CHICAGO, IL — High Concept Labs ( HCL ) and Center on Halsted ( COH ) present Endurance Tests, an evening of performance and discussion about Black endurance on Monday, February 29, 2016 at 7 PM. The event will take place in the Hoover-Leppen Theatre in the Center on Halsted, 3656 N Halsted St, Chicago. There is a suggested donation of $10 for this event.
Movement artist ( and former HCL Sponsored Artist ) Anna Martine Whitehead, poet and filmmaker Kai M. Green, and artist Chris Walker will each share their improvisational practices and engage in conversation with the audience on the legacies and relevances of black endurance in 2016. Endurance Tests interrogates endurance as it relates to Blackness and its attendant effects, illegalities, contagions, and privileges. The program extends the work of Whitehead's performance piece Treasure, most recently seen as part of the IN>TIME2016 Performance Art Festival.
The program marks the first collaborative project of High Concept Labs and Center on Halsted, and is part of Center on Halsted's Limelight Series, which offers a closer look at Chicagoland's diverse artistic community. "Facilitating dialogue between artists and audiences is a strategic goal for HCL," says Executive Director Steven Wang. "Partnerships, such as this one with the Center on Halsted, allow our artists an opportunity to engage and share their practice with a broad and diverse audience."
"At Center on Halsted, we are actively engaged in building the cultural literacy of our community through partnerships with robust organizations throughout Chicagoland," said Andrew Fortman, Director of Community & Cultural Programs. "A partnership with High Concept Labs and the program Endurance Tests allows us to offer high quality programming to the LGBTQ community that tackles questions at the core of our mission and vision."
Learn more about this program: highconceptlabs.org/event/endurance-tests-at-center-on-halsted .
Advanced Registration is recommended: community.centeronhalsted.org/Whitehead .
About Anna Martine Whitehead: Anna Martine is an artist, writer, and performer interrogating identity, space, time, and loss. They received an MFA in Social Practice from California College and have shown work in California, New York, Sweden, and throughout the Midwest and the southern United States. Martine has also made significant contributions to the work of Keith Hennessy, Jefferson Pinder, taisha paggett, and Julien Previeux. They write a recurring column for Art Practical addressing black creative practice in the modern world, will be featured in the forthcoming anthology Meanings and Makings of Queer Dance, and will be releasing a chapbook through Thread Makes Blanket Press this year. Anna Martine is a recent recipient of Chances Dances' Critical Fierceness grant. annamartine.com
About Kai M. Green: Kai M. Green is a writer, scholar, poet, filmmaker, abolitionist, and feminist. For the past six years, he lived in Los Angeles building locally with Black LGBT communities, while also working to complete his dissertation, "Into the Darkness: A Black Queer ( Re )Membering of Los Angeles in a Time of Crises." Kai completed his graduate work at The University of Southern California in the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity. He also received graduate certificates in Gender Studies and Visual Anthropology. Through writing and organizing Kai has become a strong, visible voice in the Black Trans community and in the LGBT community generally. Kai is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Sexuality Studies and African American Studies at Northwestern University.
About Chris Walker: Chris Walker is an unapologetically black, blunt, and queer creative professional. He is a libra / scorpio cusp, leo rising, and body-language scholar.
ABOUT CENTER ON HALSTED: Center on Halsted is the Midwest's most comprehensive community center dedicated to advancing community and securing the health and well-being of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer ( LGBTQ ) people of Chicagoland. More than 1,000 community members visit the Center every day, located in the heart of Chicago's Lakeview Neighborhood. centeronhalsted.org .
ABOUT HIGH CONCEPT LABS: High Concept Labs is a Chicago-born not-for-profit arts service organization and cultural platform dedicated to supporting working artists and engaging the Chicago community with arts and culture. Partnering with artists at every step of the creative process, HCL offers high-quality custom support services through its Sponsored Artist and Institutional Incubation Programs. HCL also curates and hosts Cultural Conversations, hosts artist showcases, presents special community events, and facilitates educational arts partnerships. With a vibrant cycle of programs, and process-support, High Concept Labs grows community alongside culture and fosters new audiences for the arts. highconceptlabs.org
HCL is supported in part by the generosity of Mana Contemporary Chicago, The Chicago Community Trust, MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Norwottock Charitable Trust, The Samuel J. Baskin Charitable Trust, The Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation, and individual donors.
