3636 S. Iron St., Chicago IL Opening Friday, October 21st, from 8PM - 11PM On view through Sunday, October 23rd Chicago: on October 21st- 23rd, The MDW Fair presents a Fall Showcase of solo and duo exhibitions curated by small not-for-profits, artist-run spaces, independent galleries, collectives and curators from around the country. This iteration of the MDW Fair runs in conjunction with The Hand in Glove Conference and will highlight innovative curatorial and administrative practices happening in independent arts initiatives. The Fall Showcase will focus on the practices of individual artists, offering the opportunity for each artist to mount an ambitious project. The Fall Showcase, like the previous MDW Fair, will also feature an independent arts publisher’s forum. Formed in spring 2011 as a collaborative project between the Public Media Institute, Roots & Culture and threewalls. The MDW Fair was conceived as a showcase for independent art initiatives, spaces, galleries and artist groups from the Chicago metropolitan area. The initial fair, which took place April 23 & 24th of 2011, drew large crowds and press from ArtSlant, The Chicago Tribune, Bad at Sports and more as Chicagoans gathered for a special focus on the visual arts in their county. In conjunction with The MDW Fair, threewalls & Alliance for Independent Arts Organizers will be hosting The Hand in Glove Conference on the first floor of the Geolofts. The Hand in Glove Conference is a new semiannual conference for independent visual arts facilitators working at the crossroads of creative administration and studio practice. This conference is open to people engaged in the pragmatic realities and imaginative possibilities of organizing exhibitions, re-granting programs, publications, residencies, public programs, platforms for projects, and a variety of other programming that challenges traditional formats for the production and reception of art at the grass-roots level. The Conference takes place October 20-23rd and is open to registered participants only. Visit threewalls for more information. Participants include: 2612 Space 65GRAND ACRE Alderman Exhibitions antenna ANTIDOTE Bad at Sports Chicago Artists Coalition BOLT Residency Chicago Urban Arts DEFIBRILLATOR Devening Projects + Editions Document Drawn Lots Green Gallery Happy Collaborationists Harold Arts High Concept Lab The Hills Hinge Gallery Hungryman Iceberg Projects Itsa_pony LVL3 Trevor Martin
n Abr Gallery North Branch Projects Nudashank Old Seoul Packer Schopf Gallery Peanut Gallery Pentagon portage ARTspace Reference Reuben Kincaid Roots & Culture Sixty Inches From Center Small Space Spudnik Press threewalls Uncle Freddy’s Treats Linda Warren Western Exhibitions What It Is Propeller Fund grantees 2010 Publishers and other organizations: Alternative Press Center AREA Magazine CHI_art Golden Age Green Lantern Press Klein Art works Make Magazine Neoteric Art Proximity, Lumpen, Materiél Quimbys Soberscove Press