tune in to elastic arts!

J e l l o Performance Series presents The Ooze, a night of dance curated by Mya McClellan. This event brings together talented artists to share their unique solo works and dive into a collective improvisation led by Mya. Expect an evening of creativity and experimentation.

Cast:
Alex Kinard
Hermiz Da God
Janiah Cooper Charles
Brittany Bradley
Hasani Cannon
Sandy Perez

Many Hands Make Light Work is a day-long community quilting event facilitated by Stevie Emrich in which participants will learn and develop fundamental hand-quilting techniques while collaboratively completing a whole-cloth quilt. Sometimes called a ‘frolic,’ community quilting events like this have been held throughout history with the understanding that labor shared between many hands expands the boundaries of care and connectedness. Quilters, sewists, and fiber-curious crafters are invited to take a seat around the quilting frame and bind a quilt in the span of one day  - work that might otherwise take one person weeks or months to do alone. The finished quilt will be raffled off in March of 2025 to benefit Chicago-based mutual aid organizations in conjunction with Stevie’s continuing quilt project, Quilt Church. It's an especially rare opportunity to sew in community surrounded by the quilts and fiber work on display in Lee Romero's solo show, intimacies of a clover. Come by to see their work and push some stitches with friends.

Masks strongly suggested by event organizers. Air purifiers will be running courtesy of the Clean Air Club. Snacks and drinks provided - but potluck is encouraged! Please label allergens if you bring food.

Please join us for Soft Power- A Deep Listening and Rest Session led by Angela James w/ Emily Beisel, Sarah Clausen, Veronica Anne-Salinas, and Mai Sugimoto. 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.

Unique collaborations abound tonight, in the style of the uniquely Chicago blend of free jazz and rock: First, Three Grebes (Kalamazoo/Chicago) and Floating Cave join forces to create a mixture of improvised songs and drones, expanding a singular guitar and tuba-driven rock sound with exploratory electronics. Then, a quartet assembled by saxophonist Gabriel Heinemann combines up-and-coming forces in Chicago jazz with some of its’ most stalwart legends.

Elastro is back with an exciting first event of 2025 featuring Chris Pitsiokos, Anti-Soul Organization, and BAKUDI SCREAM! Chris will present a piece titled Irrational Rhythms and Shifting Poles which is an evolving project for saxophone and laptop that explores 4-channel audio, subjective listening, rhythms generated by irrational numbers, and polarity shifting. Aesthetically, the project is hard to pin down, but draws on minimalism, noise, free jazz, ambient music, and dance music.

Rohan Chander (a.k.a BAKUDI SCREAM)’s work considers questions of postcoloniality in the diaspora through hindoo historical research and speculative fiction. Built on the creative practices of DJs and long form composition, his work manifests as cyberpunk performance art pieces with costumes, dance, music, and light.

Anti-Soul Organization is an industrial noise and techno trio based in Chicago, Illinois. Join us!

Presenting two bands crafting the perfect high-intensity balance of jazz and rock energy!

Shake Shook Shaken is a theater/movement workshop series produced by Julie Meckler. The series is designed for people to gently bring body awareness, allowing participants to open up, explore outside of their comfort zone, bond with each other, create and show. By playing with these concepts using our bodies, voices, words, and each other, we will explore our own awareness and sensitivity as artists and people. 

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 Joey Meland and Julie leading on the topic of CONVERSATION.

No prior dance or acting experience is necessary, just willingness to move and exhale. This workshop series is for anyone and everyone.

It's melodic and harmonic. It's percussive and smooth. It's old as hell, and sometimes, it's just furniture. We're talking about one of the most versatile instruments out there, the piano. Hosted by composer Sharon Udoh, a pianist of 40 years, the series "A Pianist and a Partner Perhaps" highlights 3 or 4 genre-spanning musicians for whom the piano has been a long-time love. Each pianist can choose to bring one additional musician in a duo offering, if they wish (thus, "a partner perhaps"), or, they can go at it solo. Piano players, lovers, and nerds everywhere, come join us as we celebrate this magnificent instrument!

At this second edition of PPP we have Justin Dillard w/ Anisha Rush, Anaiet Soul, Julian Davis Reid w/ Tramaine Parker, Angelo Hart, and hosted by the one and only Sharon Udoh. Sharon will perform a short set with experimental turntablist Allen Moore to open the night!

IMS brings the double trio trouble — up-and-coming players bring a fresh spin on the piano trio format, followed by a chamber trio whose amplifications promise to push their instruments to the edge.

Asian Improv aRts Midwest presents: Trio WAZ

For the last 23 years, Trio WAZ has performed together, making it one of the longest standing experimental music trios in Chicago.  Trio WAZ is an eclectic experimental group made up of the time honored members:  Edward Wilkerson Jr. - one of the great saxophone and clarinet players on the Chicago scene, Tatsu Aoki - a prolific artist, composer, musician, educator, and consummate bassist and Shamisen Lute player, and Michael Zerang - a percussionist focusing extensively on improvised music, free jazz, contemporary composition, puppet theater, experimental theater, and international musical forms.  Each brings their own unique arsenal of musical savvy mixing it up with their distinct dispositions to interplay and an incomparable synthesis of musical actuality.  Come in and celebrate National Margarita Day with the musical triple sec of Trio WAZ . (please bring your own limes and tequila).