TODAY
Sunday, May 19
The Grid
ABOUT "The Area"Several years ago, transportation company Norfolk Southern initiated an expansion of its 47th Street Terminal by covertly buying property in the northeast corner of Englewood. Since the plans were publicized in September 2011, residents have been living on borrowed time, maintaining friendships and traditions while struggling with new problems in their vanishing community. This short is the first piece of a feature-length documentary about the neighborhood and its confrontation with the pressures of contemporary transportation infrastructure. David Schalliol is managing editor of Gapers Block and a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago; this project is an outgrowth of his research on social organization and disorganization in urban communities. Dave Nagel is a freelance shooter, editor and sound recordist. Brian Ashby's co-directorial debut, Scrappers, won Best Documentary at the 2010 Chicago Underground Film Festival and made Roger Ebert's top 10 list of documentary films for that year. Akemi Hong is Senior Designer at JB Chicago and an instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Assistant designer Natalia Echeverry is a recent arrival in Chicago from Colombia and a resident of Hyde Park. |
ABOUT THE GRIDThe Grid is a series profiling Chicago businesses, subcultures and landscapes. It is funded in part by the Chicago Instructional Technology Foundation Digital Media Production Fund. Support The Grid by clicking here and contributing to the Tip Jar. |
 The Area The Grid, Episode 12 Englewood residents are struggling to maintain friendships and traditions while a freight yard is expanding into their neighborhood. |
 Shine On The Grid, Episode 11 The Rev. Henry Isaac has tested his faith as a journeyman window washer since 1974, and shared his faith as a preacher since 1994. |
 Envision Arts Studio The Grid, Episode 10 Envision Arts Studio provides Chicagoans with intellectual and developmental disabilities a disciplined studio practice in a community setting. |
 LAMPO The Grid, Episode 9 Since 1997, LAMPO has presented experimental music and intermedia events to adventurous Chicago audiences. |
 MUNUC at the Palmer House The Grid, Episode 8 Since 1988, University of Chicago students have organized an annual four-day Model UN conference at the historic Palmer House hotel. |
 The Mediated Plant The Grid, Episode 7 An examination of how The Plant -- Chicago's vertical farm and food business incubator -- has been represented in the media. |
 Snaggers The Grid, Episode 6 Snagging fish is allowed seasonally in a few spots on Lake Michigan. |
 Move-Tastic! The Grid, Episode 5 Move-Tastic!, "Chicago's premiere athletic moving force," wows customers and employs over 40 Chicagoans on their way to careers in other fields. |
 Community Supported Art at Threewalls The Grid, Episode 4 Nonprofit arts organization Threewalls is connecting artists and collectors by adapting a model better known for supporting local farmers. |
 Textile Discount Outlet The Grid, Episode 3 Textile Discount Outlet, located at 2121 w. 21st Street, has helped sustain Chicago's creative classes with discounted fabrics and inspiration for over 30 years. |
 Congress Conducts El at Cal's The Grid, Episode 2 The Congress Parkway congestion is meditated upon at nearby Cal's Liquors/Bar, where astromusicologists El is a Sound of Joy take cinematic cues from traffic conductors. |
 Market Fisheries The Grid, Episode 1 Market Fisheries, located at 7129 S. State Street, has been owned and operated by the Brody Family since 1957. |
ABOUT THE GRID
The Grid is a series profiling Chicago businesses, subcultures and landscapes. These short, lyrical documentaries aspire to be art cinema, ethnographies and experiments in form. Ben Kolak and Brian Ashby's directorial debut, Scrappers, won Best Documentary at the 2010 Chicago Underground Film Festival and made Roger Ebert's top 10 list of documentary films for that year. David Nagel is a freelance shooter, editor and sound recordist. Akemi Hong is Senior Designer at JB Chicago and an instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
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