at Work Forums

November's Artists at Work Forum: Fluidity: 7 Hats in 48 minutes, features The Black Monks of Mississippi (Hat #5) (Leroy Bach, Marvin Tate, Theaster Gates and Tunji White) Photo by Sara Pooley

Artists at Work and Musicians at Work Forums address current issues and concerns for Chicago's creative communities.

Musicians at Work:
Chicago's Latest Labels for Upstart Bands
Monday November 3, 2008
6:00 - 7:30 pm

Artists at Work:
Fluidity:  7 Hats in 48 Minutes
with Theaster Gates and collaborators
Thursday, November 20 , 2008
6:00 - 7:30 pm

All Forums are free, open to the public.
Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington / 77 E. Randolph Street

Musicians at Work Forums
NOVEMBER 3, 2008
Chicago's Latest Labels for Upstart Bands

5:30 - 6 pm -- Networking
6 - 7:30 pm -- Panel presentation

Being with the right label can make all the difference - find out why it might be better to to sign with an small independent label versus a major label, what a label deal looks like in terms of the money you get, and keep at the end of the day and also what kind of artistic and business decision remain yours versus being taken away from your band. During your career you can expect to make the journey from one label to another sometime by choice sometimes not - when and how to approach this decision.

Moderator: Rob Miller (Bloodshot Records) and Panelists:  Alex White (The Red Orchestra); Steve Smith (Aware Records); James Kenler (Flameshovel Records); Shala (The Movement Worldwide).

Musicians at Work Forums address current issues of interest and concern for Chicago's growing community of  musicians working in all genres.  Industry professionals and musicians discuss the current state of making a living through music in Chicago.  Venues, acts and music professionals are welcome to bring fliers, business cards and marketing materials for the audience. Come 30 minutes before the panel starts and network with your peers.

OCTOBER 6, 2008
Recording Your Music - Getting The Most For Your Money

Now matter how much technology changes, musicians still need to record their music. There are bargains to be had at all different levels of recording: from the DIY home studio, to live recordings, to more elaborate studios. All your choices regarding setting, equipment, personnel, and technology contribute to the overall cost of the finished product. Hear from the experts all about the resources in Chicago available to the beginner, as well as the seasoned professional, and get advice on how to budget your time and make the right choices to get the most recording for your dollar.

Moderator: Eddie Blazonczyk Jr. (The Versatones)  with panelists  Dan Dietrich (Wall to Wall Recording); Michael Freeman (Coachhouse Music); Reed Hyams (X-Art Entermainment Group); Dave Spector (League of Creative Musicians); Larry Sturm (Pressure Point Recording).   Click here for an audio recording of this forum.

Musicians at Work Forums are sponsored by:
Columbia College Chicago 
Chicago Federation of Musicians
Harold Washington College
Media Sponsor: Center Stage Chicago

ARTISTS AT WORK FORUMS

November 20, 2008  
Fluidity: 7 Hats in 48 minutes
Organized by Theaster Gates

6:00 - 7:30 pm
Chicago Cultural Center

Art is no longer about what I make as much as it is a desire to make all my things interrelate. This is a much more complicated task than object making. -- Theaster Gates

Join Theaster Gates for a performance and Q and A about the excitement and complexity of weaving creative and professional passions together into a singular art practice (or professional practice). Using aspects of various parts of his creative and professional world, Theaster will unveil his day and make room for worship, wine and in-fighting.  Joining Theaster will be a small cast of characters, from an architecture librarian to rock guitarists and a GIS specialist.  An evening worth missing dinner over!

Featured guests: historian and photographer Lee Bey; artist Maria Gaspar; architect Charlie Vinz; administrator Robert Rosenberg; monk and musician Jayve Montgomery; nephew Jamaal Banks; artist Marvin Tate; and musician Leroy Bach.

Gates is a visual and performance artist and urban worker-working between various institutions in Chicago and throughout the world with one ultimate goal: to create as many soul food restaurants as possible in the next 7 years. He teaches and is an administrator at the University of Chicago and maintains 6 studios. His unwillingness to be completely serious or marry makes him a loose canon in all the best ways. Institutional critique and cultural friendship are hallmarks of his practice.



Upcoming AAWF:  

DECEMBER 18, 2008
How to Turn Your Art into a Career
Organized by Paul Klein

Artists Dawoud Bey, Juan Angel Chavez, Tony Fitzpatrick and Joyce Owens join Art Letter founder  Paul Klein in a nuts and bolts discussion about making a living making art. 

As opposed to an exposé, this will be more formulaic.  Active not passive.   1. have a website. 2. create & grow an email list. 3. communicate with your audience monthly.  4. just because some gallery offers to take your work doesn’t mean you have to say yes. 5. be true to yourself. 6. or something.  Also, in this group of artists each is individually successful – yes – their careers work.  But that’s not the point.  The point is that they are all generous, that they are all very giving of themselves, that they are sharing what works for them.  It is not about them. It is about the gift they are giving – bestowing.  This will not be a forum discussing how cool and famous they are.  It is about them giving to their community.

Previous AAWF Forums:

AUGUST 21, 2008
The Politics of Corporate Commissions
Co-presented with the Chicago Artists Coalition
A discussion about how to land corporate commissions, what to expect from the process of working with a corporation, what goes into decision making, what's at stake artistically, and why do corporations collect art. With Lynn Basa, Jeff Zimmerman, Joe Miller and moderator Emily Nixon. (see panelist bios below).

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008
The Accidental Entrepreneur
Co-presented with Columbia College E-Center
Artists who have become business owners will discuss their challenges in starting businesses, how they managed their business finances, and how they obtained financing for raw materials, art supplies, art studio rental, and other expenses. Nicole Orendain of Columbia College Chicago's Ecenter will present financing options for small and start up arts businesses, with Aya-Nikole Cook, David Zoberis and Caitlin Hazelton.

OCTOBER 16, 2008
Making Art, Making Change
Organized by Salem Collo-Julin
The four Illinois-based artists on this panel can all be described as "artist/activists" -- the en vogue term for creatives whose work often does more than just carry aesthetic weight. However, is that moniker really necessary? When and where do art and activism activity collide? Join artists whose past and current projects have run the gamut from advocating for prisoners to infiltrating gay pride parades -- Aay Preston-Myint, Laurie Jo Reynolds, Sarah Ross, Zena Sakowski and moderator Salem Collo-Julin -- for a lively discussion at an important time.