{"id":520,"date":"2023-07-03T15:10:30","date_gmt":"2023-07-03T15:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/neh\/?post_type=gallery&p=520"},"modified":"2023-12-01T17:23:38","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T17:23:38","slug":"threewalls","status":"publish","type":"gallery","link":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/cagp\/gallery\/threewalls\/","title":{"rendered":"Threewalls Gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Postcard for Threewalls’ Community Supported Art program<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Hand in Glove guide, 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Paper & Carriage <\/em>cover, first edition, 2007<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photocopy of Shannon Stratton’s notes in Sketches: Organizing Arts, <\/em>Green Lantern Press, 2007<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Threewalls opened its first brick and mortar gallery in 2003. Its original location, in a multi-unit building located at 119 North Peoria in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago, was a growing hub for new galleries and startups. A year and a half earlier, Bridge magazine<\/a>, a nonprofit publishing and programming organization, moved its offices into the building, and a flock of other emerging art organizations followed, among them NFA Space, 1R Gallery, and Bucket Rider. With Threewalls added to the mix, the building quickly became a laboratory for collaboration and experimentation among local artists. Zambreno 2004, 4-5<\/a> This communal dynamic hearkens back to the Hubbard Street scene of the 1980s, in which artist-run spaces ARC, Artemisia, N.A.M.E, and others utilized their proximity as a way to grow and support one another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Like many of its predecessors, Threewalls was founded by a group of young artists and recent art school graduates: Jonathan Rhodes, Shannon Stratton, Sonia Yoon, Jeff M. Ward, Ruba Katrib, and Ivo Gasparotto. The group was tired of watching so many of their fellow artists move from Chicago to New York City in an apparent effort to chase the art scene\u2014and the market. So they set out to prove that Chicago had a contemporary art community worth staying for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the start, Threewalls pushed the limits of what an alternative art space could be. Like many of its predecessors, it operated outside of the commercial gallery system in order to give emerging artists and professionals more creative and collaborative freedom. But unlike many of its predecessors, mainly the apartment galleries of the \u201890s that were vehemently anticapitalist, Threewalls had a business sensibility. It strove to create a sustainable financial model that would help its artists\u2014and eventually, its staff\u2014to make a living, and to continue doing so locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Threewalls\u2019 programming was diverse, spanning exhibitions, residencies, symposia, conferences, auctions, and more. Residencies lasted four to six weeks and provided artists with the opportunity to develop work on-site in a format visible to the public, facilitating candid dialogue around and about the process of art-making. ThreewallsSOLO launched in 2007, and featured quarterly solo exhibitions of local and regional artists. Additional exhibition programming included thematic exhibitions, installations, and curatorial projects. The Adopt-An-Artist program gave interested community members the opportunity to sponsor\/support a resident by donating a stipend for materials, organizing studio visits, and\/or by introducing the artist to the community through periodic hospitality events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In 2011, Threewalls launched the Community Support Art (CSA) program, which sought to support both artists and collectors. For $350\u2014less than the cost of one piece by a typical emerging artist\u2014CSA subscribers received six artworks over the course of three months. Timeout<\/em> 2011<\/a> Participating artists gained access to funding\u2014Threewalls paid them a commission upfront\u2014and exposure. Morris 2015<\/a> Buyers benefited from the lowered financial threshold, which made art-collecting a viable endeavor for people who otherwise wouldn\u2019t be able to afford it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That same year, Threewalls organized the inaugural Hand-in-Glove conference, a national convening of independent galleries, publications, and other self-organized projects. Strategically planned to coincide with the MDW fair,<\/a> an independent art fair of art spaces, galleries and artist groups from the Chicago metropolitan area, the conference succeeded in bringing together a diverse group of artists and self-starters. Threewalls Gallery Archives<\/a> For organizations that were often ephemeral and itinerant by nature, the conference provided much-needed time and space for dialogue and exchange. Held annually until 2015, the Hand-in-Glove conferences not only facilitated meaningful conversations and collaborations among participating groups, but left a vital record of their histories, missions, and ever-shifting roles in the culture at-large. McNally 2015<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In addition to organizing an impressive roster of programming, Threewalls also produced an extraordinary number and quality of publications. Exhibition catalogs accompanied each show and were often customized with inserts, fastens, and other homemade embellishments. A quarterly arts and literature magazine called Paper and Carriage <\/em>sought to reintroduce a \u201cslow media approach\u201d to content consumption. Threewalls Gallery Archives<\/a> Phonebook<\/em>, a hefty directory with four editions between 2007 and 2015, provided a guide to alternative art spaces throughout the country. Threewalls\u2019 staff also wrote and published extensively on the role and responsibilities of alternative art spaces. In doing so, they created a precious archive of real-time reflections on their practice. Today, their musings, many of which are preserved in the Threewalls Gallery Archives housed at SAIC\u2019s Flaxman Library, serve as a vital resource for learning about the history and evolution of art ecosystems in Chicago and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In 2016, Threewalls transitioned from a bricks-and-mortar gallery to an itinerant model in response to contemporary discourse about the intersections of art, social justice, and community. Today, Threewalls is an evolving Blk-space that continues to support Chicago’s contemporary art community by promoting innovative programming and creating opportunities for relationship building between artists. One such program is Breaking Bread, a quarterly convening of diverse Chicago artists over a prepared meal. By staying sensitive to the evolving needs of its community over the course of twenty years, Threewalls has managed to sustain a robust presence within Chicago’s art scene, fostering a widespread culture of intentionality, inclusivity, and care. Threewalls 2019<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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We Need To Talk: Uneasy Props and Propositions <\/em>booklet with insert, 2004<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Front cover, Phonebook 2007-2008<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Making Peace <\/em>and Stained Glass,<\/em> SOLO postcard, 2007<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Talking With Your Mouth Full: New Language for Socially Engaged Art<\/em>, postcard, 2008<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Take My Hand<\/em>, envelope and letters, 2005<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-520","gallery","type-gallery","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/cagp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gallery\/520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/cagp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gallery"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/cagp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/gallery"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/cagp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gallery\/520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1494,"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/cagp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gallery\/520\/revisions\/1494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/cagp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/cagp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}