Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA) presents the latest ACTIVATE event, Hideaway: Retreat from the Street on Thursday, Sept. 28 from 5-10 p.m. at Arcade Place Alley (55 S. Wells St. between Madison and Monroe). Guests who RSVP in advance at loopchicago.com/activate will receive a complimentary drink ticket for beer, wine, or a cocktail at the event.
The 2017 ACTIVATE series invites the public to explore the pulse of daily life that the alley embodies. Art and programming will focus on a different aspect of alley life for each event. Hideaway: Retreat from the Street explores the alley as a place to escape the eyes of the street.
Salonathon will bring its kinetic, genre-defying energy to ACTIVATE through an evening of performance and spectacle designed to invite attendees into a hideaway where they can retreat from the street.These ideas will be communicated through a series of artworks and performances, allowing participants to:
- Prepare to be astonished by Alexander the Amazing’s incredible magic tricks that utilize sleight of hand, hidden objects, and hilarious spectacles.
- Witness Erin Kilmurray and the Search Party Dancers perform high-energy choreography – and feel free to join in on the fun!
- Let Jyldo guide you through a combination of dance and comedy to feel loose and liberated.
- Experience musical performances by the Dirt Red Brass Band, opera and R&B artist Alexa Græ, hip-hop performer Mykele Deville, and DJ Danny Leroy.
- Build a fort with artist Dan Osediacz using cardboard and other materials to have a place to hide away.
- Imagine yourself as a giant winged creature by taking a photo in front of a new mural by CZR PRZ.
- Write anonymous notes that will be incorporated into pop-up art installations in the alley with facilitator Natalie Pasquinelli.
- Have an anonymous conversation with other attendees by answering prompts on chalkboard pillars painted by artist Tararchy.
- The Portal, a monumental structure overlaid with an illuminated scene of alley activities returns to amplify the ACTIVATE experience. By their very nature, alleys are voids – the space between buildings. The Portal provides a sense of arrival and puts the alleyway in play with the streetscape. Designed by PORT Urbanism, the structure will display a photo montage comprised of contemporary and historic images to support each theme, inspiring passersby to give an alley a second glance and wonder about its history.
