TERRAIN BIENNIAL 2019 OPENS OCTOBER 1st

It’s almost time! The Terrain Biennial 2019 will soon be underway in Chicagoland, around the country, and beyond—and we’re kicking things off with an epic block party!

Join us in Oak Park on Saturday, October 5th for an opening celebration with

Food, drinks, great music—and lots of art!

The block party will introduce exhibition sites and feature performances by artists, poets, and musicians, as well as temporary art installations, a poetry slam for local youth, and art walks around the neighborhood. There will also be screen printing! Bring a blank t-shirt or other item and take Terrain home with you.

Block Party Opening Event
Saturday, October 5th, 2 – 7pm
1150 Block of Lyman Ave, Oak Park, IL, 60304

Get a first glimpse of the Biennial! See installations by

Hideous Beast
Sarah and Joseph Belknap
Liz Chilsen
Isaac Galván curated by José David
Cassandra Davis
Rebecca Keller
Christian Oiticica
Luan Joy Sherman

Also featuring day-of art installations by

Kristin Abhalter Smith,
Bad at Sports,
Judith Brotman,
kg,
Dushko Petrovich,
Oli Watt

…as well as performance art projects by

AJ McClenon
Allison Grant
Luan Joy Sherman
Jon Veal & Sarah Beth Woods

…and music from

No Fingers
Madeleine Aguilar

Bring family and friends and enjoy a range of other activities!

SAIC Chess Club
Youth Poetry Slam
Crafting Table
Face painting
Ping Pong

The Terrain Biennial is unlike any other art festival. It takes place on lawns, in front yards, on porches, beneath awnings, and in windows. Residents partner with artists to bring striking, contemporary artwork into their communities. The Terrain Biennial challenges the way art is often confined to institutional spaces and class-specific audiences. Building on Chicago’s rich tradition of apartment galleries and artist-run spaces, the Biennial brings contemporary art into the intimate terrain of the front yard, fostering dialogue between neighbors and providing access to new art for a wide range of people.

Focus
The theme of this years Terrain Biennial is to take stock of the landscape that people are living in today. What is the terrain that we occupy? What is the topology of our moment? Artists and hosts have been asked to reflect upon the ways in which our environment changes us and how we are changing it.

Highlights
Projects for the Terrain Biennial 2019 will take place all over the world! Projects range from Terrain Founder Sabina Ott’s video piece at Wedge Projects in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood; to Alberto Aguilar’s stylized broken window posters in Havana, Cuba; to performances by Teresa Albor, Shubho Saha, and Back ART that examine the complexity of colonial history in Dhaka, Bangladesh; to Betsy Odom’s subversion of sports fan lawn signs in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood; and Cathy Hsiao’s Migration score for Blue House, 回家 which recontextualizes a symbol of Imperial power into an exercise of care in Cicero, IL.

The Terrain Biennial continues to grow this year as we have added a number of satellite clusters in Newburgh, NY; Portland ME; Santa Fe, NM and Lubbock, TX. We are also super excited about returning locations in Evanston, IL; Springfield, IL and Iowa City, IA.

Terrain Biennial 2019 locations

Aurora, IL | Asheville, NC | Batavia, IL | Berwyn, IL | Chicago, IL | Cicero, IL | DeKalb, IL | Dhaka, Bangladesh | Evanston, IL | Forest Park, IL | Havana, Cuba | Homewood, IL | Iowa City, IA | La Grange, IL | Los Angeles, CA | London, United Kingdom | Lubbock, TX | Morris, IL | Newburgh, NY | New York, TX | Oakland, CA | Oak Park, IL | Pasadena, CA | Peoria, IL | Portland, ME | Riverside, IL | River Forest, IL | Santa Fe, NM | Springfield, IL | West Chicago, IL

Land Acknowledgment

Chicago is the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: The Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi Nations. Many other Tribes like the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox also called this area home. Located at the intersection of several great waterways, the land naturally became a site of travel and healing for many Tribes. American Indians continue to call this area home and now Chicago is home to the sixth largest Urban American Indian community that still practices their heritage, traditions and care for the land and waterways. Today, Chicago continues to be a place that calls many people from diverse backgrounds to live and gather here. Despite the many changes the city has experienced, both our American Indian and the Terrain Exhibitions community see the importance of the land and this place that has always been a city home to many diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

Terrain Exhibitions is a newly-founded nonprofit and needs your support! Please visit our GoFundMe page here.

FOR QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT:

Director of the Terrain Biennial Richard Medina at richard@terrainexhibitions.org

Official Website

More events on this date

Tags: AJ McClenon, Alberto Aguilar, Allison Grant, Back ART, Bad At Sports, Betsy Odom, Cassandra Davis, Cathy Hsiao, Christian Oiticica, Crafting Table, Dushko Petrovich, Face painting, Hideous Beast, Isaac Galván, Jon Veal, José David, Judith Brotman, kg, Kristin Abhalter Smith, Liz Chilsen, Luan Joy Sherman, Madeleine Aguilar, No Fingers, Oak Park, Oli Watt, Ping Pong, Rebecca Keller, Sabina Ott, SAIC Chess Club, Sarah and Joseph Belknap, Sarah Beth Woods, Shubho Saha, Teresa Albor, Terrain, Terrain Biennial, Terrain Biennial 2019: Opening Block Party, Terrain Exhibitions, Youth Poetry Slam