Gapers Block has ceased publication.

Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
 Thank you for your readership and contributions. 

TODAY

Thursday, March 28

Gapers Block
Search

Gapers Block on Facebook Gapers Block on Flickr Gapers Block on Twitter The Gapers Block Tumblr


A/C
« FootworKingz on "America's Best Dance Crew" Common Sense, Chicago »

Art Tue Apr 05 2011

Six Healthy Servings of Fresh Work From Your Local Art Farm

Community Supported Art Chicago.jpg

We know that Chicago is full of great art. We've got a bunch of internationally-renown educational institutions, attracting artists from all over the world. On top of that, we've got almost as many exhibition spaces as we've got artists and perhaps even more journalists who are just dying to write thoughtfully and comprehensively about the work being made. So why do artists keep on moving away to New York and LA? Money. Artmaking is not a viable sole source of income for most Chicagoans. Many artists have to work two, three, maybe four jobs at a time to get by. And that doesn't leave much time for sitting in the studio, staring at blank canvases, trying to come up with ideas.

The brainy people over at threewalls have come up with a brilliant idea, however, to start to solve this problem: Community Supported Art-- an art subscription service much like the increasingly popular community supported agriculture programs, in which shareholders invest in a local farm and receive a monthly payout of fruits and vegetables.

The program offers a reasonably priced way to support local artists and and receive limited edition contemporary artist projects in return. Each share costs $400 ($350 if you subscribe before April 30) and subscribers receive six signed and numbered artworks over three months, from April to June 2011. Each artwork is a limited edition of 50 (although each is unique) and shareholders receive a selection from participating artists. The works range from hand-made collages and drawings to small-scale sculptural objects to photographs. They all are the kind of things that could hang on your wall or be displayed on a shelf-- think of it as a collector starter kit. Shares are a curated mix of mediums, disciplines and conceptual projects; each one will be unique.

"While Chicago doesn't have the commercial art markets of New York or Los Angeles, we do have a vibrant groundswell of art activity that is connected through apartment galleries, independent art spaces, university venues and commercial galleries supporting local work", explains Abigail Satinsky, program director at threewalls. "CSA Chicago is part of connecting collectors to this local network. I see the program as one step to making Chicago a viable place for artists to build their careers and to show appreciation for those that have made this an exciting and creative place to live and work. I know there is an enthusiastic audience for local art but the means to actually buy it an an affordable level is not a clear and transparent process."

Universal Paramount.jpg

Eric Fleischauer: "Universal Paramount"; archival inkjet print, 13 x 19 inches, 2010.


The project was curated by Satinsky and Shannon Stratton, the Executive Director at threewalls. "We had three major criteria in the selection process," Satinsky explains. "First, we chose a group of artists who make conceptually engaging work to guarantee a great product for our shareholders. Second, we wanted those artists to represent a spectrum from emerging to mid-career and who would be excited to be called a Chicago or regional artist. Third, we asked artists who would think of the prompt as an opportunity to stretch and experiment with making an editioned work."

This year's artists include Conrad Bakker, Sara Black, Edie Fake, Eric Fleischauer, Jesse Harrod, Jessica Labatte, Jason Lazarus, Laura Mackin, Aay Preston-Myint, Pamela Fraser, Steve Reinke and Dan S. Wang.

"We have two major goals with the CSA program," says Satinsky. "One is to support artists directly with commissioning fees and new audiences for their work, the other is to develop a new fundraising tool for threewalls so we can keep doing the work we do. I'm sure a lot of people know this but most small to mid-sized visual arts nonprofits have a pretty precarious financial existence. A lot of nonprofits fundraise by asking artists to donate work for auction, which threewalls does as well at our annual gala in May. And those artists participate for a number of reasons; they want to support the nonprofit or they know that collectors frequent auctions, but they usually do not get compensated directly in the process. This structure works rather well but these large auctions can stretch both artists and organizations thin. And so in looking for more ways to move our organization and our artist community towards sustainability, I'm excited to say that we are trying out a model that hopefully could operate in addition to those other fundraising strategies, where artists are compensated in the creation of new work and we get to educate a larger public as to how to get involved with their local art community."

mackin_csa_18x12.jpg

Laura Mackin: "Nightstand, 2009-2011"; C-print, 10 x 14 inches. Background: In 2009, I got into the habit of taking daily photos of my nightstand. The attached image shows a grid of 10 photos pulled from this collection, paired off in rows of 2. The photos are ordered sequentially -- left to right, top to bottom -- dates ranging from 2009-11. Each side-by-side pair represents a small time gap, taken within a week of each other.


Join threewalls for the CSA launch event on April 30, in conjunction with Art Chicago/NEXT Art Fair from 6 to 9pm. The event will feature the first box of the season, hand-crafted cocktails by the Hornswaggler Bar, food and performances by Tamalli Space Charros Collective, live music, the first editions of all 12 works for auction and a chance to meet participating artists.

If you like the CSA idea/art but would prefer to have more control over the pieces you receive, make sure to attend the launch event. All 12 editions will be for sale individually through a silent auction that night, or you can buy a "friends and family share" (all 12 works in the series) for the special rate of $650.

Click here for more information about the program, the launch event and the participating artists.

Jason Lazarus_CSA.jpg

Jason Lazarus: "Eric Becklin, first human to see the center of our galaxy"; archival inkjet print, 8 x 10 inches, 2010

 
GB store
GB store

Architecture Tue Nov 03 2015

Paul Goldberger Describes the "Pragmatism and Poetry" of Frank Gehry's Architecture in His New Book

By Nancy Bishop

Architecture critic Paul Goldberger talks about Frank Gehry's life and work in a new book.
Read this feature »

Steve at the Movies Fri Jan 01 2016

Best Feature Films & Documentaries of 2015

By Steve Prokopy

Read this column »

Blogroll

ACRE
An Angry White Guy
Antena
AREA Chicago
ArchitectureChicago Plus
Arts Engagement Exchange
The Art Letter
Art or Idiocy?
Art Slant Chicago
Art Talk Chicago
Bad at Sports
Bite and Smile
Brian Dickie of COT
Bridgeport International
Carrie Secrist Gallery
Chainsaw Calligraphy
Chicago Art Blog
Chicago Art Department
Chicago Art Examiner
Chicago Art Journal
Chicago Artists Resource
Chicago Art Map
Chicago Art Review
Chicago Classical Music
Chicago Comedy Examiner
Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago Daily Views
Chicago Film Examiner
Chicago Film Archives
Chicago Gallery News
Chicago Uncommon
Collaboraction
Contemporary Art Space
Co-op Image Group
Co-Prosperity Sphere
Chicago Urban Art Society
Creative Control
Defibrillator
Devening Projects
Digressions
DIY Film
ebersmoore
The Exhibition Agency
The Flatiron Project
F newsmagazine
The Gallery Crawl...
Galerie F
The Gaudy God
Happy Dog Gallery
HollywoodChicago
Homeroom Chicago
I, Homunculus
Hyde Park Artcenter Blog
InCUBATE
Joyce Owens: Artist on Art
J-Pointe
Julius Caesar
Kasia Kay Gallery
Kavi Gupta Gallery
Rob Kozlowski
Lookingglass Theatre Blog
Lumpen Blog
Marquee
Mess Hall
N'DIGO
Neoteric Art
NewcityArt
NewcityFilm
NewcityStage
Not If But When
Noun and Verb
On Film
On the Make
Onstage
Peanut Gallery
Peregrine Program
Performink
The Poor Choices Show
Pop Up Art Loop
The Post Family
The Recycled Film
Reversible Eye
Rhona Hoffman Gallery
Roots & Culture Gallery
SAIC Blog
The Seen
Sharkforum
Sisterman Vintage
Site of Big Shoulders
Sixty Inches From Center
Soleil's To-Do's
Sometimes Store
Steppenwolf.blog
Stop Go Stop
Storefront Rebellion
TOC Blog
Theater for the Future
Theatre in Chicago
The Franklin
The Mission
The Theater Loop
Thomas Robertello Gallery
threewalls
Time Tells Tony Wight Gallery
Uncommon Photographers
The Unscene Chicago
The Visualist
Vocalo
Western Exhibitions
What's Going On?
What to Wear During an Orange Alert?
You, Me, Them, Everybody
Zg Gallery

GB store

 

Events


A/C on Flickr

Join the A/C Flickr Pool.



About A/C

A/C is the arts and culture section of Gapers Block, covering the many forms of expression on display in Chicago. More...
Please see our submission guidelines.

Editor: Nancy Bishop, nancy@gapersblock.com
A/C staff inbox: ac@gapersblock.com

Archives

 

A/C Flickr Pool
 Subscribe in a reader.

GB store

GB Store

GB Buttons $1.50

GB T-Shirt $12

I ✶ Chi T-Shirts $15