6-9 pm, Saturday, September 16, 2017
Doors open at 6 pm
Seating promptly at 6:30 pm
General Tickets: $65
(tickets must be purchased in advance and include a one year Intuit membership)
In celebration of Henry Darger’s 125th birthday, NON:op Open Opera Works, Bodies of Work, and Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art present FEED: to play, to be happy, and to dream. Local performing artists present an eclectic range of short works to honor Henry Darger’s legacy from a disability culture perspective.
The evening’s performances will include five courses of food by Eric May/Easy Eats and beer courses by middle brow beer, all within a lavish visual environment. Come at 6 pm for a scavenger hunt, trace Darger illustrations at your table, get a unique Darger token numbered from 1892 to 2017, and stay for the closing raffle.
Tickets available online at feed.brownpapertickets.com.
If you have a limited income, and cost remains a barrier, please contact Christophe Preissing at non@nonopera.org or (773) 418-0119 to request a reduced-price ticket. These tickets are limited so please indicate your interest early.
MENU with beer pairings
Maxwell Street Polish onion tart, pickled pepper (smoked mushroom for veg)
copacetic cream ale with limes and peppers
Charlie Trotter’s Turnips king trumpet mushroom, red cabbage vinaigrette
robyn farmhouse abbey blend
Greek Town Salad garden veg, whipped feta, olive salad
white light apricot cardamom witbier
18th Street Carnitas salsa verde, cotija cheese, Vesuvio potatoes (nopales for veg)
sells out mosaic double dry hopped illinois ipa with el dorado and mosaic hops, pineapple, berry
“Chicago Mix” Cheesecake parmesan, fall apple, caramel corn
ad astra salted scotch ale
ORGANIZATIONS
NON:op Open Opera Works
NON:op Open Opera Works creates original interdisciplinary works and adaptations of existing works that merge and juxtapose merges music, theatre, dance, and visual forms. We partner and collaborate with venues, organization and artists to transform the artistic experience from passive to active engagement. NON:op performances and events come in all shapes and sizes, times and places, and encourage audiences and artists to interact and to create unique personal experiences.
Bodies of Work
Bodies of Work is a network of artists and organizations whose art showcases and celebrates the disability experience. From the local to the international, our bodies of work explore innovative forms of artistic expression, derived from unique bodies and minds. We explore the disability experience, advance the rights of disabled people, and widen society’s understanding of what it means to be human. We are a consortium of more than 50 of Chicago’s most recognized cultural, academic, healthcare and social service organizations, and are housed in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development.
Eric May/Easy Eats
Eric May is a Chicago-based chef and director of Roots & Culture, a nonprofit visual arts center in Noble Square. He was the chef at the Ox-Bow School of Art for 15 years and ran an experimental pop-up supper club, the Piranha Club, collaborating with chefs from the food and art worlds, alike. In 2015, Eric launched Easy Eats catering, cooking inventive and festive cuisine for a range of illustrious clients. And he would love to cook for you!
Middle Brow Beer
middle brow makes experimental beers in the middle west. we donate 50% of our profits to organizations who do courageous work in cities where our beer is sold. we believe the financial ethic that has defined corporate behavior for the past 30 years must be countered with an experiential ethic and since experiential wealth depends on strong communities, we work to strengthen our communities through beer and labor. drink good. do better.
PERFORMERS
Matt Bodett
Matt Bodett lives and works in Chicago, but hails from Boise, Idaho where he received his MFA. His greatest education came from being diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder, and through that he has learned about identity, language, and healing. Since being diagnosed thirteen years ago, Bodett has sought ways to express the symptoms and struggles of having a mental illness to those who are not diagnosed. Bringing everyone together in dialogue and empathy has been his artistic mission. He is currently on the advisory board for the Institute for Therapy through the Arts and teaches for Northeastern University and Loyola University Chicago.
Sarah Hollenbeck
Sarah Hollenbeck has published personal essays in Dogwood and TriQuarterly. Her essay “A Goldmine” was nominated for a Pushcart and received a Notable Mention in Best American Essays 2014. She has performed at Story Club, Essay Fiesta, You’re Being Ridiculous, and The Bodies of WorkFestival, among other live lit shows. Sarah is in the very early stages of writing a collection of essays that explores the experiences of women living with invisible and visible disabilities. But she’s often distracted from her writing by her day-job running Women & Children First, one of the last remaining feminist bookstores in the country. As the store’s co-owner she has been featured in New CIty’s Lit50 and in Publisher’s Weekly Star Watch, which honors 40 young people who are making a difference in the U.S. publishing industry. Sarah is also a contributor to the forthcoming anthology NASTY WOMEN, which will be published by Picador this fall.
Michael Herzovi
Michael Herzovi has belonged to the Access Project at Victory Gardens Theater since 1996, and is a writer and performer in their annual showcase. He performed in the ensemble for Bodies of Work in 2006. He has been a featured performer with Small Fish Radio Theatre since their inception. He has been a mentor, writer, and performer with Tellin’ Tales Theatre since 2006. In 2016 he was in the original ensemble for FREEDOM: Out of Order, produced with the Chicago Voices project of the Lyric Opera.
Louis DeMarco
Louis DeMarco is a gifted artist, musician, designer, and writer. Autism represents both a daily challenge for Louis, and a source of his artistic inspiration. Since joining Project Onward in 2005, Louis has developed multiple creative strategies for describing and coping with the challenges of autism. From distractions and obsessions to misunderstandings and romantic disappointments, Louis catalogues his mental ups and downs with extensive charts, detailed maps, and very specific notes-to-self. Louis is also an accomplished musician and composer; the songs he writes and records address many of the same themes he explores in his visual art. Since 2005, Louis has been bass player and vocalist for the rock band DHF Express, fronted by fellow Project Onward artist Adam Hines. In 2011, Louis’ artwork was featured in the Museum of Everything’s Exhibition #4 at Selfridge’s in London, and is currently on display at the Museum of Everything at MONA in Tasmania, Australia. In 2015, Louis added public art to his resume, with a large-scale mural installation that can be seen at Chicago’s Churchill Field, along The 606. He lives with his family in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood.
Timotheus “T.J.” Gordon
Timotheus “T.J.” Gordon, Jr. is a doctoral student and 2016-17 Illinois LEND and UCEDD Diversity Fellow at the University of Illinois at Chicago; he is pursuing a Ph.D degree in disability studies. His research interest is examining means of promoting autistic acceptance and culture in the African Diaspora (including African-American communities). Additionally, he advocates for combating police brutality against people of color with disabilities and saving special education in public schools. Gordon holds an MFA in Writing from Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. He is also an autistic self-advocate, writer, and creator of the Black Autist, a blog that focuses on disability and autism acceptance in black communities.
Arlene Malinowski
Arlene Malinowski is a critically acclaimed playwright, actor, and teacher. Her five critically-acclaimed autobiographical solo shows look at the intersection of disability culture and the world at large. These shows have been honored with a LA Theater Ovations Award, a 3Arts award nomination, LA Garland Award, and LA Weekly Award. She has appeared onstage in LA and Chicago, including Victory Gardens and the Goodman Theatre. She has worked as teaching artist at Chicago Dramatists and Victory Gardens, and has conducted Master Classes nationwide. She is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists and an Associate Artist at 16th Street Theater in Berwyn. Her newest solo show, “A Little Bit Not Normal,” chronicles her journey through mental illness and naming it, claiming it, and standing to be counted.
ACCESSIBILITY
This event is wheelchair accessible and will have captioning (CART) and audio description. An on-site personal assistant as well as wheelchair accessible/gender-neutral restrooms will be available. Participants will be able to leave the performance space to a quieter part of the museum for less sensory stimulation. Please refrain from wearing scented products. For other accommodation requests, please contact Christophe Preissing at non@nonopera.org or (773) 418-0119.
