1PM – 2:30PM | The DuSable Theater

Hear from performer, historian, and writer Meida Teresa McNeal—one of the contributors to the Nick Cave Forothermore catalog—and DJ Lori Branch talk about the early Chicago House music scene that was so formative to Nick Cave, building bridges between the sounds of the time and the works in the galleries. Introduction and Q&A moderated by special guest DJ Wayne Williams. Then, stick around to listen to Branch perform a set responding to Forothermore and The Color Is, creating an auditory environment for the artwork as a part of MCA’s Soundtrack series.

Soundtrack : Lori Branch 

3PM – 5PM | The Roundhouse Plaza

Soundtracks offer contemporary sound-based artists the opportunity to transform your museum experience with custom soundscapes responding to works on view in the museum. Soundtrack: Lori Branch is organized by Daniel Atkinson, Manager of Learning, Adult Interpretive Programs and Otez Gary, Curatorial Assistant of MCA Chicago. This special edition of Soundtracks is presented by Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center.

About the Speakers

Dr. Meida Teresa McNeal is Artistic/Managing Director of Honey Pot Performance. She received her PhD in Performance Studies (Northwestern) and her MFA in Choreography & Dance History (Ohio State). Awards include the 3Arts Award in Dance, Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist, and the Links’ Hall Co-Missions Fellowship. An Independent Artist and Scholar at the intersection of performance studies, dance, and critical ethnography, Meida is part-time faculty in Art & Art History at Columbia College Chicago. She is also Arts & Culture Manager with the Chicago Park District supporting community arts partnerships, youth arts, cultural stewardship, and civic engagement initiatives across the city’s parks and cultural centers.

As a solo artist, Lori Branch has held residencies in numerous Chicago clubs, played opening sets for several recording artists such as Michelle Ndgiecello, Lauren Hill, Arrested Development, A Tribe Called Quest and others. Lori has co-produced music for several independent film projects in addition to writing and producing television and film projects such as Kevin’s Room, 40th: The Story of Roberts Temple and the Rap-it-Up Chicago series. Seen by many as a pioneer DJ in Chicago’s House Music scene and one of (if not the) first women to grace the decks, Lori has been featured in a number of documentaries, articles and television specials. She currently co-hosts the Vintage House radio program on WNUR 89.3FM Evanston Chicago and WNUR.org and is a board member of The Modern Dance Music Research and Archiving Foundation.

Branch and Dr. McNeal are also part of the team that created The Chicago Black Social Culture Map, which involves researching Chicago’s Black social culture across the 20th century from the First Great Migration through the birth and evolution of House music. The project features community archiving, live programs, and the cultivation of a digital archive and interactive online map.