Summer Solstice Art Fest 2009, June 20-27
A Celebration of Arts & Music to Benefit Chicago 6 Corners
By Your Friends at Chicago 6 Corners (David & Scarlett), June 15, 2009
David Shuey here, offering the gist of the Summer Solstice Art Fest: 7 unique events over 8 nights. The bands will be blazing. The DJs sizzling. The short films, poetry and visual arts, soul stirring. It's BYOB and NO charge at the door, so that means NO excuses. However, if you bring a pocket of $1s and $5s – and your check book and love for art during the week-long auction (UPDATE: see photos here) – then you can personally contribute to Chicago 6 Corners. All proceeds go towards maintaining the website, and keeping you informed on local happenings.
Who knows? Maybe you'll be inspired and contribute your future talents to the C6C webzine. Reach us here to contact an editor, or see what topic may be of interest.
Where: Scarlett's Pad, 2649 W. Leland Avenue, Top Floor, Chicago, Illinois (just around the corner from the Brown Line Rockwell stop)
Again, click the flyer to the right for schedule or skip below for full write-ups on the bouillabaisse of artists. Ok, Scarlett Stoppa, our Dandy Warhol of curators, kick it ...
Curator’s Note: Two years ago I found myself in a particularly blissed-out in-love-with-life moment prompted by the range of creative talents surrounding me. Chicago, it seems, is both a Siren Call to artists and a Renaissance Incubator – rare is the local who doesn’t possess a range of skills in several mediums. Like a collector, proud of his good taste, I wanted to show off this impressive posse surrounding me. But I also wondered at what might be created if all these creatives came together. New friendships, fresh love, spontaneous collaboration, symbiotic partnerships, dancing, laughter, creative courage where once there was fear of failure – the possibilities were limitless! Out of this dewy-eyed admiration and innocent optimism the Summer Solstice Art Fest was borne. Year One was a modest affair, a few friends, some loose gatherings. Year Two required a schedule, a spreadsheet, more help and several Flickr photo albums. This year’s fest – the 3rd Annual – had me convinced we’d reached the Final Hoorah. Something that had started simple and spontaneous had tangled into a complicated production. Then the art began to trickle in. And I remembered why I love instigating this collaboration: each lovingly produced painting, poem, pot, pinata, photo, poster, song, shoe, bike, book, craft and film represents our human attempts to open hearts, make connections, rally change and express that expansive feeling that comes in those moments when we are overwhelmed with love and wonder.
Chicago 6 Corners would like to extend thanks to all artists and art-lovers who contributed their time and creations to this collaboration, with a special thanks to those who made generous donations of their work for an art auction that will help Chicago 6 Corners to continue covering local issues, events, and people overlooked by both mainstream media and Chicago’s blogosphere.
