Elephant Room Gallery is excited to be collaborating with Flatlands Studios June 12th through June 25th for a series of exciting happenings in the gallery. Eric Von Haynes of Flatlands Studios has curated printed ephemera, art objects, film, talks, workshops and performance art by various artists and art collectives from all over the world in order to transform the gallery into a community gathering space that will bring people together for a positive learning experience. The goal is to celebrate and embrace the idea of community through documentation, archiving, and activation of spaces in and through art practices.

All of the artists and collectives represented have a strong leaning towards positive outreach and information sharing through media. They all have ties to Flatlands Studios through past collaborations but never before have they all been brought together in the same space. The amazing artists and collectives involved are Thor Goodlife, KASHINK!, Mashaun Hendricks of CrimeDrought, Oscar Arriola, Fresh Pressed Chicago, Rebecca Ann Rakstad of RAR RAR PRESS, Peter Miles Bergman of is Press, Heather Link-Bergman, C​H​ema Skandal!, Alice Lam, Tom Bold, Eric Von Haynes of Flatlands, Dredske, Tim Rodenbroker, Brian Steckel of An-ism, Marc Fischer of Temporary Services and ATOM-R.

All of the Above is a series of happenings that will be scheduled throughout the exhibition:

June 13th & June 17th (12pm – 8pm) – Mashaun Hendrick’s CrimeDrought: The Solution will activate the space with dialogue sessions that will strengthen community, transfer knowledge, share resources and implement solutions towards a crime free city. There will be interactive sessions each day from 1pm to 3pm & 5pm to 7pm.

June 15th (6PM – 9:30PM) – A dozen artists have been invited to create drawings on site as a part of artist Oscar Arriola’s secret sticker club. Artists will be equipped with cameras mounted on their head or chest in order to document their process and micro cams will also be attached to the drawing utensils in order to digitally capture their strokes. A short film will be created from the footage by Brian Steckel of An​-​ism in order to archive the event.

June 20th (10AM – 6PM) – FLTLNDS and RAR RAR Press will offer the opportunity to Letterpress Affirmations on 11×17 Broadsides. This event is open to both youth and adults and allows the opportunity to work with 3 centuries of wood type to create lasting memories and statements in ink. The cost is just $5 for individuals to participate and groups can contact the gallery for a group rate donation.

June 22nd (12PM – 5PM) – FRESH PRESSED will prompt attendees to think about positive happenings in their neighborhood, document them and share it with someone who lives in a different place, creating a positive impression that inspires action or starts a dialogue. We want Chicagoans who are tired of seeing the same shameful stories in the news about their city to show the world #whatsfresh (progressive, unmatched, game changing, cool and beautiful) and create the stories we want to tell about where we live. Activities will include writing news and stories on addressed postcards, completing a Fresh People Q&A which is a short feature spotlighting everyday dynamic people, live storytelling via social media, free swag giveaway and an onsite social media contest!

June 23rd (7PM – 9PM) – Marc Fisher, a Chicago-based conceptual artist and co-founder of the influential art collective Temporary Services, whose practice includes making and distributing small-press art publications, will discuss recent projects. These projects include Malachi Ritscher for the Whitney Biennial, Library Excavations and his Joong Boo Residency Program. Peter Miles Bergman will discuss self publishing and do readings from the is E​MANCIPATION, an anthology of projects from The Institute of Sociometry performance and interventionist art projects ​spanning 21 years.

June 24th (5:30PM – 9PM) – Closing Reception for All of the Above. Guests will be able to view and purchase artwork, books and other objects, meet some of the artists and collectives, share in viewing the documentation and results of the past 2 weeks of happenings and network. The reception is free and open to the public.

All of the Above runs June 12th through June 25th. For additional viewing hours during the exhibition or to RSVP for any of the events, check the gallery’s website: www.elephantroomgallery.com. Most of the events are all free and all are open to the public. Elephant Room Gallery is located at 704 S Wabash Ave. in the South Loop of Chicago.

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Tags: Alice Lam, All of the Above, Brian Steckel, CHema Skandal!, Chicago, Dredske, Elephant Room Gallery, Eric Von Haynes, Flatlands Studio, Fresh Pressed Chicago, Heather Link-Bergman, Kashink, Loop, Marc Fischer, Mashaun Hendricks, oscar arriola, Peter Miles Bergman, Rebecca Ann Rakstad, Sociometry, Thor Goodlife, Tim Rodenbroker, Tom Bold