MDW Fall Showcase
October 21st- 23rd
at The Geolofts 3636 S Iron St.

Vernissage: Friday October 21, 8-11pm

Saturday Noon to 6pm
Sunday Noon to 6pm
$5 admission

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The MDW Fair invites proposals for its fall showcase at the Geolofts in Bridgeport. 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 & 24^th 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.

This fall, The MDW Fair presents an exposition of solo and duo exhibitions curated by small not-for-profits, artist-run spaces, emerging galleries, collectives and independent curators. For the Fall Showcase, MDW invites proposals from spaces across the United States. Groups are required to send 10 images of the artist or pair of artists they wish to focus on at the fair. Deadline is September 19^th. Images should be sent as a zip file along with a short mission statement/bio about the presenters and 500 words about the artist(s) for exhibition. Successful applicants will be notified by early October with details. All booth spaces are 300 sq feet/$300.

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 20-23^rd and is open to registered participants only. MDW Fair exhibitors can register up to two conference goers for half-price ($50 pp). Visit http://www.three-walls.org/programs/conferences-symposiums/ for more information.

Submissions for the MDW Fair can be emailed to:  mdwfair@gmail.com
Questions about submissions can be submitted to Aron Gent at: arongent@arongent.com
Logo design by Plural

The fair features for-profit, 501(c)3, and commercial and unincorporated galleries, independent curatorial projects and publishers and media groups in over 25,000 square feet of exhibition space that includes a 8,000 square foot sculpture garden with work by local artists. The MDW Fair is a manifestation of the collective spirit behind the region’s most innovative visual cultural organizers, focusing on the breadth of work done here by artists and arts-facilitators alike.