The Thursday-night Improvised Music Series, curated by saxophonist Dave Rempis, began in April of 2002 at EAF’s original home, 3030, and has featured over 500 concerts by local and internationally known musicians and sound artists.  The series presents performances that explore improvisation from a variety of vantage points, ranging from jazz-based approaches, to new music-influenced ones, to completely non-idiomatic forms of improvisation.  And the true legacy of the series over the course of its decade-plus history has been to serve as a breeding ground for new ensembles, and new generations of Chicago improvisers.

Launched in November 2003 by musician and EAF co-founder Paul Giallorenzo, Elastro is a monthly series of acoustic, electro/acoustic, electronic music, sound, and video performances featuring local, national, and international artists,
with an emphasis on presenting sonically stimulating and visually performative work. Co-curated with Daniel Wyche 2013-16; Matt Mehlan  since 2017.

Curated by Elastic Arts co-founder Sam “samiam” Lewis, this monthly series began in 2015 when Elastic first opened its current space on Diversey; focusing on new directions launching from and beyond hip-hop and exploring collaboration between sound and video.

After moving to Elastic in 2006, we began displaying regular visual art exhibitions, in addition to video screenings and multimedia performances. Jordan Martins is the current curator at our new space on Diversey Avenue. For information on submitting a gallery proposal, email us.

Curated by alto saxophonist and composer Nick Mazzarella, the Anagram Series hosts weekly performances of jazz and improvised music at Elastic. The mission of the series is to bring diverse elements of the Chicago music scene into close proximity in order to inspire new collaborations and creative growth within the musical community, and to foster programming that reflects the full variety of thoughtful Chicago artists working in modern music. The series’ concerts feature both developing and established musicians and composers, serving as a haven for the incubation of new ideas, as well as a platform for the presentation of mature work.

WE is a monthly series curated by Lia Kohl and Deidre Huckabay, in which artists create ceremonies, rituals, or rites of passage that promote collective mindfulness with the audience toward a specific intention.

Image by Laetitia Cerio.

J e l l o is a performance series.  Created by Jessica Cornish at Links Hall and run by Tuli Bera and Carla Gruby, J e l l o creates a space for dance/performance/movement artists to experiment, create, risk and try! J e l l o artists have the opportunity to show revisited work, new work or works in progress.

Annual residency featuring significant international artists working at the forefront of the international creative music field, designed to expose Chicago-based practitioners and audiences to a variety of processes and working methods through a period of intensive rehearsal and performance, and to encourage an exchange of ideas and approaches that will have a long-term impact on both the local scene and the visiting artists.

Homeroom’s Songwriter Showcase emphasizes the craft of songwriting by inviting songwriters from diverse musical backgrounds to perform without a backing band or a full amplifier rig. The songwriters are each encouraged to discuss their song-writing processes and influences in an intimate environment that fosters focused listening and promotes open interaction with the audience. By stripping away the style and posture of a full band, songwriters’ techniques and philosophies become unobscured.

More about Homeroom.

In partnership with Kuumba Renaissance and with support from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and the Chicago Park District, we program a series of 20-30 concerts each summer on a mobile pop-up stage – the Culture Coach – in various neighborhood parks and nighttime farmers’ markets across the city.  The goal is to bring free, family friendly music concerts, interactive drum circles, and break-dancing workshops to areas of the city that traditionally have lower access to cultural programming.

ChicagoMusic.org is a project supporting live music in Chicago by listing concerts and building a network of musicians, listeners, venues, and organizations for collaborative support of the live music ecosystems of the City of Chicago.

With funding by Boeing, and in partnership with the Chicago Music Commission, a non-profit organization serving as the independent advocate for the music community with government and the private sector, nurturing the community towards future growth.