trained, independent artist with a range of musical influences such as Paramore, Lianne la Havas and Ella Fitzgerald. Her alternative sound is a fusion of punk and soul sprinkled with the African influences of her upbringing. Love has opened for artists such as Goapele and Maimouna Youssef (Mumu Fresh).
Avin HannahSmith makes work that deals with color theory and the examination of spatial relativity. An analytical and organic approach brings about compositions of plateaus, edges, and forms. He is a multidisciplinary artist searching for truth within this world. My current work is about how BIPOC creates grids of societal understanding to sort through systems of oppression that have been forced upon them. The grids symbolize language, histories, and lineage of people that aim to create a space for themselves within the capital impositions. Everyday routines, happenstance and ripples of societal and historical events are categorized deep within pockets of autonomous spiritual locations. Spiritual geo-locational mapping is what interests me about locations and Afro-Identity.
Eye and Earthy Essence, known to many as @theearthyygirly, is a passionate food artist and the founder and CEO of Earthy Essence, a plant-based education company committed to empowering underserved communities with the tools to embrace healthy, affordable, and accessible living. With a talent for creating vibrant culinary experiences, they have hosted numerous pop-up events, curated innovative food and culinary journeys, and led engaging workshops that inspire connection and wellness through food.
Through their artistic approach to food and dedication to community empowerment, they continue to make a meaningful impact in the realms of culinary arts, health, and education.