People

Katie Waddell | Boss Lady

Katie Waddell is an independent curator, writer, and event producer based in Chicago, IL. Katie collaborates with artists across disciplines, organizing their projects, artworks, or ideas into total environments or sequential events. Her research and projects focus on the encounter, by way of public events and programming, as the nexus from which intimacy, curiosity, and the experiential unfold. Katie holds a dual-M.A. in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism and Arts Administration and Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Waddell is the Founder and Creative Director of 2nd Floor Rear, a future founder of 2FR Projects (forthcoming), and a general doer of things. Learn more about her work at katiewaddelldoesthings.com

Curatorial

Jesus Gonzalez Flores | 2016 Associate Curator

Jesus Gonzalez Flores is an interdisciplinary artist, and a freelance curator. He studied at Eastern Michigan University and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Gonzalez Flores has shown internationally and nationally including So Weit, die Zunkunft [SWDZ] (Vienna, Austria), Julius Cæsar (Chicago), The Institute of Contemporary Arts (Singapore, China), CUE Art Foundation (New York), and PERIGRINEPROGRAM (Chicago). Other recent projects include Mis Aventuras, Por Un Amor, and ADDS DONNA. This coming spring he is attending an Artist-in-Residence program at Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans. He is a Gemini, married and plans to adopt.

Erin Delaney + Egon Schiele (Eco) | 2016 Curatorial + Production Fellows

Erin Delaney and Egon Schiele have been collaborative partners since 2013. Co-operating a live/work space on Pilsen’s 21st street called Eco, the pair has curated weekly music and performance shows for the duration of a year. Enthused by the fast pace of Do It Yourself arts community, Egon and Erin create installation works for local venues, are key players in the experimental punk band Daymaker, and facilitators of DIY community outreach meetings. The ambition of this pair is to facilitate a respectful and healthful community. Within Chicago’s South East side Erin and Egon have rooted an open door space that promotes Underground and Unnerving artworks, emphasizing the joy of coming together to create.

Jonathan Sommer | Curator of the 2016 Fundraiser Party

Jonathan Sommer (b. 1987) is a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist with B!TCH3Z Drinking Project, Exhibition Director of queer experimental video and performance collective PiNKEYE and independent curator with S+S Project and naomi FINEARTS.

Though broad in scope, Sommer’s creative practices commonly focus upon queer nightlife, collective identity, and unorthodox party economies.

Documentation + Design

Silvia Vasilescu | Designer

Silvia Vasilescu, or sometimes linden tea, is a part-time visual artist and part-time illustrator, currently residing in Bucharest, Romania. lindenteas.tumblr.com

Greg Stephen Reigh | 2016 Media Manager

Greg Stephen Reigh is a filmmaker based in Chicago.

Reigh is heavily involved in Chicago’s DIY scene, having produced and directed an original documentary web series through the Chicago publication VAM Magazine, VAMDIY, that highlights a variety of DIY venues, parties, and events throughout the city.

His work has been featured at the Chicago Underground Film Festival in 2013, as well as through media outlets such as Huffington Post, Papermag, Bullett Magazine, and Time Out.

Documentarians

Photography: Lynn Millspaugh, Emily Esperanza, Joey Delisi, Noah Davies, & Laura Mitchell

Videography: Brian Wiebe & Jeremy Freedberg

Interns

Isabella Miller | 2016 Administration and Communication Intern

Anna Johnson | 2016 Exhibitions and Operations Intern

Board

Fontaine Capel | Secretary + Programming Associate

Fontaine Capel is a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist, curator, educator, and facilitator. Her work has appeared domestically and internationally: digitally, and IRL. She is a current member of the experimental performance collaborative Pup House, and is Executive Director of the alternative art space Hume Chicago. In conjunction with her studio and curatorial practice, she is a teaching artist at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and Marwen. She is a graduate of Oberlin College where she studied Art History and Studio Art.

Rylan F. A. Deemer | Treasurer + Business Associate

Rylan enjoys a role as an International Consultant and Actuary based in downtown Chicago. In his position, Rylan provides international finance and benefits consulting advice for multinational clients based in the Midwest. Rylan served the Chicago Actuarial Association as Treasurer from March 2010 through March 2015. As lover of the arts, he is excited to reprise his Treasurer role with 2nd Floor Rear. Rylan holds a degree in Mathematics with a focus in Actuarial Science from Michigan Technological University. Rylan is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Gita Jackson | Program Manager

Gita Jackson is a nice girl who likes dating sims, cats, black lipstick, and weird old man cocktails. She’s the assistant editor for the Comedy section at Paste Magazine, and has written for Paste, Polygon and the Arcade Review about videogames, fashion, womanhood and race. She is also a co-founder of Hume Chicago, an artist-led project space focused on serving the Humboldt Park and Logan Square communities through dynamic, accessible arts programming.

Special thanks to the 2016 Volunteer Task Force:

Lynn Basa, Andrew Bermudez, Kris Hechevarria, Betsy Zacsek & Leslie Holguin

Sponsors & Partners

This project is partially supported by an Individual Artist Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, as well as a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.