About A/C

A/C is Gaper's Block's topical section devoted to Chicago's vibrant arts and culture scene. From comedy to painting, interviews to photo essays, A/C features what excites us, whether it be a new standup comedian or the opening of a major show at the Art Institute. Stop by regularly for short updates and in-depth features.

Editor

Kelly Reaves, Arts Editor
Kelly moved to Chicago in 2003 for art school, racked up as much student debt as one can possibly rack up over six years, and is currently working it off behind a bar. In her free time she runs a gallery, makes paintings, and sits on her back porch in East Garfield Park, watching her dogs chase flies. She can be reached at kr@gapersblock.com.

Staff

Marcherie Davis
Marcherie is a freelance writer and some of her work can be found at Examiner.com. She also volunteers with two start-up organizations, Benevolent.net and 2CN.

Janna Dons
Janna was raised in Texas with her four older brothers, but has been a life-long lover of Chicago. She struck out for the Midwest to earn a journalism degree from Northwestern and entered the ad world after graduation. She loves soccer. Hates Twilight. And has a love-hate relationship with gluten.

Marissa Flaxbart
Following a 20-year stint as something of a child prodigy, Marissa Flaxbart graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in Cinema and Media Studies. Passionate about writing & performing, she is always looking for new ways to share her voice; currently, she does so through her three online projects, PopSent, Cineplexus, and the Sweet Valley Diaries.

Dyan Flores
Dyan likes having a laugh, politics, and Chicago. If you were to Venn diagram these things, much to Dyan's delight, there would be a significant portion of the diagram where those three sets overlap. She also likes tamales, the White Sox and books intended for high schoolers. Dyan has contributed to The Bastion, Time Out Chicago and Consumerist.com.

Niki Fritz
Niki Fritz is a freelance writer, not-for-profit paper-pusher, casual yogi, non-bra-burning feminist and, of course, lover of Chicago. She graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in Journalism and has an unabashed love for the Packers, cheese, headgear in the shape of cheese and cheap beer. When she's not writing about online dating or checking out the music scene for Gapers Block, Niki is busy updating her blog dedicated to feminists in Chicago called 3rd Wave in the 2nd City. Feel free to contact her with any quips or qualms at write2fritz@gmail.com.

Andrew Huff, Editor & Publisher
Andrew works deep into the night at his West Ridge two-flat, writing and editing and playing with the cats. He spends more time online than is healthy; follow along at me3dia.com. Email him at ah@gapersblock.com.

Brittany Julious
Britt Julious is a freelance writer with a serious love of macarons and mixtapes. She tumbls at Britticisms and co-hosts the Brooklyn Radio podcast, "I Love My Wife," a love letter to weirdos with guitars.

Jordan Larson
In late 2009, Jordan came to Chicago and wrote an article about acrobatic cats. Her soul was sold and her destiny was decided. An English major at the University of Chicago, Jordan spends most of her time daydreaming about her someday-extant zine, Morocco, and the perfect cat name (Zeus or Chauncey?) You can read some of her words at The Chicago Maroon (where she's the arts editor) and the Chicago Reader (where she's an editorial intern). You can also hear some of her noises on early Friday mornings at WHPK 88.5 FM. .

J.H. Palmer
J.H. Palmer is a secret writer who has lived in Chicago since 1992. She was born in Boston, but you'd never know it. Notable moments in her life include a brief stint as a census taker, writing copy for a hangover chaser, and a temp job at a catheter factory. She lives on the Northwest Side with three cats and a man. When she's not catching up on cable TV shows on Neftlix, she enjoys biking, eating, and writing about her life in her blog, Buttered Noodles.

Steve Prokopy
Steve at the Movies
A Windy City resident for more than 20 years, Steve writes about everything but movies at his day job for a trade journal publishing company. Using the alias Capone, he has been the Chicago Editor for Ain't It Cool News since 1998, and has been writing film reviews since he was a wee lad of 14, growing up in Maryland. (An archive of older columns may be found here.)

Katie Richardson
Katie Richardson graduated from the journalism program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005. She has written for TimeOut Chicago and Chicago Magazine but you can always find her at her personal blog, My Many Breakups.

David Schalliol, Managing Editor
A graduate student in sociology at the University of Chicago, David is involved in far too many non-academic projects for his own good. You can check out some of his diversions at his personal website, metroblossom, and that flickr place. He has South Side pride. Email him at dcs@gapersblock.com

Christian Scheuer
Christian, an artist, photographer and builder of things, works for a small gourmet bakery in Evanston, bringing sweet goodies to the masses in various coffee shops in and around Chicago. In his downtime, he makes "stuff for people who like stuff" and keeps a blog about his varied interests in design and things with wheels.

Mark Addison Smith
One night in the Chicago Loop, a girl approached Mark and asked him for a cigarette. He doesn't smoke. She replied, "ahh, you look like the right type" and ran off. He ran home and illustrated her words, and has been drawing dialogue ever since. Check out his daily illustrations of overheard conversations at You Look Like The Right Type.

LaShawn Williams
LaShawn is a proud Chicago native who hails from the city's south side. When she's not pursuing her quest to become the queen of Scrabble on Pogo.com, she writes about social and community issues, pop culture and of course, "all things Chicago."

Contributors

Ramsin Canon, Mechanics Editor
Ramsin Canon works and lives in Chicago. He has worked in and written about local and state politics for the last six years, and currently writes about the big issues at SameSubject.com.

Alexa DeTogne
A life-long Chicagoland native, Alexa spends most of her time thinking about/making/consuming food and art, preferably both at once in the graces of good company. An aspiring young artist, she is interested in community-based projects that bring her aforementioned loves together all at once. She earned a BA in English and Visual Art from the University of Chicago, and is currently working as a college-educated waitress while trying to deconstruct what being an "adult" really entails. Alexa previously wrote for ChicagoNow and is now working on a new blog project, to be unveiled soon...