Join us in Fall 2023 at Theatre Y in North Lawndale, Constellation in Bricktown, and Elastic Arts in Logan Square.
We’ll be announcing more details soon, stayed tuned!
Food & Drink
Silent Auction
Live Performance by Rin Peisert & Jason Stein
Summer Salon
Party + Fundraiser
Friday, June 30th, 2023 at Compound Yellow
6:00-9:00 PM
Homeroom challenges local artists to produce new work outside their standard practice and create an artistic dialogue with far-reaching impact.
All proceeds from this event will support artists fees in 2023/24 season. We hope to see you there!
Friday, May 5th, 2023 at Elastic Arts
8:00 PM Live Performance
BLANK BOX: Ben Zucker’s Our Everfraction
Featuring Ben Zucker, Veronica Anne Salinas, Gaby Martinez, and Tony Moaton in a new work for multimedia ensemble
Building on the energy, process, and discovery from their Feb 25th performance, join us to see the evolution of this work in progress.
Comfort Music +
Presented by Homeroom & Comfort Station
a live music + performance series, every Thursday in April at Comfort Station
Thursday, April 6:
Mallory Qiu's Cho-Cho-Cho-Choo Station
Thursday, April 13:
Juliana Castro Duperly - Sound & Video
Jasmine Mendoza - Movement
Thursday, April 20:
Keefe Jackson - Reeds
Jeb Bishop - Trombone
Aram Shelton - Reeds
Dmitry Samarov - Reading
Thursday, April 27:
Presented with The Bridge
Pascal Niggenkemper - Double Bass
Seb El Zin - Ney, Saz, Guitar, Vocals
Irene Hsiao - Movement
Cristal Sabbagh - Movement
Past Events
Tuesday, March 7, 2023: DUO COLLISION
Tuesday, March 14, 2023: SYNTHSATION
Tuesday, March 21, 2023: ODE TO CHI–NEW WORKS
at Elastic Arts
8:00 PM Live Performance
Residency: Katinka Kleijn
On the first three Tuesdays of March, Homeroom Residency presents world-renowned cellist, improviser, and performer, Katinka Kleijn.
Each week, the artist will present different elements of their practice through collaboration and thoughtful curation.
Saturday, February 25th, 2023 at Elastic Arts
4:00 PM Live Performance
BLANK BOX: Ben Zucker’s Our Everfraction
Featuring Ben Zucker, Veronica Anne Salinas, Gaby Martinez, and Tony Moaton in a new work for multimedia ensemble
“A subtle pageant for invisible energies, incorporating light projections, movement, sounding objects, and radio transmission, exploring entanglements and interactions of materialisms and compassions.”
Thursday, February 2, 2023 at Elastic Arts
8:30 PM Film Screening
9:30 PM Performance
Film screening of:
"TUNING into the moment"
40-minute film featuring Avreeayl RA by Rhizomes Films and Homeroom
Avreeyal Ra’s Dreamstuff
Ed Wilkerson - reeds/oud
Jim Baker - piano/electronics
Peter Maunu - guitar
Jason Roebke - bass
Avreeayl Ra - drums & percussion
Tickets are $15 and available at the door
Year in Review: 2022
"TUNING into the moment" Film Premiere
Sunday, December 11, 2022
6 PM at Elastic Arts
Film screening and reception for "TUNING into the moment" a 40-minute film featuring Avreeayl RA by Homeroom and Rhizomes Films. All proceeds support the next iteration of our Residency artist program in March 2023.
$20 suggested donation More info
On November 18th, 2022 we lost our Board Chairman after a courageous two year battle with pancreatic cancer. All of us at Homeroom, including Aaron, Jeanine, Jessica, and Paul, are mourning the passing of Michael "Smitty" Smith, longtime Homeroom board member, supporter, and leader.
Michael ”Smitty” Smith joined the Homeroom board in 2014, and served terms both as Board Chair and Executive Director of Homeroom. Above all, we loved Michael as a dear friend. His deep, deep passion for music was only matched by his love for his family and friends - and he has a lot of friends around the world. For many years, Michael made a career as a drummer, and he never stopped making music. He later became a fundraiser, raising money for many amazing causes. He inspired us and countless others through his boundless generosity and enthusiasm and his tenacious bravery and perseverance.
Michael is survived by his two teenage children, his wife, and his mother. We are thinking of them. We already miss Michael a lot.
elmsfh.com/obituary/michael-smitty-smith
Lit & Luz Presents: Arte + Sonoro + Poesia
Friday, September 9, 2022 5:30 PM
A Bilingual Poetry and Music Performance Presented by Homeroom and MAKE/Lit & Luz
Rocío Cerón - reading
Krista Franklin - reading
Bill MacKay - guitar
Paul Giallorenzo - piano/electronics
more info
Ten x Ten Closing Party and Book Release: Aug 26th, 2022
The gallery exhibition of Ten x Ten 2020/2 at the Chicago Art Department closes next Friday, August 26th with a FREE book debut and live performance from 6-9 PM. Join us to explore ten original artworks and compositions created in partnership with Chicago Composers Orchestra and Spudnik Press.
Closing party live performance featuring quintet Origin Brass:
Joel Cantoran, trumpet
Sean Whitworth, trumpet
Momoko Hasselbring Seko, french horn
Colin Murasek, trombone
Akshat Jain, tuba More information
Saturday, June 4th, 2022
Ten x Ten 2020/2
Nature | Human
St James Cathedral, 7:30pm CT
Music performed by Chicago Composers Orchestra
and Beyond This Point
premiering works by:
Brian Baxter + Katherine Lampert
Luis Fernando Amaya + Rodrigo Lara Zendejas
Purchase tickets here.
Sunday May 22nd @ Elastic Arts
3429 W Diversey Ave 2nd Fl, Chicago IL
8pm doors, 8:30pm show, $15
Blank Box:
New Dimensions in Sense-uality
Composition for multimedia ensemble
Sara Zalek - movement
Hyun Kim - movement
Sam Lewis - lighting/tech
Tselanie Townsend - video projections
Paul Giallorenzo - piano/electronics/composition/direction
Macie Stewart - violin
Hunter Diamond - reeds/percussion
Join us for Homeroom’s first in-person fundraiser in three years!
Come celebrate Homeroom’s 14-year history of uplifting Chicago artists through multidisciplinary performances, new collaborations, and unique presentational formats.
With your support, Homeroom challenges local artists to produce new work outside their standard practice and create an artistic dialogue with far-reaching impact.
We hope to see you there!
Food + Drink
Giveaways + Silent Auction
Live Performance
Community
Special solo performance by cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm!
Homeroom and Comfort Station present
Comfort Music +
Thursdays in April at Comfort Station
7PM Doors, 7:30PM Show, $ donation
April 7th
Emily Beisel - reeds
Bill Harris - percussion
Hyun Kim - movement
Ibrahim Sabbi - movement
Duos and quartet
April 14th
Logan Lu - spoken word
Lester Rey - computer
+ company perform pieces of “Raíces to Roots”
April 21st
Kim Alpert - video
Paul Giallorenzo - electronics
+ special guest TBA
April 28th in conjunction with The Bridge
Damon Locks - voice/electronics
Fanny Lasfargues - electroacoustic bass
Elsa Noyons - visual art
Thursdays in April
at Comfort Station
Every Tuesday in February 2022, Homeroom Residency featured Chicago master drummer and spontaneous composer Avreeayl RA and Dream Stuff at Elastic Arts, featuring Ed Wilkerson - reeds, Peter Maunu - strings, Jim Baker - piano/synthesizer, Jason Roebke - bass, Avreeayl RA - drums/percussion
Homeroom Residency is a new initiative to provide reliable, paid performance work to Chicago artists. The residency gives artists space to develop existing collaborations and explore new ideas. Residency is directly supported by individual donors.
Saturday, January 22nd, 2022
POSTPONED
Ten x Ten 2020/2
Nature | Human
Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University, 7:00pm CT
Music performed by Chicago Composers Orchestra
and Beyond This Point
premiering works by:
Brian Baxter + Katherine Lampert
Luis Fernando Amaya + Rodrigo Lara Zendejas
Purchase tickets here.
POSTPONED
Saturday, October 16th, 2021
4:30*-7:00pm in Logan Square
The Third Annual
Exquisite Crawl
presented by MAKE Literary Productions and Homeroom with
guest curator The Guild Literary Complex
Join us for an in-person venue crawl on Logan Square's storied Milwaukee Avenue, featuring exquisite corpse performances from Chicago-based writers, musicians, filmmakers, and interdisciplinary artists and performers.
* Cafe Mustache will be closed on 10/16 so the crawl will kick off at Galerie F, 2415 N Milwaukee Ave*
Saturday, September 25, 2021
Ten x Ten 2020/2: Tactile | Spaces
Music performed by Chicago Composers Orchestra
St. James Cathedral, 65 E Huron St, Chicago
6:30pm Discussion and Q&A | 7:30pm Concert
For the second iteration of Ten X Ten 2020/2, composers Ben Lamar Gay, Jonathon Hannau, Andrew McManus, and Amy Wurtz will debut compositions for orchestra created in collaboration with visual artists Carlos Matallana, Yoonshin Park, Michelle Nordmeyer, and Susan Giles, respectively. More info
Streaming Thursday May 13th, 8pm
in collaboration with Elastic Arts
BLANK BOX: New Dimensions in Sense-uality
composition for abstract cinema
Tuli Bera - movement
Hunter Diamond - sound
Paul Giallorenzo - sound, composition
Samuel Lewis - lighting, cameras
Tselanie Townsend - video projections
more information
click here for video replay
Comfort Music +
Thursday April 22nd 7PM @ ESS’s Quarantine Concerts
set one : Hunter Diamond - woodwinds +
Irene Hsiao - movement
set two: Ben Zucker - vibraphone +
KT Shivak - puppetry
set three: Katinka Kleijn - cello +
Jasmine Mendoza - movement
Comfort Music + returns with *live sets filmed at Comfort Station and streamed through Experimental Sound Studio’s Quarantine Concerts.
In collaboration with Chicago Composer’s Orchestra
Ten x Ten sneak peeks
Saturday, February 20, 2021 at 7pm:
Katherine Lampert + Brian Baxter
Rodrigo Lara Zendejas + Luis Fernando Amaya
Yoonshin Park + Jonathan Hannau
Watch the video from February’s live broadcast here.
Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 7pm:
Susan Giles + Amy Wurtz
Carlos Matallana + Ben LaMar Gay
Michelle Nordmeyer + Andrew McManus
Watch the video of January’s live stream here .
streaming Tuesday 12/1 7pm CT
in collaboration with Hideout Chicago
$10 purchase advance tickets here to support Homeroom!
Within Our Gates film screening + conversation
featuring original score by Paul Giallorenzo with Ben LaMar Gay
Join us for a screening of the silent film Within Our Gates (1920) by Oscar Devereaux Micheaux. This film was first presented by Comfort Station, Homeroom, and the Hyde Park Art Center as part of Comfort Station’s Silent Films and Loud Music Series in 2017, with a live score by Chicago composer Paul Giallorenzo with cornetist Ben LaMar Gay.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of this film, we are presenting the film with Giallorenzo and LaMar Gay’s score, recorded during a live screening at Elastic Arts in 2018. This screening will be introduced by Floyd Webb, curator of Black World Cinema, followed by a conversation with Webb, Giallorenzo, and LaMar Gay. More information
SCHOOL NIGHT - Let’s Chill ….
Are you tired of fighting? Is everything too much all the time and is hope too hard to hold on to? Let’s chill... Join School Night hosts Keidra Chaney and Fred Sasaki and a discussion panel of diverse Chicagoans with different approaches to relaxation, quality time, and fun. It’s never a bad time to chill.
Please tune in on Thursday October 29th at 7pm on Hideout Online.
Featuring guests:
Water Music on the Rocks
Saturday, October 3rd, 3-5:30 PM
3 PM Meet at 6018 N Kenmore Ave for gallery view and processional walk to Bryn Mawr Ave
4 PM Bryn Mawr Ave at the water
Join our friends at 6018 North Kenmore Ave at 3 PM on Saturday, October 3rd to view their current outdoor exhibition Windows to the World outside and then walk together (socially distanced), led by Alexander Massa and his band, to the water at Bryn Mawr Ave in a New Orleans-style funeral procession to honor the dead from COVID-19 and the Black and Brown lives lost to police brutality.
**If you miss this portion, please note there is NO parking at the beach. You have to walk or ride a bike. The performance will take place here near the Nature Preserve. You will see AJ McClenon's black holes to sit upon.
At 4 PM we will begin Water Music on the Rocks – an annual series of live performances initiated in 2012 that highlights Chicago’s proximity to Lake Michigan – at Bryn Mawr Ave where it meets the water. Due to the Coronavirus, Water Music on the Beach has been relocated and renamed Water Music on the Rocks, since the performances will take place on the rocks next to the water.
Performances by Simon Anderson, Ben Lamar Gay and Rob Frye, AJ McClenon, and Anna Martine Whitehead. Compositions and scores reflect, react to, or personify the sounds of water.
**If you cannot attend, join us on Instagram Live!
Programming is a collaboration between Homeroom and 6018North.
Throughout the event, we request that visitors wear a mask. At the water’s edge, socially distanced spacing, is made of black fabric to represent black holes. Designed by AJ McClenon, they provide 6 feet social distancing measures to ensure the safety of everyone. In addition, we ask that you sign up here to limit attendance.
Homeroom is an independent, nonprofit resource for creative Chicagoans to develop and produce original arts programming. Homeroom designs artistic projects and programs with two core values: conversation and collaboration. By bringing together artists, audiences, curators, and venues, focusing on what we all have in common, Homeroom creates space for generating and exploring fresh ideas and shared practices of art and community-making.
6018North is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the promotion of culture and the arts in Chicago. This program is funded in part by Illinois Humanities and an anonymous donor advised fund at The Chicago Community Foundation. 6018North projects are supported by the Gen Ops Plus Grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The MacArthur Funds for Culture, Equity, and the Arts at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Graham Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, the Illinois Arts Council, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, the Field Foundation of Illinois, and individual donors like you. Windows to the World is supported by an anonymous donor and the Gen Ops Plus Grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. For more information please visit us online at 6018NORTH.ORG.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
Image: AJ McClenon performing for Water Music on the Beach at Lane Beach in 2018
Thursday August 6th 7-8PM
streaming @ Elastic Arts, Arts + Public Life, and the Hideout
MAKE Literary Productions and Homeroom Chicago present
A Virtual Exquisite Crawl
Through this arts-packed, virtual crawl across three online venues, audiences will witness the unveiling of three distinct exquisite corpse video pieces—each created by a group of three artists and beginning with the same line of poetry from Nate Marshall’s “Imagine”
we imagine
being together & that is the first step.
Using the well-known exquisite-corpse drawing method as the format, each of nine participants created a short, multimedia video, resulting in three final group videos, each one streamed through a different venue successively from 7-8pm.
7:00PM - Deidre Huckabay/Carla Gruby/Jasmine Henri Jordan @ Elastic Arts
7:15PM - Sam Lewis/Jennifer Ligaya/Maya Odim @ Arts + Public Life
7:30PM - Tselanie Townsend/Kristin Lueke/Nandini Khaund + Artist Talk
@ the Hideout
Homeroom does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of artists, volunteers, and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, artists, audiences, volunteers, subcontractors, and vendors.