2022 ANNUAL REPORT
Thank you for an
amazing 2022!
Photo by Ricardo Adame
Dear friends of Elastic--
We love you! Your support for our programs is having an enormous impact on hundreds of artists and thousands of Chicagoans. Each month, Elastic welcomes hundreds of people to experience some of the most adventurous and creative music, art, and performance in the city. At Elastic, artists, musicians, and performers know that they can push their practice to the creative limits in front of an attentive and receptive audience. Attendees know they will experience some of the freshest, most unique work available anywhere, without barriers of high ticket prices, and available to all ages. We’re so grateful for your support! I wanted to share a few highlights of how your generosity and participation has energized Chicago’s cultural landscape this year.
Rempis/Abrams/Ra + Baker
2022 saw a full return to programming at Elastic, interrupted only briefly by a pandemic surge in January. Now, our long-standing programming is stronger than ever. Dave Rempis’s weekly Improvised Music Series presented more than 200 of the world’s finest improvisers this year. Nick Mazzarella’s weekly Anagram Series presented more than 300 musicians breaking new ground in modern jazz.
New curators Paige Alice Naylor and Luc Mosley joined veterans Paul Giallorenzo and Daniel Wyche to present the monthly Elastro electro-acoustic series, which brought countless unheard-of sounds into our midst. Dark Matter curators Sam Lewis and Jonathan Woods welcomed an expanded cohort of five Residents - Naydja Bruton, Ashanti Owusu-Brafi, Cat Mahari, Justy, and olula negre - to the Residency program for emerging artists of color. The Residents featured prominently in our newly expanded, 5-day AfroFuturist Weekend in October headlined by Ben Lamar Gay, in which we also developed a new partnership with the Fourtune House Art Center in Bronzeville.
Afrofuturist Weekend, Fourtune House. Photo: Adam Zanolini
The new monthly Pleiades series curated by Emily Beisel brought together womxn and non-binary improvisers for inspiring performances and jams. The new monthly CLEAT series, curated by Stephan Moore, Matt Test, and Sam Clapp, featured performances that centered the eponymous 16-channel speaker system on Elastic’s Ceiling. The series was augmented by a series of workshops in partnership with Experimental Sound Studio, Making Multichannel Music in October, featuring sessions with Jonathan Woods, Bill Parod, Whitney Johnson, and system creator Stephan Moore.
Pleiades series. Photo: Ricardo Adame
Elastic’s quarterly series were active: AfriClassical Futures series, curated by Julian Otis and olula negre, celebrated the triumphs of and challenges faced by African American performers and composers in Classical Music with performances by Renee Baker, Charles Joseph Smith, Hon. Elizabeth A. Baker, and Angel Bat Dawid. Sara Zalek’s ¡Hot Mess! series blurred the boundaries between physical and virtual performances. The Freedom From and Freedom To series, curated by Cristal Sabbagh, created radically new combinations of improvising musicians and dancers by thrusting them together by names picked from a hat by the audience.
Freedom From & Freedom To. Photo: Ricardo Adame
The JELLO dance series returned, curated by Elastic producer Sarah Stearn and Tuli Bera.
The Culture Coach program, in partnership with Kuumba Renaissance, brought high quality performance and participatory programming to parks, farmers markets, and underserved areas of the city. Gretchen Hasse curated four tremendous exhibitions in our visual art gallery before passing the torch to our new visual arts curatorial Resident, Sheridyn Villareal.
We presented our 4th annual Benefit in person, where we presented the Elastic Achievement award to Tracie Hall, Kate Dumbleton, and Tushar Samant, and featured Hearts and Minds with Chad Taylor.
Pictured (L to R): Anahi Velazquez, "Perceptions" exhibit; Sheridyn Villareal, Visual Arts Curatorial Resident. Photos: Ricardo Adame.
Pictured (L to R): Dr. Adam Zanolini, Tracie D. Hall, Tushar Samant, Kate Dumbleton. Photo: Liina Raud
If that weren’t enough, we’ve got a new team member! Paige Brown joined our team as Development Coordinator and Dark Matter Artist Residency Coordinator.
Thank you for your continued support! …for making our community so much more dynamic!... for your friendship and positive energy. We couldn’t do it without you!
Please join us to round out the year with the extraordinary DKV trio on December 29-30th!
Sincerely,
Adam Zanolini, PhD
Executive Director
Donate today and Amplify your Impact!
If you can, please share your abundance with our community of inspired and inspirational creative explorers. This year, one of our generous funders has offered to match any new or increased donations up to $15,000! The impact of your donation could be doubled!
Consider supporting us for the first time, or increase your support with a donation today, and continue with us on the journey of creating new art together.