In conjunction with MdWfair, a Chicago convening of artist-run spaces across the Midwest, Comfort Station presents the Artist Run Bike Tour, a free guided bike tour of artist-run spaces on Chicago’s west side. The tour visits 6 artist-run spaces between Ukrainian Village and Logan Square, each stop activated with an exhibition or performance. Refreshments provided at individual stops.
Tour schedule:
2:30 Patient Info
3:15 Ohklahomo
4:15 Cleaner Gallery & Projects
5:00 No Nation Art Lab
5:45 Companion Co-op
6:30 Comfort Station
Participating Spaces:
Stop #1: Patient Info (900 N. Western Ave.)
Patient Info operated as a dermatology office for the previous 30 years and opened in 2019 as an artist-run space founded by artist Brian Jucas. Renovations to the office created a white cube gallery juxtaposed with the intact original operating and waiting rooms. The current iteration of the space creates opportunities for works to be recontextualized. Patient Info is dedicated to showcasing contemporary art from diverse voices and offering a space for community building and dialogue. Exhibitions at Patient Info are a collaborative exercise, creating an opportunity for artists to engage in the curatorial process while showcasing their work.
"2 Meters is 6 Feet" will be on view, with work by Kate Morrick and Michael Cuadrado. Refreshments and outdoor space will be open for hanging out!
Accessibility Info: There is 1 step to the entrance from the front door. The space and bathroom are both located on the first floor.
Stop #2: Ohklahomo (2518 W. Iowa St.)
Ohklahomo is an experimental performance, sound, art and language space located in Mark Jeffery's basement on Iowa Street in Chicago. Ohklahomo will be hosting Mid-Autumn Fest Get Together 中秋|추석, and an Art in Place Exhibition featuring works by Tavin Davis, Maria Plotnikova, and Jonathan Lanier.
Stop #3: Cleaner Gallery + Projects (1856 N. Richmond St.)
Cleaner Gallery + Projects is an artist-run studio and gallery in Humboldt Park. The gallery was just a window from 2016-2020, now the gallery occupies the majority of the front room and a freshly remodeled back gallery. The studios are cheap and on a month to month lease.
Director Ryan Burns and Gallery B curator Ari Norris will be on site to give a tour to bikers, speak to the history and mission of the space, and show off the newly renovated galleries. Bikers will have a sneak peek of the new exhibition mid-install, and are invited to shred on the half pipe in the backyard! Refreshments provided.
Accesibility Info: The gallery is located on the ground floor. One step up at the front entrance and a 3 steps down to enter the backyard. The bathroom is on the ground floor. and the space is air conditioned.
Stop #4: {\}() {\}∆‡!(){\} No Nation Art Lab (1542 N. Milwaukee Ave.)
1- Nations are arbitrary delineations in geography that through history they have been shaped the way they are by making wars against each other.
2- America is not a country. Calling a country a continent and a continent a country has invisibilized for 500 years has the more than 37 countries that exist in the so-called American continent. Which is actually called ABYA YALA and TURTLE ISLAND; the name was given by its native inhabitants way before the start of the European invasion in 1942.
3- {\}() {\}∆‡!(){\} as/is an independent disorganization whose mission since 12010H.C.* has been to serve as an artistic platform for experimental cultural production through Performance Art, language, image making, sound, exhibitions, and screenings…etc
We are deeply concerned with critical concepts of origin, the affirmation of agency, intimacy, spontaneity, and collaboration in how art is created, discussed and experienced.
*Holocenic Calendar/Human Era
For more info check this: https://nonationartlab.cargo.site/entrevista-escondida-ingles
And visit our web page: https://nonationartlab.cargo.site/
{\}() {\}∆‡!(){\} will be activated with a guided performative tour.
Accesibility Info: {\}() {\}∆‡!(){\} is located on the second and 4th floors of the building. The second floor is 21 steps upstairs. Bathrooms are located on both the 2nd and 4th floors.
Stop #5: Companion Co-op (2233 W Charleston St.)
Companion Cooperative (Companion Co-op) is a volunteer-run cooperative in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood. A Cooperative is an autonomous association of people organizing to meet common economic, social, and/or cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. By offering art exhibitions and participatory public gatherings through a cooperative model, Companion Co-op exists as both a cultural platform and an experiment in practices of shared power in the arts. As we test out greater possible solutions to inequalities within the arts ecosystem, we remain committed to prioritizing inclusion, honesty, collaboration, and care.
For Comfort Station’s Artist-Run Bike Tour, visitors are invited to experience Dwelling, Companion Co-op’s current exhibition by Chicago-based artist Anna Johnson. This immersive installation will plunge visiting cyclists into an aquarium that has grown to an enormous scale. There, time moves at a different rate, and sound and light perform in unexpected ways. The membranes between interior and exterior, between human and snail, have collapsed. You are invited to dwell within this space and discover if, and how, you transform it and it transforms you. Our time together on the Bike Tour will be enriched by an artist-led activation.
Accessibility Info: Unfortunately, Companion is not currently wheelchair accessible. The site is located in a garden unit apartment that is below ground level. To access the space, there is a small step down to a front gate (~3 inches tall). Here, the ~6.7 foot path to the front steps is slightly uneven and there are a few cracks. There are four descending stairs (~8 inches tall) and then one ascending stair (~4.5 inches tall) into the apartment. The exhibition space is the first room on the right. Guests will be greeted and given instructions on entering the exhibition when they arrive. Companion Co-op is scent free. All visitors are asked to refrain from wearing perfumes, colognes, heavily-scented body products, and heavily-scented laundry detergents.
photo courtesy of the artist, Anna Johnson
Stop #6: Comfort Station (2579 N Milwaukee Ave.)
The final stop, Comfort Station will be hosting a mixer for bikers and non-bikers alike with refreshments and snacks! On view will be Jesse Malmed’s exhibition “You Can’t Get There From Here”.
Accessibility Info: Comfort Station is an accessible venue with no steps to enter and a large bathroom equipped with support railing.