On Saturday, October 4, the Spudnik Press Printshop and Annex will be transformed into a pop-up gallery featuring fifty of Chicago’s most accomplished artists. All the artwork is up for auction with 100% of the proceeds supporting Spudnik Press programming. Our five curators represent a rich cross-section of Chicago’s art scene, with a focus on media that Spudnik directly supports, including design, book arts, social practices, painting, illustration, and of coarse printmaking. All artwork comes framed and silent auction bidding begins at just $35-55. Purchase Tickets Online
Meet Roman Titus, Chicago Design Museum & Co-Founder of Nelson Cash
Roman Titus is probably best known for co-founding Nelson Cash. More recently, he’s been a big contributor to the Chicago Design Museum, acting as the Exhibit Design Director. However, before these ventures, he ran BLDG, a creative studio, printshop, and art gallery in Kentucky. In Roman’s own words “I connect dots to make ideas into reality. I’m a collaborative builder. The power of multiple brains connecting for the use of creating something new and different is exciting to me. The possibilities are endless there.”
Meet La Keisha Leek, Independent Curator
La Keisha Leek is a writer, arts administrator and curator. Her interests within art history are architecture, race, performance, and site-specific projects that investigate the ways bodies and objects offer up themselves, adapt to and negotiate their presence within spaces. She is also a member of several Chicago-based artist collectives including Hyde Park Dacha and Potluck: Chicago. La Keisha’s work clearly embraces a collaborative spirit. Her current curatorial project, How To Make a Hood, at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park is on display through October 10. (Photo (Above) Credit: Kevin Thomas)
Meet Joe Tallarico, Comics Editor, Lumpen Magazine
Joe Tallarico is the man behind the annual Comics Issue of Lumpen Magazine. Each summer, this magazine brings together a ridiculously talented and diverse selection of artists including local, national, and international talent. Joe is also an accomplished artist himself. He is an active member of the collaborative comics group, Trubble Club. You may have scene his animation at the DePaul Art Museum, viewable from the Red Line in late 2012, or his illustration on Spiteful Brewing labels. Needless to say, he’s well positioned to bring an all-star line up to the Spudnik Press Benefit.
Meet Ruslana Lichtzier, ACRE 2015 Curatorial Fellow
ACRE is a volunteer-run non-profit based in Chicago devoted to employing various systems of support for emerging artists and to creating a generative community of cultural producers. In addition to hosting over 70 resident artists each summer, they curate exhibitions year round through out Chicago.
Ruslana Lichtzier serves on the ACRE Curatorial Board. She has studied in Israel, Austria, as well as SAIC. Her writing has been published in The Seen, International Online Journal for Contemporary & Modern Art, and she has been a guest lecturer at SAIC and Illinois State University. For the Benefit, Ruslana will be presenting works united by the theme of Science/Fiction. A full-scale exhibition of the same title is forthcoming.
Meet Jessica Cochran, Independent Curator
Named a “curator to watch” by Chicago Magazine in 2013, Jessica Cochran has curated exhibitions for the Contemporary Arts Council, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Around the Coyote Gallery, What it Is and the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce. She coordinated exhibitions and public programs for the Poetry Foundation, Art Chicago, NEXT and the Artist Project. She was recently the Curator of Exhibitions and Programs at the Center for Book and Paper Art, and is now a Curatorial and Collection Manager for a private contemporary art collection. Jessica, who serves on the Spudnik Press Board of Directors, will be curating a special selection that highlights that artists that have recently worked with Spudnik Press through our Residency Programming, Publishing, Studio Access Programs, and Exhibitions.